Crow-Conspirator

Wonderful Me in Romania

Revisado: 06-02-23

This is more about the author's experiences as "The Only Foreign Correspondent in Romania (Ever)" than Romania. When he can resist talking about himself and the amazing number of writers I've never heard of he's read (their very obscurity providing self-admitted delight to the author) Kaplan manages to discuss a philosophy of nationalism. I'm pretty sure there are also several references to Romania and its history dropped as asides, so I suppose that's worth two stars.

Maybe it's because I've run across a couple of these travelogues / autobiographies listed as histories lately, but if I want non-history history, I'll take the entertainment provided by a Gore Vidal or George MacDonald Fraser. Worse, if you're going to make yourself the chief figure in your Romanian history book, don't skip the parts that might actually be interesting. You're filing stories from the American Embassy? Hmm. Was the Securitate not keeping a very close eye on you? Was the DIE uninterested? Did they ever try subvert or compromise you? How did you manage all this? That might have been an interesting story. However, the author seems to feel the nothing could possibly be more interesting than the mere fact that he has been somewhere or read something or had some thought.

What history there is is presented in a disjointed fashion more to support the author's musings as he visits Romania at different times than as straight history. Not only a mess, but a boring one. Quite an achievement given that Romania is one of the most interesting countries in the world.

As for complaints about the reader, I think he did a pretty good job with this dismal material. It's not easy to find a narrator who can perfectly pronounce everything in Romanian, French, German and whatever other languages the author tossed in. Foreign phrases are the hardest challenge for narrators and of you're offended that three, four, or more languages are not narrated native-speaker perfect in a book unnecessarily littered with them, maybe avoid those kinds of audiobooks.

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Vivid, Engrossing Historical Fiction

Revisado: 08-05-22

No one does this sort of thing better than Gore Vidal. In fact, no one else has really done it at all, so inimitable is Gore Vidal when he turns to American history. Figures and controversies of America's founding, both well-known and forgotten, orbit the long-suffering, mesmerizing figure of Aaron Burr. The reader learns that killing Alexander Hamilton in a duel is among the least interesting episodes of Burr's long life. Gore's Burr slinks through the book amiably yet thoroughly settling old scores--Washington, Jefferson, and, yes, Hamilton--by the pen of his impressionable young biographer. Gore Vidal's research is impressive, but this is, after all, Burr's version, and the author is unapologetic for that. Even the most historically savvy reader will learn quite a bit missed in more conventional tellings. Is Burr a completely trustworthy guide through this fascinating period? Perhaps not. But who is? That is the nature of history. By the end, at least the reader feels as though he has lived through--not just read about--times as confused as our own or any time, and been taken into the confidence of one of the great "almost was" figures of early American history. The brilliant performance matches the wryly compelling narrative and lean, yet descriptive prose. This is Audible at its very best.

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How to Put This? George is Boring

Revisado: 07-29-22

An unloving, complaining mother. A lifelong inferiority complex. Both obsessed by money and a spendthrift. Coming to life only on the topic of agricultural trivia but disappointed in his success as a planter. An inspiring but mediocre general. Idolized but aloof.

Without constant reminders of how much he enjoyed the company of the ladies and a whiff of extramarital flirtations to snap me awake, I would have snoozed through most of it.

Chernow writes as a frank admirer, but praises the same few qualities again and again. As biography, it seems competent and well-written. The problem is that the Father of the Country was so cautious and overly sensitive about his reputation he is just not--a couple of spicy books in his library aside--very interesting. What we get is the stiffly posed figure of popular imagination after all. Apparently, that's the whole story.

You can't fault Chernow that Washington isn't manic Teddy Roosevelt or tragic Lincoln. I think 50+ hours of Herbert Hoover would have distracted me through COVID better. There might be more interesting Washington biographies, but I've spent far too long with Chernow's Washington to seek them out.

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Classic of Western Civilization Read Well

Revisado: 05-27-20

St. Augustine (pronounced Au-GUS-tin) possessed a towering intellect and had experienced enthusiasm for Gnostic Manichaeism. He could also write a moving account of stealing pears as a boy. Behind all of this is the figure of St. Monica, who never gave up in her heroic efforts to see her wayward so baptized as a Christian.

