DrakonicMonarch
- 2
- reviews
- 0
- helpful votes
- 6
- ratings
-
Pit Bull
- The Battle over an American Icon
- By: Bronwen Dickey
- Narrated by: Randye Kaye
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 534
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 474
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 474
When Bronwen Dickey brought her new dog home, she saw no traces of the infamous viciousness in her affectionate, timid pit bull. Which made her wonder: How had the breed - beloved by Teddy Roosevelt, Helen Keller, and TV's Little Rascals - come to be known as a brutal fighter? Her search for answers takes her from 19th-century New York City dogfighting pits - the cruelty of which drew the attention of the recently formed ASPCA - to early 20th-century movie sets where pit bulls cavorted with Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
It Is a Racist or Class Thing
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 09-17-17
- Pit Bull
- The Battle over an American Icon
- By: Bronwen Dickey
- Narrated by: Randye Kaye
The facts, the statistics, anecdotes from all sides, presented with empathy.
Reviewed: 10-05-24
The author makes no secret that she started this book with a positive regard for pit bulls. However, she makes a point to examine every angle, put aside her bias to take in the perspectives of others, and to not make light of tragedies related to dog attacks. She does a fantastic job of presenting and explaining the facts and statistics and of breaking down fallacies and biased reporting.
If you're looking for a book that portrays pitties as four-legged superheroes with supernatural empathy and perfect temperaments, you're not going to find that.
If you're looking for a book that portrays pitties as vicious, dangerous, wild, unstable, or aggressive by nature, you're not going to find that either.
If you're looking for a book that portrays pitties as exactly what they are, normal dogs with a complicated history, a blurry definition that changes depending on the motives of those defining them, and who have been victimized by centuries of racist and classist scapegoating, you found it.
This book is thorough, contains interviews with prominent figures on all sides of the pit bull debate, and takes a very science-minded approach. If you want the facts, here they are.
One thing I did notice, and this is a neutral factor in my opinion, is that as the book went on, you can here the narrator become more passionate about the topic. She begins the book a little bit dry, but by the middle you can hear the emotion seeping into her voice. I can't blame her; I can't imagine how anyone with even the slightest amount of empathy wouldn't be moved by the news stories and first person accounts throughout the book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
The Revolt of the Angels
- By: Anatole France
- Narrated by: James Holt
- Length: 10 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
An angel called Arcade leaves heaven for earth, where, using his invisibility, he steals books from a library with the purpose of studying. He ultimately joins several other fallen angels with a plan now to overthrow God, in their eyes an incapable and ill-informed and thus impossible creator...The great author's knowledge of history and religious texts is brilliantly conveyed, pairing extremely well with his cynical philosophy and the virtuosity in his descriptive prose.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book but narrator is not ideal
- By Becca on 12-18-19
- The Revolt of the Angels
- By: Anatole France
- Narrated by: James Holt
Narrator makes it hard to enjoy the story
Reviewed: 11-27-22
I'm not done, and I'll update this when I am. I know the premise of the story, since it's such a famous work it would be hard not to, so I do plan to finish it, but it's a little excruciating to get through.
The story starts off super slow, and the author focuses on so many itty bitty details that wind up being entirely insignificant that it's often difficult to keep track of what's going on. I've been assured by many of my friends who've read it that it does eventually pick up the pace, so I'm holding out to that point at least. Based purely on the pacing and the inconsistency of focus between tangents and the main story, it comes across as a book written by someone who is still in the process of discovering their writing style. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just something to be aware of going in. I don't feel I can really pass judgment on the story itself until I am finished, but I've heard nothing but fantastic things about it.
Normally the complaints I mentioned wouldn't be so much of a problem, but the way the text meanders is exacerbated by the completely lifeless reading of the narrator. His pronunciation is clear, but the total monotone of his voice paired with the constant run-on sentences and off topic tangents of the text make it impossible to follow anything he says. Maybe it's just difficult to follow because of my ADHD, but I feel like it's bad enough that it would be painful for even a neurotypical person.
I would search for another edition with another narrator, and honestly I just might at this point, but I don't want to waste the credit I already spent on this one.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!