Anonymous
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Reagan
- His Life and Legend
- By: Max Boot
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
- Length: 32 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 113
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 104
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Story4 out of 5 stars 104
In this “monumental and impressive” biography, Max Boot, the distinguished political columnist, illuminates the untold story of Ronald Reagan, revealing the man behind the mythology. Drawing on interviews with over one hundred of the fortieth president’s aides, friends, and family members, as well as thousands of newly available documents, Boot provides “the best biography of Ronald Reagan to date” (Robert Mann).
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1 out of 5 stars
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Has An Agenda
- By CC on 01-07-25
- Reagan
- His Life and Legend
- By: Max Boot
- Narrated by: Graham Winton
Finally, an honest appraisal
Reviewed: 01-22-25
Terrific book. Mind of lays siege to all that dreamy “character” stuff from Peggy Noonan.
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Catherine de' Medici
- The Life and Times of the Serpent Queen
- By: Mary Hollingsworth
- Narrated by: Rachel Bavidge
- Length: 15 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 12
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 11
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 11
History is rarely kind to women of power, but few have had their reputations quite so brutally shredded as Catherine de’ Medici, Italian-born queen of France and influential mother of three successive French kings during that country’s long sequence of sectarian wars in the second half of the sixteenth century.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Don’t bother
- By Anonymous User on 12-05-24
- Catherine de' Medici
- The Life and Times of the Serpent Queen
- By: Mary Hollingsworth
- Narrated by: Rachel Bavidge
Don’t bother
Reviewed: 12-05-24
All you need to know:
Catherine de' Medici, an Italian noblewoman, reigned as Queen of France from 1547 to 1559, by her marriage to King Henry II, and the mother of French kings, Francis II, Charles IX and Henry III. The years during which her sons reigned have been called "the age of Catherine de' Medici" since she had extensive, albeit at times varying, influence on the political life of France, when she served as Queen Mother and, at times, Regent.
Her policies can be summarized as measures to keep the House of Valois on the throne, on the one hand, and efforts to negotiate reconciliation and detente between the Catholic Church and adherents to the so-called new religion, Protestantism, on the other. She was largely successful on the first of these goals, at least during her lifetime, but utterly failed on the latter.
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1 person found this helpful
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This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends
- The Cyberweapons Arms Race
- By: Nicole Perlroth
- Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,511
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,295
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,290
Zero day: a software bug that allows a hacker to break into your devices and move around undetected. One of the most coveted tools in a spy's arsenal, a zero day has the power to silently spy on your iPhone, dismantle the safety controls at a chemical plant, alter an election and shut down the electric grid (just ask Ukraine). For decades, under cover of classification levels and non-disclosure agreements, the United States government became the world’s dominant hoarder of zero days.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Decent story, cringeworthy narration and editing
- By since1968 on 02-13-21
- This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends
- The Cyberweapons Arms Race
- By: Nicole Perlroth
- Narrated by: Allyson Ryan
Wonderful and really scary
Reviewed: 09-03-24
The reader mispronounced several words, which was annoying but didn’t distract from the narrative. Sloppy nonetheless.
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Young Queens
- Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power
- By: Leah Redmond Chang
- Narrated by: Olivia Dowd
- Length: 18 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 78
Orphaned from infancy, Catherine de’ Medici endured a tumultuous childhood. Married to the French king, she was widowed by forty, only to become the power behind the French throne during a period of intense civil strife. In 1546, Catherine gave birth to a daughter, Elisabeth de Valois, who would become Queen of Spain. Two years later, Catherine welcomed to her nursery the beguiling young Mary Queen of Scots, who would later become her daughter-in-law. Together, Catherine, Elisabeth, and Mary lived through the sea changes that transformed sixteenth-century Europe.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent writing, engaging narration
- By WEHOcloset on 09-22-23
- Young Queens
- Three Renaissance Women and the Price of Power
- By: Leah Redmond Chang
- Narrated by: Olivia Dowd
Yikes!
Reviewed: 01-02-24
Reading this book in hard cover — with genealogy charts for the Royal houses of France, England, Scotland, Italy and Spain close at hand — it would still be a difficult book to follow. As an audio book, it’s impossible. Should never have been recorded.
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2 people found this helpful
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The Bill of Obligations
- The Ten Habits of Good Citizens
- By: Richard Haass
- Narrated by: Richard Haass
- Length: 4 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 129
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 115
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 114
There is no question that the United States faces dangerous threats from without; the greatest peril to the country, however, comes from within. In The Bill of Obligations, bestselling author Richard Haass argues that, to solve our climate of division and safeguard our democracy, the very idea of citizenship must be revised and expanded. The Bill of Rights is at the center of our Constitution, yet the most intractable conflicts often emerge from cases that, as former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer pointed out, “are not about right versus wrong. They are about right versus right.”
