Joseph

Waste of a Credit ... if it wasn't a "Plus" Title.

Revisado: 10-27-21

I have over 350 titles in my library, over 75 of which are in depth biographies. This includes 32 presidents (all I could find), and couple of handfuls of generals. I like to read about the winners AND the losers, as it often a fine line that divides them.

By a third into this book, something felt different. I'm used to an author having a bias in favor of his/her subject, and I take that with a grain of salt. I'm also a lawyer, however, and am used to there being "two sides to the story." There is good evidence to support my client, and there are "bad facts." I can't just dismiss them out of hand.

My concern is that this book's credibility is hurt by its lack of objectivity and balance. There were few (if any), "this was a character flaw," or "this criticism of Forrest was true," or "Forrest was simply wrong here. Rather problematic negatives get mentioned then promptly dismissed out of hand.

This approach is at odds with the vast majority of biographies (and other historical books, principally war and commerce related) I've consumed over the years, This approach was so pervasive, I began to wonder/worry if I was missing something obvious,

Troubled by the what FELT like a lack of balance/objectivity, I found images of the hard copy. The end notes were similarly lacking in specificity and/or quotes from original sources. Again, this is at odds with the vast majority of biographies I've listened to over the past dozen years.

The reality historical characters have one (or more) fatal flaws. There are philanderers (including presidents Cleveland, Harding and Clinton, among others off the top of my head. There are manipulative politicians (FDR and Nixon, perhaps the gold standard on either side of the aisle.)

Very few are 100% virtuous. This book felt like an apology for Forrest, who by most accounts was a fabulous leader in the field, and who (by the standard of the time) was relatively well regarded by friend and foe. That written, he also has several demerits on his record, and this book glosses over them in an attempt to deify man who, at best, was a complex and controversial character in his own time.

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Light weight and conclusion based.

Revisado: 10-27-20

Interesting concept, and many of the people profiles were high achieving Americans. Liked that this was not just set list of “politically correct” figures.

Unlike most histories I read (a lot, including at least one comprehensive bio on every POTUS), however, this book offers little criticism of the majority of those profiled. The book (and series), as such, suffers from a lack of objectivity, which is unhelpful in a biography.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Classic is perhaps more enjoyable via audio than in print

Revisado: 07-30-18

Twain’s straight faced droll sense of amusement/whimsy comes across wonderfully with Gardner’s narration. Amazing this travelogue turns 150 next year!

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Felt like narrator reading a phone book . . .

Revisado: 07-07-18

I’ve LISTENED to biographies of several presidents (Jefferson, Jackson, Polk, Buchanan, Lincoln, Garfield, TR, Truman & Eisenhower to name a few that come to mind immediately.) This is, without a doubt, the driest.

I suspect it is the WAY the book is written as opposed to the narrator. In either event, it falls to the back of the line.

Truman was, by many accounts, a very funny man. With the exception of Truman’s life after the White House, which was moderately less turgid prose, this was a painful listen.

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Will give to my 19 and 21 year ikds

Revisado: 02-14-18

Together with "Adulting."

They are Eagle Scouts. They know it all. Maybe one of them will actually read one/both before age 25!

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The Least of the Lesser Presidents

Revisado: 11-13-17

I've read that it is folly to rate an "ex-president" until about 20 years since the end of (to this point) his administration. As one who has been voting for president for 30+ years, I think this is sound advice.

Buchanan was certainly an ambitious man. His time in Polk's cabinet, among other actions, demonstrated he seemed to follow a pattern of putting his own interests ahead of the team's. He was not afraid of a little gamesmanship or double dealing to permit his own star to rise. This may be, in part, how (and why) he ran - and won- in 1856.

His tenure preceded the Civil War. The manner in which he ran the government indicated he was going to do nothing to stop it. No matter what partisans may say about POTUS 44 or 45, Buchanan's place at the bottom of the rankings seems secure. Whether either joins him in the bottom quartile . . . I'll leave for historians in 2040 to decide.

Audible 20 Review Sweepstakes Entry

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esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

Interesting, but a little dry.

Revisado: 09-12-17

Polk accomplished a lot in four years. He was a workaholic, and seemed a bit short on charisma. Declining to run for reelection was interesting. It's a shame he died so soon after the end of his term. He literally gave his life for the job.

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Interesting anecdotes, self effacing tone

Revisado: 06-10-17

The author clearly enjoyed her job, which had pretty remarkable access and authority for her age. She tells the story with a nice balance of "inside baseball" anecdotes, takkng her job seriously, but not herself.

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High energy. Self effacing. Hilarious.

Revisado: 03-05-17

One of the funniest autobiographies I've listened to in a long time. That the author narrates it probably makes it that much funnier. Anna Kendrick does not seem to have lost her blue-collar roots.

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Utter Pabulum, a Superficial Waste of Time

Revisado: 01-30-16

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Any person with more than a modicum of depth/intelligence is likely to be quickly offended by the utter lack of substance in this self help book. I cannot envision anyone - at least anyone without an interest in promoting this author and/or sales of this book - would genuinely point out to tangible ways this book offers anything of merit or value.

Has Improve Your Conversations: Think on Your Feet, Witty Banter, and Always Know What to Say with Improv Comedy Techniques turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, but it has certainly turned me off from any other books from this author.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Jeremy Reloj?

N/A

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Anger at how lacking in substance this book was. It was the first book I declined to finish. It reads like an untalented 10th grader's term paper, repeating the same broad points over and over with no (meaningful, anyway) tangible examples of what supports the thesis.For example, the chapter (4) on "Use specific statements not open ended questions."Here's a sample: "We ask questions all the time because they come easily to us. We often navigate the world based on questions, and wondering about what we see, hear and know." Really. Thanks. What next?" BUT, if you're trying to get a great conversation going, questions can lead to minefields. Remember that great conversations involve a frictionless back and forth." Are. You. Kidding. Me?

Any additional comments?

An Audible member for about five years, I've got over 200 titles to my credit. Probably 30% in the "self improvement" milieu. While maybe 1 title in 20 is a disappointment, this is the WORST book I've ever downloaded, and will be only the second on which I request a return/refund.

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esto le resultó útil a 8 personas