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Ua Mau ke Ea o ka ʻĀina i ka Pono

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

Reviewed: 07-01-22

The history of Hawai’i before European contact is really a rich and wonderful story. I’ve been to the islands a few times and the culture and environment always fills me with good feeling and desire to learn more about the people and legends. Just visiting Pu'uhonua O Honaunau (Place of Refuge) is a very emotional experience.

This audiobook give a really good overview of the scope of ancient Hawaiian life and culture and makes you want to delve into it at a deeper level.

The narration is really good and at least attempts to give you a sense of the Hawaiian language when examples are warranted.

I really enjoyed this work.

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Other part of the Iberian peninsula gets its due

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

Reviewed: 06-15-22

This is a very good overview of Portuguese history and shows the complexity of its rise and fall as a world sea power. I enjoyed the contextualization of the Portugal's political situation in the greater picture of Spanish, Hapsburg, and other empires. I found the intricacies of the time when it was combined with the United Crown and how Portugal had varying degrees of autonomy throughout.

I was very happy to come to know the ancient history and various peoples that made up the cultural and political aspects that came to be the kingdom and country of Portugal.

Colin Fluxman's narration was enjoyable and engaging. (Although the ARC version I reviewed had a section missing - it has been fixed in the updated version).

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Really about the Mali Empire and Mali history

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

Reviewed: 06-12-22

Calling this book Timbuktu is a bit of a stretch given the entire content. It's a really good telling of Mali history from pre-empire times to modern day. There is some detail about Timbuktu but the city seems mainly to be used as a narrative element to tie together different periods of the history of the area more so than the history of the city itself. So, if you expect a detailed history of the famous city, you would likely be disappointed. Even so, I really enjoyed learning about the Mansas and the various peoples and competing kingdoms and empires of the area. The subtitle is more accurate to what the book is really about.

The narrative performance is very well done as usual by Jason Zenobia.

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Eye opening story about a beautiful land

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

Reviewed: 06-07-22

This tells the story of Hawai’i from ancient times to modern. The early history is quite intriguing. The unflinching look at contact with European, British, and America shows how these external powers radically changed Hawaii and it’s people.

This is the first Captivating History audiobook narrated by Jason Saffir I really enjoyed his speaking style and look forward to hearing more from him in the future.

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Provides context and analysis of the slave revolts

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

Reviewed: 05-17-22

The story of Spartacus and the third Servile War are familiar to most. This book also puts that war and the two previous wars into a coherent story in a very engaging manner. I like the format that describes the conditions and build up to each war and how the Roman republic perceived and dealt with each one. The book does well explaining the culture and causes of each of the revolts and how each lead to the next and finally to a change in how Rome dealt with slavery eventually.

Very well told and Jason Zenobia's narration is excellent.

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Very engaging history with lots of humor

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

Reviewed: 05-01-22

I really enjoyed how Bill Bryson tells this story through his writing and how well the narrator captures the humor while making complicated subjects very accessible. It is a joy to listen to and think about the subjects covered.

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  • The Wild West
  • A Captivating Guide to the American Old West, Including Stories of Famous Outlaws and Lawmen Such as Billy the Kid, Pat Garrett, Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickok, and More
  • By: Captivating History
  • Narrated by: Jason Zenobia

Lots of interesting stories

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

Reviewed: 05-01-22

I listened to this audiobook as part of the larger compilation: Old West. This audiobook gives a good sense of the Wild West and has many good stories. I wish it had more information/stories about the native peoples but it does have a fair bit.

The narration is very good as well.

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A good guide to this complex region and conflcts

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

Reviewed: 05-01-22

This region is very complex and the conflicts that have arisen there are very complicated and impactful on modern history. This audiobook does a wonderful job of clearly delineating how these conflicts arose from the different powers both in the region and outside the region that had their own agendas. The way the story is structured you can easily see the ebb and flow of different nations and peoples and how the tensions led to the various conflicts.

Jason Zenobia's narration is engaging and enjoyable as always.

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A good overview of the Colonial American period

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

Reviewed: 05-01-22

Even though I'm very familiar with this period in history, the audiobook did provide some new and interesting information that I had not known before. It was told in various, engaging segments that were easy to follow. While there was much information about the native peoples, I wish there was more stories the interactions between the various indigenous peoples and the European colonizers.

Colin Fluxman does a very good job presenting the material and not distracting from the story but allowing the story to shine.

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Great introduction to the Lombards

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

Reviewed: 05-01-22

This book is a great intro to the Lombards (Long Beards) and their history and origins. I really appreciate how the author is upfront about much of the early history draws on a single source, Paul the Deacon, and much of the early written sources were lost. The span of history covered is long but presented in a very clear and interesting manner.

Jason Zenobia's narration is engaging while not distracting from the story.

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