Alex O

The Trivialities of a Pompous Man

Revisado: 07-30-19

Yes, yes, yes...I know Feynman is a genius, one of the great scientists of the 20th century. I do not deny that, but this book is terrible. The best way I'd describe it is like this...you and some buddies are sitting around at a bar having some beers and talking about some of the trivialities of your week. Maybe none of it is really that interesting, but because it's your friends you're totally engaged with the stories. However, imagine the same banal stories, but it being about a different group of guys, and having to listen to it being read by a terrible voice over guy as an audio book. That's basically this book in a nutshell...except it's decades worth of these rather dull anectdotes. Admittedly, if you are seriously interested in Feynman himself, then this might not matter because it will be like listening to the stories of your friends...you're invested in Feynman and as such might genuinely enjoy hearing even the most mundane things he has to say. However, if you're like me and came to this book because it keeps coming up on podcasts like The Tim Ferris Show, and thus care nothing about Feynman himself, then this really will be a tedious listen, full of largely unintersting recollections that the author seems to think are far more interesting and clever than they are. Additionally, Feynman himself becomes somewhat unbearable. Despite the occassional flashes of mild humility, Feynman largely comes across as kind've a jerk - a supremely pompous egotist who often finds great humor in simply being a dick to tother people and in showing off his intelligence, often by making fun of others or finding some other way to belittle or humiliate them. We won't even get into his rather disturbing sexism. To make matters worse, this is one of the worst narrators I've ever heard - when he does fake accents its painful and embarrassing and otherwise he sounds like a somewhat sing-songy and over-animated version of the narrator from A Christmas Story.

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Pretentious, Aimless, Redundant, Narcissism

Revisado: 09-08-15

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Nothing, though a different narrator would have helped a lot.

Would you ever listen to anything by Nassim Nicholas Taleb again?

No.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The writing itself is the epitome of pretentious, self-indulgent, frequently aimless tripe, but the narrator they got for this book made matters worse. If you were going to cast a voice to play the Platonic ideal of the pompous, rich, braggadocio windbag, then this would be your guy. Combine that voice with the excruciating writing and you have a truly awful listening experience.

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

Irritation at the ceaseless repetition of the main idea, usually with little development of the main point, combined with endless and aimless spiels from the author about his own brilliance resulted in boredom and disgust. This the absolute worst audiobook I've ever heard.

Any additional comments?

Underneath the crap, (and most of the book is crap) there is the kernel of an idea that is worth noting. Thankfully all you need to know is in the introduction, and the author does little to develop it, despite running on and on for hundreds upon hundreds of pages.

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Perhaps the most boring thing...ever.

Revisado: 02-09-15

What would have made James Madison and the Making of America better?

A different narrator...and a complete overhaul of the book. How about making it a bio of Madison rather than an extended examination of the Federalist Papers and a minute-by-minute history of the Philadelphia Convention?

What do you think your next listen will be?

I'm not sure...after several great audiobooks, this one was so bad as to actually turn me off the format for the time being.

Would you be willing to try another one of Arthur Morey’s performances?

Absolutely not, this is the driest, most dead-voiced, bland, coma-inducing reader I have ever heard. I honestly fell asleep to this thing at least a half-dozen times.

What character would you cut from James Madison and the Making of America?

I'd like to add a character, namely, James Madison, since I learned virtually nothing about him.

Any additional comments?

I cannot overstate how tedious this book is, and how poorly it works as a bio. The reader is beyond terrible and the content is less a Madison bio than it is a very detailed examination of the Federalist Papers and the Philadelphia Convention.

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