The Book of Virtues: 30th Anniversary Edition Audiobook

About the Authors

William J. Bennett, bestselling author, educator, and speaker, is a conservative pundit, politician, and political theorist. He served as Secretary of Education from 1985 to 1988 under President Ronald Reagan. A former senior editor of the National Review, he writes for the National Review Online, National Review, and Commentary.

Leon Nixon is a professional actor, playwright, and filmmaker. A Los Angeles native, he has performed in short films, web series, and on stage in dramatic and comedic roles. He is also an improviser and part of the group that appears in the Guinness Book of World Records for Longest Continuous Improv Show.

About the Narrators

Barbara Bush (1925–2018), born Barbara Pierce, was born in Rye, New York, and married George H. W. Bush in 1945. She was First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993. She had five children, including President George W. Bush and Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and was the founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy.

Charlton Heston (1923–2008) was among America’s most respected actors. Best known for his roles in historical films, Mr. Heston sensitively and clearly explains history’s greatest philosophical insights.

Claire Bloom, CBE, is an English film and stage actress, known for leading roles in plays such as Streetcar Named Desire, A Doll’s House, and Long Day’s Journey into Night, along with nearly sixty films and countless television roles, during a career spanning over six decades. She was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2013 Queen’s birthday honors for services to drama.

David McCallum is a Scottish-born actor of television, film, and stage. He studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and made a dozen movies in the United Kingdom before his critically acclaimed work in Billy Budd brought him more attention. For his many years in television, he is best known for his role as Illya Kuryakin in the series The Man from U.N.C.L.E., which ran from 1964 to 1968, and his present role as Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard in the series NCIS. His stage credits include three Broadway plays, for which he earned a nomination for a Drama Desk Award for his role in The Philanthropist. His film work includes the 1963 release of The Great Escape and nominations for several awards. He has provided voice work for television, cinema, and video games. His audiobook narration includes a dozen books, through which he earned AudioFile Earphones Awards and two Audie Awards.

Ed Asner (1929-2021) was a television legend, well known for his role as Lou Grant on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and subsequent spin-off Lou Grant. He won seven acting Emmy Awards. He also made a name for himself as a trade unionist and a political activist. He served two terms as president of the Screen Actors Guild, from 1981 to 1985, during which he was an outspoken critic of former SAG President Ronald Reagan, then the US president, for his Central American policy.

Harriet Walter was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award in 1989 for Best Actress in a Revival for her performances in Twelfth Night, A Question Of, and Three Sisters. In 1999 she was named a Commander of the Order of British Empire by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II.

Janina Edwards, an Earphones Award–winning narrator, is a native of Chicago and a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts acting program. Her 2016 performance of Voice of Freedom was a finalist for the Audie Award.

Joe Morton is a winner of multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards for audiobook narration. A graduate of Hofstra University’s drama program, he has an extensive list of film and television credits, including Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Speed, Smallville, and Eureka. He made his Broadway debut in Hair and was nominated for a Tony Award for the musical Raisin. In 2014 he received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his work on Scandal.

Kate Nelligan has had a successful acting career in her native Canada, in Britain and in the United States. Nelligan studied at Toronto’s Glendon College, but left to attend the Central School of Speech and Drama in London. She quickly established herself in the UK on stage and on television. As a member of the National Theatre, she gave a much lauded performance in Tales from the Vienna Woods and was nominated for a Laurence Olivier Award for David Hare’s Plenty. She moved to Manhattan in the early ‘80s, dropped the English accent, and won stardom on the Broadway boards, racking up four Tony Award nominations for best actress. On the screen, both big and small, she established herself as a top-notch and in-demand supporting player and character actress. Nelligan was Oscar-nominated as Best Supporting Actress for The Prince of Tides, and her performances in movies and television in her native Canada have brought her five Gemini Award nominations.

Kirby Heyborne is a musician, actor, and professional narrator. Noted for his work in teen and juvenile audio, he has garnered over twenty Earphones Awards. His audiobook credits include Jesse Kellerman’s The Genius, Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, and George R. R. Martin’s Selections from Dreamsongs.

Michael York is a successful screen and stage actor. Among his screen credits are Romeo and Juliet, Cabaret, The Three Musketeers, Logan’s Run, and Austin Powers. Stage appearances include Britain’s National Theatre and Broadway. His television work has garnered Emmy nominations and his audio recordings Grammy nominations, as well as five AudioFile Earphones Awards. He has been awarded Britain’s OBE, France’s Arts et Lettres, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Richard Thomas, a film and television actor, is best known for his role as John-Boy Walton on the CBS television series, The Waltons. His performance earned him a Primetime Emmy, as well as two Golden Globe nominations. Also an audiobook narrator, he has read numerous books, including John Grisham’s Theodore Boone series.

Robert Petkoff is an actor and audiobook narrator who has won a prestigious Audie Award and multiple AudioFile Earphones Awards and has been named an AudioFile Golden Voice. He has appeared on Chappelle’s Show, Law & Order, and Quantum Leap. His Broadway credits include Sir Robin in Spamalot, Perchik in Fiddler on the Roof, and Tateh in Ragtime.

Timothy Andrés Pabon is an English- and Spanish-speaking voice-over artist who has worked extensively in advertising and audiobook narration. He has had acting roles on House of Cards and has also been a costar on HBO’s acclaimed series The Wire opposite country music legend Steve Earl. As a stage actor, he has worked off-Broadway at the June Havoc Theatre, and his regional credits include Center Stage, the Shakespeare Theatre, Arena Stage, the Hippodrome, Olney Theatre, Rep Stage, and GALA Hispanic Theatre.

Eunice Wong is a classically trained actor who works extensively in professional theaters across the United States and in New York City, as well as having appeared on HBO, NBC, ABC, Comedy Central, and in various independent films. Eunice is a graduate of the Juilliard School Drama Division Actor Training Program and has also studied piano and singing at the Royal Conservatory of Music of Toronto. A first-generation Chinese Canadian, born in Toronto to Eric and Eleanor Wong, who immigrated to Canada from Hong Kong, Eunice grew up with her brother Eugene in Toronto and thanks her family for their constant love and support.

Leon Nixon is a professional actor, playwright, and filmmaker. A Los Angeles native, he has performed in short films, web series, and on stage in dramatic and comedic roles. He is also an improviser and part of the group that appears in the Guinness Book of World Records for Longest Continuous Improv Show.

Jenn Bennett is the award-winning author of the Arcadia Bell urban fantasy series, the Roaring Twenties romance series, and the young adult contemporary romance The Anatomical Shape of a Heart. She lives near Atlanta with one husband and two pugs.