Dog Lover

Hard to review

Revisado: 03-21-13

This book seemed to work hard to find a reason for existing.

IMO - it missed the entire nature of E B White. The actual part that followed the title about the writing of Charlotte's Web was mildly interesting but my reaction was "It's about time." Frankly, it reads almost like a celebrity profile - mildly interesting but not of much import. The writing style was overly verbose - attempting poetry as a means to hide adding wordcount was my impression. Mr. Sims also seems to love the word "metamorphose." When you start seeing the same word over and over in a book, it makes you wonder if the author had learned a new word that day and was looking for opportunities to use it.

The narrator was irritating. It may have been his copy but he replaced the word "biographical" with "biological" in every instance. His manner was that of an adult reading to children. His over emphasis on each syllable - especially his tendency to crisp every letter "T" he encountered - was wearisome. I won't be listening to any more books narrated by Sullivan.

Difficult to review the work because its purpose remains unclear to me. The title led me to believe that there was some real "story" behind the writing of this book. Not really true. Like most books, it was inspired by the experience of its author. No real "story" there. The book definitely was not a biography of E B White.

Not a "bad" book. Just extremely ordinary. I'll have to read more biographies of E B White to see if he was as ordinary as this book led me to believe.

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Missing Chapters 16-19 of Volume 1 of this work

Revisado: 06-24-12

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Would have been terrific if all the content was included and/or the descriptions of the audio books did NOT imply that this was the whole book. Not only missing volume 2 but volume 1 is incomplete as well (based on audible.com's description compared to the DTB.)

Has Abraham Lincoln turned you off from other books in this genre?

no

What does Sean Pratt bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Almost perfect blend of straight reading vs "performing."

What else would you have wanted to know about Michael Burlingame’s life?

About Burlingame? Nothing. About Lincoln - the (DTB) book covers almost all of it in GREAT detail! The audio versions are complete based on what portions of the DTB are actually included.

Any additional comments?

Primary issue is buying these 6 audio books thinking I was getting all of "Abraham Lincoln: A LIfe" by Burlingame. The descriptions and Critics Section of each of these audio books should be updated to reflect the true relationships with the DTB version.

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Couldn't handle the melodrama or the narrator

Revisado: 03-03-12

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

no - abridgement was choppy and made it difficult to pause restart.

Would you be willing to try another book from Jon Meacham? Why or why not?

I'll give him one more shot but if that style is also melodramatic in presentation, it will be my last attempt with a Meacham book.

Would you be willing to try another one of John H. Mayer’s performances?

Never. His mimicry was embarrassing. He performed. He didn't read.

Was American Lion worth the listening time?

No - I'll reserve my comments on the book itself once I've completed the printed version

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