Ally

Michael Oren, U.S.-born Israeli ambassador to the U.S. for four years, uses his life to embody the relationship between the two countries. He narrates his story with brisk pacing and a strong expressive ability that imbues his words with emotion. His voice, however, is somewhat nasal and not especially strong or engaging, and he often swallows the middles of multisyllabic words. There are also, disappointingly, a number of insertions of material clearly recorded at another time--"retakes" with a distractingly different sound and voice quality. But what might be lost by not using a professional is made up for by the genuineness and energy of real feelings, resulting in a thoroughly interesting and sometimes affecting program. W.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine