David's Opinions and Reviews

Engaging Buildup, Underwhelming End

Revisado: 10-26-23

Upon delving into the 'Diary of an Oxygen Thief,' I found myself ensnared by the intricate dance of emotions, much like the characters within. The protagonist's deviousness promised intrigue, and the young lady's cunning held promise of a most thrilling climax. Alas, the denouement, though poignant, felt somewhat lacking in the intensity I had anticipated. The tale, while engaging, left this reader yearning for a more profound twist of fate. A commendable effort, but one that stops just short of true greatness. Three stars out of five.

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A Fine Vintage

Revisado: 05-04-14

This was an amazing read. In this 30 year revision he has added many footnotes and a marvelous introduction! If you have read earlier versions of this book you will be impressed at the additions; well worth it!

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Strong finish

Revisado: 05-04-14

This ended for me better than it began, as the history it covered I was less aware of in newer years pertaining to nuclear history. Many good statistics and emotionally taxing moments in the latter parts of this book that for me are a plus, as I am a whore for drama. It would have been nicer if the drama was fictional, but you learn much about the real effects of radioactive catastrophe, as the earth is no stranger of...just blinded by nations attempts to keep it under the table. If particle physics are strange or old hat to you, the end of this book should still be somewhat informative, and educational. Take that, and my three star rating for what it is.

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Relatively Wonderful

Revisado: 09-14-13

I really liked this. I enjoyed Walter Isaacson's Einstein, but this was more reader(listener) friendly. They both touched on many of interesting tidbits that are commonly unknown about the great natural philosopher/physicist, but this one seemed to shed light on those in a more compassionate way. This is not as comprehensive as Isaacson's biography, but it is much more warming, and leaves you with an interpretation of what many authors call his non-productive years, that is nearly 360 degrees different.

The Narrator was fine, and the life of Dr. Einstein was told in such a way that even if you have read many other biographies on him, this will be different enough to warrant the purchase. Enjoy!

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Nearly Perfect

Revisado: 09-14-13

He is a human being like the rest of us with some remarkable interests. This was a wonderful book for shedding light on, and expanding my understanding of the Manhattan Project. That is a pretty cool thing, being a Feynman fan it is cool to get stories that cross paths with his life line. This book gives us a peek into the lives of other great physicists of that age too which I also enjoyed. It is written well enough to have you emotionally attached and sympathizing for him as the course of his life is unfolded in such a seemingly complete way. Bravo to Ray Monk! If while reading(or listening) to a book I am brought to empathetic tears I am a fan. This book did that for me, as well as educated me on historical and physical matters concerning some of the most exciting parts of United States history.

The narrator was perfect by my standards. My standards require for perfection a voice that is not annoying, and few pronunciation errors throughout the production. This fits that descriptions.

I am not sure, but believe this is not in the Science and Technology section of Audible. I mention that because this was a book I believe I would have purchased long ago had it been cataloged there. I found this on the shelves of a Barnes and Noble and thought I would type it in to the search bar on Audible just for shits and giggles, and to my surprise it was there. Anyway, with some of the technical aspects of the science being done in the history observed in this book, Ray Monk gets very descriptive. That was a plus for me, but may seem unnecessary to many reader. The author also gives a short argument in the beginning of the book defending these lengthy technical inclusions.

This is well worth the credit!

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So So

Revisado: 05-18-13

Dunbar shares a great deal of interesting study results with us, all of which as far as I remember have been reference in other books on this site. He does weave them all into his own postulations about love and betrayal, but I find the study results here more interesting than his interpretations.

The narrator with his accent was slightly annoying. At times he didn't seem to know where the mood of the paragraph was going, and came off as awkwardly inflected. It could be that I, after writing enough reviews here, am becoming overly critical(Na, he wasn't great).

The analogs between human behaviors, and with animals are fun! Although I am not rating this very high, I can't say that it isn't worth a credit. There is plenty to be learned from this book, however will leave you hopefully believing that there are plenty other educational books that are in my opinion more valuable here on Audible.com.

