Loren Moss

Splendid! I wish I had this book when I was 20!

Revisado: 11-21-24

I saw a few of Dr. Taraban's provocative but informative videos so I had a vague idea of who he was: a psychologist and expert on couples and the dynamics of their relationships. I picked the audiobook almost randomly as I saw it in the new releases section.
First, Dr. Taraban provides deep insight on the strange game of modern mating - from the pre-mating "hunting & fishing" that single people do, to the negotiation of the dating and trial relationship process, and then the longer term permanent (or so we may hope) relationships. But this is by no means a feel-good book, and Dr. Taraban is probably the opposite of a feel-good TV therapist! He is often uncomfortable to listen to. What do men really want, and what do women really want? The power imbalances in every relationship, the illusion of 50/50, and how what we say/think we want rarely rarely coincides with reality.
The book is entertaining, educational, informative, but above all, challenging. Even if you don't agree with everything Dr. Taraban says, you will find value in the way he makes you think about the topics. I didn't want the book to end, because it was learning so much. And I say that as someone who never had trouble dating attractive women and now in a long term marriage, I got valuable insights. I'll gift a copy to my young adult daughter. I have never met Dr. Taraban, and he surely has never heard of me, but this is an instant favorite.
:Lastly, I will leave this observation: It's a very different type of book than those by author Robert Greene, but if you like Green's books, you probably will enjoy this one too. I hope we can expect more from Dr. Taraban.

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Dubious

Revisado: 08-28-23

The author seems to go for entertainment over information. Two examples: He claims the word vanilla comes from a Spanish vulgarity but an elementary Spanish speaker could tell you that it comes from Vaina - sheath, like a sword case, and Spanish vainilla means little sheath. The same reason green beans are called vainas.
In the next chapter he claims feudal Japanese were blowing sand cooked with chile peppers into people's faces. Possible but doubtful as chiles are a new world fruit and could not have arrived before the late 16th century.
The book may entertain you but I doubt it will make you much smarter. Worse it can teach you false history.

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You are basically buying an ad for the author.

Revisado: 06-03-23

I took the time to listen to this twice, a couple of months apart to be fair. Now, after the second time. I can definitively say that the title should be "Reasons to buy my courses on how to get likes on social media." Basically you get a bunch of teaser material on social media tactics, and then for details you are told to visit the author's website, go watch a video or social media post, or contact the author for consulting.
It's a brag book, the author talks about how he did this, or how he did that, how he met with Steven Spielberg's people or did something for Katie Couric. He starts out about how he got promoted by some movie industry mogul.
Even beyond that flaw, the book isn't really relevant to business marketing, but better geared towards social media "influencers," because the author spends a lot of time talking about getting likes and social media engagement.
The book is basically a resumé or advertisement for the author to get consulting or I imagine, speaking gigs. It might be useful for wannabe influencers who want to be famous on Instagram, Twitter or Youtube, but even in that case the information presented is very basic and pedestrian, and for more details you are encouraged to contact the author or visit his website.
I hope I can get my money back.

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Pablum. Even free, it's a bad deal.

Revisado: 01-09-23

I have never heard of the author, but this is included in the membership, so I thought I would try it. It is very rare that I cannot finish an audiobook, but this this is the most generic blob of motivational platitudes. If someone locked a person in a room and said make up a motivational book! It would look something like this.
There is nothing new, just more "rah rah you can do it!" - packaged platitudes.

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A long sales brochure

Revisado: 08-10-22

This would be an ok short book on IT staffing sales but it is really just a long brochure with countless "contact me today" messages, and appeals to the author's consulting and training business. There is a little bit of good information, but if the author is going to include so many "buy my services now" messages, then don't charge for it, because it becomes a brochure, not a real book.
The narrator did a good job, no quarrel there.

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Self reflection, introspective

Revisado: 07-05-22

It’s not bad. It’s interesting enough, but mostly the author’s philosophical self examination.
I’m interested in why the incident happened and how the emergency was managed, plus the consequences, but the ship emergency is really a backdrop, almost incidental.
If you like books about people examining their feelings you’ll love this, though.

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It's COLOMBIA not Columbia....really good stuff.

Revisado: 07-03-22

Great information about the country of Colombia with news relevant for business and investment. No hype or BS. Really interesting.

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interesting topic but dry, dated approach

Revisado: 03-27-22

The author's approach is like a 1960's history class: Mostly what ruler did what, and when. Lots of names of royalty people and dates, but not enough about what Romania was actually like in the different periods. Everyone except royalty was background in this book. It's really more of a chronicle. The book can tell you who was ruler in 1500 and who put him there, but the shallow presentation does not do justice to Romania's rich history. There is a bonus section at the end that goes into the life of Vlad The Impaler and it's more interesting. You get much more of a sense of what the historical figure was like, and what it would be like to live in his time and place. I wish the rest of the book was the same.
I'm going to bet this is an audio recording of a pretty old book, because the history is presented in a dated way.
The narrator did a fine job.

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Some OK crime tips, but a VERY misleading titles

Revisado: 03-11-22

This book has nothing to do with "spy secrets" but is really more of a book of common sense tips about crime. Stuff like "don't leave your garage door up," or how to deal with potential muggers you might face but there is nothing secret, and the only connection to "Spy" is that the author says he once worked for the CIA. The author tells you stuff like why it's a good idea to lock your garage door when you leave for trips, what to carry in your car's first aid kit, or which floors of a hotel are most likely to be robbed or trapped by a fire.
There are no "spy secrets."
The author warns the reader not to go to Mexico or The Caribbean because they are very scary places for him. But seems to bring up how he decided to move to Utah and picks the locks for all his neighbors. Just weird.
One other quirk. In maybe 3 different chapters, the author mentions his Mormonism, and it's great to be a Mormon, but it has nothing at all to do with the subject matter. Nothing in the book would be any different if the author was Hindu or Shinto. I sort of felt like I was being proselytized to.
The author did a fine job as a narrator, not something many authors can do.
If you are looking for common sense crime tips, the book does have some. I was looking for an entertaining read that had something to do with "Spy Secrets," and admit, I got ripped off by the title.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

A new favorite: Amazing story, great prose

Revisado: 02-13-22

This audiobook is a combination of a great author in Cormac McCarthy, and the ideal narrator, who has just the right touch of Americana in his voice without it being clichéed, distracting or folksy.
I also listened to, and thoroughly enjoyed Blood Meridian, but this book is not nihilistic, as that one was. Still, the book tells of a struggle, and is set in modern times, perhaps the near future.
If you are like me, you will continue to wrestle with some of the questions the book raises: Big ones, and little ones. Some things you wish were explained in the novel but aren't, will continue to tease you after you finish.

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