The Confessions is a book of searing honesty and great philosophical depth. It is a powerful reminder that we are not necessarily “smarter” for the passage of many centuries. It speaks to us today as powerfully as it did to his contemporaries.

Reader Mark Meadows does a remarkable job, first of all making the sometimes difficult writing clear, and second, subtly conveying St. Augustine’s perplexity, wonder, grief and even rapture with only slight changes in his delivery. Clearly, he’s a pro who knows exactly what he’s doing.

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Good, but Left Out Some Stuff

Revisado: 02-10-19

Of course, it is “Jung: a Very Short Introduction,” so that’s okay.

First, Tim Piggot-Smith does a wonderful job reading: crisp, confident and with that English air of authority we Americans find reassuring. Despite leaving some stuff out, the author did a great job acquainting the reader with the highlights of Jung’s thought and life. I’ve read a decent amount of Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz, but it is nice to be able to zoom out to see much of it in a single glance. Many times I’d say to myself, “Oh, yeah, I remember this one.” I think this would be a good introduction for someone who wanted to dip a toe into the turbulent waters of the Jungian unconscious, too.

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Wonderful Story Beautifully Read

Revisado: 05-17-18

The dancing partnership between Fred and older sister Adele is, naturally, under appreciated today. We can only imagine the stir they created from looking at the old photographs, usually with Adele’s startlingly frank gaze meeting ours while Fred looks adoringly at her.

Their personalities come alive in this audiobook and each is given their share of attention. Adele, especially, comes across as the more fascinating of the two: bold, comic and sparkling, while Fred was more serious, but the better dancer. At times, I felt an ache that I would never see the numbers described, such as The Whichness of the Whatness from Stop Flirtin’.

Their stories are continued past Adele’s retirement to a largely tragic life punctuated by lost children and tried by two alcoholic husbands, while Fred overcame initial doubts as to his future without her to go on to the more famous partnership with Ginger Rogers and his well-known detestation of it. (And their mother was a formidable offstage presence of what was really a trio both professionally and personally.)

The crisp and energetic reading by Barbara Edelman is a performance, with her adopting a distinct voice for every quote, right down to Fred’s first wife’s pronunciation of “r’s” like Spaceball’s imposing cleric who opens his mouth and utters “mawwiage.” This might not appeal to some. Even her normal reading voice is very expressive, with slightly ear-catching idiosyncrasies. The only slight complaint is that the contrast between her normal reading voice at times and the sudden, louder brashness of her other voices did not always make for even volume.

However, I confess I found it extremely charming, and did not at all feel it detracted from the material. I could listen to it again, having just finished it, for the pleasure of Edelman’s voice, which is at turns velvety and slightly quirky even when not quoting. (My wife overheard it and commented that she liked it, too.) It seemed particularly suited to the material.

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Both the “Dark” and “Genius:” Unflinching but Respectful

Revisado: 05-16-18

This is an exhaustive and scholarly study of Hitchcock’s career that includes a psychological portrait of a film genius informed by many sources, but always returning to the recurring themes that became increasingly revelatory and dark in its later years. It lives up to its title, especially with Hitchcock’s famous obsession with a succession of cool blonds that culminated in the disastrous relationship with Tippi Hedren in The Birds and Marnie. However, while unflinching, it never descends to gossip and Soto remains respectful of his subject. Indeed, the “dark side” is balanced by the “genius” and one learns much of Hitchcock’s approach to filmmaking. Actors were usually ignored and occasionally mistreated, and writers were driven to distraction, while the master technician delighted primarily in elaborate scenes and camera work plotted in detail long before shooting began. The reader is top notch: pleasant to listen to with a note of authority who never distracts from the material.

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Short

Revisado: 02-14-18

Interesting from the perspective of the person satisfactions, intellectual and emotional, that Spurgeon found in his “doctrine of grace.” However, readers will not find a well-reasoned defense, and Spurgeon is vague on why he does not consider himself a hyper-Calvinist, whatever that is.

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