S. J. Young

Astounding Insight. Poor Narration Overcome.

Revisado: 08-15-23

Hart is arguably the finest thinker of our time. Exceptional critique of the New Atheists and culture in general. Without glossing over many “Christian” failures, but offering a historical corrective to sloppy history.

As many others have noted it was a very poor narration. In terms of being far too slow, and with poor pronunciation of certain terms. However, I was able to overcome this by increasing the speed to 1.15. This made all the difference in the world. One might even go to 1.2, but then certain words become slurred.

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Very Well Done

Revisado: 08-05-23

We listened to these 8 stories with our 6 year old grandson. Just really enjoyed them. Great length and simple but interesting.

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Fascinating Story. Voiceover is Unbearable.

Revisado: 08-01-23

There are many excellent women voiceover artists. But this VO artist just gets it completely wrong. She sounds like she is reading a cheesy romance novel. Such would be fine in a romance novel. My wife and I both loved Longenecker’s fictional Lost Letters. And the info in this book is fantastic. But it’s nearly unbearable to listen to. Why do so many biblical scholars and theologians choose such poor VO artists? Knocks the book down.

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Brilliant and Insightful. Yet Abstruse & Tangential

Revisado: 07-13-23

Huge fan of Hart. This book is loaded with insights related to nature and super nature and the end of the longing of all human desire. It serves as a useful follow up, in my view, to The Experience of God. In fact I would say EG falls short without this. Hart’s perspective fits well with the chapter on “Hope” in CSL’s Mere Christianity. His encounter with other theological ideas or persons (Manualism or Kant or Hegel) comes with the expectation that the reader is well acquainted with the very particular issues addressed by those writers. As if everyone is as well acquainted with O’Regan’s critique as they are of, say, the border issues with Mexico. And one often has to wade through material to get to the point as it relates to the book. Well worth it as the central observations are brilliant. Yet … just sayin’

There is a problem with the audible version. It divides the chapters and times incorrectly. Chapter 5 starts in what Audible tells you is the middle of chapter 4. This is a significant error that I’m surprised audible has not corrected.

The voiceover could have more intonation and pauses. Seems at times too rushed. Not in terms of speaking speed. But in terms of getting through sentence after sentence without proper emphasis of key points or junctures. Decent enough and understandable. But with such heady thoughts and vocabulary needed to enhance the pauses.

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Captures The First Century World

Revisado: 05-16-23

I really enjoyed and benefited from this account. Though I am well aware of the honor-shame culture of the first century Roman Empire from various sources, I thought this captured the challenges of Christianity and its counter intuitive message of self-sacrifice, not seeking honor, as well as the crucifixion of Jesus very effectively. I enjoyed the elements of missing letters and missing correspondence, so common to research in ancient documents. It brought alive the first century picture, particularly in Asia, and the cities of Pergamum and Ephesus.

I also appreciated the accent of the narrator. Although speaking in English it helped to capture for me the flavor of what a Mediterranean Greek speaker in the first century may have sounded like.

Just a really enjoyable experience. And a powerful one.

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Deeply Insightful, But …

Revisado: 12-29-22

Most audible books of this sort that has numerous charts and graphs come with an attachment which one can download. This did not which is a bit of a problem audible needs to solve if it is producing such books.

The voice performance was really great. The only negative (which I hate to bring up because it is often the opposite that is problematic) is that it was read too fast. Needs a few more pauses. Probably could add 30 minutes to it and would be ideal.

The book itself is exceptional if short in prescriptive suggestions other than quoting a few at the end who offer suggestions about the present and future. Still, a book of great value and insight.

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Fantastic exposition. Disappointing VO

Revisado: 06-17-22

I hate to critique a voice talent but how the publishers came to choose this voice is beyond rationality. Hart’s work is exceptional. At the least they could have selected someone who understood how he thinks and could have captured his “voice” in this. The speech is sometimes garbled and fast. The book is phenomenal. The delivery fails this masterpiece of thinking and writing. So 3.5 stars.

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Truly Heroic & A Prescient Message for All

Revisado: 07-13-19

Arguably the most riveting and thrilling and tragic spy story written in the past century - yet its true! An incredible book and one of the best Audible books around.

Oleg Gordievsky is an astoundingly heroic figure. So, too, albeit to a lesser degree, those who worked with him over against an evil and oppressive regime that took life (literally and figuratively) with callous and cold hearted calculus. Gordievsky witnessed to this evil and it was against such Gordievsky determined to stand. The crushing oppression of communism and a fascist attitude - a kind of political correctness gone to seed under enforced military and police power - toward any deviation from the state or society is deeply exposed here. It is destructive of the human soul and it is destructive of human life and relationships. When individual demagogues seek power and control, rule with callousness and anger, constantly obfuscating and attacking opposition and when a singular ideology of the state or society that is not rooted in love and service predominates, social relations that do not fall in line with the worship of such gods and idols are destroyed. Gordievsky’s’ tragic choice was a heroic rage against the machine of oppression. At great cost. But his story reveals what happens when ideological power and worship of false gods and goddesses of the state or society become the dominant mores. It destroys lives and families and all of human friendship and relationship. This, of course, is also a deeply and all too easily embedded mentality in realms of religious and social structures. When ideology trumps human freedom and relationships it is destructive and evil. “Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’” said Jesus, drawing on the words of the prophet Hosea. This stands in stark contrast to and a warning against the authoritarianism of the state; of religious beliefs that do not allow questioning or doubts about particular ideas in pursuit of truth - even and especially when that truth becomes an embarrassment to the powers that be (in church or society or state); and against the social shaming of political incorrectness which carries its own ideological power into the 21st century and beyond in a social media dominated age. I give thanks to and for Gordievsky. And pray he will find peace.

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