S.I.

Uncritical tech cheerleading

Revisado: 10-24-15

Silicon Valley can do no wrong, and you, humble business owner, must jump in with both feet or you will be left behind. Is there an app for that? Then you better hitch your wagon to their star, because it's the only way you're going to survive.

The anecdotes in this book reek of survivorship bias. Only the winners are presented, and no thought is given to the unknown, uncounted competitors who crashed and burned (perhaps taking their overeager partners with them). I have to wonder what this book would have looked like if written in 1999. Would the author have spent a chapter extolling the virtues of Pets dot com like he does with the Tapingo app (an app I've never heard of, which has a 2.5 rating on Itunes)? This sort of tech prognostication seems to have about as much worth as the former QBs yapping on Sunday morning about who will win the day's games.

The narration was great, however.

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com

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Powerful narrative histories of WWII

Revisado: 10-24-15

For every Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan that gets made, there are 100,000 other stories equally as gripping and heroic. This collection presents a couple dozen of them, collected from veterans living around Georgia.

Listening to the accounts, you can't help but match them up to fictionalized versions from movies and TV. A medic scrambling around Omaha beach, tending to his butchered comrades seems straight out of Saving Private Ryan. Hunkering in a Belgian trench, surviving hunger, winter and German mortar fire recalls the Bastogne episodes of Band of Brothers. And, in the most unique chapter of the book, a classified squad running around Europe broadcasting phony signals and deploying decoy inflatable tanks meant to confuse German intelligence, reminds the listener of the exploits of Bobby Shaftoe and Unit 2702 from Neal Stephenson's book Cryptonomicon.

The narrator has a clear and pleasant voice, and my only criticism is that it remains so pleasant all of the time, regardless of the tragic, horrifying things he is reading. Some passages require a little more gravity.

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com

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This street should be named Joseph McCarthy Blvd.

Revisado: 10-24-15

I can't say enough about the stellar production of this short story. I normally listen to audiobooks at 1.25 speed on a little bluetooth speaker, but this production style demands total stereo immersion. It's really a great experience that recalls the historic radio dramas of last century.

The story, to a modern listener at least, is bizarre (and not in the good way). It's a product of its time, during the First Red Scare, and drips with fear and racism. If the same exact story was published today, it would be seen as an allegory against Islamophobia. But as far as I could tell, this seemed to be written in earnest. This was an unfortunate introduction to the world of Lovecraft, but nonetheless, I am eager to listen to more from SonicMovie.

I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com

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The end of lies

Revisado: 10-21-15

This book steadfastly and unceasingly leverages a vision of prospective leadership. It couples American ingenuity and determination while managing to renewably coexist in an era of performance-based deliverables. This new audio edition offers an upgraded quantity of time-tested reciprocal concepts.

If the previous paragraph made you want to claw your eyes out, this book may be for you. B.S. is being showered upon us from every direction -- commerce, politics, journalism and academia -- and Herzog is there to sniff it out and try to sprinkle a little (new & improved?) deodorizing powder on it. Yes, this book is old. If you weren't around in the sixties and seventies, you probably won't understand some of the references...which just makes it all the more remarkable that Herzog's criticisms are so urgently relevant today. The presidential debates would be so much more bearable if the candidates -- and, more importantly, the electorate -- exhibited some radical skepticism.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.

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"Cat's in the Cradle" in the Pacific Theater

Revisado: 10-20-15

While the book is centered around the elder Rolston's service during World War II, it takes a backseat to the message of respect and reverence that a son has for his father. One that is deeply felt if not always expressed. This was loving, lovely tribute to a good man.

This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.

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