Will make you think, laugh, be astonished

A feast for anyone wanting to be humbled and inspired by a giant of the intellect. He flees Nazism in the nick of time. He compares various parts of Europe with various parts of America, explains the influence of various thinkers, intellectual schools of thought and languages (English, Classical Greek, Chinese, Hebrew...) on his one journey of wonder.

As a man from a poor family, he worked his way up. He has damning things to say about totalitarian movements, both communist and fascist.

He also has penetrating insights into historical periods that he lived through. Particularly, he has de Tocqueville-like insights into America from an informed and thoughtful foreign perspective, though explicitly grateful to have been saved by America from Nazi-occupied zones of Europe. Many humorous anecdotes, like how everyone seemed to have a hard time believing that he had a reason to flee the Nazis if he wasn't a Jew, a communist, or a criminal! Voegelin will make you think.

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A stately performance marred by mispronunciations

Voegelin's text itself is unassailable, and Mays' English narration likewise, a thick regal basso that sounds like stout tastes. His German and French pronunciation is jarring, however. Still this is that one out of twenty Audible books I look forward to hearing again.