Henry
- 9
- reviews
- 29
- helpful votes
- 29
- ratings
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Haussmann, or the Distinction
- By: Paul La Farge
- Narrated by: Eric Bauersfeld
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 11
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Story3.5 out of 5 stars 11
Baron Georges-Eughne Haussmann was the architect of modern Paris. In two decades, from 1853 to 1869, he transformed the cramped, filthy lanes of the medieval city into the airy boulevards and green parks of today. Yet there is a story that, on his deathbed, Haussmann wished to undo everything he'd built. "Would that it had died with me!" he is supposed to have said. What is the secret of the baron's last regret?
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4 out of 5 stars
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Brings another era alive
- By Janine on 07-04-10
- Haussmann, or the Distinction
- By: Paul La Farge
- Narrated by: Eric Bauersfeld
Perfect!
Reviewed: 12-29-22
This exquisite book will stay with me forever! I acquired a paperback copy to savor sentences and passages that struck chords deep within me.
The fascinating period in the history of Paris and the astute selection of Eric Bauersfeld to narrate made this purchase one of my favorites.
Again, exquisite!
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Josephine
- By: Carolly Erickson
- Narrated by: S. Patricia Bailey
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 706
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 573
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 572
Josephine's life story was as turbulent as the age, an era of revolution and social upheaval, of the guillotine and of frenzied hedonism. With telling psychological depth and compelling literary grace, Carolly Erickson brings the complex, charming, ever resilient Josephine to life in this memorable portrait, one that carries the reader from the sensual richness of her childhood in the tropics to her final lonely days at Malmaison.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Engaging
- By DPM on 03-07-08
- Josephine
- By: Carolly Erickson
- Narrated by: S. Patricia Bailey
Beautifully written and flawlessly narrated!
Reviewed: 05-01-22
Read that again-
Beautifully written and flawlessly narrated!
As an openly-practicing Napoleon freak I tend to regard myself as somewhat knowledgeable regarding the era (vainly, it seems), anyway-
It’s accepted that had Josephine not met General Bonaparte halfway through the book (and that’s SO cool) her story would still deserve this vivid accounting, living, as she did, a life of great drama and peril and opulence… knowing prison and palace… enduring nearly incomprehensible shifts of fortune even before he entered her life.
All with the backdrop of the French Revolution, it’s aftermath, and the rise of Bonaparte!
Additionally, I’m gleeful over the enhanced mental images of several familiar peeps of the Napoleonic era that Ms Erickson has given me.
I really, really appreciate it.
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The Invisible Emperor
- Napoleon on Elba from Exile to Escape
- By: Mark Braude
- Narrated by: Mark Braude
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 20
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20
In the spring of 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated. Having overseen an empire spanning half the European continent and governed the lives of some eighty million people, he suddenly found himself exiled to Elba, less than 100 square miles of territory. This would have been the end of him, if Europe's rulers had had their way. But soon enough Napoleon imposed his preternatural charisma and historic ambition on both his captors and the very island itself, plotting his return to France and to power.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Napoleon on Elba
- By Jean on 10-27-18
- The Invisible Emperor
- Napoleon on Elba from Exile to Escape
- By: Mark Braude
- Narrated by: Mark Braude
A fresh look...
Reviewed: 07-25-19
If I have it right, this is the first book on Napoleon’s first, brief, exile on Elba in some time and for those of us who feel we know their history regarding the subject may learn much from Mr. Braude’s book.
The book moves at a brisk pace with short chapters.
Given that Mr. Braude wrote the book I would have expected his narration to be smoother. At times, often actually, it sounds as though he’d never seen the manuscript and violence is done to many otherwise rewarding sentences.
As a Napoleon freak, I greatly enjoyed the book.
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1 person found this helpful
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Churchill
- Walking with Destiny
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 50 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 4,571
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 4,059
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Story5 out of 5 stars 4,042
When we seek an example of great leaders with unalloyed courage, the person who comes to mind is Winston Churchill: the iconic, visionary war leader immune from the consensus of the day, who stood firmly for his beliefs when everyone doubted him. But how did young Winston become Churchill? What gave him the strength to take on the superior force of Nazi Germany when bombs rained on London and so many others had caved? In this landmark biography of Winston Churchill based on extensive new material, the true genius of the man, statesman, and leader can finally be fully understood.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Superb Biography
- By Jean on 03-03-19
- Churchill
- Walking with Destiny
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
Hard to breathe.
Reviewed: 12-31-18
The last syllables still hanging in the air... or was it an hour ago?
Difficult to convey a coherent message while the spell which I’ve been under, so perfectly cast by Mr. Roberts, still hangs about me.
