OYENTE

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Unfocused

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
3 out of 5 stars
Historia
2 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 04-19-25

Not aided by the poor pronunciation and clipped and hasty style of the narrator, the text spends so much time on the background of the war that a quarter of the book passes before we even reach the war itself. Other than the lack of other english texts and an exhaustive context it's difficult to see if the author really has any new and memorable insight to add which is not burried in a narrative which loses sight of it's initial introduction or central point. As a listener if you wish to learn the century or so up to the 30 years war this maybe a text for you. If you desired a focused historical work this not the place to go. This stylistic flaw also cripples the author's other work on the German style of war. Would work well to solve insomnia.

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Too Ambitious a Topic and Horrible Narration

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
2 out of 5 stars
Historia
2 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 02-16-25

First, the quality of the narration provides no service to the text. The accents are awful and should never have been attempted. Some of the mispronounciations are cringe inducing in the extreme and overall the narrator commits perhaps the worst of sins: distraction from the text. Secondly, while Citino's prior work on the interwar development of the Reichswehr was well grounded in particulars and contained a refreshing historiography of the period this work is positively general. So general to the point it is difficult to see what this volume actually brings qualitatively to the collective historical knowledge base. To those who know little of the decline of the Wehrmacht this might provide some elucidation but otherwise it is clear that the author was overmatched by his ambitious project. As the reader finds little shock that Wehrmacht fought a war from a position of inferiority in many respects and was eventually overwhelmed, Citino misses a golden opportunity to make what could have been a seminal work. Namely, exploring the second facet of what has given the Wehrmacht is fearsome mystique in the same fashion which he reviewed the evolution of the Reichswehr: explaining in focused fashion just why it managed to hang on for as long as it did. Instead, he frustratingly and fleetingly touches on organization Todt, the level of improvisation at a industrial, operational and tactical level, buetewaffen and kampfgruppen, etc...just to name a few things. Like most militaries the German Army contained flaws and inefficiencies which in its case doomed it but somehow the German military despite all its flaws, inflicted far more casualties than it took and maintained a terrifying level of cohesion and resistance even in despair and defeat. The author's discourses do little to explore this is in satisfying fashion, getting lost in narrative summaries and immutable characterizations, some which even have glaring errors (see his unuanced characterization of the battle of Moscow, the panzer IV or the initial German resistance in the bocage). There are many more enlightening texts to spend your money or credits on.

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More general than German.

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-18-25

While a competent title, this is more a general chronology/social description of how the air war was unfolded and was lost. Lacking is greater depth of evaluation and description of tactical, strategic and operational thinking, alternatives and historiography of those strategies utilized by the Germans. While the feeling that the author is just a bit off the mark in terms of the what the title seems to hint at is palpable throughout the text, it isn't crippling to the work. It just leaves the reader with the sense that the author could have been on to something very good rather than just good enough. The narrator is likewise competent and the text comes of as an easy to listen to light history.

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Poor Dramatization or Reading

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
1 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-05-25

It is difficult to tell if the goal of this was a reading or dramatization. The reading is at times stilted and either the reader seems to struggle with place or struggles with the structure of the sentences due to poor writing. Either way the narrator ends up committing the worst infraction - detracting from the writing making listening a chore.

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Timeless Radio Drama

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 01-05-25

While an abridged radio dramatization, this classic has stood the test of time and combines a level of excellence and storytelling scarcely to met let alone exceeded. The quality of production, the deft insertion of the poetry and the music, permit (in my mind) the building of characters and world of the LOTR to exceed even the modern movie screen. The use of song to bring out the history of the world like that of Gil-galad is striking, much like it's use to set scenes like later in the series as at the battle of the Pelennor fields. The characters are preserved in their strengths and personalities with voice selections of the highest quality: Michael Horden as Gandalf, Ian Holm as Frodo, Peter Woodthorpe as Gollum are particularly striking; Sam is more than a dopey rube, Legolas and Gimli far more than a comedic shtick. Even the voice cast of more supporting characters are memorable: Boromir is the right combination of strength and bluster; Saruman evinces the facets of smoothness and harshness; the elves generally sound regal and cultured; the Lord of the Nazgul menacing, imperious and powerful; farmer Maggot and Innkeeper Butterbur fitting and compelling. While I didn't appreciate this as much when my parents listened to this as a very young child, as an adult this radio series has proven something worthy of listening to again and again.