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Φ The Other Cool Number

Revisado: 05-18-13

This was an inspiring listen about phi a name for the golden ratio; I found myself looking up more in-depth information on the web relating to some of the places where phi reveals itself. I haven't thought until now, to look up whether they have a phi day or not, but if not there certainly should be. There isn't much to say here that wouldn't just be spoiling the revelations in this book, other than it was organized well; mostly in chronological order, starting with many of the places speculated to have phi engineered into it, then explaining why many are spurious speculations. All famous mathematicians and other people mentioned are followed by the date of their birth and death. That was an enjoyable tidbit.

About the narrator, I was pretty content with his performance. The few pronunciation errors that were made that I know of are common in other physics books here at audible.com as well. I have now only really fault the reader if it is just annoyingly read, and this was not one of those narrators.

This was an all-around entertaining book. I don't expect more than this when I make purchases here. Not the best, but certainly worth a credit, and the time invested in listening to it. There is no reason not to follow up one of the books here on pi, with this one about the golden ratio.

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Some Drama & Tabboo Just For You

Revisado: 05-04-13

I don't normally listen to or read fiction, but when I do I either get lucky picking the books, or just don't realize how entertaining it can actually be. This was fantastic! I enjoyed the characters, the discriptiveness of her sentencing, and the drama. Oh and the taboo also added to the appeal...whooa!

The narrator was the best. She had different voicing for different characters, and seemed to express the intonations assocciated with the emotions being expressed in each of the quotes. I often wonder if the readers read each paragraph before recording to master the emotions, or just get lucky with a once through reading prior to recording. Either way this woman did a phenomenal job in my oppinion(if this comes off niave it is only because I don't have a large collection of fiction in my bag).

I have to give this 2 thumbs up, and guess that all will be quite satisfied with this purchace, or at least not feel cheated with the expenditure of a credit. Enjoy all!

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Drunken Reviewer

Revisado: 04-17-13

The amount of knowledge that can be gained from this book is extraordinary! I thought it was such a fun read, even if I didn't imbibe one mixed drink throughout the entire program. Even beer drinkers like myself can gain fun info about the making of, and some history of the processes that culminate with the delicious beverages that craft brewers make today!

This book is not just for the college student that drinks and happens to be studying botany(or related fields), but for anyone that is curious about plants that just so happen to be made into alcoholic beverages. I was skeptical as to the level of enjoyment I could obtain from this subject matter, however with Amy Steward's fun, and sometimes sarcastic writing style I truly found myself interested in a new field of science!

If you are just a drunk looking for recipes they are in here. If you never touched a drink in your life this is going to be exciting as well, as you will read of many famous consumers/creators that you may or may not be aware of and their escapades. If you are uninterested in consuming, you can still learn much from a botanical angle on many of the ingredients that go into a large chunk of the economic machine that turns the world.

This has been one of the better finds on this site. I can't see anyone really being disappointed with this purchase. Enjoy!

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Let Me Count the Ways

Revisado: 02-17-13

The reading, and now the listening of this most grandiloquent piece of literary perfection brings me to a level of ebullience that Elisabeth Browning must have been feeling when she wrote How Do I Love Thee? This is the only book I have ever read that captures the ache, nay malaise that is caused by loving someone with a deepness expressed with all parts of one's soul and being, without the reciprocation by the one loved. This book accomplishes this feat with such belletristic guile, it leaves those who have had the pleasure of completing this book dumbfounded upon acknowledgement of this being Mr. Nabokov's second language! If the human heart was a combustion engine, this would be a fuel capable of running it through and on all cylinders. If H.H. can be considered the antagonist of this book, it leaves us feeling at least understanding of his situation, and at most and from a more demoniacal end of the spectrum, sympathetic. He has filled the book with foreshadowing that is really indecipherable until it is too late or upon rereading. It makes this a perfect book to read more than once. Anyone here on audible.com that hesitates to listen to this is making a grave mistake. This is quite possibly the best production on this website from a literary viewpoint. Have at it fellow audible fans!

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