Rue37

Very Informative ... and Biased

Revisado: 01-14-24

I really enjoyed this book, which detailed Apaches' varied and mostly traumatic experiences with European invaders of their homeland beginning in the 17th century and continuing through roughly the 1910s. From slavery to the Spanish, to conciliation and violence by the Mexicans, to the Americans who imprisoned many in Florida following the capture of Geronimo and his followers. The government even imprisoned those Apache scouts that helped capture Geronimo to begin with, a terrible miscarriage of justice.

The narrator was good and did a fine job of sounding disapproving when reading the judgments of author Paul Conrad towards Europeans and Anglo-Americans who subjugated Apache peoples. As a historian myself, I try not to put my own 21st century morality on that of people dozens or hundreds of years in the past, but Conrad makes clear his own bias in that regards. His bias is pro-Native, which to me is merely the other swing of the pendulum from pro-Anglo-American which it has, admittedly, been for so many years. It is easy to sympathize with the plight of the Apaches because they still continue to struggle with remnants of the past, however.

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Absorbing and Exciting Shipwreck Story

Revisado: 08-12-23

This story weaves the tale of two shipwrecks on the Auckland Islands in the mid-1800s, roughly contemporary to one another. By contrasting the leadership and capabilities of both crews, a tale of honor and ingenuity is revealed on one hand, and incompetence and pettiness on the other. Otherwise this is a fairly standard tale of the terrible suffering and despair that accompanies such expeditions, though members of both crews managed to make it back to civilization. As a writer myself, I enjoyed author Druett's deft hand at prose and her deep and engaging research.

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Very enjoyable for us seasoned writers

Revisado: 08-02-23

This book is for those of us who have been slogging away in the trenches for a while and we are tired, blocked, and sad. We have put a lot of pressure on ourselves and it has resulted in a lot of needless suffering. This enjoyable, profanity-laden book really gets to the heart of all that pressure and how to relieve it and continue on with your writing.

The narrator was fantastic - he got the tone and cadence down perfectly. A plus!

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Forgotten for a Reason?

Revisado: 07-27-23

I really wanted to like this book a lot more than I did. The books includes 40 chapters of various forgotten peoples;, with each chapter around 10 minutes in length. The writing style was rather dry and I really struggled to pay attention to the details about each forgotten people. Suggesting that maybe they were forgotten from sheer boredom. Which surely can't be the case. Forgotten peoples likely don't have a lot of "press" from ancient writers, but I'm sure the writer could have given us more context.

Plus the narrator reminded me of some snobby British butler. I just didn't like his presentation, and I'm normally not that picky about such things.

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Great content ... not so great narration

Revisado: 10-28-19

Love the interesting, informative content. The narrator is not easy on the ears. He sounds like Dr. Marvin Monroe from the Simpsons.

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Limited Scope

Revisado: 10-28-19

Good content here if you want to become a professional audiobook narrator. Unfortunately, I wanted to find out about narrating audiobooks of your own content and not in a studio. There was nothing about that. Still, I did glean a few tips here and there.

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Did Learn a Few Things Despite My Annoyance

Revisado: 08-15-18

I am probably not the ideal listener for this book. I have a master's degree in history, so I actually know how it is supposed to be done - and this book here? Is not real history. It's entertaining schlock. Well, let me rephrase that - the continual snarky asides by the author are at first unusual and soon (so very soon) utterly annoying. A real historian seeks to be objective when researching her subject and does not impose today's judgment on events, cultures, and actions that occurred the past. Wright is quite UNobjective and indulges in frequent Monday morning quarterbacking. This is best illustrated by the criticisms of how the government responded to the AIDS epidemic in the 80s. The only reason I gave this book 3 stars is that I did enjoy learning about the dancing plague, Typhoid Mary, and Jonas Salk in detail.

The narrator was fine though she stumbled over foreign words occasionally.

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Perfect for Halloween

Revisado: 10-16-16

What made the experience of listening to My Haunted Life 3 the most enjoyable?

Short, chilling tales of the supernatural written with a deft hand. The narrator is spot on - a stentorian delivery with perfect tones and pauses in just the right places.

What does Alan Philip Ormond bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

An atmosphere of dread and danger - Ormond brings to life old Hollywood classics like Dracula and Frankenstein with his skilled narration.

If you could give My Haunted Life 3 a new subtitle, what would it be?

Short tales of the supernatural in every day life.

Any additional comments?

The short stories are the perfect length to listen to if you have a few minutes here and there. I enjoyed the author's hints about himself - his studies and worldview. They raise questions but give no pat answers, leaving open questions, much like the other stories herein.

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Interesting Look at the Evolution of Housing

Revisado: 10-22-15

Would you consider the audio edition of Families and Farmhouses in Nineteenth-Century Amerca: Vernacular Design and Social Change to be better than the print version?

Yes, I would consider the audio edition better than the print version. Why? Because I never would have learned that it existed otherwise.

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

No, I haven't. She's a fine narrator with a pleasant voice and good cadence and pacing.

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

"Moved" is a strong word for a scholarly book, which is what this is. It interested me in places, but I can't say that it moved me.

Any additional comments?

This book reminded me of The Reshaping of Everyday Life by Jack Larkin because it dealt with the reality of day to day living spaces in American history in a similarly fascinating manner.

The beginning is rather dry. Persist through that and you'll find some fascinating insights into relatively unexamined territory.

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Enjoyable and Creepy Victorian Tale

Revisado: 09-14-15

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I liked the unusual premise and the attention to detail. It really felt like I was in Victorian times, complete with dour guardian, straight-necked vicar, and precocious young heroine. It had some genuinely creepy moments where I wondered what in the world would happen. However it wasn't gory or over the top hysterical, both of which I liked.

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

The ending was satisfying, although I expected it quite a bit earlier than it actually came.

What about Caprisha Page’s performance did you like?

A delightful performance by a skilled narrator. Caprisha Page has an unusual accent which really adds interest and enjoyability to the story. Highly recommended!

Any additional comments?

I found the story overly long - it could have benefited from cutting out a good 25% of it, if not more. There was a tendency to reveal certain plot points too early and easily, which made me impatient for them to come up.Still, an overall enjoyable listen and one which I would recommend.

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