Matt

Brilliant, colorful, thoughtful

Revisado: 06-28-24

Truly great history, well researched, colorful cast, sweeping judgments and historical arguments. Read it twice over.

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Misleading title

Revisado: 06-28-24

A meandering, obtuse memoir. Does not give much insight about what it is like to go to war, just about one uninteresting person’s experience in the Vietnam war.

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good if outdated tips

Revisado: 08-30-16

There are some good ideas worth practicing and exploring, but sometimes it's woefully outdated. It's a supplement more than a bible, which should and will always be How to Win Friends and Influence People, which somehow is more relevant than this material.

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Listenable and enjoyable history

Revisado: 01-03-16

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The Wrights as characters are hard to pin down and make likeable -- admirable, yes, but they come across as a bit lacking. The best that can be said is that they're easy to admire and they are a marvel of Yankee ingenuity.

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

David McCullough is one of the great historytellers of our time. Listen to anything he's narrated and try not to be absorbed in it!

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Interesting and saucy

Revisado: 10-16-15

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

The author focused on the theme, rebellion, and as a result included plenty of saucy details in an age of wit and irreverence. The narrator was great.

Who was your favorite character and why?

PEPYS.

Which character – as performed by Clive Chafer – was your favorite?

Pepys. A million times Pepys.

Any additional comments?

The author glossed over the true significance of the era. The Civil War was the penultimate event of the liberal western tradition that started with the ancient Greeks. The American and French revolutions, and thus the modern western tradition, wouldn't be possible without the rebellions against the Stuarts. None of this is touched upon, and it doesn't make use of any authoritative sources; it's merely a good collection of biographies and events.

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Sunrise and sunset of the British Empire

Revisado: 09-19-15

Would you listen to The Rise and Fall of the British Empire again? Why?

It was pretty thorough and a good survey, but I can't imagine any reason to listen again.

What did you like best about this story?

Professor Allitt seems to have a pretty good command of the material, vast as it is, and he presents it well.

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Totally boring

Revisado: 05-06-15

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No. Prof O'Donnell may be a good professor, I don't know, but he doesn't know how to craft a narrative, and he delivers everything as if he was reading from a book.

Any additional comments?

If you never took an American history class in college, this might be a decent choice for you. Otherwise, if you're like me, you won't find anything interesting, insightful, or new about this book. It just spins the same old yarn that you learned throughout high school and college delivered like a bedtime story.

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esto le resultó útil a 1 persona

It didn't lose me

Revisado: 04-28-15

What did you love best about The Men Who Lost America: British Leadership, the American Revolution and the Fate of the Empire?

Excellent story that was well researched, performed, and organized.

What did you like best about this story?

Always interesting or entertaining.

Which character – as performed by Gildart Jackson – was your favorite?

Most of them come off as sympathetic, though Lord North was especially so. When taunted by an opposition member with North's habit of sleeping in the House, “Even now, in the midst of these perils, the noble lord is asleep,” North replied, “I wish to God I were,”.

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

Moved to know as a longtime American History buff there is still plenty to learn.

Any additional comments?

Probably one of the best audiobooks I have ever read.

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esto le resultó útil a 12 personas

Pedantic and uninteresting for amateur listeners

Revisado: 03-30-15

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

No. Most of the material was above my head or outside of my interest. I came to this course after seeing the excellent BBC series "The Adventure of English" and wanted a deeper understanding of the history and development of our language, but this was a pedantic and uninteresting tirade-like overview of the language.

Would you be willing to try another one of Professor Seth Lerer’s performances?

Not from Prof Lerer. I thought he was kind of pretentious.

Do you think The History of the English Language, 2nd Edition needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

I didn't finish the first one so I can't see why I would ever get a followup.

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esto le resultó útil a 2 personas

Decent overview, but largely unsatifactory

Revisado: 03-30-15

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Prof McWhorter; He seems to know his stuff alright, but he is completely awkward in his performance, and much of his focus is on material and topics that I found boring.

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

The stuff about Indo-European was pretty interesting.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Prof McWhorter's jokes were awkward and almost always fell flat. He made references about obscure things, and I was often baffled about what he was talking about.

Was The Story of Human Language worth the listening time?

No.

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