D. Hutchins

Too much story building, not enough story

Revisado: 03-24-23

I do like the series and won’t give up on it but this book drags. I would probably like it better, but the female narrator is not great. I couldn’t even force myself to pay attention to what she was reading half of the time.

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Eye-Opening

Revisado: 05-27-21

First I have to say this was a very hard book to get through. Not because of the writing or the performance, but because the content is so difficult and heartbreaking. But even though it is hard, I believe every adult and high school student in the US should read this book. As it says at the end, this is an introduction, rather than an all-encompassing history of the slave trade. However, if a reader doesn't come away with a sense of both horror, as well as a desire to learn more when the book is finished, there is a definite problem.

Like other Captivating History books I've listened to or read, I am in awe of the authors' ability to both give an amazing amount of facts, yet still keep the reader focused on the human aspect. The slave trade was, for many, simply an economic undertaking, yet the language used never let me forget that each and every commodity traded was a human being. I also found myself becoming very angry at the "main characters" in this monetary trade, even though one side of the trade included my ancestors. Like I said, the writing brought out the dreadfulness of the entire ugly time in history while still feeling very factual and historical.

I deeply thank you, Captivating History, for this book. It is very necessary and I hope you would come out with a series to fill in all the details we all desperately need to hear.

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Incredible Information

Revisado: 05-27-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

Captivating History has done it again with this fascinating book. I love reading their books on topics that I THINK I know about, yet quickly find that I don't know even a small portion of the facts. The CH books I have read are able to give both the overall picture of events, as well as little-known details that make History come alive. This book on the Underground Railroad is no exception.

Thank you, Captivating History, for this excellent history.

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Really awesome listen!

Revisado: 05-13-21 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I really REALLY enjoyed this book. Both my parents were history buffs with minors in history. We grew up talking about all kinds of history, but this book really blew me away. I knew (or thought I knew) some about the Crusades, but not much about the Silk Road. When I first saw the title I was a bit confused. I guess I had always thought of these two subjects as separate. Obviously I was wrong.

There are two things that I really appreciated about this book. The first was the main introduction. There are a lot of names and places in this book and keeping track can be difficult, especially in audio. But the main introduction gave an overview of everything so it really grounded me and allowed me to keep a sort of outline in my head and pay attention more to names and places. Secondly, I liked how the Captivating History authors were able to weave the lifestyle, geographic, and religious aspects in with the many different historical cultural viewpoints. I think that is the main reason I learned so much more than I had before.

Thank you Captivating History! I'm on to my next book.

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Loved the story..

Revisado: 04-01-19

I really loved this story. And I loved that it was written so long ago that the language was so incredibly refined and even classy. I'm sure those who read the book at the time thought it was bawdy, but things have changed so much in the last sixty plus years that now the language seems very tame and even beautiful. The subject matter, of course, is not tame. And I think the book has a far different feel and possibly even meaning to the modern reader simply for that reason.

That being said, I didn't really get the same meaning from the book as the writer of the extremely long, mostly tedious preface. I felt he tried to give the book something more high-brow than he felt it had. He stretched his assessment much more than I felt was needed, as though he wanted to love the book, but needed to turn it into something else in order to do so. To me, the book didn't need that.

Accepted as it is, it is a love story. Or rather, it is many love stories. I think what is really showcased in this book are the many different kinds of love a person can have for others. Although we often equate and even define love with its physical counterpart, I think what The Story of O does is make the assumption of the physical (in its many different forms) and explores the love that either comes before, or derives from it. When the physical is completely expected, taken somewhat for granted and even given no boundaries (especially this type of consensual sexual slavery, which is still frowned upon in our modern society) one can explore love, its types and meanings, and its consequences far more thoroughly. In many ways, the most sexually open-minded among us are correct; sex is just a physical act. But there is so much more. Whether we like to admit it or now, there are strong emotions attached to that act. Even purely platonic love, such as with the two main men in O's life, can have profound effects on how we see the world, and how we make decisions that could, and often do, affect others. This is a pretty powerful story wrapped up in "taboo" paper and ribbons. To me, the setting gives it credibility, rather than the setting being something that needs to be explained away.

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Sadly... I couldn't even get started.

Revisado: 08-23-16

Fifteen minutes. That is all I could stomach of this recording. I read all the books when I was younger so I know the stories are wonderful and I was so looking forward to this series. However with all the smacking and swallowing and other really gross sounds I just couldn't take it anymore.

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I loved it

Revisado: 02-08-15

The whole series is beautiful. The narration, the story perfect. I'm very sad to let it go, but loved the journey.

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New favorite book!

Revisado: 05-29-12

Any additional comments?

This book is incredible. I liked Reamde by Neil Stephenson, but THIS is what I was expecting that book to be. I am so glad I found it from reader comments.

There is really nothing I can add to all the other comments readers have posted on this book. I could NOT stop listening, but I dreaded the end because then it would be... well... over. And I DID NOT want it to be over. This is one I will listen to again and again.

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Loved it!

Revisado: 04-25-12

Any additional comments?

OK so I'll be honest. The movie intrigued me. My kids made fun of me because I would watch the trailer over and over again but I wouldn't go watch the movie. I'm not much of a movie person - the trailer was creepy enough for me. But I made the decision that I would read the book, then see the movie. I really loved this book. I loved the narration which was very soothing and SUCH a wonderful contrast for the eeriness of the content. I think that was my favorite part! Now I can't wait for the movie to come out on DVD. I am planning SUCH an evening for my family...

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Wow - What a Ride!

Revisado: 04-22-12

Would you listen to Reamde again? Why?

I am probably not going to listen to it again simply because of the length and the over abundance of detail. That is NOT to say, however, that I won't recommend it to other listeners who like this genre. Overall I really loved the story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

One of the things I loved best about Reamde is how all the characters worked together to get to the very satisfying end of the book. So I really do love them all. I did, however, think the romances were a bit contrived and unnecessary.

What does Malcolm Hillgartner bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

I loved his performance. No, the accents weren't perfect but I like a reader who helps me keep up with the characters and he did that very well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely not! But I don't consider that a bad thing. This was a book that I wanted to listen to when I could give it my complete attention, which to me praise for a book rather than the other way around.

Any additional comments?

Reamde was a wonderful book written by a wonderful author. That being said I had a very hard time getting through the book. The level of detail was sometimes very necessary, and othertimes just tedious to the point of distraction. It did take me several weeks to get through the book because it felt very heavy. Again, that's not necessarily bad, but depending on what other things I was doing at the time I would choose other books to listen to rather than this one.

I absolutely would recommend this book to other Neal Stephenson fans and anyone else who likes a well thought out, detailed story.

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