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Absolutely charming

Revisado: 12-22-24

I ended listening to this entire short novel in one sitting. It beautifully evokes a lost world of mid-19th Century rural England. The engaging plot and well-drawn characters recall in many ways the novels of Jane Austen. However, Hardy manages to subvert earlier 19th century British novels’ fixation on “marrying well” (including those of Austen) in a way with which most modern readers can more easily sympathize. While not as famous as many of his more tragic “Wessex” novels (of which this was his first), it is an absolute delight to read.

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Profoundly moving portrait of the dawn of civilization

Revisado: 07-15-24

This book offers a profoundly moving and humane in-depth look into the dawn of human civilization in Mesopotamia. Although Amanda Podany’s course on Mesopotamian culture has long been one of my favorite offerings from the Great Courses, this book is in many ways even more impressive since it allows her to provide fascinating portraits of women and men from all walks of life, rather than just focusing on the rulers and elite classes that tend to be the focus of most books about the period. The book covers thousands of years from before the dawn of writing with the invention of cuneiform to around the time of cuneiform’s gradual disappearance just before the start of the Common Era. This epic scope might seem daunting for most of us, except for the fact that the author’s warm, compassionate, and humane outlook does an exceptional job in helping us understand that the lives, hopes, dreams, and interpersonal relationships of these ancient peoples living thousands of years ago are not so very different from our own today.

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Powerful story marred by awkward narration

Revisado: 06-01-24

This is a powerful story of the destructive impact of colonialism and racism in the British Raj that is almost ruined by the extremely over-exaggerated Indian accents that frequently verge on offensive caricature. It is very uncomfortable to listen to. Moreover the depictions of the voices of the British women are also somewhat jarring. I would instead read the version narrated by Vikas Adam who at the very least doesn’t offer quite as cartoonish depiction of the Indian characters’ accents.

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A comprehensive, balanced, and thought-provoking history of a complex global region

Revisado: 04-25-24

Overall a very thorough, engaging and informative window into the how the British first became involved in the Indian subcontinent - and how those very same forces not only shaped the nature of British colonial rule, but continue to shape the modern politics and history of independent India and Pakistan. This course offered an incredibly clear-headed and well-reasoned explanation as to how colonial policies exacerbated economic inequality and religious divisions, and how it served to widen poverty by undermining local industries that were unprepared for unbalanced trade policies advantaging newly industrializing British factories. The legacies of these policies offer valuable insights into both the emergence of modern global capitalism and the emergence of modern religious fundamentalism. Definitely worthwhile to anyone interested in better understanding a region that has played an outsized role in our modern globalized world.

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A classic of world literature by the first Asian Nobel laureate

Revisado: 12-28-23

This is an extraordinary novel that has been faithfully translated from the original Bengali text. It’s easy to see why the novel’s author, Rabindranath Tagore, became the first non-European to win the Nobel prize for literature in 1913. While the story is set in 1880s Kolkata, the novel is universal and timeless in its appeal and ambitious scope. The book was decades ahead of its time in its progressive approach to topics such as colonialism, religious tolerance and fundamentalism, and women’s rights. Through the beautiful rendered relationships that propel its engaging multilayered plot, the novel also delves into deeply personal themes such as the power of love to create new families and communities and to transcend the divisions of ethnic, religious, and social distinctions. The novel’s powerful vision of the humanity’s potential to work towards a more just, humane, and loving world is a message that is more relevant today than ever.

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Great message

Revisado: 08-13-23

Wonderful to find a Unitarian Universalist audio book like this. A wonderful discovery for me and my family!

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Increíble

Revisado: 06-29-23

Me encantó la crónica. Muy bien escrito y bien producido. Muy recomendado para toda la gente interesada en la cultura y historia de Mexico.

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Brilliant and wonderfully narrated

Revisado: 04-27-23

I can’t imagine a better narrator than the author himself. This book is a treasure trove of tiny joyful surprises from the beginning to the end.

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Remarkable memoir by an extraordinary individual

Revisado: 01-15-23

This is a fantastic book and an excellent audible performance. Queen Liliuokalani was an incredibly powerful writer as well as a truly remarkable person in her own right. Definitely a must read by anyone interested in Hawaiian history and culture.

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Powerful, beautifully written, and incredibly relevant for today

Revisado: 10-23-22

I have never read a book that so brilliantly connects previous mass extinction events throughout our planet’s history with the major environmental challenges the earth is facing today. While that alone would make this an incredibly topical book that everyone should read, its incredibly evocative depictions of bygone worlds is truly a pleasure to read in its own right. While not mincing any words on the tremendous challenges that the world currently faces, the comparison to previous epochs provides a powerful anecdote to the despair and fatalism that many have embraced in response to present climate change and mass extinction crises - unlike every other mass extinction event in the planet’s history, this is the first where the driver of mass extinction (us) has the capacity to recognize and change its actions in time to prevent the even more catastrophic events to come if we don’t change our relationship with the planet. This is a must-read book for anyone interested in past who also cares about our present and the potential futures yet to come.

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