Eric H. Roth, English teacher, ESL expert, and co-author of the 'Compelling Conversations' series

Riveting details of ancient tales and repeated follies

Revisado: 02-28-25

This fascinating book provides a primer and commentary on an ancient Greek historian by a Polish foreign correspondent during the Cold War. The author recalls his reading of Persian and Greek history and shocking tales while traveling from Poland to Italy to India to China and across Africa, The digressions and questions about the stories provoke readers to wonder and reflect. How foolish, vain, and cruel can humans be?

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So how did the American Civil War begin?

Revisado: 09-20-24

Sometimes a riveting history retells a familiar, if vague, tale in a new, fascinating light. This exceptional popular history retraces the beginning months of the American Civil War. It’s an astonishing story of blind faiths, regionalism, political miscalculations, and casual cruelty.

Composed of poignant details from the authentic writings of powerful men and insightful women, this often surprising book emphasizes the many forgotten pivotal moments in an unfolding tragedy. One can’t but wonder if Americans are wiser today than the flawed humans just 160 years ago.

Let’s hope wiser voices prevail.

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Weird intro unrelated to the subject

Revisado: 06-22-24

A very dated, royal family first narrative with too little context. The sections on the Golden Age of Discovery are astonishingly vague.

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Timeless wisdom for our confused age

Revisado: 04-22-24

What do you recall of the myth of King Arthur and his round table? How did the wizard Merlin prepare Arthur to rule as a young boy? What lessons did Arthur learn from his time as different living creatures?

This charming, humorous and insightful audiobook shares some timeless wisdom for our confused age. Returning to it as a senior citizen, I rediscovered some delightful philosophical debates conveyed in a distinctly English idiom of medieval legends.

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A Cynical, Witty Critique of Four Victorian Heroes

Revisado: 01-13-24

Perhaps the most celebrated early 20th century biographies of British heroes, this revisionist collection of short profiles retains its charm. The last profile of General Gordon, the English martyr of Khartoum, depicts his military career and religious zeal.

As religious wars continue across the Mideast, this retelling of the battle between a 19th jihadist - the Mehdi - and a British imperialist - General Gordon- seems exceptionally poignant. It goes far beyond the 1965 Hollywood film “Khartoum” in providing the historical context and odd personal obsessions of Chinese Gordon.

Strachey, a gifted, sarcastic writer, highlights revealing details to both celebrate and mock Gordon. Perhaps the least traditional of the four biographies, it’s also the most satisfying in this audiobook.

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A Satisfying, Surprising Primer on a Crucial Year

Revisado: 07-18-23

Chronicling a strange, turbulent year of war and chaos through the lens of both famous leaders and common citizens, this fascinating book becomes a satisfying primer on courage amidst chaos. Churchill emerges as a great man who saved England, inspired a nation, and ultimately defeated an aggressive Nazi regime.

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How do we talk with zealots?

Revisado: 06-20-23

From the provocative title to the revealing snapshots of impossible conversations, the authors continually seek to both strengthen relationships and challenge distorted perceptions. The authors essentially suggest affirm good intentions while seeking evidence to support specific claims, bold assertions and new definitions.

Here are some recommended questions to ask zealots while having an impossible conversation.
Why do say that?
What lead you to that insight?
How strong is the evidence?
Is this the only interpretation?
What are five other possibilities?
What’s the most likely? Why?
How long has this been the case?
When did you first become aware of this reality?
Is there a possibility that you are mistaken?
What would it take for you to change your mind?
On a scale of 1-10, how certain are you?

The authors continually emphasize seeking to understand others as much as persuasion. The techniques echo classic advice from ancient philosophers to modern psychologists. Still, given the rapid adoption of extreme ideologies and deep cultural divisions today, this book provides some savvy tips on holding challenging conversations with confused relatives and dogmatic colleagues.

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Illuminating personal and family stories

Revisado: 06-04-23

Thank you for sharing your illuminating personal and family stories. The horror of the violent partition of British India into Pakistan and India has seldom been so vividly described.
While many listeners might blame the actual humans and religious communities committing rape and murder, this podcast blames the British Empire for deepening religious identities during the colonial era. This claim might be true, but it hardly prevents the individuals and communities of agency in the post-colonial period.
Episodes 1,5, and 6 deserve much wider audiences and many awards.

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Refreshing phrases

Revisado: 06-04-23

Bravo! This new collection of 52 newly translated Chekhov short stories surprises with refreshing phrases illuminating classic conflicts. It’s a tunnel into 19th Russia and contemporary lives.

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An informative primer on the British Empire

Revisado: 04-16-23

Challenging common assumptions about the origins, methods and consequences of the British Empire, this primer argues that most nations benefited from British rule. How would the world look like today if the British Empire never existed?

Then the book briefly compares the British, Spanish, French, Russian, and German imperial practices. It appears that being ruled by the British was more humane. Individual rights matter more. Religious tolerance and economic development are far more common. The author argues that the British Commonwealth provides far better governance than the typical UN member state.

Yet the author’s principal method of historical narrative focuses on prominent British leaders, spies, and military commanders across the centuries. The thumbnail biographies often transform dry facts into compelling glimpses into influential lives: Henry Hudson, Captain Cook, Francis Drake, George Washington, Sir Richard Francis Burton, General Gordon, T.E.Lawrence, and Winston Churchill, The sympathetic portrayal of some other British figures reflects a nostalgic ethos.

This book - like the more popular, once revisionist accounts - works better at complicated one-dimensional narratives. It reminds 21st readers of some often forgotten facts and provides additional context to contemporary, multiculturalist versions.

This niche account also helps explain both the spread of democratic values and the rarity of good governance in many nations today. The British Empire set the stage, in this version of history, for a more democratic, idealistic American empire.

How long will this latest English speaking era last? Would a new Chinese empire be as humane as the British Empire? Shall we ask the residents of (and exiles from) Hong Kong?

I strongly recommend this Audible recording as a supplement, not primary, source on the British Empire.

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