Cheimon

Barely any science, bogged down by logistics

Revisado: 01-02-16

Despite the lukewarm reviews, I couldn't resist this book, and if you skip the first ~five and a half hours, the rest is mostly worthwhile.

But the scientific conclusions are better suited to an article than a book, and instead of using the remaining space for background on neuroscience and animal cognition, Dr. Berns overburdens the book with logistical details, tangents and bureaucratic stories that are frankly not very interesting. Even the parts of the book dealing with the dog training are not terribly compelling - I am sure video of the sessions would be delightful, but the writing does not measure up.

My impression was that Dr. Berns, a scientist more than an author, was given a firm page target to hit and - perhaps lacking the time to do additional, deeper research - fills it with a vast amount of irrelevant detail that distracts and has no bearing on the story. In addition, I was struck by how unintuitive he seemed to be around his own dogs, given how much pride he takes in calling himself a "dog person". This detracted from his credibility.

Overall, while I am very excited about the science, this book was a disappointment. There are articles available that sum up the results more concisely, and other books on dog cognition are a much better investment of listening time.

PS on skipping ahead: Even in the last two hours, an entire chapter is devoted to a dog who did not participate in the MRI experiments falling sick and dying. While obviously very sad, this story still feels out of place, like a "this also happened that year so I will put it in the book". No connection is made to the central questions, even though it would have served as a great basis to talk about grief in humans and dogs from a neurological perspective.

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Disappointing - rambling from tangent to tangent

Revisado: 11-11-15

Yes, there are tales of madness, love and history in here, but they are barely connected at all, neither by time, nor really always by chemistry. The author jumps around, keeps getting distracted by shiny tangents that have very little to do with the thrust of his stories. The book contained some entertaining tidbits, but left me very unsatisfied overall.

In addition, I noticed a few sloppy errors on dates and names - made me wonder if there was equally sloppy research in areas where I wouldn't have noticed.

The narration was alright, but this really, really, really is not a book that calls on the narrator to do voices. A Stalin quote can just be read, it does not need a fake Russian accent.

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BRING BACK THE MOVIE REVIEWS!!!!!

Revisado: 04-07-15

They are essential listening!! And only ten minutes! You can fit them in! Please bring them back!!!!

Also, please bring back the overview in the beginning - it gives a better sense of what the stories are about and it's helpful to have a sense if I'll be interested in the whole issue or just a part of it from the outset.

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A must-listen despite fake-accented narrator

Revisado: 03-29-15

Bad narration is a small price to pay for an unbelievable, profoundly inspiring story that will probably stay with you long, long after the narrator's voice has faded.

But seriously, Hachette, are there no Texan narrators? Or Southerners who sound at least vaguely Texan? Or really any narrator who can do a Texan accent that will not sound like he's constantly making fun of his war hero subject? Apparently Mr. Collins is from New Jersey. If there's ever a second audio edition, I nominate MacLeod Andrews.

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Oddly... dull. Not a good 'Intro to Vegas'

Revisado: 03-29-15

To my surprise, this turned out to be a fairly boring book. Schwartz does little with all the literary fodder Las Vegas of the 60's and 70's provides and largely stays on the surface of his characters, their relationships and all the political tugs and pulls. While he certainly does a fine job recounting the life of Jay Sarno, it's all just information, and often too much of it. Where are the major themes, the connections, the grand whole that modern biographies paint so magnificently?

This may very well be valuable reading if you are a Vegas expert already and Sarno is a missing piece of the puzzle for you. But if you, like me, know very little about the town, this is too specific and narrow a book to open it up much.

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Fairly flat and superficial - expected more

Revisado: 01-11-15

The book is set up as a long series of Frequently Asked Questions - sadly, the answers don't extend beyond the typical FAQ format either. It is a very basic bird's eye view of some of the history, religious tenets and practices in Islam.

Given Professor Esposito's resume, I was hoping for a deeper and more coherent religious and sociological perspective. Instead, he remains at the very surface of belief and history.

In addition, he weaves in a steady undercurrent of perhaps necessary, but just very tired-sounding affirmations of the peacefulness of Islam and of the overwhelming majority of those who practice it. That's all well and good, and probably can't be said often enough (even within a single book), but that can't be ALL everyone needs to know about Islam? I, for one, would like to know more.


(Perhaps this is just not meant to be an audiobook... the questions do not build on each other very much, so a lot of information is repeated in various spots. Maybe a good book to have on the shelf for the odd Islam question that might come up, not a very satisfying listen though.)

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All-in, transformative performance

Revisado: 11-23-14

Jim Norton takes this classic to a new level. It's a pleasure, likely even a welcome aid in understanding to first-time readers and an exquisite, enriching new experience to those who are well familiar with the text. Think of this audiobook as performance rather than mere narration - much like reading Hamlet will not keep you from enjoying it on stage, prior study of Ulysses does not make this audiobook any less worthwhile (quite the opposite).

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Important first-hand report from the past

Revisado: 11-21-14

At its most basic, The Feminine Mystique read today is a reminder of how fundamentally our society has changed in two short generations, how many perspectives, mindsets and ambitions we take for granted today that might have been deemed actually harmful or even dangerous only sixty years ago. (Of course, it is equally stunning how many of the questions Friedan poses remain open today, though that is more general knowledge.)

Sadly, the narration is not up to par. I wish they had chosen a professional narrator instead of a celebrity. Ms. Posey's voice lacks inflection and is often too casual. A few odd direction/editing choices don't help either.

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Narration by author - its own work of art

Revisado: 10-07-14

No matter how often you have read the book, watched the movie, seen the musical - your "The Color Purple" experience and appreciation cannot be complete until you have listened to Alice Walker narrate her own work. The skill with which she captures her characters and their times and the subtlety with which she conveys the changes that define them, make this performance a work of art in its own right. The novel got under my skin all over again.

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Very dry for those with mere casual interest

Revisado: 06-20-14

For linguists, I am sure this is well worth the five hours - for me, it was tough to get through. McWhorter digs deep into a large variety of old European languages and nuances of vocabulary and grammar that go well beyond what I was looking for.

The narration by the author is a huge bonus though because pronunciation of so many very foreign or old words is crucial, I doubt another narrator could have performed this nearly as well. His occasional laughs at his own jokes are unnecessary, but forgivable.

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