Lessons from the Edge by Marie Yovanovitch, Read by the Author

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Former ambassador and long-term Foreign Service officer Marie Yovanovitch narrates Lessons from the Edge with a clear purpose and a sure sense of pacing and timing. Host Jo Reed and AudioFile contributor Alan Minskoff discuss Yovanovitch’s narration of her memoir on her 33-year career in the foreign service. He explains that it acts as a kind of primer for recent history, with a focus on Russia and Ukraine. Both authoritative and prescient, she supplies the backstory on how the invasion came to be. It’s a compelling listen.

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Today’s episode is sponsored by Naxos AudioBooks. The Poetic Edda is the most important collection of Norse-Icelandic mythological and heroic poetry, covering the creation of the world and the coming of Ragnarok, The Doom of the Gods. The mythological poems are an exploration of the wisdom of gods and giants, and tell of the adventures of the god Thor, against hostile giants, and rivalries amongst the gods. Many of the poems pre-date the conversion of Scandinavia to Christianity and give us a glimpse of the pagan beliefs of the North. Gunnar Cauthery (himself of Icelandic heritage) reads Carolyne Larrington’s revised translation. To learn more, visit NaxosAudioBooks.com.