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Simple, and brilliant idea

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 04-12-24

I have read, and listened to numerous tellings of Greek myths, and after listening to Greek Myths Exaplained the only thing I cannot explain is why someone didn't think of it before.

The authors' technique of combining sources, filling in the gaps and injecting some recognizable modernity into characters made this like listening to these stories for the first time.

Hearing the inner voice of Medusa while the tale unfolds more slowly than the traditional version reinforces the tragedy and depth of her character and leads to a greater appreciation of the original stories.

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2 people found this helpful

An Instance of the Fingerpost Audiobook By Iain Pears cover art

The biggest crime in the book is its editing

Overall
1 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
1 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 04-12-24

I was recommended the book and did not pay enough attention that it was an abridged version when buying it. This does not bear any resemblance to the real book - I found myself wondering why so many people raved about it, until I realized the book had been butchered and I had wasted my time listening.

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Bliss - witty, engaging and wonderful narration

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 03-08-24

Material science doesn't generally scream hilarity, but the author's vehicles for narrative - an airplane journey, English social rules and heavy self-deprecation, package the fascinating history and chemistry of everyday things with enormous entertainment. I could have listened to this for 2 or 3 times as long.

A word about the narrator. I can't think of a better voice I have heard at audible. Michael Page could read the small print on a lease contract and it would be a joy. His performance enhances the book, this author and narrator are a perfect pairing.

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Yet another Macintyre hit

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-13-21

I have read or listened to most of his books, so by now there's not many surprises Ben Macintyre has for me. Double Cross is typically entertaining, detailed and in injected with humor. What does consistently surprise me, is his remarkable ability to deliver tension and suspense over an event everyone already knows the outcome. It builds much slower in this book than some of the others, there is a long, long, long period of setup before the pace and tension accelerate through the climactic pre-invasion period.

In addition, the details behind British Intelligence's spectacular success are astonishing and detailed. If you like Macintyre, or have an interest in intelligence operations before they became the industrialized, personality-less institutions of the Cold War and beyond, you will love this book.

Finally, is there any way to get John Lee to narrate every book at audible? The performance is perfect - never getting in the way, never adding too much - a great match for this book

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Absurd, scienctific and hillarious

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 02-21-21

Brilliant performance and spectacular content. Just the chapter "How to cross a river" is worth the price of the book itself.

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Brilliant entertainment

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 02-19-21

I really couldn't put it down. Superbly narrated and, marvelously witty. If you have any passing interest in science, math, or a sense of humor you'll love it. I usually think narration can at best not get in the way, but Mr Wheaton's reading compliments the material perfectly. The only down side is that the book has to end, could listen to these stories for weeks.

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Superb narrative of the SAS's origins

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-24-20

The performance is exceptional, perhaps the best I have listened to. Macintyre's wit, pacing and detail drive the story like a ride you do not want to get off. I had great difficulty putting it down, something I used to feel from some books but never an audio book.

Macintyre is aided by the history. The story of the SAS and its cast of characters would be rejected if it were fiction. These people are witty, absurd, dangerous, sometimes psychopathically violent but possessed qualities of bravery and endurance I cannot even fathom. Yet through all their feats, the author manages to extract the soldiers' human qualities and frailties. Their flaws, their fear and impediments which make the accomplishments even more remarkable. Macintyre's use of historic action reports in all their understatement provides deeper insight into the men who fought not for glory or recognition, but because it was the right thing to do.

In the background there is the constant doubt whether the unit would exist from one month to the next. Through attrition and failures, or more likely the crushing weight of incompetent army bureaucracy, the unit's constant companions are personal loss and enormous good fortune.

The combination of the people, history and Macintyre's writing make this a remarkable book.

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Brilliantly written and narrated thriller

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 12-13-20

It's almost impossible to make history read like a thriller, but McIntyre has done a remarkable job. I found myself unable to turn it off, despite knowing what happens.

Making history as intense and exciting as a Forsyth or Le Carre novel is an incredible and rare achievement. If you have any interest in the Cold War, espionage or human drama you will enjoy this magnificent work.

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Inside Stories and Nineties Nostalgia

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
5 out of 5 stars
Story
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 07-14-20

Great story, excellent performance by Balaban.

It's really a series of interviews from a vast cast of the people who made the most successful TV lineup in history. It can occasionally be jarring going from one person to another, but overall the progression is easy to follow and the collection of anecdotes and opinions are entertaining.

I enjoyed the narrative construction, the progression through the years and the collection of good fortune and great decisions which made the last era of network television so interesting.

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Modern research and conclusions of an old topic

Overall
5 out of 5 stars
Performance
4 out of 5 stars
Story
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 04-14-20

Who was to blame for WW1? In a refreshingly balanced book, McMeekin does a fine job unravelling the events of July 1914 and provides enough facts to blame everyone. The degrees of blame are left to the reader, along with the blend of incompetence and malevolence. Should be mandatory reading for anyone with an interest in the subject, and a perfect antidote for McMillan and Hastings's retreads on the blank check and Kaiser's personality disorders.

Not overly long, but it is intense and I found myself re-playing sections multiple times. It helps to have a grasp of the protagonists and the sequence of events beforehand. There are many, and the book isn't gentle - definitely not the best book to use as an introduction to the topic, but rather an excellent work to destroy existing preconceptions on the 20th century's defining moments.

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3 people found this helpful