G. Spence

Entertaining and accurate

Revisado: 08-01-18

The thing I love about Franklin Horton is how accurate even the smallest detail is in his books. Every description of equipment is perfect.

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Finally, a good book!

Revisado: 08-04-17

I loved this book because it's a first hand account of a Long Range Patrol soldier in Vietnam. It isn't some liberal writer's third hand account. It isn't a dry overarching history of the Vietnam War. It is the very interesting story of a very interesting job.

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Great book. Poor choice of narrator

Revisado: 01-19-17

This is a scientifically rigorous book that thoroughly and carefully lays out the author's hypothesis about how anatomically modern humans replaced Neanderthals in Europe. Whether or not I agree with the author, it's refreshing to see true scientific thinking and writing. People should read it just to see what real science is like. The subject is fascinating.

The narrator, however, is scientifically illiterate. It's funny to hear her mispronouncing any word that's at all sciency. "Die Adam" for diatom is one example. The author's wild inflections are incongruous with the reasoned steady tone of the author's text. Somewhat distracting, but not enough that I wouldn't recommend the book.

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Author knows so little about so much

Revisado: 06-10-16

What disappointed you about The Walking Dead: Rise of The Governor?

Intolerable erroneous facts

What was most disappointing about Robert Kirkman and Jay Bonansinga ’s story?

Boring and slow pace. Horrible dialog.

How could the performance have been better?

Phony southern accents.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

No, it honestly didn't.

Any additional comments?

Like everyone else, I love The Walking Dead comic and TV show. I got the audiobook version of this book, hoping to turn my commute into a pleasant Walking Dead experience. The book was so awful I couldn’t get through it. It is better just to stare silently at the bumper of the car in front of me than tolerate this tripe. I don’t know anything about the author, but it’s hard to believe that any adult could know so little about so much, and it made the book infuriating. He knows nothing about guns. Nothing about cars. Nothing about the south. Nothing about the militaryHe goes on and on about these subjects, sharing one erroneous “fact” after another. . Since I lived in Georgia for four months while I went through the US Army Infantry officer basic course, and I’ve owned a car or two, you might understand why I found this so intolerable. Does anyone know anything about the author? I imagine him to be some twenty-something person who has never traveled outside New York City. The supposedly southern dialog is the first giveaway. Here are some highlights of the things that make this intolerable.
Firearms. A Ruger .22 pistol is neither powerful nor loud nor does it have noticeable recoil. A .38 revolver is not a small caliber. A Glock doesn’t have a safety. A duck hunting shotgun isn’t going to kill zombies 100 yards away. Maybe one with a rifled barrel or rifled slugs would. I bet the author shot a Ruger .22 pistol at an indoor range the only time in his pathetic life he ever fired a gun, and thought it was loud and powerful, so he equipped the Governor with this amazing weapon. On the TV show, the Governor was often seen with a Steyr AUG, which fires the same cartridge as the M16 series or rifles, which is indeed powerful.
Dialog. Nobody in the south talks like the characters in this book. What a bunch of offensive stereotypes. And I’m from Maryland.
The narrative is equally annoying. The author drones on endlessly about the gore of various zombie killings. It’s just boring.
Military. Skip to the last chapter. A major in the Army or Army National Guard is a college graduate. Majors are polished and well-spoken and politically correct. They understand that under the Constitution they serve and protect the American people. They do not speak to people like this guy. They don’t act like this guy. The author must never have met anyone in the military. At another point the author says the Governor moves stealthily like a “Delta Force Marine”.
Another reviewer wisely pointed out the editors of the book are as much to blame as the author. How lazy not even to perform an internet search on any of these topics.
Spare yourself the misery and give this book a pass.

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Should be called "Beltway Dollars"

Revisado: 07-14-15

This book is more about Washington politics than about biological warfare agents. Sadly, this is typical when establishment journalists like Judith Miller write a book about a scientific topic. We start out talking about "germs" and end up talking about Bill Clinton. The author is at times unfair, like when she does a hatchet job on the National Guard Civil Support Teams in the final chapter. Bottom line: if you are interested in biology, don't buy this book. If you're interested in Washington politics and gossip, by all means go ahead.

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