Dan Dobruse

Tell us what you REALLY think, Heather!

Revisado: 08-27-24

Given the viewpoint and content of her earlier works one would not not have expected an accurate and nuanced portrait of the Republican Party from Ms. Richardson, and on these points she does not disappoint. For most of the period covering the rise of modern conservatism in the Party she insists on distinguishing members of that flavor as belonging to "Movement Conservativism," as if there were a bright line between them and "other" Republcans, rather than as belonging to a continuous spectrum of members' beliefs from the most extreme views to the moderates and even liberals. In discussing Democrats through this same period she does not denote the demonstrable swing of their party to the left by identifying the segment which could accurately be described as belonging to "Movement Progressivism." When Republicans control the White House but not Congress, she ascribes budget deficits to the White House, forgetting the maxim that "the President proposes, but Congress disposes." When noting that the U.S. entered a recession in 1980 she points out that it began during Ronald Reagan's first term (actually beginning during the month he was inaugurated), she neglects to point out that it came on the heels of the fiscal and budgetary policies of of the Carter administration. It's at this point in the narrative that both the reader and producer miss the error about the date of Iran's seizure of U.S. Embassy officials and staff. We can all agree that it did not occur in 1879. (I had to listen to the passage several times to be certain that I didn't mishear it. This is only the most glaring of several such errors.)

If one wants a Republican Party history written from a more balanced viewpoint, one should look elsewhere.

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Virtual Voice: Not Ready for Prime Time

Revisado: 03-11-24

Virtual Voice handles the pronunciation of most American English sounds fairly well. There are several drawbacks. It doesn't handle idioms well: Boeing 727 comes out as "Boeing seven hundred twenty-seven." It reads the scanned text verbatim. Hearing "next page" repeatedly became tiresome. VV doesn't place any vocal emphasis where the text needs it. VV still needs a lot of work before it sounds "natural."

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Read This Title, Don't Listen to It

Revisado: 08-07-22

You need to SEE the invented words to integrate them meaningfully into the author's narrative.

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It seems they can do more than we think

Revisado: 02-04-22

The canine companion in your household may be able to communicate by more than just barking!!!

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That's the F!

Revisado: 08-22-21

1) Anyone who has listened to this work in its entirety should receive a Merit Badge in "Humanity" for listening to more expletives per hour than in any other recording.
2) Anyone who has listened to this work in its entirety will probably find that most of reproduced here have lost at least some, if not all, of the power which they may have had before playback was begun.
3) The obvious area of research not covered in this work is the physiological effect of violently letting loose with "f**k" or "s**t" at the top of one's lungs and the enormous rush of endorphins generated by that act.

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Proverbial "10 pounds of flour in a 5 pound bag"!

Revisado: 08-11-21

There is so much information in this book, and it comes at you so frequently and so fast, that the reader must read and re-read it (well, listen to it) to guarantee that all the value which the author has packed into this volume is successfully captured.

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The Big Time is a big deal!

Revisado: 02-10-21

Leiber mixes cosmogony, time travel, evolution, "chain-of-being", and unique personalities in a swirling, tasty concoction.

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Vintage Christie

Revisado: 01-15-21

AC constructs twist and turns to lead her audience to believe that they are on the verge of solving the murder of Monsieur Renauld. Then she (through Poirot) reminds them of a detail mentioned off-handedly earlier in the story. And voila! The applecart is upset, and the mystery must now be attacked from a different angle. Rinse and repeat! She then manages to make all the pieces fall into place at the very end. And the audience is left exhausted but satisfied.

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A Book to Sweep the Cobwebs Out of Your Brain

Revisado: 09-08-20

Far too many people need to have their smug certainty about the world around them thoroughly demolished. "Factfulness" will certainly do that, but in a way which lets people retain a degree of self-respect. It will help anyone with an open mind learn ways to combat ingrained biases in how one regards "others,"

Hans Rosling makes the convincing, data-based case that the world isn't in as bad a shape as many claim it to be. He also models how not to be a dystopian pessimist or a Panglossian optimist, but rather a realistic "possiblist."

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Deliciously informative and entertaining

Revisado: 06-20-20

This was a very good "weekend-listen" introduction to a fascinating subject. It closed with ample references for those who might want to learn more.

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