History's Worst Dictators
A Short Guide to the Most Brutal Rulers, From Emperor Nero to Ivan the Terrible
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History's Worst Dictators
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Narrated by:
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Kevin Pierce
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By:
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Michael Rank
About this listen
History's Worst Dictators is the exciting new book from best-selling author Michael Rank. It is currently #1 on Amazon.com in the categories of Medieval History and Weapons and Warfare (as of March 9, 2013) and slated for translation into German.
Here are reader reactions to “History's Worst Dictators”:
“Concise and compulsively readable”
“History as it ought to be told”
“I would read more history if it came packaged like this”
Here is the book description:
Nasty, brutish, and short.
This is the way English philosopher Thomas Hobbes described the living conditions into which humans inevitably fall without a strong, central authority. However, Hobbes would agree that living under a brutal dictator could lead to the same conditions. He would know -- he lived a century after the bloody reign of Henry VIII, 150 years after Spanish conquistadors witnessed Montezuma II offering up thousands of human sacrifices, and four centuries after Genghis Khan rode throughout Eurasia and left behind enough death and destruction to depopulate major parts of the globe.
This exciting new book from historian Michael Rank looks at the lives and times of the worst dictators in history. You will learn about their reigns and violent actions, such as...
-Emperor Nero's murder of family members, suspected arson of Rome, and widespread execution of religious minorities, which caused many early Christians to believe that he was the Antichrist.
-Herod the Great's use of crowd slaughter, family killings, and even infanticide to hold on to his rule.
-Genghis Khan's military conquests that killed tens of millions and caused millions more to flee their homes in fear, resulting in forests reclaiming abandoned farmland and carbon levels plummeting, actually creating man-made global cooling.
-Vlad the Impaler (also known as Vlad Dracul, the namesake of the vampire) and his use of impalement to kill more than 20,000 victims, even causing a superior army turn around and avoid fighting him when they witnessed his carnage.
These four leaders and six others from ancient, medieval, and early modern history fill this book. Learn about how they earned their reputation as the worst dictators in history and why they are so infamous in popular culture today.
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 85
To untangle the modern Middle East conflict and the 2,000 years behind it, this book is divided into 25 concise chapters. Each one is devoted to a major theme in Middle East history, such as the beginning of Islam, the Crusades, Genghis Khan, and the beginning of Israel in 1948. They can be read in a few minutes, giving you a fast overview of the issues and help you to understand Middle East current events.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Interesting, but of course it's quite brief
- By Philo on 07-26-13
By: Michael Rank
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Titans of History
- The Giants Who Made Our World
- By: Simon Sebag Montefiore
- Narrated by: Steve West
- Length: 22 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 61
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 55
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 56
In this inspiring, horrifying, and accessible collection of short, entertaining, and vivid life stories, Simon Sebag Montefiore - one of our preeminent historians and a prizewinning writer - presents the giant characters who have changed the course of world history.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Party line history
- By Narada on 11-24-18
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The Most Powerful Women in the Middle Ages
- Queens, Saints, and Viking Slayers, From Empress Theodora to Elizabeth of Tudor
- By: Melissa Rank, Michael Rank
- Narrated by: Anne Day-Jones
- Length: 3 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 42
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Story4 out of 5 stars 38
The idea of a powerful woman in the Middle Ages seems like an oxymoron. Females in this time are imagined to be damsels in distress, trapped in a high tower, and waiting for knights to rescue them, all while wearing traffic-cones for a hat. After rescue, their lives improved little. Their career choices were to be either docile queens, housewives, or be burned at the stake for witchcraft. But what if this image of medieval women is a complete fiction? It turns out that it is. Powerful female rulers fill the Middle Ages.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderfully empowering
- By Teresa Carter on 01-29-23
By: Melissa Rank, and others
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Ten Caesars
- Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine
- By: Barry Strauss
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 417
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 356
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 355
Best-selling classical historian Barry Strauss tells the story of three-and-a-half centuries of the Roman Empire through the lives of 10 of the most important emperors, from Augustus to Constantine.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good for beginners
- By Richferguson1 on 03-01-20
By: Barry Strauss
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The Shortest History of China
- From the Ancient Dynasties to a Modern Superpower: A Retelling for Our Times
- By: Linda Jaivin
- Narrated by: Nancy Wu
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 40
From kung-fu to tofu, tea to trade routes, sages to silk, China has influenced cuisine, commerce, military strategy, aesthetics, and philosophy across the world for thousands of years. Chinese history is nothing if not messy. Heroes are also villains; prosperity mingles with violence; cultural vibrancy coexists with censorship and repression. Modern China is seen variously as an economic powerhouse, an icon of urbanization, a propaganda state, and an aggressive superpower seeking world domination.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Loved it!
