Hank Williams
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To Die in Spring
- A Novel
- By: Ralf Rothmann, Shaun Whiteside
- Narrated by: Tim Bruce
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 6
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 6
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 6
Distant, silent, often drunk, Walter Urban is a difficult man to have as a father. But his son - the narrator of this slim, harrowing novel - is curious about Walter's experiences during World War II, and so makes him a present of a blank notebook in which to write down his memories. Walter dies, however, leaving nothing but the barest skeleton of a story on those pages, leading his son to fill in the gaps himself, rightly or wrongly, with what he can piece together of his father's early life.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Decay of the third reich
- By Hank Williams on 02-25-25
- To Die in Spring
- A Novel
- By: Ralf Rothmann, Shaun Whiteside
- Narrated by: Tim Bruce
Decay of the third reich
Reviewed: 02-25-25
The writer clearly states the plight of his father’s generation without pulling any punches regarding its stark fatalism. The complete disintegration of the landscape and the fabricated purpose of an entire people is brought to life just so the reader can watch it all rot away.
Masterful prose in this English version, and the story retains the cutting defeat that Nazism built for itself, a defeat not only of its disgusting motives but of its own people. Very glad to read any author of the period who doesn’t attempt to impose a foolish lost cause myth.
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Essex Dogs
- A Novel
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Ben Miles
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 283
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 261
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 260
July 1346. Ten men land on the beaches of Normandy. They call themselves the Essex Dogs: an unruly platoon of archers and men-at-arms led by a battle-scarred captain whose best days are behind him. The fight for the throne of the largest kingdom in Western Europe has begun. Heading ever deeper into enemy territory toward Crécy, this band of brothers knows they are off to fight a battle that will forge nations, and shape the very fabric of human lives. But first they must survive a bloody war in which rules are abandoned and chivalry itself is slaughtered.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Mixed feelings, but a wonderful first!
- By Matthew K. on 03-17-23
- Essex Dogs
- A Novel
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Ben Miles
Raw personalities of the period; clear description of Medieval warfare within a complex society
Reviewed: 02-25-25
As much as I prefer the minutia of smaller medieval events (The Corner That Held Them is a must-read for that), this piece definitely brought me deeper into the imminent nature of medieval conflict. The interpersonal details and the swathing layers of guilt and remorse with the main character sometimes feel out of place in a world known for its callous treatment of innocents, but Dan Jones manages to balance the tightrope and keep the realism intense and serious amidst the pageantry of medieval social life. Can’t wait to read the next in the series.
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The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis
- How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind
- By: Jason M Baxter
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 5 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 139
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 123
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Story5 out of 5 stars 123
C. S. Lewis had one of the great minds of the 20th century. Many know Lewis as an author of fiction and fantasy literature, including the Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy. Others know him for his books in apologetics, including Mere Christianity and The Problem of Pain. But few know him for his scholarly work as a professor of medieval and Renaissance literature. What shaped the mind of this great thinker?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent
- By andrew wilson smith on 03-08-22
- The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis
- How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind
- By: Jason M Baxter
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
Helpful context before you dive into the primary sources
Reviewed: 02-25-25
I had to read Lewis in high school and therefore I had always had beef with him (lol) for his lack of care for detail when talking about the medieval period, but Baxter has written a great reminder of why that is: Lewis wanted to embody the mindset of the medieval scholar, someone who could pick and choose what works mattered and grade all on his list without worrying about historical context. That’s what seperates Lewis from the standard scholar, his goal isn’t exaction of the facts but recreating the feeling of the religious and philosophical mood that spanned thinkers from Boetheus to Milton.
All in all this was great review of Lewis’ outlook and purpose in his scholarship. Definitely not a substitute to his more historically minded works (If you really want to know Lewis, Discarded Image is more pertinent to his worldview), but if you’re unsure if you want to dive into his professional work, this is an easy way to get more familiar with his overall understanding of the world.
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A Distant Mirror
- The Calamitous Fourteenth Century
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 28 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,385
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,716
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,729
The 14th century reflects two contradictory images: on the one hand, a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and the exquisitely decorated Books of Hours; and on the other, a time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world of chaos and the plague.
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5 out of 5 stars
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And you thought the twentieth century was rough...
- By Rob on 03-23-06
- A Distant Mirror
- The Calamitous Fourteenth Century
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
The 14th century in its own words
Reviewed: 02-25-25
This was an incredible introduction to the high Middle Ages. Told in an almost Medieval spirit, Tuchman pulls out all the stops to weave in the fears and hopes of the contemporary chroniclers, saints, clergy, warriors, sages, brigands, villaines, nobles, and kings of the period, creating a seemless tapestry of the 14th century, giving room for the spirit of that age to leave its impression on the mind and heart of the hearer. The risks, terrors, pageantries, and betrayals of lives both common and uncommon in the period are illustrated with all the exactions of medieval accounting and chronicling, transporting the hearer into the world of a plethora of flawed but three-dimensional persons, full of definite anxieties, beliefs, fidelities, desires, and grandiose dreams, all the while grounding the much-fantasized age within the concise events that truly defined it.
I know Tuchman has her detractors, but if you want to know more about medieval period and don’t know where to start, this will give you a brimming, weighty picture of just what you’re missing out on. The meandering, almost gaudy style, feels like it was lifted from Froissart’s and the St Denis Chronicler’s own spirits. The character of Enguerrand de Coucy, knight exemplar, is tapestried into a full person, in both his braveries and limitations, by the time the work draws to its close.
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