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Okay Title

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
4 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 11-10-24

There are moments where the author weaves his tale effectively. Flashes of talent. Moments where he pivots between characters in meaningful ways. However, there are distinctly long sections where the story becomes meandering, where the author appears to be lost in making meaningful world building while trying to thread that world building into the story. While I'm sure the intent is to create the basis of long-term lore it seems like filler or excessively labored burdening what could otherwise be a crisp written tale. While not the worst of the siege of terra series it certainly isn't the best use of what to the lore are legendary characters.

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40k at its Best

Total
5 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
5 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 10-24-24

This really is 40k at its best. There are few scenes in this tale that seem unnecessary or an encumberance. While some of the "arguing" between characters and the hero speeches seem forced or labored at times, this is a well spun story. The skill of the author is well evidenced by the fact that even minor characters become endearing or individuals we pull for; who's sorrow expressed in a single word becomes our sorrow. We want to see them survive and be victorious. Likewise, the loss of supporting characters and even a giant robot becomes moving. The writing is elevated further by the spectacular performance of Keeble and I consider this proof of the fact that the reader/dramatist also thoroughly enjoyed making this production. This may not be a piece of timeless literature but this book combined with Keeble is a gold standard difficult to exceed - let alone match. Perhaps the greatest drawback of this tale, is that to the 40k universe of novels this high quality makes the poorly written books, of which, unfortunately, there are many, all too apparent.

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A Wasted Opportunity

Total
2 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
5 out of 5 stars
Historia
2 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 10-24-24

Gav Thorpe has achieved a remarkable thing. In a universe of action and war; tragedy and triumph; of human endurance; great and terrible demi-gods and dark gods and ordinary heroes; Mr Thorpe has made 40k utterly dull. Months of siege warfare have past and we begin to move to the end and the death, with millions of combatants, an entire lore of wholesale slaughter and the book turns back to before the ships of Horus even land on terra. For no less than a character that appears to bring little to the story and making this title a slog. It provides the distinct impression of either laziness, filler or since it is Geedubs- a money grab. This says nothing of the poor use of well established characters in explaining the space marine way of war, of the richness that could have been added to the legions. Only the skill and velvet of Mr. Keeble redeem what is otherwise a forgettable book that buries what should be key moments of lore in the collateral casualties of the grimdark future: brevity and focus. A sadly wasted opportunity.

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General History rather than Tactical and Strategic

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
3 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 07-29-24

For a book which sets out to examine the how of the British Army losing it's way over the course of a generation it seems to quickly lose focus and instead covers very well known ground in a general sense. The books also makes a strange panacea of the British Army tactics at the end of the of the great war. The reader has to wonder what tactics did the British settle on in 1940? What was the concept of fighting the new western front. This title will not answer that question at the tactical, grand tactical or strategic level save in the most general of terms. The topic while a fascinating choice leaves the listener in a dissatisfied state having felt as though little new was really imparted save the reorganization of already documented history.

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Undisciplined History

Total
3 out of 5 stars
Ejecución
3 out of 5 stars
Historia
3 out of 5 stars

Revisado: 08-08-23

While this work presents an interesting and readily consumed perspective on the Italian front of WWI, an intellectually unfocused, indisciplined, or indecisive approach leaves the reader with an incomplete or lacking historical work. In examination of the critical question of why the Italians joined the allies or permitted a slide to war, the author is either too timid or unwilling to identify a chief diagnosis. The author broadly describes it as pushed by elites, but at the same time populism buoyed by chanting crowds; a conservative nationalist cause, somehow driven by demagoguery and radicalized socialists; a cynical but idealistic act. The author then falls victim to the lazy classifying all of this as neo conservativism, attempting to use modern sensibilities to describe a watershed change that finally overtook Europe after centuries of monarchy. While national mythos and interests often represent contradictory positions, the author's unwillingness to more than summarize leaves a great sense that the drama of history is hidden behind a chaotic inevitability. It is one of the most disappointing facets of the book. In the same vein, the author seems uncertain with the type of history this text is to be. Is this a social history of the war? A history of the Italian character or identity for a set episode? Or a military history like the anecdote of the forward presents? Ultimately, it does none of these satisfactorily as it meanders between character vignettes, geographical descriptions and general descriptions of battles. The war is more a vehicle to describe social conditions in this work. A state that reveals and penetrates the facades of regional particularisms. As such, it is a social/literary/aesthetic history of Italy and the Alpine region before and during The Great War. A military history of the Italian mountain front during WWI? No. It is sadly lacking and leaves these battles in a general obscurity little different from what existed before.

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