Godfree Roberts

A wonderful journey!

Revisado: 09-29-22

Lie back, relax, and listen to true tales of high jinks and low tricks, scams and strikes, riots and wrecks and, above all, conmen.

This erudite, 360-degree examination of the 1880-1929 Rail Boom tells us why 90% of the money invested was stolen, and why nobody won the race to build a transcontinental railway, because nobody built one.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Important AND fascinating

Revisado: 02-16-22

Bolshevism (communism to you) in Russia struck greater fear into upper class European hearts in the 1930s than did Nazism.

So Western leaders refused to ally with Stalin and helped Hitler, hoping that he would destroy Russia. Only after Russia defeated Germany did the US invade Western Europe and colonize it militarily, as it continues to do.

A must-read account of the unspoken motives of the men who led us into WWII.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Important for anyone who cares about America

Revisado: 08-18-19

Stockman has the qualifications and experience to analyze and provide tough love solutions for our increasingly sick economy. Wonky, long, and quirky, the book is nevertheless riveting and alarming.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

A wonderful read

Revisado: 07-29-19

Anyone who loves a good detective story will enjoy this fine piece of investigative journalism. Highly recommended!!

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Out of date

Revisado: 10-16-18

Professor Harvey needs to update this book. It is out of date and factually wrong about China.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 5 personas

Long, detailed and slightly overcooked

Revisado: 06-17-18

In 1934, while out of power, Churchill received a publishers advance of a million dollars in today's money to write this fulsome testimonial to his great, great grandfather, John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, England's greatest military strategist and commander.

It was an advertisement for his own political career and gave Churchill the opportunity to right many wrongs previous historians had attributed to his famous ancestor. Since Churchill had access to all the Duke's papers, then kept at the family seat of Blenheim Palace (where Churchill himself was born), he was able to rehabilitate his forebear's reputation with great authority.

The work, however, has aged. It is, for today's tastes, over-long and could profitably have been trimmed by a third. The narrator's choice to deliver all ninety hours in a mock-Churchillian accent (a popular indulgence of Churchill narrators) is questionable–especially since Churchill himself abandoned it and spoke clear, unaffected English when, for example, addressing the US Congress.

Carping aside, it is a remarkably detailed glimpse into the inner workings and machinations of the War of the Spanish Succession and a first-hand introduction to a host of fascinating historical characters, from kings and Electors to common soldiers. For those who like their history served long, unshaken and unstirred, this is a treat.

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 17 personas

Helpful in thinking about conspiracy theories

Revisado: 08-14-17

What did you love best about Conspiracy Theory in America?

It gave me a frame of reference

What about Bobby Dobbs’s performance did you like?

He spoke distinctly but not fluently or feelingly

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

That there's a conceptual framework for such considerations

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

Painful performance, incoherent story line

Revisado: 06-06-17

What did you like best about The Thirty Years War? What did you like least?

I like the era and the evolution of government that occurred in Germany. I disliked the lack of coherent narrative or point of view and I found the performance distracting as the narrator lapses in an out of Churchillian delivery–without a corresponding Churchillian sense of timing.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Basic narrative or thesis established early

Would you be willing to try another one of Charlton Griffin’s performances?

Never

Was The Thirty Years War worth the listening time?

Breakeven

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

A sociological analysis

Revisado: 05-23-17

Rather than a linear history, the book analyzes Prussia's governance and society. Still interesting for that, though

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña

esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

A timely ressèment

Revisado: 03-05-17

But will the government heed the author's warning? We shall see...when the current administration is over

Has calificado esta reseña.

Reportaste esta reseña