Brian R Smith

My Favorite Audiobook of all time

Reviewed: 03-09-23

I have a whole bookshelf of audiobooks and some 550 on Audible of which I’ve listened to maybe 400. But of all of those, and there have perhaps been 100 that were exquisite, I think this book, this translation and this performance, are all the best! Luke Thompson is a brilliant actor of this novel. He is from the UK and gives the characters the voices of British society, from aristocrats to the dregs. Being more familiar with these voices and accents than those of Russians, he guides us to understand the characters. He has a voice for a few dozen characters that are recognizable and understandable. I have some favorite readers such as Grover Gardner but Luke Thompson brings the novel to life like a good movie, but giving you the entire novel, all 43 hours of it.
The book itself is riveting. I’ve read several novels by Dostoyevsky including The Idiot and Crime and Punishment which were favorites, but The Brothers Karamasov surpasses them substantially. It is one of the greatest novels, discussing issues of child abuse, murder, God and the Devil, Christianity, love, loyalty, sin, redemption…. essential issues of their time…and all time. (The setting is in later 19th century Russia.)
I canning recommend this audiobook more highly and plan to give this as a gift to my friends.

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7 people found this helpful

A tale of terror that all should hear

Reviewed: 12-29-22

It has become fashionable to opine that capitalism is bad and resulted in the depredations of imperialism in the 19th century. While there is some truth to the latter, imperialism can’t touch communism for its damage to humanity. Mao’s cruelty and indifference to his people’s suffering and death is remarkable, even by 20th century standards. This book documents it well and is a must read for all, especially those who casually dismiss capitalism.

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1 person found this helpful

A scary story of Russian corruption

Reviewed: 05-09-22

A great story about Bill Browder’s adventures in 1990’s Russia and then later battles with Putin’s regime. It tells about how he and his business associates were ripped off by the authorities and then attacked by the Russian legal system and police. One of his lawyers was Sergei Magnitsky who was arrested, tortured and killed. Browder then does all he can to obtain justice for Sergei, and lobbies Congress to pass the Magnitsky Act to sanction the corrupt officials who did this to Sergei. It’s a fascinating tale, well told and the reader is good.

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A profoundly moving book

Reviewed: 04-18-21

I have read a lot of histories and memoirs about WW2 and the Holocaust but this book revealed an area that I had been unaware of. The women’s stories in this book are amazing and inspiring. Their grit and courage and the suffering they endured trying to help others caught in the trap of Nazi-dominated Poland are difficult to imagine but clearly and beautifully described in this book. I highly recommend it. The reader is very good as well.

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9 people found this helpful

Another treasure from Durant

Reviewed: 11-12-20

Will Durant brings the subject to life. He explains Luther and the other reformers well and puts it all into historical context. He is often funny as well. Stefan Rudnicki is a great reader; not quite as good as Grover Gardner but hen no one is. Highly recommend.

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A delightful listen!

Reviewed: 09-19-20

Who would have thought that a book written in 1350 could be so much fun? The cast (British) do a wonderful job here and the stories are very funny. It gives a great feeling for life in the Renaissance. I highly recommend this recording.

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4 people found this helpful

A Story of Chilling Brutality

Reviewed: 06-28-20

Everyone needs to understand just how terrible Stalin and his associates were. They killed or starved 10’s of millions for petty reasons or none at all. This book clearly describes their crimes and is an extremely interesting, if horrifying read. The audiobook is well performed by the reader.

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An amazing story

Reviewed: 04-19-20

I have always heard that War and Peace is good, but overly long. However, during the Covid pandemic and social distancing I’ve had more time to listen and decided to finally take on War and Peace. It is well worth the time, because it covers such an interesting time and has great characters. Highly recommend.
The reader, Frederick Davidson is British and uses his own upper class British accent for the Russian nobility and the for Russian serfs and soldiers he adopts a Cockney accent which is amusing and works rather well.

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Now I understand the Vietnam War

Reviewed: 01-26-20

An excellent book and worked very well as an audiobook. The book is very clearly written and makes the tragic decisions and events of Vietnam understandable. Sadly, many of the main decisions were made for petty political reasons (like Nixon’s election in 68 and his re-election in 72) that make Trump’s “abuse of power” seem minuscule by comparison. The reader is great, and very easy to follow. This is a great audiobook.

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A great audiobook

Reviewed: 08-28-19

This was riveting from start to finish. A well told story about a great Polish hero. The book is based on the subject’s writing that bear an eyewitness account of the horrors of the Holocaust from inside Auschwitz.

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1 person found this helpful