Harsh Times
A Novel
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Harsh Times
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Narrated by:
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Ian Guerra
About this listen
The true story of Guatemala’s political turmoil of the 1950s as only a master of fiction can tell it.
Guatemala, 1954. The military coup perpetrated by Carlos Castillo Armas and supported by the CIA topples the government of Jacobo Árbenz. Behind this violent act is a lie passed off as truth, which forever changes the development of Latin America: the accusation by the Eisenhower administration that Árbenz encouraged the spread of Soviet Communism in the Americas. Harsh Times is a story of international conspiracies and conflicting interests in the time of the Cold War, the echoes of which are still felt today.
In this thrilling novel, Mario Vargas Llosa fuses reality with two fictions: that of the narrator, who freely recreates characters and situations, and the one designed by those who would control the politics and the economy of a continent by manipulating its history.
Harsh Times is a gripping, revealing novel that directly confronts recent history. No one is better suited to tell this riveting story than Vargas Llosa, and there is no form better for it than his deeply textured fiction. Not since The Feast of the Goat, his classic novel of the downfall of Trujillo’s regime in the Dominican Republic, has Vargas Llosa combined politics, characters, and suspense so unforgettably.
A Macmillan Audio production from Farrar, Straus & Giroux
©2021 Mario Vargas Llosa and Adrian Nathan West (P)2021 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 230
When Maziar Bahari left London in June 2009 to cover Iran's presidential election, he assured his pregnant fiancée, Paola, that he'd be back in just a few days, a week at most. Little did he know, as he kissed her good-bye, that he would spend the next three months in Iran’s most notorious prison, enduring brutal interrogation sessions at the hands of a man he knew only by his smell: Rosewater.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Book that would've shined but for the narration
- By loix on 06-24-11
By: Maziar Bahari, and others
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Stalin
- The Court of the Red Tsar
- By: Simon Sebag Montefiore
- Narrated by: Jonathan Aris
- Length: 27 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,003
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 851
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 849
In a seamless meshing of exhaustive research, brilliant synthesis and narrative élan, Simon Sebag Montefiore chronicles the life and lives of Stalin’s court from the time of his acclamation as “leader” in 1929, five years after Lenin’s death, until his own death in 1953 at the age of 73. Through the lens of personality - Stalin’s as well as those of his most notorious henchmen, Molotov, Beria and Yezhov among them - the author sheds new light on the oligarchy that attempted to create a new world by exterminating the old.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Stalinist Tyranny
- By Kindle Customer on 12-28-19
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Loving Pablo, Hating Escobar
- A Memoir
- By: Virginia Vallejo
- Narrated by: Almarie Guerra
- Length: 17 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Story4 out of 5 stars 44
At 33, Virginia Vallejo was part of the media elite. A renowned anchorwoman and socialite, and a model who appeared on magazine covers worldwide, Vallejo was the darling of Colombia's most powerful politicians and billionaires. Meeting Pablo Escobar in 1983, then becoming his mistress for many years, she witnessed the rise of a drug empire that was characterized by Escobar's far-reaching political corruption, his extraordinary wealth, and a network of violent crime that lasted until his death in 1993.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Waste of time listening to it...
