glennn

The expected, anticipated, hoped for BIG ending...

Revisado: 11-11-15

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

yes; Grisham is a good writer

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

the collection of short episodes

Any additional comments?

This was a bit of a letdown for one I pre-ordered. Grisham has always been good at keeping you on edge till the big finish. This one, I kept waiting for the big finish and at some point before the end concluded there just wasn't going to be one. It just sort of....ended.
Oh well.

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So anticipated this book; so disappointed.

Revisado: 05-11-15

What would have made When to Rob a Bank better?

I only got to chapter 5 before I returned it.

a. The biggest criticism of economics in general is that it ignores reality and assumes that people are logical rational beings. So when the authors suggested that the British Health Service just give $1,000 to each citizen on January 1 to use for the year's medical expenses...??!?!?. In a rational world this would work great. In real life there would be a lot of televisions bought on January 2 and a lot of politicians unwilling to let kids go without health care in November (and shelling out more money).

b. There was a long passage in which they handed the mic to an airline pilot who went on a scree about how pilots are not paid enough and the current system is far less safe than the old 3-man crew of the 20th century. No idea how this fits the book, but the current air traffic system flies several times more people with fewer accidents than the old one did, so perhaps the system is not really that bad. (NOTE: an entire chapter was also devoted to worrying about the wrong things in life---like maybe plane crashes??)

You get the idea. I am sad that this one didn't live up to the quality of their books.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Love Freakonomics and Super Freakonomics. This was a real let-down.

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esto le resultó útil a 15 personas

Broad generalizations and rants

Revisado: 09-14-13

What would have made Antifragile better?

The fundamental premise is flawed; he tries to propose a theory that explains numerous phenomena using a single model, which rarely works. The author spends the better part of the first hour skewering academics, economists, doctors, etc. While some of his complaints are legit, I didn't drop $15 to hear someone rant about this stuff.

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Fast/slow/fast

Revisado: 09-07-12

Any additional comments?

"This audio book has been broken into parts to make the download faster...." But nothing could make the middle of this book any faster. From a good fast start it wallows through a sagging middle where the most minute details seem to be worth lines and lines of discussion. This book goes in my list of "2xers"---those books that you have to bump up to 2x speed in the middle to get to the end.

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Not what it claims to be

Revisado: 05-05-12

Would you try another book from A. J. Jacobs and/or A. J. Jacobs?

Won't read him again.

What could A. J. Jacobs have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The book felt lazy. Rather than actually try to live out the various things that might make him "the healthiest man alive" as he claimed to want, he just ran around interviewing people with fringe ideas. In some cases, he tried stuff just to try it: had his teeth whitened BEFORE going home to do a simple Google search that convinced him it was an unhealthy thing to to. As he found things that he was convinced did work, he quickly abandoned them in favor of the next thing on the buffet. It's not a book about trying to be the healthiest man alive--it's a book about trying all the various things that might make you healthier, but with very little effort actually put into becoming more healthy. It's like trying to be healthier by watching the people at the gym or reading a nutrition book.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

First time I've ever gotten back on Audible and looked for a way to get a refund. Reminded me powerfully of Andy Rooney, who started each piece with "Did you ever wonder why..." and went on to ramble around about the topic for several minutes without ever actually saying anything.

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a bit stiff and history-ish

Revisado: 04-25-11

While the cover shows Marilyn Monroe, JFK, and 9-11, the bulk of the book is devoted to historically important but generally dull conspiracy theories of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The first part of the book seems legit, as it tries to demonstrate that conspiracy theories have been around forever. But soon it bogs down in the long, drawn-out discussions of ones we've never heard of, while the well-known 20th century ones seem to get passing discussion.

Good if you want history, not so good if you want the curiosity which is modern conspiracy theories. Perhaps the author is out to get us....... ;)

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

Half great read, half political rant

Revisado: 04-25-11

I rated this 3 stars---the first half was easily 5 stars, a well-researched and written analysis of happiness and what does/does not make it. Part 2 was worth 1 star, a seemingly endless retelling of all the woes of current American society and choices. Ironically some of the prescriptions do not even appear to make economic sense. While I do agree with some of the author's points, if I wanted a political discourse on economics I would have bought another book. Will listen to part 1 again; will delete part 2.

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