Jim Foley

A fun, interesting listen for readers & writers

Revisado: 07-26-22

Enjoyable to listen to, with a good narrator and many, many interesting concepts and statistics. A good idea, well executed. If you are reading reviews to decide whether to buy the book, I'll just tell you that it's exactly what it seems to be, and it's good at it.

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Oh, crud, am I giving this five stars?

Revisado: 12-07-15

What did you like best about this story?

I don't like to give anything five stars but this was a darned good experience for me on many levels - the history, the entertainment, and the example of good writing - moving tales engaging characters on both sides, a well-architected story in which the characters remained amazingly distinct and clear, plus some great American English prose. Hearing the history presented this way brings it to life and makes these characters and events recognizable when I see them in other venues - much more than simply reading a dry paragraph in a textbook. An enjoyable, expanding, and worthwhile investment.

What does Stephen Hoye bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Good voices that helped keep the large cast of characters clear in my head. Enough accent to provide color and atmosphere to the reading. Not overacted, which is appreciated, but enough.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Nice short argument

Revisado: 12-07-15

What made the experience of listening to Free Will the most enjoyable?

Sam Harris presents good arguments in a way that comes off as passionate but reasonably objective. This was not a long listen, but a worthwhile short listen that stirred things up and made me think.

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Good book

Revisado: 12-07-15

What did you like best about this story?

I was looking for some short books on the founders of the Analytic tradition in philosophy, and this was helpful to me. Nice short interwoven biographies of these two philosophers with notes on their work and how it fit into the times and the progression of Western thought. I agree with another reviewer that Russell got more coverage but not overwhelmingly so. It was a nice mix.

What about Lynn Redgrave’s performance did you like?

Clear, pleasant, well suited to the British academics who are the subjects of the book.

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esto le resultó útil a 3 personas

Not sure what this book is.

Revisado: 12-07-15

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

As other reviewers have noted, this is an odd book, perhaps expanded from a paper or a memoir by someone who had been obsessed with Wittgenstein earlier in life and then, at some later time, had to resolve that with a conversion to strong Christianity. If you are looking for a relatively brief overview of Wittgenstein's life and work, consider Bartley's "Wittgenstein". This book is an unusual hybrid of memoir, Christian theology, and selected portions of Wittgenstein's work, sewn together into a short book that doesn't have a clear purpose or audience.

Has Investigating Wittgenstein turned you off from other books in this genre?

Nope.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Investigating Wittgenstein?

Nothing against the author, who seems very smart, but I don't think I'd have published this book at all. I don't understand the theme of it. If some of the personal stuff had been taken out, it might be part of a long textbook at a Christian university on resolving Western philosophy to Christian theology.

Any additional comments?

Sorry, I do not recommend this book.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Somewhat fun

Revisado: 12-07-15

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

If I had to sacrifice some memories to free up some brain cells, I'd be willing to sacrifice this memory. It was a clever premise, with some cool ideas before it was all over, and a sort-of fun story, but the author ddin't seem to understand the novel form or some of the basics of storytelling. For instance, the first few chapters just laid out characters, one after another, without really drawing me in or telling a story. That went on for too long, without any hint of a theme, or any reason to care about the characters, or anything amiss in the world, or a sense of conflict to resolve. Eventually I did like one or two of the characters and the interesting ideas. I might consider reading other books by this writer at some point.

What about Ray Porter’s performance did you like?

Clear reading, easy to listen to, some "acting" but not over the top.

Could you see 14 being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

Actually, yes, if it were made into a movie they'd keep the good parts and present it more artfully - might be good.

Any additional comments?

I think most people here give three stars if they don't think much of a book. In this case, I'm going with two stars, but I think the writer is capable of better work and I may check him out again.

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A nice thesis, some new stuff, not difficult

Revisado: 12-07-15

Would you listen to The Storytelling Animal again? Why?

Possibly, since it had some good examples and anecdotes, and the central ideas seemed valuable to me.

What was the most compelling aspect of this narrative?

Simple thesis with a lot of good examples.

Any additional comments?

Kept my interest while walking in the woods; a couple of good afternoons.

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A nice brief coverage of Wittgenstein

Revisado: 12-07-15

What did you love best about Wittgenstein?

I wanted to know more about Wittgenstein the person, as well as his philosophy and his place in history, but I didn't want to read a lengthy biography or a philosophy textbook. This was a good compromise. He's a pretty inspiring individual in many ways, and the author clearly responded to that without going overboard. As for the philosophy, I'll probably re-listen to the chapter(s) that describe the two stages of his philosophy and how they fit into the thought of the times.

What about Jim Denison’s performance did you like?

He's a good reader with a good European delivery. His German was good, but his French was mangled. But overall a very good reading and good audio quality.

Any additional comments?

For me this was time well spent, and not a difficult listen.

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A good book in its own right

Revisado: 12-07-15

Would you listen to Casino Royale again? Why?

In a few years I might listen to it again. It's fun to experience the book where it all began, of course. But regardless of that it's a good read, well-performed, and short - I like short books. :)

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, there was enough material to fill the time. I enjoyed looking forward to getting back to it.

Any additional comments?

If it hadn't been the famous James Bond, I'd have liked it a little less. But it does stand on its own - good details about spycraft and the 1950's, plus a lot of surprisingly good prose. I had no idea Fleming could write such great English. Good stuff.

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Didn't expect much but was still disappointed

Revisado: 12-07-15

Would you try another book from Warren Murphy and Gerald Welch and/or the narrators?

No. I might go back and try the Destroyer series again, by Murphy and Sapir, just to see whether the books got worse over time or I just outgrew them. But nothing ever again from this new series or this team of Murphy and Welch.

What was most disappointing about Warren Murphy and Gerald Welch ’s story?

I was looking for a good martial-arts adventure novel, and I liked the Destroyer series in high school., so I tried this. The Destroyer was ridiculous but cheesy good fun. This book, however, was way over the line - poorly thought out, with plot elements carelessly manhandled into position with little thought of credibility. There was almost no attempt to add any authentic details or believable characters, motivations, situations, or even technology. I tried to go along for the sheer fun of it, but it was impossible to care about these characters or this farcical situation. This was like something phoned in by a stoner. And definitely not a martial-arts novel.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

If this book had been fifteen minutes longer I'd have never finished it.

Any additional comments?

Someone is trying to cash in on the success of the earlier books. But instead of doing something better, they threw this together, badly. Sorry to bear bad news; I promise I'll do at least one positive review of something else to make up for it. :)

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