- By UH-60Lima on 07-04-18
By: Virginia Vallejo
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A Time to Betray
- The Astonishing Double Life of a CIA Agent inside the Revolutionary Guards of Iran
- By: Reza Kahlili
- Narrated by: Richard Allen
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 471
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 377
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 377
A true story as exhilarating as a great spy thriller, as turbulent as today's headlines from the Middle East, A Time to Betray reveals what no other previous CIA operative's memoir possibly could: the inner workings of the notorious Revolutionary Guards of Iran, as witnessed by an Iranian man inside their ranks who spied for the American government.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great book, Farsi speakers will hate narrator
- By Johnny on 10-27-13
By: Reza Kahlili
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Topaz
- By: Leon Uris
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 11 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 123
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 104
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 104
On the eve of the Cuban Missile Crisis in Paris, 1962, Devereaux and Nordstrom uncover Soviet plans to ship nuclear arms. But when nobody acts after sharing his findings, Devereaux becomes the target of an assassination attempt and soon realizes the plot extends far beyond Cuba - and himself. A thrilling and well-paced novel filled with Cold War intrigue, Topaz features two agents on a journey around the world to save NATO and themselves.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A spy thriller in disguise
- By Shmuel M on 04-14-19
By: Leon Uris
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Agents of Innocence
- A Novel
- By: David Ignatius
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 261
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 225
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 226
Agents of Innocence is the book that established David Ignatius's reputation as a master of the novel of contemporary espionage. Into the treacherous world of shifting alliances and arcane subterfuge comes idealistic CIA man Tom Rogers. Posted in Beirut to penetrate the PLO and recruit a high-level operative, he soon learns the heavy price of innocence in a time and place that has no use for it.
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3 out of 5 stars
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breathy over-actor tarnishes an OK story
- By reader on 05-11-20
By: David Ignatius
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HHhH
- By: Laurent Binet
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 224
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 194
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 196
HHhH: "Himmlers Hirn heisst Heydrich," or "Himmler's brain is called Heydrich." The most dangerous man in Hitler's cabinet, Reinhard Heydrich was known as the "Butcher of Prague." He was feared by all and loathed by most. With his cold Aryan features and implacable cruelty, Heydrich seemed indestructible-until two men, a Slovak and a Czech recruited by the British secret service-killed him in broad daylight on a bustling street in Prague, and thus changed the course of History.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Himlers Hirn heisst Heydrich
- By Darwin8u on 02-02-13
By: Laurent Binet
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The Last Goodnight
- A World War II Story of Espionage, Adventure, and Betrayal
- By: Howard Blum
- Narrated by: Tristan Morris
- Length: 14 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 172
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 156
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Story4 out of 5 stars 157
Betty Pack was charming, beautiful, and intelligent - and she knew it. As an agent for Britain's MI6 and then America's OSS during World War II, these qualities proved crucial to her success. This is the remarkable story of this "Mata Hari from Minnesota" ( Time) and the passions that ruled her tempestuous life - a life filled with dangerous liaisons and death-defying missions vital to the Allied victory.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating
- By Salui on 11-30-16
By: Howard Blum
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Eichmann in My Hands
- A First-Person Account by the Israeli Agent Who Captured Hitler's Chief Executioner
- By: Peter Z. Malkin, Harry Stein
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 79
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 74
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Story5 out of 5 stars 73
In 1960 Argentina, a covert team of Israeli agents hunted down the most elusive war criminal alive: Adolf Eichmann, chief architect of the Holocaust. The young spy who tackled Eichmann on a Buenos Aires street - and fought every compulsion to strangle the Obersturmführer then and there - was Peter Z. Malkin. For decades Malkin's identity as Eichmann's captor was kept secret. Here he reveals the entire breathtaking story - from the genesis of the top-secret surveillance operation to the dramatic public capture and smuggling of Eichmann to Israel to stand trial.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent the first person account
- By Barrett Francescatti on 02-09-22
By: Peter Z. Malkin, and others
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The Last Palace
- Europe's Turbulent Century in Five Lives and One Legendary House
- By: Norman Eisen
- Narrated by: Jeff Goldblum
- Length: 15 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 233
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 206
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 203
When Norman Eisen moved into the US ambassador’s residence in Prague, returning to the land his mother had fled after the Holocaust, he was startled to discover swastikas hidden beneath the furniture in his new home. These symbols of Nazi Germany were remnants of the residence’s forgotten history, and evidence that we never live far from the past. From that discovery unspooled the twisting, captivating tale of four of the remarkable people who had called this palace home. Their story is Europe’s....
