Tish

Bread and circuses.

Revisado: 12-28-24

I was hoping this book would dish out new information. Instead, the author dances around *implying* the existence of new information, while disclosing nothing one could not easily find out by scouting forums and studying urban legends. The text is a masterclass example of bait-and-switch - you want information, the author wants his ego stroked. You want that information so badly that you’ll pretend you learned something, and that the author is a hero for telling you nothing! Everybody gets what they want, which is apparently to be deceived.

It was a real struggle to keep listening. I didn’t buy this book because I wanted to spend hours listening to someone *imply* the existence of something interesting. That’s worse than nothing at all. That’s infurating. This book felt like a huge middle finger to anybody who thinks aliens are more likely real than not, but hasn’t drank the conspiracy Kool-Aid. Maybe you’ll love it if you have incredibly low expectations.

UFOs and Nukes by Robert Hastings is a much better book. Equally unverifiable, but vastly more informative.

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Decent research, aggravating fear-mongering tone

Revisado: 09-30-21

I am fairly certain we are all aware that radiation can be dangerous. I do not need to be reminded of this every few seconds. I want to know the details. I want the science. I want the human factors explanations. These are here - the research is solid - but good lord, the preaching.

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Informative but imperfect.

Revisado: 05-10-18

Jacobsen does a good job highlighting the Third Reich’s lesser-known accomplishments in bioweapons and chemistry via Project Paperclip. However, she is clearly either sensationalist or unfamiliar with the political and professional structures of Nazi Germany.

She describes individuals as “members of Hitler’s inner circle” or “ardent Nazis”, but goes on to cite membership in professional organizations as evidence thereof. Said individuals may BE ardent Nazis, but membership in organizations one was required to join in order to practice, is not anything near evidence of this. It is only evidence that an individual was a professional in a particular field during the Hitler regime. This is a really small nitpick in and of itself, but it’s something obvious enough to people even a little familiar with the subject that I had to wonder about the quality of the research.

The narration is passable. I was distracted by the author’s decision to put great effort into pronouncing awkward German names that have widely accepted Americanized equivalents, and simultaneous inability to pronounce words like Brigadeführer.

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Author spends most of the book making excuses.

Revisado: 11-28-14

I wouldn't have assumed Napoleon's actions as a historical figure needed a great deal of excusing (he is dead!), until the author spent the entire book doing just that. I suspect I would not have been a big fan of Napoleon either way, but the author's relentless dedication to exculpating him made the historical figure seem far more suspect than he would have, otherwise. The book IS informative; however, I am not confident in the veracity of its contents. It is, if nothing else, read very well.

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The narration is quite poor.

Revisado: 10-21-14

I mean, maybe this is a good book, but it's not a good audiobook. The narration is halting and unprofessional. Narrators often over-act, which is irritating, but here there is no intonation at all. Couldn't make myself listen through it.

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Narrator got lost on the way to a b-grade thriller

Revisado: 07-11-14

The book does manage to be informative and interesting, but seemingly in spite of itself. The narration makes the worst of purple prose by reading it off like a movie trailer. The try-hard prose would've been unfortunate enough if read normally, but the dramatic reading veers into outright irritating. Ending chapters with "sinister climax! Suspense!" sound bites is just insult added to injury. The subject matter is interesting enough on its own; the flair actively detracts.

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Predictable.

Revisado: 12-29-13

This could have been good! It would be hard to argue that "What if Hitler won?" is not an interesting premise. Unfortunately, both the plot and characters are so predictable, that they may as well have come out of a can. You want your hardboiled, cigarette-smoking, divorced detective who goes against the grain? Here you go. Plucky girl reporter, "unlike any woman he's ever met?" Here you go.

Unfortunately, recycling characters doesn't seem to have given the author extra time to flesh out the setting, either - of course he talks about it at length, but little of it is particularly creative, or thought-provoking. I did, however, find the idea that Holocaust studies still existed in a form very similar in character and scope - just about Stalin's purges, instead of the Final Solution - intriguing. Too bad that's just about the only thing that stood out, and only for a sentence.

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Irritating "acting" and inflection

Revisado: 11-21-13

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Less purple prose might be nice - human interest it may be, but the author still overdoes it in places. The narration is what affected my enjoyment of the book most. I wish narrators didn't have this idea that they need to imitate accents. This isn't voice acting.

Would you recommend The Girls of Atomic City to your friends? Why or why not?

I might recommend the print version because the underlying personal histories are interesting, but I would not recommend the audiobook.

Would you be willing to try another one of Cassandra Campbell’s performances?

I'd rather not.

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Rather biased, but informative nonetheless.

Revisado: 11-14-13

What did you love best about The Nuremberg Trial?

The interactions between the judges, the prosecution team, the defense team, and the defendants themselves are revealing.

Would you be willing to try another book from Ann Tusa and John Tusa ? Why or why not?

The Nuremberg Trial is yet another book about events in Nazi Germany that feels it has to work very hard to convince you that the authors hate Nazis. It's both understandable, given the ever-insecure state of scholarship on the subject, and irritating because it feels a bit like being treated like a child. I enjoyed the book, but would have found myself far less critical of it, if it weren't full of hyperbolic mock-horror and disgust at the acts of the defendants. I'd be concerned that their other books are also wasting far too much time on overbearing, moralistic CYA.

Any additional comments?

Great reading. I would have liked more specifics about the cross-examinations.

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