I can see Churchill so very vividly in my eyes and in my head in a way that far surpasses I ever imagined I would. The book is a deeply satisfying read/listen. Mr. Thorne’s narration is so expert I felt as though he was the author and I will seek out other titles within my preferred subjects with him involved.
I cannot, as a lifelong FDR peep, not mention however...
it’s “rose-velt”. Two syllables, no “ooze”.
Thank you, again Mr Roberts, for another superb biography.
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20 people found this helpful
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The True Flag
- Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire
- By: Stephen Kinzer
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 549
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 491
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 491
How should the United States act in the world? Americans cannot decide. Sometimes we burn with righteous anger, launching foreign wars and deposing governments. Then we retreat - until the cycle begins again. No matter how often we debate this question, none of what we say is original. Every argument is a pale shadow of the first and greatest debate, which erupted more than a century ago. Its themes resurface every time Americans argue whether to intervene in a foreign country.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Timely and important
- By Joshua C. Packard on 02-20-17
- The True Flag
- Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Twain, and the Birth of American Empire
- By: Stephen Kinzer
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
Vivid!
Reviewed: 10-30-18
This dramatic moment in American history is made so vivid in Mr. Kinzer’s book. So many larger than life characters against the backdrop of the last years of the Nineteenth Century. I thoroughly enjoyed it!
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Grant
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
- Length: 48 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 13,227
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 11,813
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Story5 out of 5 stars 11,748
Ulysses S. Grant's life has typically been misunderstood. All too often he is caricatured as a chronic loser and an inept businessman or as the triumphant but brutal Union general of the Civil War. But these stereotypes don't come close to capturing him, as Chernow reveals in his masterful biography, the first to provide a complete understanding of the general and president whose fortunes rose and fell with dizzying speed and frequency.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Book (BUT WHERE IS THE PDF FILES)????
- By Amazon Customer on 10-25-17
- Grant
- By: Ron Chernow
- Narrated by: Mark Bramhall
Really need a sixth star!
Reviewed: 09-14-18
This book on Grant is easily one of the best biographies I have ever had the privilege to read. I recommend it to all who need to understand more of this man and his time... or if you think you already know this singularly remarkable man!
I’m stunned by this gift from Mr. Chernow.
Thank you.
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Paris
- After the Liberation 1944-1949
- By: Antony Beevor, Artemis Cooper
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 18 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
In this brilliant synthesis of social, political, and cultural history, Antony Beevor and Artemis Cooper present a vivid and compelling portrayal of the City of Lights after its liberation. Paris became the diplomatic battleground in the opening stages of the Cold War.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Worthwhile listen
- By DanBudda on 07-27-16
- Paris
- After the Liberation 1944-1949
- By: Antony Beevor, Artemis Cooper
- Narrated by: John Curless
Riveting
Reviewed: 02-27-17
I will immediately begin this book again as the cast of characters (to say nothing of the events involved) are very many and a "review" listening is sure to be every bit as engrossing while coloring in this amazing (truly) tale.
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2 people found this helpful
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Citizens
- A Chronicle of the French Revolution
- By: Simon Schama
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 36 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 410
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 366
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 360
From one of the truly preeminent historians of our time, this is a landmark book chronicling the French Revolution. Simon Schama deftly refutes the contemporary notion that the French Revolution represented an uprising of the oppressed poor against a decadent aristocracy and corrupt court. He argues instead that the revolution was born of a rift among the elite over the speed of progress toward modernity and science, social and economic change.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Audio Skips!!
- By Joseph M. Arnold on 07-02-15
- Citizens
- A Chronicle of the French Revolution
- By: Simon Schama
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
Vivid and Mesmerizing
Reviewed: 07-28-15
I thought (or imagined) that I possessed an understanding of the French Revolution. Then (quite tardily) read Citizens.
The effect of this read has immeasurably deepened my understanding and greatly enhanced my mental images of the era.
Thank you!
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5 people found this helpful
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Living the French Revolution and the Age of Napoleon
- By: Suzanne M. Desan, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Suzanne M. Desan
- Length: 24 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,317
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,055
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,043
The 25 years between the onset of the French Revolution in 1789 and the Bourbon Restoration after Napoleon in 1814 is an astonishing period in world history. This era shook the foundations of the old world and marked a permanent shift for politics, religion, and society - not just for France, but for all of Europe. An account of the events alone reads like something out of a thrilling novel.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wish I could've given this course 6 stars
- By Tommy D'Angelo on 11-21-16
Beautiful
Reviewed: 07-09-15
I savored these lectures over many weeks; chronologically, and then back and forth again... then cherry-picking many various episodes resulting, for me, in a much fuller, richer, and certainly more vivid understanding of the era.
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