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5 out of 5 stars
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Trying His Best to Be Balenced
- By Kindle Customer Frank E. Norman III on 01-28-23
- The Bill of Obligations
- The Ten Habits of Good Citizens
- By: Richard Haass
- Narrated by: Richard Haass
Useful, but…
Reviewed: 09-15-23
This treatise, as relevant as it is, falls into the kumbaya category (I.e., can’t we all just get along) of analysis. Haass recommends that people should first be informed, but doesn’t really address by whom and how one should be informed. He recommends that we should all read de Tocqueville, among other scholars, but fails to address the problem of widespread literacy…by some estimates, nearly half the US population does not read at a 6th grade level.
Unfortunately, I fear this will be read by those who already agree with his premise of ‘obligations’. Sort of in the same way people are informed through social media.
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The Wise Men
- Six Friends and the World They Made
- By: Evan Thomas, Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Reese
- Length: 33 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 405
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 340
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 345
Six close friends shaped the role their country would play in the dangerous years following World War II. They were the original best and brightest, whose towering intellects, outsize personalities, and dramatic actions would bring order to the postwar chaos, and whose strong response to Soviet expansionism would leave a legacy that dominates American policy to this day. In April 1945, they converged to advise an untutored new president, Harry Truman.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Dull with poor narration
- By KD6161 on 03-31-17
- The Wise Men
- Six Friends and the World They Made
- By: Evan Thomas, Walter Isaacson
- Narrated by: Jonathan Reese
Annoying performance
Reviewed: 08-24-23
It seems like the authors found one of those schoolmasters from 19th century Groton to read this fine work. One who taught elocution. His pedantic, arcane pronunciations distract from the narrative. Too bad.
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All About Me!
- My Remarkable Life in Show Business
- By: Mel Brooks
- Narrated by: Mel Brooks
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,264
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 3,752
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Story5 out of 5 stars 3,738
At 95, the legendary Mel Brooks continues to set the standard for comedy across television, film, and the stage. Now, for the first time, this EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner shares his story in his own words.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful and nostalgic
- By GAT on 12-07-21
- All About Me!
- My Remarkable Life in Show Business
- By: Mel Brooks
- Narrated by: Mel Brooks
Ehh.
Reviewed: 03-10-23
It’s very warm and heartfelt. But, it also proves the old adage: “if you have to explain a joke, it’s not funny”
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Fight Like Hell
- The Untold History of American Labor
- By: Kim Kelly
- Narrated by: Em Grosland
- Length: 12 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 76
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Story5 out of 5 stars 76
Freed Black women organizing for protection in the Reconstruction-era South. Jewish immigrant garment workers braving deadly conditions for a sliver of independence. Asian American fieldworkers rejecting government-sanctioned indentured servitude across the Pacific. Incarcerated workers advocating for basic human rights and fair wages. The queer Black labor leader who helped orchestrate America’s civil rights movement. These are only some of the heroes who propelled American labor’s relentless push for fairness and equal protection under the law.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Aspirational and inspirational
- By Shawna Roberts on 02-12-25
- Fight Like Hell
- The Untold History of American Labor
- By: Kim Kelly
- Narrated by: Em Grosland
Disappointing
Reviewed: 01-21-23
As a product of a union household (UAW and NEA), I had high hopes for this book. I was profoundly disappointed. This is not a history, but a fawning promotional piece, read in hushed, reverential tones. Skip this one.
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Moby Dick
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Duncan Carse
- Length: 24 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 137
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 92
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Story4 out of 5 stars 92
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville is a classic of American and world literature. Written in 1851, this is the incredible story of the crazed captain Ahab who, consumed by his desire for revenge, drives his crew to scour the oceans of the world for the fearsome white whale, Moby Dick. It soon becomes clear that Ahab will stop at nothing and is prepared to risk everything, his ship, his crew members, and his own life. Herman Melville (1819 - 1891) was an American novelist short story writer, essayist and poet.
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5 out of 5 stars
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THANK YOU...
- By JAY on 12-05-10
- Moby Dick
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: Duncan Carse
Exhausting
Reviewed: 09-21-21
More detail about whales than anyone could possibly absorb or remember. Adds nothing to the story.
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These Truths
- A History of the United States
- By: Jill Lepore
- Narrated by: Jill Lepore
- Length: 29 hrs
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,350
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 2,091
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,053
In the most ambitious one-volume American history in decades, award-winning historian Jill Lepore offers a magisterial account of the origins and rise of a divided nation. In riveting prose, These Truths tells the story of America, beginning in 1492, to ask whether the course of events has proven the nation's founding truths or belied them.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Good Story but distracting sound engineering
- By MindSpiker on 11-21-18
- These Truths
- A History of the United States
- By: Jill Lepore
- Narrated by: Jill Lepore
My kingdom for a professional narrator.
Reviewed: 03-16-21
I’m certain Dr Lapore is a distinguished professor, but her narration could put even the most avid reader of history to sleep. Her delivery is uneven and ‘sing-songy’ to the point of being distracting to the story. There are many professionally trained (out of work) actors who could bring this text to life. Please hire one.
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1 person found this helpful