Tony Loman

Get the Printed Book

Revisado: 10-19-21

I purchased this without thinking. Have had the printed book for many years and thought it would be nice to listen to again. The reader is actually very talented but the content does not lend itself to audio. Like listening to your calculus and analytic geometry text. It is actually faster to read the text. I found myself giggling as the reader read zeros and ones and whatever. Who could follow that. Another option might be to listen while you read. The content of this book is absolutely marvelous and the point that intelligence is more than computation is something that we need to pay attention to. Penrose is a genius. A newer book making many of the same points is The Myth of Artificial Intelligence by Erik Larson. Larson's book is engaging and good for listening.

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Clear

Revisado: 04-12-19

Okay, when I saw this was written by an electrical engineer, I almost rejected it out-of-hand. But it promised to address something that has always been a question of mine about evolution. Yes, descent with modification over billions of years is undeniable. But where is the evidence that modification as natural selection occurs only through random mutations. I kept looking but never found any. The empirical evidence of change has been presented often in many books I have read but never with any evidence of random mutations. Marshall presents five alternatives, each with massive experimental evidence. At the same time he resists the temptation to go the route of many intelligent design advocates who make God the direct designer of countless trillions of modifications over 3.7 billion years of life on earth. Get the book as well for references because you will want to go beyond his presentations.

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I add my approval

Revisado: 04-11-17

What made the experience of listening to Extracted the most enjoyable?

Superb dialog, sympathetic characters, great story line at least for this volume, an outstanding reader (Prekopp brings the characters to life), and, oh yes, a time travel plot that makes sense. Not deep, however. Just "fast food scifi" as another reviewer indicated. Please hurry up and get the second volume recorded or I may have to buy the printed book and (horrors) actually read it.

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Like and dislike

Revisado: 02-15-17

Any additional comments?

Let me start by saying the Chris Hedges book War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning is wonderful. One of the best books on society and war ever written in my humble opinion. It should be required reading in high schools. I found so much that I agree with in the present book, which is a long edited and respoken interview of Hedges, such a corporate influence and control of government, income and resource disparity, disregard by elites of people in need , etc. What I found disconcerting is Hedges need to stereotype everything and everyone. For example, you come away thinking that Hedges believes that all rich elite people are evil, callous and nonredeemable. He tends to throw everyone and everything into one of two baskets: good or evil. For example, Hilary and Donald are both in the evil basket. No need to make any distinctions between them and both should be equally condemned. How simplistic. The interview was good because it informed me about Hedges whom I think is influential on the left but it also convinced me that I should not spend time reading him further. The world is more complex.

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Wonderful

Revisado: 06-26-16

Great story. Garrido is good. Motivates me to begin reading Chinese history of the period. The main character is well known. Also Todd Haberkorn is as usual a superb reader. He is one the few readers that I search for in selecting books. Check out his reading of the Risk Agent books. Captivating.

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Better and better

Revisado: 05-05-16

Liked Daz. Tiona is better. Wonderful depiction of a man on the spectrum and his family. Tiona character is sufficiently complex to hold your interest. overall good science... okay, maybe a little far out but it is science fiction isn't it? Also the plot is satisfying for those of us who like morality tales.

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Great performance by Gardner, Slow and Boring book

Revisado: 04-01-16

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

If the plot had been structured like those of the other books in Vorkosigan series. They all combined interesting characters, evolving and devolving relationships with action and interesting adventures. This book was simply a romance novel set in the future. Really disappointing.

Would you ever listen to anything by Lois McMaster Bujold again?

Yes. She is one of the best scifi/fantasy writers ever. I realize that some may like the book but, for me, many of the romance sections could have been excised or shortened and something involving tension/conflict/action/danger should have been introduced. Her earlier book on Miles' courtship did this and was wonderful reading.

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Domestic comedy, serious underlying climate theme

Revisado: 09-05-14

Would you listen to Fifty Degrees Below again? Why?

Yes, in a year or two because I enjoyed so many of the scenes. Robinson's affection for his fictitious characters is contagious. And so much of the book rings true, at least in my experience with children, scientists and academics.

Which character – as performed by Peter Ganim and Kim Stanley Robinson – was your favorite?

Liked several but would have to say Charlie.

Any additional comments?

Several have commented on the reader Ganim. He narrates very deliberately and I know this irritates some people who want the narration to be very dramatic. I just focused on the content rather than the slow reading style. I think he did a great job on the dialogue, though, using different voices, inflections and accents. As to the underlying theme of the book, Robinson is able to insert important little treatises on climate change and on the role of scientists in society without coming across as pedantic. I liked that.

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Convincing arguments

Revisado: 10-05-12

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

I think it is easier to listen but the print or Kindle (which I have) version helps with tables, charts, and statistics provided in the text. In order to recall it later I find that it helps to read as well as hear that type of material. Also, the book contained detailed footnotes and references. By having the print version, I was able to look up reference materials and read it myself.

What did you like best about this story?

This is nonfiction but there is nonetheless a story line tracing the development of inequality over the 20th Century. The most important message is that inequality hurts everyone including those at the top and that a certain amount of income and wealth leveling is good for everyone.

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Great book, poor reader

Revisado: 08-07-12

Is there anything you would change about this book?

I agree with most of the other reviewers that Ken was not the best choice for narrator. He seems to read words rather than sentences, and often emphasizes the wrong words. In some cases I had to restate the sentences in my head before they made sense. Pronunciation is generally good but he sometimes skips articles, like "a" and "the" when he comes to a word that is going to be difficult. This distracts from an otherwise excellent book. Nonetheless, I think it was well worth my time in spite of the reader. I was gratified to discover that the book is about much more than China. Moyo sets each resource in its international context before telling us how China is reacting. The book evidently has many charts and graphs and it would have been nice to have those available while I listened, andI think I am going to buy the print version so that I can go back and look at the graphics. I will put it next to Gilding's, The Great Disruption, another book worth listening to.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Ken Perlstein?

The great Grover Gardner would have been better.

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