Richard

A crucial voice on a central issue in America

Revisado: 10-30-21

His writing is articulate, well-reasoned, and enjoyable. I was little surprised by the ad hominem attacks in the early chapters, which I don't think further the discussion. But JM seems to have given up on reasoning with opponents, something that may be warranted; and he knows more on that front than I do. Regardless, chapters 4-6 keep it an outstanding text overall.

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Excellent Investigation Undermined by Bad Editing

Revisado: 02-12-16

Is there anything you would change about this book?

It would be reedited, which would involve rerecording parts of the narration.

What did you like best about this story?

For those who enjoy Herodotus, Rahe presents an excellent integration of Herodotus's story with current research into the details of that story based on other accounts of history and archaeological research. Rahe's account is fascinating, if perhaps mis-titled since it struck me that rather than really focusing on a thesis about Sparta's strategy, he was really giving worthy study of Herodotus.

Would you be willing to try another one of Bronson Pinchot’s performances?

Maybe. The real question with this one is why the final product turned out so bad. At times Pinchot's reading is great. However--and it is a gigantic 'however'--about every 30-120 seconds, there is an awkward pause, followed by a phrase with Greek names (cities, people, etc.) which are then pronounced with an intonation that does not at all fit the rest of the sentence. Whether these terms are mispronounced or have been rerecorded to be properly pronounced according to someone's understanding of correct pronunciation I do not know. I can only note that some of them vary considerably from pronunciation used commonly in some academic circles (but 'correct' with ancient Greek pronunciation is a tricky topic). Regardless, the final result is jarring and often painful to listen to. It has forced me to return this book to audible despite the fact that, were it more polished, it would be joy to listen to Rahe's account at least 2-3 more times.

This much I can say with complete conviction: Whomever gave the final go ahead on releasing this version and selling it to people should be personally very, very ashamed. This goes for everyone on that chain of command, whether it be Pinchot, the producers, the audio editors, or even Rahe himself if he was asked to OK the audio before it was released.

Any additional comments?

Someone should have the sense of decency to repair this very flawed final product and present the improved version to all who purchased it at no additional cost. (Frankly, anyone who endured the full recording should be recompensed for her trouble.)

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Best (Audio) Biography on Sherman

Revisado: 11-13-15

Would you consider the audio edition of A Soldier's Passion for Order to be better than the print version?

This is much better than the other audiobook bios of Sherman. In particular, it far surpasses "Fierce Patriot: The Tangled Lives of William Tecumseh Sherman". That text has a forced, heavy-handed analysis of Sherman, the author frequently interrupting the story to give your his judgment of Sherman (which is not especially wise) instead of just presenting the information and leaving the reader to judge for himself. This one does the work much better, has all (or nearly all) the same information plus more, and makes the experience of the book much more pleasant.

What does Kevin Charles Minatrea bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He reads it will, in general, but his accented quoting of Sherman is forced and doesn't sound like someone from Ohio. It sounds more like someone from West Virginia or Kentucky.

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Pretty good, but performancediting wasn't polished

Revisado: 04-30-13

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Edit the performance better. The narrator is good, but they spliced in a bunch of the recording and you can tell the difference easily. I found it rather distracting.

Other than that, the overall storyline of the book was a little odd. I'm not sure I fully understood or appreciated what the thesis was. But it's an interesting collection of bits from history.

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