alexyakkavoo

Had to Give Up After Five Tries

Revisado: 08-06-20

I have listened to a lot of history - from the killing of Passenger Pigeons to the Gulag and the Iron Curtain - but I could just not get into the meat of this book if there is meat in there. I have read several other books on the value of the science in Asia, but this was like a chef coming out to your table and saying - Your meal is going to THE BEST... the MOST delicious so many times you starve. In this case, the author keeps writing about ... It was the best, they were the best, they were amazing, yadda yadda. I just couldn't take it anymore.

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Let me make it easier for you.

Revisado: 06-03-20

I have listened a lot of books on Audible - most of them history - and I just can't take any more of this one.
It's like being nibbled to death by ducks or a bedtime story from the IRS tax form instructions.

For a place that influenced so much European history, Prussia should be much more interesting than this book
makes it out to be:

Take a few hours and repeat the following lines with variations and you will get an idea what this book is like.
(The dates and people and places are in a random order.)
Albert Frederick
April 4, 1602
August 8, 1732
Carl von Brühl
Christian of Oliva
David Caro
Dorothea of Montau
February 2, 1556
Frederick I
Frederick William
Friedrich Bessel
Fyodor Ertell
George William
Hans Albrecht von Barfus
Henry Berger
January 1, 1611
John Endres
John Sigismund
July 7, 1632
June 6, 1589
Leonie Cohn
Ludolf von Alvensleben (Major General)
March 3, 1568
May 5, 1715
October 10, 1547
Paul Beneke
Peter Crüger
September 9, 1788

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The Detail is Numbing

Revisado: 07-13-16

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Cut half the material and get a different narrator.When I reached the part where the author talks about a town that "claimed to serve the Home of the Sweetest Strawberries..." or when he talks about "41,449 pounds of aluminum" or "25,605 pounds of aluminum scrap", it was just too much detail. It is like a football game being reported every 30 seconds and each every attendee being quoted on what they think is happening in the game.

Has A Call to Arms turned you off from other books in this genre?

Probably not.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Ben Bartolone?

Can't think of anyone in particular, but he puts too much emotion in the reading so that a discussion of who is fighting who in the bureaucracy comes across as something leading to a climax when there isn't one or won't be one for a long time to come.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from A Call to Arms?

Much of the interplay between bureaucratic groups and quote after quote of people with only slight involvement in the story. For example, "The company's president responded by saying, "I believe the Government is all wet."" So... what does that add to the story?

Any additional comments?

Please refund credit for book.

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Great on all levels

Revisado: 06-30-16

Would you consider the audio edition of The Romanovs to be better than the print version?

While I have read biographies of Peter the Great as well as histories of Russia as a country and the historical novel Russka, this book put the family's experience in perspective in a way the other ones didn't.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Romanovs?

The psychological and mental weakness of Alexandra.

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

I feel the story as if I were a participant rather than a spectator.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The frustration and cluelessness of Nicholas.

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Mr Bryson, Take Your Medication or Shut Up

Revisado: 05-05-16

What disappointed you about The Road to Little Dribbling?

Is FUCK this and FUCK that really necessary in a book about how charming the English countryside is? The whole book reminds me of visiting to a high school friend who used to be upbeat and happy with life and you see him 20 years later and they hate the world because it didn't turn out the way he wanted it. So, get over it. I have loved his other books, but this was stupid and disgusting.

Has The Road to Little Dribbling turned you off from other books in this genre?

No, but it has certainly given me pause about Bill Bryson's writing skills and views on life.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Nathan Osgood?

Don't know.

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

The occasional interesting story about locations and their history.

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HUGE amount left out

Revisado: 01-24-15

I had to bail out after the first chapter. To talk about steel and not even mention Damascus steel is ridiculous

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Narrator did his best. Very thin writing.

Revisado: 11-02-14

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I could say so much. But then the writer could have, too. His theme of compassion was first introduced lightly and was then repeated until it became annoying and then obnoxious and then down right repulsive. He also kept referring to his abuse(?) he suffered as a child, but I was so bored with the book, I never got to the end.

Would you ever listen to anything by Jon Katz again?

Would have to see more of the printed copy before I take a chance.

Have you listened to any of Tom Stechschulte’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, I haven't.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Saving Simon?

I would have dramatically cut back on the pondering on compassion.

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Very Geeky, But So Am I. Loved it.

Revisado: 11-02-14

Would you consider the audio edition of The Martian to be better than the print version?

I didn't try the print version so I don't know.

What other book might you compare The Martian to and why?

Day of the Jackal due the large number of specific details and the suspense.

What about R. C. Bray’s performance did you like?

I could believe he was each of the characters especially the astronaut on Mars.

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

Yes

Any additional comments?

Really, really enjoyed the book.

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Writing from Another Time

Revisado: 10-28-14

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

The writing in this book is much more flowery than I was expecting.
If someone likes that sort of almost reminiscing flowery writing, they might like this book.

Has A Natural History of North American Trees turned you off from other books in this genre?

Not really. I enjoyed the Botany of Desire.

What about Kevin Stillwell’s performance did you like?

For the writing, he handled the narration well.

What character would you cut from A Natural History of North American Trees?

Does Not Apply

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EGADS!! Tell the story already!!

Revisado: 04-06-14

What would have made Moby-Duck better?

Tell the %#$%$#$# story. I am hours into the book and he is still in self-examination mode telling how beautiful the waves are on his ride on the ferry or how he felt guilty about this or that. It is like going to a concert and listening to singer talk about how they or feeling or what they had for lunch rather than singing. TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT.

What do you think your next listen will be?

History

How could the performance have been better?

Tell the story.

What character would you cut from Moby-Duck?

The author's philosophizing and self-examination.

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