Larry J. Seltzer

entertaining but a bit overwrought

Revisado: 05-11-23

I really did enjoy the story, and I hadn't specifically heard of nut heists, but the author's persistent incredulity is hard to take seriously. Obviously, some people will steal anything they can make a buck on. And then he goes on simultaneously to blame modem capitalism for causing these crimes and to point out that such food crimes have always been with us, going back to the early days of the Mafia.

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8+hours of laughs

Revisado: 05-20-20

Creative, funny story. First-rate performance. Anything else the author writes in buying. New York-centric, but in a good way.

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Fun, touching, I want more!

Revisado: 08-19-19

Wally is a ridiculous character, but it's impossible not to like him and root for him and feel bad when things go wrong for him. The science is even more ridiculous, but in a Dr. Who way that's funny. Behind it all is an exploration of real human feelings.

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Humanity has never been nor had it so good

Revisado: 10-16-18

Pinker's basic point - that violence has greatly decreased since the enlightenment and in particular since WWII - is indisputable. He also argues that the glorification of violence is widely and increasingly disapproved of, and that cruelty we once thought part of life - towards civilians in war, animals, children - is no longer acceptable.
There are times when I think he goes too far with his arguments and becomes speculative, although he usually acknowledges doing so, which makes the argument honest. I have no doubt that Pinker seeks intellectual honesty at all times. At other times he doesn't extend his argument where I think it should have led. For instance, the impact of welfare state benefits and the decline of the family.
Some are disturbed by his attitude towards religion. He points out the undeniable fact that religion has often, perhaps largely, been a force for violence and hegemony throughout history, and a framework for casting ignorance, cruelty and discrimination as moral forces. He doesn't really ask if religion is salvageable in a modern world, and I suppose he doesn't care. It's not hard to see why he calls himself a proud atheist.
Overall and overwhelmingly, this is an engaging and compelling book, well-performed.

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Exciting story, great reading.

Revisado: 09-17-18

I read the book back in the 80's and it's as good as I remember. The movie is also good, but much simpler and comes across as less credible. There's a lot of description of military technology in this book (circa mid-80's) that some will find dry, but I couldn't get enough of it.

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The ultimate recorded book

Revisado: 06-07-17

if ever there were a book better listened to than read, it is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Katherine Kellgren's voice is perfect for the narration, conveying clearly the heart of the flower of upper-class, regency English twit-dom.
The story doesn't merely insert zombie narrative into Austen's work, but parodies the already ludicrous personalities in the original novel and introduces a hysterical and incongruous culture of Eastern martial arts among the gentry, ladies included. By all means listen to, rather than read this novel, but be aware that strangers will look at you funny when you burst into laughter without any apparent prompt.

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A critical story, well-told

Revisado: 10-07-16

I've wanted to read more on the subject for years. In spite of the era being well covered, I've not before seen a focus on the first congress, which operated with no precedent on which to lean. I personal learned a lot. The writing is very good and the spoken version well done.

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Well-written, well-read and I learned a great deal

Revisado: 08-21-16

If you could sum up The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution and the Fate of the Empire in three words, what would they be?

For all you know about the American revolution, you probably don't know much about it from the British point of view. Barbara Tuchman addressed it in The March of Folly, but not in this level of detail. It's a long time since I read a book from which I learned so much about a subject I thought I knew well.

What about Gildart Jackson’s performance did you like?

Excellent performance. Dignified tone of voice. And it's silly, but he gets credibility points for having a British accent.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"The most powerful empire in the world just wasn't up to the task"
or "England's Vietnam"

Any additional comments?

I think the conclusion lets George III off a bit easy. The impression I get from the book overall is that, at the onset, the notion that suppressing the rebellion would be easy was widespread. Before too long, many realized the significant problems with the war. Only few refused to face the truth, but one of them was King George. If he had seen sense earlier it would have been much better for the empire. I don't recall the author singling out George in the conclusion.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

2 stars may be kind. Clumsy dialog, tech is nonsen

Revisado: 08-21-16

Would you try another book from David Lagercrantz and/or Simon Vance?

No

What do you think your next listen will be?

Back to non-fiction

What three words best describe Simon Vance’s performance?

Fine.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

There was enough there to keep me in till the end. I liked the characters enough from Laarson's books to do that.

Any additional comments?

Thank you all for warning me off any more in this series.

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Very repetitive

Revisado: 08-03-16

There's lots of great history here. I wish she hadn't told the same stories and recounted the same facts 5 or 6 times. It would have been much better and lost nothing in half the lectures.

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