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Outstanding!

Revisado: 06-03-23

This may be my favorite Great Course to-date. Each of Professor Gallagher's lectures is tremendously engaging and well organized, sure to inform and satisfy anyone interested in American Civil War history. I also appreciated the lecture sequence, as the order of emphasis throughout the course made sense. I found the final lecture on the history of the Lost Cause narrative particularly insightful, and it served as an excellent "cap" to end the course. I cannot recommend this Great Course highly enough!

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A triumph! Can't wait for the next one!

Revisado: 11-19-22

Of the eight Klavan fiction audiobooks I've listened to so far, this one's my favorite. Intriguing and suspenseful above all--but it has some hilarious moments and profound, moving scenes too. An outstanding work.

Adam Barr's narration is excellent, too. Some parts of the later chapters (e.g. 26, 28, 35 in the audiobook) are among the best I've heard on audio.

Although I read "When Christmas Comes" first when it came out, this has a major origin story component to it, so you could read this one first if you want to start the series.

Can't wait for the next book!

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Outstanding!

Revisado: 08-15-20

Riveting story and fantastic narration. Great structure for audio listening -- chapter lengths were just about right, and Klavan masters the cliffhangers, making you want to come back to listen more. Excellent follow-up to 1st book of the series. Highly recommended!

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Captivating fun! (With one caveat)

Revisado: 12-31-19

One of my favorite audiobooks ever. A supremely clever and enjoyable "alternate history" of the three wise men. Looked forward to picking this up again more than almost any other audiobook I've listened to so far.

My only caveat would be, if you're squeamish, this does get a bit gruesome with some of its descriptions in fight/death scenes. Caught me off guard a bit at first, but I got accustomed to it quickly. (Much like the experience of watching Game of Thrones for me...)

As others noted, I was initially concerned that this book might be too sacrilegious for my tastes, but I didn't find that to be the case at all. On the contrary, I think the book is very respectful of the relevant religious traditions. Moreover, I really liked how each chapter started off with a biblical quote that ended up describing a key theme/event. On the flip side, I did not find the book to be "preachy" in any way--it's a fun alternate history romp, through and through.

It's been a long time since I listened to this author's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, but I look back on that audiobook very fondly and think this one will find a place right alongside it. Great narration and voices by Peter Berkrot. Chapter setup is highly digestible, too, with appropriate lengths (I ended up listening around 1.20x).

If a fun alternate history book sounds like something you'd enjoy, I can't recommend this one highly enough!

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Outstanding story, masterful narration!

Revisado: 12-31-19

One of my favorite audiobook experiences ever. The story speaks for itself, and Tim Curry does an excellent job as narrator. A great treat for Christmas time (or any time)!

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Outstanding

Revisado: 11-14-18

The third and final volume of Shelby Foote's masterpiece is probably his best. The pacing of his narrative and the presentation of key quotes and events is simply phenomenal. Grover Gardner is a perfect narrator for this, too - he has a very clear speaking style with just the right intonations to make this rich, intricate work an enjoyable listen. If you've made it through the first two parts (and if you'd like to learn a lot about the Civil War, you should!), get ready for a fantastic conclusion to this set.

#AmericanCivilWar #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

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Great historical account of Stubby!

Revisado: 11-12-18

I picked this up after seeing the recent animated movie "Sgt. Stubby". Ann Bausum did some solid research for this audiobook. The author is very up-front about what she knows and what she can only assume in trying to fill in the blanks in Stubby's history and travels, which I appreciated. It really goes to show how much historical record-keeping has changed over time! It's a good way to get your feet wet with WWI history, too - well-scoped in reviewing major events while keeping most of its focus on Sgt. Stubby and Conroy.

In short, if a quick read about the WWI and post-war journeys of a soldier and his dog sounds interesting to you, I would definitely recommend this book!

#WorldWarI #UnlikelyHero #tagsgiving #sweepstakes

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Everybody's happy now!

Revisado: 08-06-18

One of my favorite Audible audiobooks to-date. Michael York's narration is outstanding - sardonic, as it should be, and very engaging. And Brave New World itself is a chilling dystopian tale full of clever phrases that will stick with you, including:

- "Everyone belongs to everyone else"
- "One cubic centimeter cures ten gloomy sentiments"
- "Even epsilons are useful!"
- "Ending is better than mending"
- "Community, Identity, Stability"

I particularly enjoyed two chapters toward the end discussing an all-powerful World State's views toward science and religion... just outstanding. A highly, highly recommended listen!

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Great advice, easy listening

Revisado: 02-09-18

Any additional comments?

Excellent book to inform your career approach. The author boils his message down to a few main points and contextualizes them within the careers & stories of people he interviews. To some, overlaps in the stories & the recaps of his rules may seem redundant, but I found them helpful to stay focused on the key points. Solid narration, too - a great, easy listen.

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Incredible story, impeccably narrated!

Revisado: 09-19-17

What made the experience of listening to Tai-Pan the most enjoyable?

The story is remarkably rich, immersing the reader in fascinating dynamics of the 19th century - the lives of sailors and entrepreneurs, international relations, cultural differences of the East vs. the West, to name a few. On top of that, the intertwining stories of the main characters and their families become more and more engaging as the novel progresses.

I'd be remiss if I didn't acknowledge the AMAZING narrator, Gildart Jackson. He masters a wide range of voices to distinguish among the characters in this story, and captures the gravity of all the critical scenes through outstanding pacing and intonation. Bravo!

What other book might you compare Tai-Pan to and why?

This is the second book I've read in Clavell's "Asian Saga" - I read Shogun about 5 years ago (in print). The two books, not surprisingly, have similar styles. If you enjoy Shogun (and you ought to!), I fully expect you would enjoy Tai-Pan.

I'd also mention Steinbeck's East of Eden here. Very distinct backdrops, of course, but both are epic novels that, along with their exciting story lines, touch on some big themes (the importance of family, honor, country, etc.).

Which character – as performed by Gildart Jackson – was your favorite?

Can't decide easily, they're all great! I guess I would have to say the main character, Dirk Struan. (Other reviewers' emphasize "BY GAWD!" and other key phrases for a reason!) Jackson's May-May is highly entertaining, and I think he captures the evolution of Culum Struan extremely well, too.

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