Richard

Not what the title says it is

Revisado: 06-10-23

Anyone who's read any history of WWII will know most of these "mysteries." In fact, the book is a compilation of facts, and not mysteries at all. To make matters worse, the facts aren't very detailed.

I listened to most of it, but gave up after half-way through after giving it a chance to improve. Good for anyone wanting a first exposure WWII, but that would the the only audience.

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Beating a dead horse

Revisado: 01-07-23

I'm a firm believer in sensible gun control. It seems to me, however, that all the arguments I hear "on the street" are the two extreme ends of the question: "ban guns altogether," or "everyone should have a gun." I hardly ever hear any debate about the nuances in what the second amendment actually says. So I wanted to educate myself on the perspective of ardent supporters. This book does that......BUT.

It becomes obvious early on that the author is only using historical arguments in support of the 2nd Amendment. He provides a good background on the principles upon which the amendment was created, and it's rather compelling. HOWEVER, he uses WAY TOO MANY such examples to make his point. Where three or four or five examples would suffice, he drones on with dozens of them. Long after the point where "I get it," I was finding myself skipping ahead several minutes only to find he was continuing with one example after another...completely unnecessary.

Virtually all his arguments are 250+ years old. He spends very little time addressing contemporary issues (although I'd be wrong to claim he doesn't address them at all), which I feel leaves the impression that we should simply adhere to 18th century thinking and call it a day. I think this does the whole subject injustice. Although he details how gun rights have changed over the time leading up to the 2nd Amendment (from Rome, to Greece, to early Europe), he fails to note that our interpretation SINCE 1791 should also be re-evaluated to properly meet todays environment (we now have a police force and standing army -- both of which were detested by a good number of the founding fathers).

In short, although it provides a good understanding of what 2nd Amendment supporters think when debating the question, it ONLY addresses that side of the equation and leaves a void on the "cons" side.

I'm glad I read it, because I now know a bit more of the history and some important context, but am a bit disappointed that it was so one-sided.

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Good Info, Horrible Narrator

Revisado: 04-04-22

I'm a quasi-experienced horse bettor and have placed straight up wagers on some sporting events in the past (mostly football) and wanted to know more about the ins and outs of sports betting. This book was perfect for what i was looking for, but there are some definite downsides.

1. I've tried listening to financial self-help books in the past, and was put off by the reading of tables of information. Just too hard to follow without seeing the actual table. There are many instances in this book where the narrator reads lists of information from a table and it puts me to sleep. Although it's necessary, it severely cuts into the absorption of the theory. I'm sure in written form, it would be significantly better, but it just isn't suitable for an audio book.
2. On top of the #1, the narrator has the annoying habit of pausing ever-so-briefly every three or four words. Hardly a full sentence is read in its entirety without a hesitation or two thrown in. VERY distracting!
3. Quite a bit more than necessary level of pontificating. I KNOW gambling can be a problem for people, and I KNOW gambling is illegal in some states, so a brief disclaimer at the beginning of the book would have been sufficient to check the box. No need to take up valuable time trying to be the little birdie on my shoulder warning me about these possible pitfalls more than that.

That said, there are a lot of good, simply-explained concepts in this book that I found valuable to understand. I would highly recommend this book, but not in audio format. In hard copy, I would be able to read it "normally" and could skip over the preaching about addiction and breaking the law.

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Extremely Disappointed.

Revisado: 02-12-21

I'm a big fan of David Attenborough and have binge watched all of his TV series', so I expected this to be of the same caliber as his documentaries. I was wrong.

The book starts out meeting my expectations, but by two hours in it had devolved into a continuous lecture of how we need to save/protect the environment. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of saving the water, air, and other earthly surroundings from which I extract much enjoyment, but in those two hours there was 5 or 10 minutes of preaching for every 2 or 3 minutes of "interesting stuff."

I give the performance a 5, but that's because I love his voice and delivery; but it's one of the few books that I've returned in many years with Audible.

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Good topic, good information, so-so presentation

Revisado: 08-19-19

I have a pretty healthy interest in history, and enjoy reading different perspectives on the many events that made up the past 250 or so years of the United States. So this book fit right into that. I thoroughly enjoyed the material and the depth into which Mark Stoler dug to present it. I also appreciated that he stayed true to his theme of learning to question "facts" as they are often generally accepted; there's always some nuance or two that can readily change how one views an event, and knowing about those helps in understanding.

