lovetohike

Outstanding narration

Revisado: 04-21-25

Bronson Pinchot was superb. He could effortlessly shift from the voice of Halle’s to Grant to Sherman, etc. this was not at all a lecture but a story told with great feeling and respect for the topic. It’s a shame that the other books in this series about were not also read by Mr Bronson.

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Difficult to pause listening even for an hour.

Revisado: 03-30-25

Another suburb book by Eric Larson, this one read by Will Patton whose performance pulls readers into 1861 where we are witnesses to Lincoln’s poignant departure from Springfield to the short battle at Ft. Sumter in Charleston Harbor. Larson is a master of bringing individuals from the past back to life, warts and all. They live again in his books to tell the history of their time - their fears, the difficulties they faced and what they thought of the events swirling around them and who directed those events. In 1861 the South went to war to protect their right to buy and sell another human being. That concept is unfathomable to us now, but hundreds of thousands of Americans died to preserve that practice. This book offers a peak into the minds of some of those who started the Civil War at Ft. Sumter.

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The main character’s complete disregard for the suffering all around him

Revisado: 06-04-24

I’ve read a lot of Holocaust-related books and this one was tough to finish because of the deeply flawed main character and the almost cavalier attitude about living next to Auschwitz which the boy referred to as “Outwith”. Seriously? A nickname for Auschwitz? There was nothing to admire in any of the family members from the Nazi parents to the boy and his older sister. None of them were decent human beings. The boy, about 9 years old, explores the area around the camp and eventually meets a boy on the other side of the fence. He can see how unhealthy the little Jewish boy is, how thin, learns that his grandpa has vanished, then his father. He brings food occasionally but eats some it as he walks to their rendezvous spot. He goes on and on about his grand life in their big house in Berlin and about the plentiful food in his house. He has no empathy for the people living on the other side of the fence. None. He is not blind but cannot see.

A nine-year old knows right and wrong, he knows when a friend is hurt, he can recognize fear and pain in the face of a friend. Not this character. His heart was as empty as so many of his countrymen. Perhaps that was the author’s point - that the rot in 1930’s Germany knew no age limits, or any limits for that matter.

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Wonderful story, wonderfully read

Revisado: 01-05-12

The more Dickens I read, the more I appreciate his gift for creating timeless characters whose dreams and heartbreaks are ours. I was particularly touched by his treatment of Jo in Bleak House and then chuckled at his treatment of lawyers; some things never change. Hugh Dickson masterfully brought each character fo life. The book is full of intriguing characters and plot twists so Dickson's ability to create distinctive voices for each character was especially helpful and entertaining. This is a marvelous read and a moving story about humanity and simple goodness.

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Wonderfully entertaining

Revisado: 07-06-11

This audible book was a delightful companion during my summer driving through the deserts of the west. Dickens was brilliant - funny, opinionated, compassionate, and moving. Simon Vance did a marvelous job of bouncing between David, Dora, Aunt Betsey and the rest of the characters. The people of London must have so looked forward to the next installment of this series. We are so fortunate to be able to turn on an ipod and be taken back a century to another land. People have not changed over the centuries, but the talent to write like Dickens seems to have disappeared. This book is a gift.

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