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3 out of 5 stars
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Great book despite goldblum’s narration
- By Fernando Ferrante on 01-19-19
By: Norman Eisen
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Limonov
- The Outrageous Adventures of the Radical Soviet Poet Who Became a Bum in New York, a Sensation in France, and a Political Antihero in Russia
- By: Emmanuel Carrère, John Lambert - translator
- Narrated by: Vikas Adam
- Length: 12 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
This is how Emmanuel Carrère, the magnetic journalist, novelist, filmmaker, and chameleon, describes his subject: "Limonov is not a fictional character. There. I know him. He has been a young punk in Ukraine, the idol of the Soviet underground; a bum, then a multimillionaire's butler in Manhattan; a fashionable writer in Paris; a lost soldier in the Balkans; and now, in the fantastic shambles of postcommunism, the elderly but charismatic leader of a party of young desperadoes."
By: Emmanuel Carrère, and others
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World’s End
- The Lanny Budd Novels, Book 1
- By: Upton Sinclair
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 103
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 94
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 94
Lanning “Lanny” Budd spends his first 13 years in Europe, living at the center of his mother’s glamourous circle of friends on the French Riviera. In 1913, he enters a prestigious Swiss boarding school and befriends Rick, an English boy, and Kurt, a German. The three schoolmates are privileged, happy, and precocious - but their world is about to come to an abrupt and violent end. When the gathering storm clouds of war finally burst, raining chaos and death over the continent, Lanny must put the innocence of youth behind him.
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3 out of 5 stars
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didn't finish
- By Bird Miller on 05-08-22
By: Upton Sinclair
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Story of a Secret State
- Penguin Modern Classics
- By: Jan Karski
- Narrated by: Janusz Guttner
- Length: 18 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 94
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Story5 out of 5 stars 82
I do not pretend to have given an exhaustive picture of the Polish Underground, its organisation and its activities. Because of our methods, I believe that there is no one today who could give an all-embracing recital...This book is a purely personal story, my story. Jan Karski's Second World War memoir is a heroic act of witness: the courageous testimony of a man who risked everything for his country. First published in 1944, the book became an instant bestseller in the US while the war still raged in Europe.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding
- By David on 10-20-11
By: Jan Karski
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The Prime Ministers
- An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership
- By: Yehuda Avner
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 470
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 429
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Story5 out of 5 stars 425
The Prime Ministers is the first and only insider account of Israeli politics from the founding of the Jewish State to the near-present day. It reveals stunning details of life-and-death decision-making, top-secret military operations and high level peace negotiations. The Prime Ministers brings listeners into the orbits of world figures, including Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter, Henry Kissinger, Yasser Arafat, Margaret Thatcher, Princess Diana and the Lubavitcher Rebbe.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great and fascinating book, wrong narrator.
- By Eli on 10-06-13
By: Yehuda Avner
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The Wind in My Hair
- My Fight for Freedom in Modern Iran
- By: Masih Alinejad
- Narrated by: Linda Henning
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 211
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 189
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 189
A photo on Masih's Facebook page: a woman standing proudly, face bare, hair blowing in the wind. Her crime: removing her veil, or hijab, which is compulsory for women in Iran. This is the self-portrait that sparked "My Stealthy Freedom", a social media campaign that went viral. But Masih is so much more than the arresting face that sparked a campaign inspiring women to find their voices. She's also a world-class journalist whose personal story, told in her unforgettably bold and spirited voice, is emotional and inspiring.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An inspiring journey
- By Krishna Teja Rekapalli on 01-06-19
By: Masih Alinejad
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The Ayatollah Begs to Differ
- The Paradox of Modern Iran
- By: Hooman Majd
- Narrated by: Hooman Majd
- Length: 9 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 218
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 136
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Story4 out of 5 stars 139
The grandson of an eminent ayatollah and the son of an Iranian diplomat, journalist Hooman Majd is uniquely qualified to explain contemporary Iran's complex and misunderstood culture to Western listeners. The Ayatollah Begs to Differ provides an intimate look at a paradoxical country that is both deeply religious and highly cosmopolitan, authoritarian yet informed by a history of democratic and reformist traditions.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good book that dodges some tougher questions
