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KPC504

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Merry Christmas

Overall
5 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 10-17-20

The last 30 mins are great; the rest is good, but the last 30 were really moving.

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These stories are quite good

Overall
4 out of 5 stars

Reviewed: 11-22-19

The stories continue to improve, and are very appropriate for the contemporary world, in bother topics and vocabulary. I have enjoyed the complete series; I am about to start the tenth book now.

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1 person found this helpful

A Wonderful Accounting of Media Influence

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

Reviewed: 03-19-18

If you could sum up The Invention of Russia in three words, what would they be?

Media is Propoganda

Who was your favorite character and why?

There are no main characters to speak of in this book; there are definitely people who play their parts. However as each person plays their part, they eventually pass to the wayside. Instead, the main "character" the media in Russia. To this end, it is a great character arch: like a new born child, it is born in the dying Soviet Union; it has a blast of vibrant independence during the 1990s; finally, it is succumb by the realities of the world, becoming a tool of the powerful. A tragedy.

The author addresses a specific show political, tabloid news show in the book (I will leave it for you to find int he book) that parallels eerily the rise of similar shows in the US. It describes the assent of a bellicose and chauvinist announcer melodramatically playing martyr and champion simultaneously, while flashy lights and dramatic camera shots help keep mesmerized audiences stoked with anger and patriotic/political zeal, while neglecting critical thought. It is a great accounting of the process of how ultimately demagogues take control of a media outlet. It would be an intriguing story, but is seems pressing because of the sad reality of where it led in the Russian tale. One is left to wonder about the road that is being traveled in the US.

If you could give The Invention of Russia a new subtitle, what would it be?

How Russia Molded the Media that Molded Russia

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Fantastic

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

Reviewed: 03-19-18

Would you listen to Ready Player One again? Why?

This story was great; my family and I listened to this book together. My wife and I listened to this remembering being kids, and my kids loved the action. It was a wonderful book that thrust us into the future and pulled us into the past simultaneously, which is a great feat.

What does Wil Wheaton bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Wil Wheaton brought anonymity to the book, by which I mean, he disappeared as a known voice leaving the story to be the only star. (There was a moment in the book where Wil Wheaton is a character in the text of the book, which was fun. Wil Wheaton the cahracter is not crucial to the story, but the moment moment is fun as the reader is reading about himself is a fictitious world.)

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

thrust into the future; pulled into the past

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A History of Strategy Audiobook By Martin van Creveld cover art

A Historyography History of Strategy

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

Reviewed: 03-19-18

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This book was worth listening to, but it was not what I was expecting. Rather than addressing the specific strategies employed during different wars through war, it was more a story about those who have written about strategy throughout time. This results in a book that is very broad in scope, but lacking details. However, to the extent that it addresses specific theorists, it serves a very detailed and enjoyable bibliography.

I admit, what I think of as strategy might be more considered tactics to the authors, so my expectations might have been underwhelmed because of my own misunderstanding.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No; this book is not a book made for the movies. To make a movie of this would be an injustice to the authors intent.

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Serves Its Purpose Well

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

Reviewed: 03-19-18

Would you listen to Café in Berlin (Learn German with Stories 1 - 10 Short Stories for Beginners) again? Why?

I would definitely listen to this again; the story is not bad, but more than that it is actually meant for that strange area between beginner and intermediate learner of German, where you don't have a firm grasp on the language, but you are beyond learning how to ask for a pretzel or beer at a restaurant.

It might not be a joy to listen to if you are a native German speaker, because the cadence of the storytelling is jolted and slow. However, it is a great pace for anyone new to listening to German and limited speaking experience. The slow cadence and clearly spaced words allow time for the novice listener (and that is certainly me) to register each word, and recall its meaning, so that he can listen to each sentence at a pace that allows him to use what he knows and understand what is happening, rather than being hurried along and left without any idea about what is happening in the story. By the end of the book, you feel accomplished, because you have gotten through the whole book without any visual clues to assist you.

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