- By Emma on 10-23-24
By: Linda Jaivin
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The History of the Ancient World
- From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome
- By: Susan Wise Bauer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,589
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,887
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,860
This is the first volume in a bold new series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from Europe to the Middle East to the far coast of China, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. Susan Wise Bauer provides both sweeping scope and vivid attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. This narrative history employs the methods of "history from beneath" - literature, epic traditions, private letters, and accounts - to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Historic Achievement
- By Ellen S. Wilds on 04-25-14
By: Susan Wise Bauer
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Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Jack Weatherford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19,927
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16,477
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16,473
The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Golden Horde/Platinum Listen
- By Cynthia on 12-11-13
By: Jack Weatherford
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Ancient Rome
- The Rise and Fall of An Empire
- By: Simon Baker
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 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 225
This is the story of the greatest empire the world has ever known. Simon Baker charts the rise and fall of the world's first superpower, focusing on six momentous turning points that shaped Roman history. Welcome to Rome as you've never seen it before - awesome and splendid, gritty and squalid. From the conquest of the Mediterranean beginning in the third century BC to the destruction of the Roman Empire at the hands of barbarian invaders some seven centuries later, we discover the most critical episodes in Roman history.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Clear and dramatic
- By Tad Davis on 08-01-17
By: Simon Baker
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Ancient Rome
- By: Thomas R. Martin
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 812
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 701
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 696
With commanding skill, Thomas R. Martin tells the remarkable and dramatic story of how a tiny, poor, and threatened settlement grew to become, during its height, the dominant power in the Mediterranean world for 500 years. Encompassing the period from Rome's founding in the eighth century BC through Justinian's rule in the sixth century AD, he offers a distinctive perspective on the Romans and their civilization by employing fundamental Roman values as a lens through which to view both their rise and spectacular fall.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great review and understanding of Christianity
- By David on 12-08-20
By: Thomas R. Martin
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Scandinavia
- A History
- By: Ewan Butler
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 68
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Story4 out of 5 stars 58
Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, award-winning historian Ewan Butler writes, struggled through unions and separations with both outsiders and each other, developing their own personalities and languages yet retaining their ancient connections.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent History of Scandinavia after the Vikings
- By Arthur on 05-05-17
By: Ewan Butler
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Vlad the Impaler
- A Life from Beginning to End
- By: Hourly History
- Narrated by: Stephen Floyd
- Length: 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 59
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 46
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Story4 out of 5 stars 45
Many scholars argue that Vlad III Dracula, also known as Vlad the Impaler, is the real Dracula. His story, however, is much more complicated than the oft-reported details of his atrocities would imply. This audiobook tells the story of his life and times and discusses his connection to the fictional Count Dracula in a succinct, compelling manner, which makes for an entertaining listen packed with historical information.
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1 out of 5 stars
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simply horrifying
- By Ashley on 10-30-18
By: Hourly History
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Alexander the Great
- Journey to the End of the Earth
- By: Norman F. Cantor
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 4 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 439
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 382
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Story4 out of 5 stars 380
In this succinct portrait of Alexander the Great, distinguished scholar and historian Norman Cantor draws on the major writings of Alexander's contemporaries, as well as the most recent psychological and cultural studies to illuminate this most legendary of men - a great figure in the ancient world whose puzzling personality greatly fueled his military accomplishments.
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5 out of 5 stars
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FIVE STAR BOOK!!!!
- By Fun Lovin Lady on 09-25-12
By: Norman F. Cantor
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The Spartans
- By: Paul Cartledge
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 8 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 252
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 139
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Story4 out of 5 stars 141
The Spartans of ancient Greece were a powerful and unique people, radically different from any civilization before or since. A society of warrior-heroes, they were living exemplars of self-sacrifice, community endeavor, and achievement against all odds, qualities that today signify the ultimate in heroism. Scholars even believe that Thomas More had Sparta specifically in mind when he coined the term "Utopia".
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1 out of 5 stars
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Not a place to go to learn about the Spartans
- By James on 10-22-07
By: Paul Cartledge
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Iron, Fire and Ice
- The Real History That Inspired Game of Thrones
- By: Ed West
- Narrated by: Rory Barnett
- Length: 20 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 535
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 468
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 463
A young pretender raises an army to take the throne. Learning of his father’s death, the adolescent, dashing and charismatic and descended from the old kings of the North, vows to avenge him. He is supported in this war by his mother, who has spirited away her two younger sons to safety. Against them is the queen, passionate, proud, and strong-willed and with more of the masculine virtues of the time than most men. She too is battling for the inheritance of her young son, not yet fully grown but already a sadist who takes delight in watching executions.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fun history for all -not just Game of Thrones fans
- By Annabells on 06-14-19
By: Ed West
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The History of Jihad: From Muhammad to ISIS
- By: Robert Spencer
- Narrated by: Robert Spencer
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 212
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 193
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 194
It is taken for granted, even among many Washington policymakers, that Islam is a fundamentally peaceful religion and that Islamic jihad terrorism is something relatively new, a product of the economic and political ferment of the 20th century. But in The History of Jihad: From Muhammad to ISIS, Islamic scholar Robert Spencer proves definitively that Islamic terror is as old as Islam itself, as old as Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, who said “I have been made victorious through terror.”
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5 out of 5 stars
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Caveat Kaffir
- By snozek on 12-23-18
By: Robert Spencer
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Ancient Greece, Second Edition
- From Prehistoric to Hellenistic Times
- By: Thomas R. Martin
- Narrated by: John Lescault
- Length: 12 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 720
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 630
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 627
In this compact yet comprehensive history of ancient Greece, Thomas R. Martin brings alive Greek civilization from its Stone Age roots to the fourth century BC. Focusing on the development of the Greek city-state and the society, culture, and architecture of Athens in its Golden Age, Martin integrates political, military, social, and cultural history in a book that will appeal to students and general audiences alike. Now in its second edition, this classic work now features updates throughout.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Just the way I like it!
- By TracyB on 07-25-18
By: Thomas R. Martin
What listeners say about History's Worst Dictators
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Michael F. Knudsen
- 04-01-16
Ok.. but not Great...
Ok.. but not Great... interesting stuff and surprising that today's tyrants are held back in such a way...
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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
- Mr. Steve K
- 06-11-23
Great ‘read’
Thought this was informative and interesting.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- IKE
- 11-01-15
Historicaly inaccurate Worthless book
What disappointed you about History's Worst Dictators?
Has numerous historical inaccuracies. Doesn't have any of anything other than a collection of the authors opions masked as history. A lousy book even at the cheap price.
What was most disappointing about Michael Rank’s story?
Inaccurate too often. Opions masking as history.
You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?
Good title. Nothing else to say positive about this
Any additional comments?
First time ever I am returning a book to audible for credit.
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