- By Walter on 08-30-09
By: Hooman Majd
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Armageddon
- A Novel of Berlin
- By: Leon Uris
- Narrated by: Graham Rowat
- Length: 24 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 203
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 177
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 177
At the end of World War II, American army officer Captain Sean O’Sullivan is commissioned with rebuilding Berlin. Reeling from the death of his brothers at German hands and faced with the direct horrors of the Holocaust, O’Sullivan struggles against his animosity towards the nation he is helping restore. Meanwhile, Soviet forces blockade Germany in a bid for power, and the Western Allies must unite to prevent a communist takeover. When the airlift begins, the Allies find their deepest convictions tested as they fight against a threat even more dangerous than Hitler.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Legendary author
- By Robert ONeill on 02-13-19
By: Leon Uris
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Stalin
- The First In-depth Biography Based on Explosive New Documents from Russia's Secret Archives
- By: Edvard Radzinsky
- Narrated by: David McCallum
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Abridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 230
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 148
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
The Kremlin intrigues, the private worlds of the Soviet Empire's ruling class, Radzinsky thrillingly brings them to life. And the riddle of that most cold-blooded of leaders, a man for whom nothing was sacred in his pursuit of absolute might, and perhaps the greatest mass murderer in Western history, is solved.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Great Book About a Great Tyrant
- By Moon Man on 05-01-05
By: Edvard Radzinsky
What listeners say about Harsh Times
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Michael van Eckhardt
- 09-24-22
Compelling story, moving performance
Vargas Llosa’s novel is based on the American-funded, counter-revolutionary invasion of Guatemala in 1954. I’ve grown up knowing only the broadest outlines of Central American history. This fascinating story has inspired me to learn more of the history of the region and America’s role in making it what it is today. Highly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Stephen Zelnick
- 01-23-22
harsh tale
Harsh Times tells the tragic tale of Guatemala and the US defeat of its efforts at democracy under the Arbenz presidency in 1954. The novel is gruesome at times and gripping in its savagery It is hard to follow for the first third or so with many characters and time lines are complex, but countless scenes .eave deep impressions. it's a modern Inferno. Painful in cruel detail.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Sam Harriman
- 12-23-21
Confusing
Fascinating subject. Plot jumps around too much between various characters, timeframes, and places. Might be easier for a fluent Spanish speaker to follow names etc.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Dorothy
- 08-13-24
Nothing
Hard to tell what was fiction and what was history. Names were confusing but overall the book was informative.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Visa
- 08-21-23
Very gripping story
The author brilliantly pulls all the story threads together and gives us a real sense of what it was like in Central America in the 50’s and 60’s.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- William
- 12-03-21
nice portral - bad reading
Sometimes the reader is just reading words without inflection. Still, a story that needs to be known.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- PNW Prime
- 02-17-24
An Incredible (but frighteningly true) Story
Great novel about the impact of colonialism and the dark side of capitalism on Central America. If you've studied or read other stories about Central America, Banana Republics, United Fruit and all their cohorts, then this novel won't surprise you. If you haven't read about this time and place in history then be prepared for a reality check. This is an excellent book and well worth your time!
AUDIBLE...please add more Mario Vargas Llosa titles in English!!!!!
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- John P. DERMODY
- 11-27-21
Fave author, non-fave book
I'm writing this review before returning the Audible version of it. Mario Vargas Llosa has written novels I would read twice, but I just can't finish this one. Such chaos in the delivery. So many character names thrown at you at once, many without substance or clear impact on the storyline. Yes, the book begins well with an intriguing prologue about amoral characters and a first chapter with deep human interest about the birth of one of the main characters, but after that the story is a literal drone of thinly connected or non-connected occurrences around nightmarish political intrigue and battles. If there is a positive outcome for me it's that we must protect our democratic institutions and the integrity of large businesses that have integrity. Otherwise, watch your children get enveloped in the hopelessness of chaos and war.
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3 people found this helpful