Dylan McFadyen

Top notch in every way

Revisado: 06-01-17

Fascinating, little known story full of humour, heroism, and tragedy. Excellent prose. Emotive narration. Must listen!

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Classic look at the food industry

Revisado: 10-31-16

Very entertaining and informative book, if 16 years later some of the info is a bit out of date. Speaking from experience, though, some things in the industry never change. This book is equally entertaining for outsiders and insiders, though possibly for different reasons.

Author's narration is good - wouldn't have wanted to hear anyone else - but he rushes from time to time. There were some weird editing moments as well, when a word at the end of a sentence or chapter seemed to get cut off.

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The Price of Ambition in the 16th Century

Revisado: 08-31-15

What did you love best about Empires of the Sea?

This reminded me of Garrett Mattingly's classic Defeat of the Spanish Armada, and I would not be surprised to learn that Crowley was in some way inspired by that work. Certainly the subject and themes are similar, and while I don't feel Crowley's work quite reached the narrative or literary heights of Mattingly's, it was not for want of trying.

Empires of the Sea is an excellent overview of the conflict between the Ottoman Empire and the Christian Mediterranean powers in the 16th century, an honest portrayal of the protagonists that doesn't shy away from crediting the virtues or exposing the brutality of either side.

What did you like best about this story?

In addition to demonstrating a thorough understanding of the forces at play in this conflict, Crowley is adept at describing specific events so that the reader (or listener) is engaged and educated without losing track of the flow of a battle or a conversation or political machination.

While he doesn't delve quite as deeply into the character or psychology of his protagonists as Mattingly did in The Armada, Crowley does a good job of imparting an understanding of their motivations. In this way an otherwise large scale narrative maintains a personal quality which ties the reader to it. One gets a keen sense of the dashed ambitions of the rulers, and the sufferings and brief triumphs of the soldiers and slaves fighting their wars.

Ultimately, this is a story of two empires that never achieved their goals of spreading their dominion and their religion across the world, of the hundreds of thousands who suffered and died in the respective attempts, and of the extremities of brutality and chivalry, cowardice and courage that men will go to in war.

What about John Lee’s performance did you like?

The best narrator of a history book I've heard so far. Emotive when necessary, academic when appropriate, avoids over-dramatisation without being dry. Good pronunciation and enunciation, and a nice, authoritative quality to the voice. Would definitely look for other book s narrated by him.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The description of the Great Siege of Malta in 1565 stood out for me. The contest between the last ambition of an ageing Sultan, the crippling caution of the Prudent King of Spain, and the fiery, zealous resolve the Grand Master defending the island is impossible to resist.

The high drama is juxtaposed with the horrific violence endured by the soldiers and slaves on both sides, and the shocking resilience of the native Maltese as their home is reduced to a hellish war zone. That this crucial event in the war remains largely unknown even to people who are well aware of the outcome at Lepanto seven years later makes the story all the more fascinating.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend Empires of the Sea to anyone looking for an introduction to the 16th century Mediterranean world or interested in the Ottoman - Habsburg wars more generally. Or, to anyone who enjoys a well told, impeccably narrated historical account of any sort.

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Unfulfilled Potential

Revisado: 08-10-15

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Sort of; I very much enjoyed the beginning, but the middle third dragged quite a bit and became repetitive, and the end left me largely unsatisfied. I kept waiting for the author to tie the two halves of the story together, but in my opinion he never did.

It felt more like two books; one about America's first documented serial killer, H.H. Holmes, and the other about the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition. The two stories took place at the same time in the same area, but none of the chief characters ever crossed paths, and the author did not thematically link them until the postscript. Even then the linkage was limited to a couple of lines, and was merely stated rather than demonstrated in the body of the book.

I feel like I would have enjoyed each story better if it had actually been split into two parts. Constantly switching back and forth between the stories took something away from each of them rather than adding to the whole.

Would you ever listen to anything by Erik Larson again?

I would, provided the book's scope were more focused. The writing itself was of a very high quality. Larson has a knack for evoking the feel of a scene and for fleshing out the personality of characters.

Which scene was your favorite?

There were a lot of charming scenes involving Burnham in the book, and some creepy ones involving Holmes.

What would have been one of my favourite scene became my least favourite; Larson describes in detail the internal thought process of one of Holmes' victims after he traps her in his vault. He describes exactly what she is thinking about up to the moment of her death. Until that point I expected that she had escaped and written an account of her ordeal. In fact Larson completely fabricated her internal monologue, which I think is completely unacceptable in a work of non-fiction. It's not presented as "here is what she might have thought," it's presented as "here is what she thought" unequivocally.

For me this soured much of the rest of the book, as I could never be sure what Larson had based on real firsthand accounts and what he had chosen to invent for dramatic effect. Perhaps this would have been mitigated had I read the book in its printed form and could examine the end notes.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Yes I would, if it were solely about Holmes and Detective Geyer, and was directed by David Fincher.

Any additional comments?

Overall I was disappointed with the book, but others might not feel the same way. If you don't mind the stories being disjointed and want to learn more about the 1893 Chicago Fair, late 19th century American architecture, and turn of the century attitudes toward serial murderers and crime in general, then by all means pick up Devil in the White City.

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highly recommend

Revisado: 05-16-15

Excellent book; narrator has some dodgy pronunciation and his "quotation voice" gets kind of annoying, but doesn't detract too much from an otherwise first rate book.

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