Jason Cherniak

Speaker hard to listen to

Revisado: 06-22-17

Where does Human Prehistory and the First Civilizations rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This course was interesting, but it was difficult to listen to the speaker without laughing. His accent kept reminding me of Biggus Dickus from the Life of Brian.

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Biased but worthwhile

Revisado: 02-21-17

This is a good way to understand the Arab view of the last 200 odd years. It's extremely biased, though, once it gets past WWII. I'd say it goes from being a history of the Arabs to the Arab take on Israel with all the usual half-truths.

As just one example, in dealing with the peace negotiations of 2000 and 2001 the author says Israel offered more than ever before, but it wasn't enough. The author doesn't give an actual percentage or an explanation of why it wasn't enough. It is more a statement of opinion than an historical analysis or explanation. Throughout, he states it as a fact that Arafat wanted a two state solution without considering the alternative view that might explain Arafat's decision to not make peace in 2001.

That said, even going back to 1967 and particularly 1973 there are some interesting tidbits that I never knew before and do provide a different, useful perspective. I recommend this, but you have to be prepared to either get annoyed if you disagree or be aware of the bias if you don't already have an understanding of the history.

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esto le resultó útil a 10 personas

Great second half

Revisado: 01-28-17

I was just appointed in this books treatment of most of Africa's history. Some of the information - almost everything before Euoreap conquest - is summarized to such an extreme that it is almost not worth listening to. However, the discussions about south Africa and some of the modern countries after independence is worth listening to. Or older history

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Good medieval history

Revisado: 01-28-17

I've had trouble finding a book about African history before European conquest. This one is exactly what I am looking for and the only negative is that it is 30 years old. I assume that a newer book would have more current information.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Incredibly wide-ranging

Revisado: 12-25-16

I had a lot of trouble finding a good audio book on Africa, but this is incredible. It spans the entire continent and gives a broad history since European colonization. The only thing missing is a conclusion that ties all the threads together and reminds you of who is where at present.

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esto le resultó útil a 6 personas

Very interesting

Revisado: 10-26-16

Any additional comments?

I found this very interesting. I suspect that much of the science is more questionable than the author lets on, but it was certainly worth listening to his views.

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Very engaging

Revisado: 10-26-16

Any additional comments?

I really enjoyed this book. I do not know a lot about Hinduism, but the story was quite engaging and interesting. Unlike other religious texts, it was written well and worth listening to as a story.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Incredible

Revisado: 10-26-16

What made the experience of listening to Lost Worlds of South America the most enjoyable?

I had trouble finding a history of South America, but this one is perfect. Professor Barnhart includes personal stories of his expeditions and some controversial opinions, which he identifies as such and also gives the opposing argument. I find it quite engaging.

Have you listened to any of Professor Edwin Barnhart’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, and he is my favourite lecturer after listing to about 20 different history lectures. I also recommend his lectures on Mesoamerica. The only difference here is that there was more information available for Mesoamerica.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Outstanding

Revisado: 10-18-16

I've listened to many books and lectures on ancient to medieval history around he globe and this is - surprisingly - the best yet. It's a little tough to follow the different Aztec cities at first, but overall it's an in depth and interesting account of what seems to be a fast evolving field of history. It immediately led me to want to learn more about ancient and modern Latin America, but there is a disappointing dearth of options on audible.

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Ok

Revisado: 10-18-16

This was fine as an introduction, but there was very little discussion of differing theories or interesting stories.

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