But I was a bit annoyed about the narration itself. The narrator has a habit of adding emphasis on WAY too many points by stretching out the pronunciation of words ("just....isn't...so" style of speaking). I found this distracting and it occurs throughout the lectures.

I would recommend this as a good listen for those of you who want to know more than just the facts of many of our historical events.

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Good story but annoying narrator...

Revisado: 03-24-19

Overall, I liked the book. Although these characters were well before my time, I have a great appreciation and fascination for the men who played the game in its relative infancy. I often wonder how players of that era would have fared playing today's game, and vice-versa. The rules and approach to playing was pretty different then, and it's wonderful hearing about all those differences.

But I found Defords' continuous pronunciation of "Matthewson" as "Math-e-son." And Christy's name is mentioned OFTEN, so it was a constant grating on my nerves. But I soldiered through it because the story was a good enough story to put up with it.

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We're in deep doo-doo!

Revisado: 01-18-18

If you could sum up Fire and Fury in three words, what would they be?

What an embarrassment.

What did you like best about this story?

What I liked best is that it confirmed the opinion any rational person would get from just watching the daily news.

Which scene was your favorite?

I found the repeated referrals back to "Jarvanka" and their power-hungry aims to be quite enlightening. I can readily see her believing she's presidential material.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

From Camelot to Dystopia - the rise and fall of the American Presidency.

Any additional comments?

The book doesn't reveal anything earth-shattering that we mostly hadn't already read about in the news, but it does serve as a comforting check that the perception most of us have developed regarding what goes on behind the scenes at the White House isn't far at all from the truth.

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Bryson: Great author, not so great narrator.

Revisado: 03-31-16

Where does One Summer rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Beyond my dislike of Bryson the narrator, Bryson the author continues to amaze me. One Summer was a really good book. There was a little bit of everything that happened in 1927, but there was quite enough stuff to provide a lifetime of memories for those fortunate enough to have lived through that awesome summer.

What was one of the most memorable moments of One Summer?

I was greatly surprised, and quite disappointed, to find out that Charles Lindbergh had such a positive view of Germany in the 1930's.

Would you be willing to try another one of Bill Bryson’s performances?

His books, yes. His performances, no. I tremendously enjoyed "A Short History of Nearly Everything" and was hoping this would be at least as good, and i wasn't disappointed. I'll definitely give another of his books a more than casual glance.

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Good, BUT...

Revisado: 02-17-16

What made the experience of listening to The Modern Scholar the most enjoyable?

To say the least, the author (who is also the narrator) is obviously enthusiastic about his field of study. I find his knowledge and love of the material keeps the listener interested and focused.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Modern Scholar?

Given the nature of the book (a series of lectures) there isn't any single "moment" that stands out.

What about the narrator’s performance did you like?

His enthusiasm in delivering what could be challenging material.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The material doesn't really lend itself to laughing or crying.

Any additional comments?

I'm slowly getting into astronomy for the purposes of pursuing a hobby in astrophotography, so I was looking for a basic intro to the stars and galaxies. This was a bit more technical than I was looking for, but it DID satisfy my desire to improve my understanding of the sky and it's origin.

There are a couple of drawbacks, however, that I think may be relevant. First of all is related to how I listen; I listen to books only while driving. Because of this, I couldn't take notes, which I otherwise would have certainly done.

The second, and most significant, drawback is that he often refers to what I'm sure are charts or maps. Obviously, not having visibility to those objects as he speaks takes something away from the text.

Overall, however, it served its purpose for my needs.

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A very engaging story

Revisado: 01-14-15

If you could sum up Thunder Below! in three words, what would they be?

Lots of action!

What was one of the most memorable moments of Thunder Below!?

There were MANY interesting events that take place throughout the book, but the story of the "demolition crew" who went ashore to sabotage a Japanese railroad was one of the more engrossing.

Have you listened to any of Corey Snow’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was my first Corey Snow performance and I found him to be quite easy to listen to.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

As a history buff, I found the book quite entertaining, however there were no real emotional swings one way or other.

Any additional comments?

Although I found the book to be very entertaining and captivating, there was one aspect that I'm not sure I enjoyed. The author, in an attempt to include as much context and as many facts as possible, "forced" some of those facts and context into dialog that obviously never occurred. There were numerous anecdotes in which one character or another goes on and on with some trivial detail and history in a way that people don't speak.

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