kimberly n. abrams

Wow!

Revisado: 06-25-22

What a gorgeously written book. An ode to Cuba, I learned so much, not only about Cuba, but the US. The performer is excellent and reads with much empathy and understanding. This may be one of the 5 best books Ive ever read - and I’ve read thousands. I can’t say enough about it. I wish it could have gone on forever.

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Fascinating

Revisado: 06-06-21

Shot down several “truths” I grew up with. I thoroughly enjoyed the premise, performer and scientific information.

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Fun!

Revisado: 10-27-20

Good entertainment. I especially liked the performers droll upper class accent that exuded at times a certain weariness over some of the royal antics. Recommend.

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Fun!

Revisado: 09-29-20

I grew up in the south (though not southern born) and am just a couple of years older than the author, this book stirred vivid memories. I smiled a lot and laughed even more. He made me want to meet his mother. Rick is a great performer and his slow southern drawl is priceless. I loved it!

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Comprehensive overview of a difficult subject

Revisado: 06-13-20

As I listened to this book I realized that so many peoples, cultures, languages, religions, etc. cannot really be contained in one book. The author does an admirable job of trying to do just that, but the subject is just too big in geographical area and timelines, as well as areas cited above, to cover in one book, even if it is 40+ hours long.

That being said, I did learn quite a bit about both well known historical instances and very obscure, but relevant, instances. One of the interesting aspects are the authors little tidbits of trivia that sometimes have some connection to the subject being addressed, but more often not, and many times are anachronistic to the time period being covered. I came to imagine them as little boxes of trivia set in the margins of the text, sort of like a “Europe for Dummies” format. Anyway, I like trivia so it was fun.

My biggest gripe about the book however is the authors liberal use of quotations, poems, titles, etc in the native language of the speaker or author. Sometimes he’d bother to translate the passage, but more often not. So be prepared for a lot of French, Polish, Russian, et al, citations for which, unless you speak that particular language, you will have no clue as to what is being said. I couldn’t decide whether the author was being arrogant and flaunting his knowledge of languages, or he was being extremely correct by not translating them directly into English so as not to lose anything in that translation. Whatever, it was a little infuriating. On the good side, the performer spoke all the languages with what sounded like a flawless accent (I say this because I have no idea how Russian, or Polish, or Lithuanian should sound, but I was convinced he was correct!). Very impressive.

I’d recommend listening to this audiobook if you love history in general, or are looking for an overview with occasional deeper digging into key events of European history.

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Nutty!

Revisado: 06-02-20

Euan Morton is a master of dialects and accents. His performance totally suits Christopher Moore’s flight of fancy writing. I was very entertained and will seek more of Moore’s books and Morton’s performances.

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A Nice Leisurely Read

Revisado: 04-20-20

I’m a big fan of Fraser’s Flashman series so I was eager to listen to this. It is nothing like Flashman in that it is more leisurely and introspective. That being said, I did enjoy it a lot. It’s chock full of Edwardian social mores and dress, but more importantly, history. Mr American captures the period better than many history books, and tells it entertainingly. The performer is good with all the accents and character voices, but he tends to take pauses in the middle of a sentence a bit too often, which can be distracting, causing you to pause for an instant yourself, trying to figure out if you just heard 2 sentences or 1. But despite that minor irritation, he did a good job. The big bonus is that Flashman shows up quite a few times in the story and he is a delight. Enjoy!

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Terrible performance

Revisado: 04-05-20

The performers chirpy style and his weird inflections, not to mention pausing in mid-sentence makes what could be an interesting story almost unbearable to listen too. I was excited to find a book about Fred Harvey only to have it spoiled by a guy who should be reading either children’s books or hosting a children’s cartoon show. Why he was chosen to read this book I’ll never know.

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They don’t come like him anymore

Revisado: 02-24-20

My father, being a Marine veteran of World War II, had nothing good to say about MacArthur. I found out later that most Marines who served in that war shared his views. Based on his opinion alone, I disliked MacArthur, though I didn’t know why exactly.

While there are a couple of incidents in the book that reflect why the Marines couldn’t stand him, one being his refusal to award the 6th Marines a unit decoration while awarding one to the Army for the same action for the reason that the Marines already had enough decorations, I don’t understand the animosity. According to Manchester, he didn’t have much to do with the Marines except for one or two combined operations in the SW Pacific and at Inchon in the Korean War. I was intrigued to learn that he was very careful of his men’s lives and that it was Nimitz that was less so of the Marine lives, frequently ordering frontal assaults with inadequate softening bombardments, not to mention poorly supplying them for the task at hand. It was a great source of frustration to the Marines, when sharing space with GIs that the latter was so profusely supplied with eguipment, gear, food and luxuries when they themselves were near starvation and in rags.

All that aside, I have gained a huge appreciation of MacArthur. I agree with Manchester’s assertion that truly great men have great egos to match. But I really got the sense that he not only loved his job, but that he loved and deeply cared for HIS people, whether GI’s, Philippinos, the Japanese, the Corps at West Point.

This book convinced me he was a GOOD man, an excellent general and an exemplary leader. Seriously flawed, yes, but worthy of the adulation he craved. Well done.

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Very interesting!!

Revisado: 02-19-20

I have heard of the British SAS but was astounded by its origin story and the many brave characters who served in it during WWII. The author, who is also the performer, did a wonderful job and was very entertaining when recounting funny incidents in a droll manner.

Well done!

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