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Coming some 60 years after her first professional recording, this audiobook is sort of the pinnacle of Ms. Andrews' recording career. The life of Julie Andrews, as written by Julie Andrews, and read to you, as if she were personally telling you the story of her life, by Julie Andrews.

Ms. Andrews' life and career have both been well-documented by biographers, but everything takes on new meaning and becomes personal when told by Ms. Andrews herself. And, of course, there are anecdotes and details that only Ms. Andrews herself can share with her audience, so there is much for even the most devoted fan to learn from this book. Here, she tells the story of her life from her earliest childhood to her career as a child star, from her journey to Broadway and television through to being cast by Walt Disney in MARY POPPINS.

The audiobook on CD is 13 hours long, spread over 11 CDs. Each disc contains seven to ten tracks; some chapters are one track long, and others are two to three tracks long. The production is straightforward and what you would expect of an audiobook -- read clearly, recorded well. Of course, I'd be happy hearing Ms. Andrews read the dictionary to me, but there is something magical and mesmerizing about her voice here, describing her own life.

At the end of the audiobook, Ms. Andrews says, "Thank you for listening." This is the only detail she has wrong -- we, the audience, should be saying to her, "Thank you for telling." I only hope we don't have to wait too long for the next part of the Julie Andrews story...

I purchased this audiobook CD set simultaneously with the hardcover edition of the book "Home: A Memoir Of My Early Years" by Julie Andrews. I urge all true fans of the actress/author to do the very same. I read the hardcover book first, and have been enjoying listening to Julie Andrews "tell" me the story of her incredible life from 1935-1962 again on the 11-CD set; which is unabridged.
For my thoughts on the autobiography and Miss Andrews herself, please read my review of the book. I don't want to repeat what I've stated in the "book" review. But it is a real gift for her many fans, and much more so for her own family, to have her incredible life told in her own words and in her own voice on CD recordings. "Home" ranks with Patty Duke's "Call Me Anna," Carol Burnett's "One More Time" and Mary Tyler Moore's "After All" as one of the most honest, candid, and courageous celebrity autobiographies I have ever read. Carol Burnett and Mary Tyler Moore, incidentally, are also friends/colleagues of Julie Andrews.
In an age when most celebrity autobiographies/biographies are filled with monumental amounts of conjecture, speculation, self-pity, and self-absorbtion, "Home" stands out as a breath of fresh air. Julie Andrews writes and tells her story with wit, warmth, generousity, perception, and pathos. To reiterate my closing statement from my earlier "book" review: Julie Andrews proves that she is, without a doubt, one of the last, true "class acts" left in show business.

At 25, Julie Andrews had it all: She was a Broadway star about to take on her first starring role in a film, Mary Poppins, she was happily married, and she had just become the mother of Emma. Her smile and lovely voice were known to tens of millions around the world.

But the path from her origins to those heights was not the expected one. In this candid memoir, Ms. Andrews takes us for an eye-opening ride through her family's genealogy, her career as a youthful vaudeville star, her experiences in becoming her family's sole support at a young age, and the many amazing things that happen in performing companies. It's a wild trip!

Before the book ends, she gives us behind-the-scenes looks at many of the giants of 20th century entertainment including Moss Hart, Alan Jay Lerner, Fritz Lowe, T.H. White, Walt Disney, Rex Harrison, Richard Burton, and Carol Burnett.

She is a lady in all that she has to say, but she does have opinions. The finely nuanced reading captures her true feelings in subtle ways that the book cannot hope to do. I could have listened to this recording all night, every night. It was marvelous!

Rather than pre-order the book, I waited until the CD came out to see if, as I suspected, it would be narrated by Julie Andrews. Julie's words in her own voice add so much to her story. I can't wait until the next installment! The only criticism of the CD is you have to turn the volume up all the way to hear it, at least while in the car. It brought back such pleasant memories as Julie related stories of her appearances on TV, with Carol Burnett, and on the Ed Sullivan Show, and her own show. Some of the excepts can be found on the internet. Wonderful performer. A voice not to be forgotten, nor repeated.

It was if Julie Andrews was sitting across from you telling you about her life story. I also have and read the book first, so hearing Julie read her own story, with all of the inflections in her voice, was great.

I knew full well that when I heard that Julie's memoir would be coming out that I would devour it in no time flat. I didn't know however that there would be the unabridged audio-book, read by Julie herself. She has a beautiful speaking voice (of course) and she speaks with authority, knowledge, grace, and humor. We have heard her speak of her family life, her step-father introducing her to singing at a very early age, and her touring across much of greater England but never before have we been given the backstage pass! Julie's history is as rich as it is heart-wrenching. Life wasn't the "Spoon Full of Sugar" or "My Favourite Things" far from it. What we discover about Julie is that she was given the tools of a bygone trade and used them to the best of her ability. Her writing is a triumphant for both Theatrical history and to the preservation of cherished and most beloved icon.

There should be:

1. A Theatre with her name on it.
2. A recording studio/sound stage bearing her name
3. Voice Lessons/Master classes as taught by Dame Julie herself!

I was extremely impressed with Julie Andrew's memoir because she shared her life experiences in such amazing detail. She takes the reader from her very young life into the early years of her professional career. She blends both compliments and concerns for those who influenced her career choices, as well as speaking honestly about her family. Her pace and perfect diction made her recordings of her memoirs a perfect read as well. This book will be a joy for all Julie fans.

Shirley Johnsrud
Soldotna, AK

I just finished listening to AT HOME. I am a fan of Julie Andrew's and it was fun to listen to her actually read the book. Sometimes we think that stars have always had a glamorous and wealthy life...we forget about how they got there. AT HOME is a true example of that. Julie's life was not all glamour and fame...she had a rough childhood and many tribulations as an adult. She struggled and worked hard to become the star she has become. I admire her even more. A great audiobook.

I like books on CD for trips, but this one I couldn't save for a long drive-As a book I'm sure it's a wonderful read, but to hear Julie Andrews's still lovely voice, reading to you about her early years, is just priceless-I hope she writes another, picking up where this one leaves off and continuing to present day-A wonderful story!

Julie Andrews has finally come out with the memoirs of her early years - in book form and as an audio-book.
I can highly recommend both. They tell the story of a remarkable person, a very talented singer, actor and with this biography also writer who has put her mark on the entertainment industry for more than five decades.
This fact is the more astonishing since her background is absolutely not a suppotive one - anyway not on the more personal level. Her story is a sad one of abuse and neglect but also a story of success - somehow this wretched childhood with the blend of showbusiness glamour has made the intriguing personality we know today. Somehow Julie Andrews survived it all. It is the story of the ugly duckling turning into a beautiful swan although Andrews herself is far too modest to suggest such a comparison.
I just cannot wait for her to write or tell the story of the rest of her life.
B.M Hiul