Robert J. Herman

Not remotely similar to the movie

Revisado: 12-06-17

An interesting view of the Lincoln cabinet and Lincoln. The book spends a lot of energy discussing the women related to the cabinet and their relationships.
I thought the Lincoln movie was based on this book but it is not true. The focal point of the movie was passing the 13th amendment. The book spends a few pages on this topic.
I felt that the story telling was not particularly engaging. You really have to force yourself to continue reading.
At the end of the book, you are deeply convinced of Lincoln’s genius. However, to get to that point, you have to live through a fair amount of less than interesting details regarding the fashion of that time period.

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I really wanted to like this book

Revisado: 10-21-15

What would have made The Humor Code better?

There were some interesting things in this book such as when they went to Japan and discussed why Japanese comedy is so different. However, much of the book felt like a collection of stories that were documented on their journey to discover what makes something funny. It felt like the stories were included based on whether they happened rather than if they were interesting or insightful stories. The book dragged on. They did some nice things such as how current social events affect humor. However, they did so much of this that I felt like I was listening to someone providing social views instead of providing me insight into comedy. The book is tiring to get through.

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Great Story - Extremely entertaining

Revisado: 10-21-15

Any additional comments?

The book is funny and informative. Tina points out social inequities between the sexes in a non-threatening comedic way. Her method makes the point stick and is entertaining on top of it. Great book. I really enjoyed reading it and wish Tina success in all her future endeavors.

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Eye opening book

Revisado: 06-05-15

Great story for Kennedy fans but much deeper. Probably one of the few authors who hasn't irritated me with overbearing faith discussions. The story is about helping those in need and the realization that they are helping us understand the meaning of life and what is important in life. A great section on Nelson Mandela. Really a heart warming book. Will I serve in the special Olympics or similar orgs? Will I help those in need? Or will I continue to do my crappy back office computer job? I hope that I have enough strength to step outside of my comfort zone and will try to do something that truly makes me feel proud and happy with my life. This book is helping me get that strength.

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Nothing particularly insightful

Revisado: 07-14-13

What disappointed you about Brilliant Blunders?

4 common knowledge stories. Didn't provide any additional or useful insight.

Has Brilliant Blunders turned you off from other books in this genre?

I am a big fan of this type of non-fiction

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He was fine.

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

If someone didn't know who Linus Pauling was then worth a listen.

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Love the idea but content is overly vague

Revisado: 05-18-13

Would you try another book from Dan Clark and/or Dan Clark?

No

How could the performance have been better?

The author had a great idea - doing things that are significant and meanful in our lives and this will translate into feeling content and happy. For me, the title was the most significant part of this book. The author should read a few Malcolm gladwell and chip Heath and Dan Heath books. The author writes by merely expanding upon his view point and never grabs my attention by asking a question and then engaging me to think nor does he point to a curious mystery and then unravel it. The content did not overtake my random thoughts and have me discussing the interesting points with friends and relatives. Rather, I felt like I had listened to endless babel that left me thinking that the author didn't do his research and just wanted to publish something. Sorry about being so hard on this book and may not be so horrible for someone who doesn't have high hopes for it or doesn't feel the need to think while listening.

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

Disappointed. Title great. Content painful.

Any additional comments?

The author should rewrite the book after investing some time to research stories that can illustrate his points and taking a few lessons on how to engage the listener / reader.

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TED talk is outstanding; book is painful

Revisado: 04-27-13

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

If you haven't seen the TED presentation by Chris McD, this might be a good book.

What could Christopher McDougall have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Have more interesting content around running barefoot. In His TED presentation, I was glued to my computer. In the book, he spoke about people who I never really connected with. I almost felt like I was being forced to care.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

I kept listening because I thought he was going to get to more of the interesting running unknowns. However, this book never reveals anything more than what was in his TED presentation.

What character would you cut from Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen?

Caballo blanco, Jen, bone head. A chapter dedicated to Jen background never became interesting and I never felt connected. He did a good job of making the white horse mysterious but I lost interest in him and when more humanizing aspects of him were revealed, I didn't care and didn't connect.

Any additional comments?

I hated to give your book a 1 star. Your TED presentation was so great that I told everyone I knew about it. I wanted more, so I bought your book. My advice is that you have figured out to make an extremely compelling case for running barefoot, now figure out how to make a compelling case to care about your characters.

This was groundbreaking work and you have undoubtedly make $millions. I wish I had known about this when I competitively ran.

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Messies? Children's book?

Revisado: 09-10-12

What did you like about this audiobook?

To be fair, I didn't make it past the first several chapters. I tried to stay with it but I believe that the writer was referring to the reader as a "Messy" (i.e.,"Messies have problems throwing things away"). I tried not to let it bother me but the style of writing made me feel like I was a '50's housewife who barely graduated from kindergarten. I also got the feeling that part of the problem that "Messies" suffered from was OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) associated with "hoarding" but the book didn't refer to the actual psychological classification. The author seemed to lump every potential pattern of a "messy" without actually identifying the psychological condition. In general, seemed like the author may have missed the time period when mixing pseudo-science and condescending grade school teaching passed for helping people. I truly couldn't stomach wasting more time with this nonsense. My apologies if the book somehow improved after chapter 2.

How has the book increased your interest in the subject matter?

I need to screen reading material better. I am glad I didn't waste more time on this book.

Does the author present information in a way that is interesting and insightful, and if so, how does he achieve this?

Quality of Audible app is excellent; however, book is less than good

What did you find wrong about the narrator's performance?

Made me feel like I was sitting in kindergarten class being read to out of a book that had 10 words per page and a lot of pictures.

Do you have any additional comments?

I saw the book at the airport book store under "best sellers" which I am assuming was used to sucker people into buying it. Shame on me for not reading the other reviews.

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