Trent S.

One Sided Moralizing

Revisado: 10-28-24

I was hoping for a history of the Luddite movement or a thoughtful analysis of how society responds to rapid technological advancement. Instead I got a series of disconnected vignettes mixed with interjections where the author doesn’t seem able to help themselves pointing out how factory exploitation in 1800 is just like (insert modern tech company). It’s not that I agree or disagree, it’s just not an insightful or interesting read

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Fukuyama Fans Will Be Dissapointed

Revisado: 08-20-22

This book lacks several of the hallmarks of Fukuyama’s other works - meticulous research and a sweeping global perspective. Furthermore his recommended solutions at the end are surprisingly shallow for a structuralist like Fukuyama, and basically come down to a recommendation that progressives and conservatives reframe their perspectives and moderate some of their worst tendencies. I couldn’t agree more, but I bought the book hoping for something more substantive.

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A Masterpiece of Narrative History

Revisado: 03-22-22

I was hesitant to buy this, as I have read dozens of books on WW2 and generally find myself to be drawn more to the European theater. This series has shot straight to the top of my list of best WW2 books right alongside Churchill's The Second World War. Toll's 3 part series is truly one of the great works in narrative history - giving fascinating vignettes on everything from codebreaking to civil engineering brigades responsible for building airstrips on captured islands. The best comparison I can give is Shelby Foote's monumental narrative history of the Civil War, which also benefited from superb narration by Grover Gardner.

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History of information theory, not the impact of information on history

Revisado: 03-17-20

Based on the description, I was hoping the book would be an exploration into how information, and people’s evolving ability to communicate, store, and synthesize it, impacted history. Instead, the book is just a history of information theory.

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Stale Middle School Narrative

Revisado: 09-06-19

I was hoping this would be a fresh perspective or an untold history. Instead, I got a more detailed version of the same tired narratives told in every 8th grade history class throughout the US. The gist being “American growth came at the expense of natives - first on this continent, then throughout the Pacific. The only difference between the US and other colonial powers is that the US subjugated people while still thinking of itself as a freedom-loving democracy.”

This narrative isn’t wrong, it’s just played out. The anecdotes aren’t interesting, the characters aren’t compelling, and there’s a total absence of new perspective. Worst of all is the tone of moral righteousness that has become a cliche in this genre of American history.

I have absolutely no problem with histories that are critical of the United States, but I do require them to be intellectually stimulating, or at least interesting. This one is neither.

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Thoroughly Mediocre Biography of a Great Man

Revisado: 08-29-19

This book is fine as a retelling of historical fact, but fails to make Marshall come alive in the way Kearns-Goodwin or Caro did for Lincoln and LBJ respectively. There are a few personal anecdotes sprinkled here and there, but by the end Marshall still felt more like a distant historical figure than an actual man.

Paul also falls into the biographer’s trap of taking on his subject’s antagonisms - resulting in an entirely negative depiction of Jefferson and Madison (to a lesser extent). This wasn’t limited to their differences in philosophies, the author clearly thinks Marshall was the better man - at one point arguing that Marshall’s ownership of slaves was less morally repugnant than Jefferson’s because Marshall regularly interacted with his slaves around the house, while Jefferson used a dumb waiter to avoid the presence of slaves while he was eating.

It’s also worth noting that only the last third of the book is about Marshall’s time on the Court. These chapters are organized episodically with each one devoted to the background and implications of a landmark case. Again, this was fine as a retelling of historical facts but left a lot to be desired in terms of narrative.

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Not as Good as Book 1

Revisado: 08-12-19

Neither the narrator nor the book are as engrossing as the first book in the series. However, anyone interested in Roosevelt's presidency will still love this book, especially the in-depth treatment given to pivotal episodes like the Panama Canal and the Portsmouth Peace Summit that ended the Russo-Japanese War.

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Excellent but One Step Below the All Time Great Biographies

Revisado: 08-08-19

1. The Years of Lyndon Johnson
2. The Last Lion (Churchill)
3. The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt

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Enduring Management Lessons Despite Outdated Information

Revisado: 07-31-19

I’ve been looking forward to this book coming to Audible for quite some time, but I was initially bored with seemingly tedious details on the car industry in the early 20th century.

As I read more, that initial boredom turned to awe as I started to appreciate the clarity with which Sloan grasped all aspects of GM’s business at a time when it was one of the most important companies in the world. Im sure many longtime CEOs know a tremendous amount about their businesses, but Sloan was remarkable for his ability to abstract away the particulars and create a fundamental theory of the firm.

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Simply the Best of any History Book on Audible

Revisado: 02-08-19

Out of the 100+ history books I’ve listened to, I’d put Team of Rivals at the top as both a biography and chronicle of the times. In fact, this is usually the first book I recommend to friends that are avowedly “not history people” and have yet to hear anything but rave reviews

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