Sean Lowman

Fantastic story amazing cast

Revisado: 07-25-24

It was impeccably performed and the story was amazing. But sometimes the music and sound effects makes the dialogue hard to hear.

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Great book! I wish I could see the maps

Revisado: 01-29-21

This book really should come with downloadable maps that I can look at so I can follow the geopolitical situation as I listen. That's my only complaint.

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Good story about a not well known figure

Revisado: 12-06-20

I will start off by saying that I am a history teacher and historian who specializes in America in the revolutionary era. Although I am interested in the more famous folks - Washington, Cornwallis, Knox, etc, I am also drawn toward the lesser known figures. Even then, I was not aware of Richard Pierpoint. But I do enjoy stories of enslaved people gaining their freedom, which is why I picked up this book. It wasn't until after I finished this book that I learned that Captain Dick was a real person. I enjoyed the story of Captain Dick's small band of formerly enslaved fighters who joined Butler's Rangers to fight to free other enslaved people on the New York frontier. You don't often find many American books where the hero is fighting with the British against the Americans, so it is a nice change.

While there are a few historical quibbles I noticed, they would not likely be noticed by the regular reader, and they don't detract from the plot or the narrative. My only real criticism with the book is that I wished it were longer. I would have like to have read more of their adventures. But that might just be a result of the limits of the source material. The narrator was very good, but I occasionally had trouble with telling apart the characters Lou and Blue when she said their names. Overall, I recommend this book.

I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for any honest review.

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Gamble on a good read

Revisado: 06-16-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I enjoyed this not well known story of the men and women who blazed into the Pacific Northwest to gamble on fur trapping. I'm a huge fan of Lewis and Clark, but after their famous journey, most history books don't tell you what happened in the Pacific Northwest until the Oregon Trail starts bringing settlers. This books fills in that blank quite well. It is the story of competition, not only between the American and British nations, but between the Northwest Company and the Astoria Company. Along the way you meet the many determined individuals who left there mark on the land.

The author goes into great detail about the goings on at the Pacific slope as well as the machinations occurring in Montreal and New York, and how events in London and China would impact them. I like a lot of detail in my histories and this book has them. In some places I found myself overwhelmed by all the names of people involved and had a hard time keeping track of them. But it is an entertaining story if you're into pioneers, the wilderness, and traders.

One downside to listening to this in audiobook form is that there were no accompanying maps that I could look at to help me visualize where these fur trappers and traders were coming and going. I recommend printing out some good maps of the western US and Canada from the early 1800's before sitting down to listen to this book. You will be able to follow the story better with maps.

The narrator deftly tells this story with energy, but he doesn't rush it. His pauses give the listener a moment to take in what they have just heard. His voice is clear, distinct, and easy to listen to.

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Revealing look at a family during the Revolution

Revisado: 05-28-20 El oyente recibió este título gratis

I am a historian and history teacher. I specialize in early American history and the Revolutionary era. I have read countless books on the subject. There are tons of books about the American Revolution. Some of them focus on the people whose lives were impacted by it. But very few of them examine the lives of a single family. And as far as I know, this is the only one that focuses on the often overlooked people who chose not to support either side in the Revolution. Henry and Elizabeth Drinker were Quakers in Philadelphia. When the War for Independence broke out, they held to their pacifist beliefs and became conscientious objectors. They were subjected to harassment from both sides, but far worse from the Patriots. Henry spent a year imprisoned in western Virginia among other indignities. Still they persevered and, at war's end, they were able to rebuild their lives in the new nation.

This book is incredibly well researched, with the the diary of Elizabeth Drinker providing an enormous amount of insight into the thoughts and feelings of the Drinker family. Getting to see the Revolution play out from someone trapped between the two opposing forces is a perspective that is not often found in historiography of the Revolution. The author does not lionize his subject either. There is plenty to criticize as well as praise in the behavior of the Drinker family. I found the chapter on servants in the Drinker household, in particular, illuminated Elizabeth's more negative characteristics.

The narrator provides a clear, smooth, and charming delivery of the text. It feels to me more like he is telling me a story rather than reading a book to me.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Very dry

Revisado: 04-26-20

Super boring. I love history but I had a hard time staying focused on this. Narrator was pretty good though.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Great translation. Classic story

Revisado: 08-27-19

This is an excellent translation. Turned into Modern English, not that old-fashioned "thee and thou"stuff you hear in a lot of translations. Well narrated by the author himself

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Fantastic book. Choppy narration.

Revisado: 07-05-19

Great book. Very detailed. An essential read if you want to know the full story of our nation's early history. Narration could have more smooth. Sometimes made random pauses which were distracting.

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esto le resultó útil a 4 personas

Not a true biography

Revisado: 05-08-19

This is not a biography. It is a novel. There is way too much invented action and dialogue to take it seriously. The narrator has one of those overwrought British accents that one associates with ancient history due to Hollywood historical epics. I couldn't listen past 2 hours of it.

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Excellent performance of a classic text

Revisado: 06-04-18

The Art of War is one of those books that you hear referenced all of the time. People always recommend it. I've owned a copy of it for years but have never been able to finish it. As a student and teacher of history, I always felt like I should read it. So finally I decided to have it read to me. The text stands on its own. Sun Tzu's ideas have inspired generals, leaders, and others for more than 2000 years. But its essentially an instruction manual, and those aren't the most exciting things to read. However the voice performance of Joseph Kent helps bring the text too life and makes it listenable.

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