Matthew

Terrible Audio

Reviewed: 08-06-19

There's something wrong with the recording quality and I simply could not listen to this book. Along with that the story started very slow. Granted I didn't get very far into it, but not for lack of trying.

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Meh, it was not what I anticipated

Reviewed: 10-01-18

Not at all what I was expecting. The book is more of a lifestyle diary than a Long Way Round tale about the difficulties of traveling on a motorcycle. Too much about the ancillary parties and after-hours action than the riding, the bike and the difficulties. It's probably right up the alley for some, but it just was not my cup of tea.

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5 people found this helpful

A Very Good Listen, Highly Recommend

Reviewed: 06-08-18

This was an incredibly resourceful book and I learned a tremendous amount of information from it. I made 21 notes as reference points which is the most I've ever made in a single book. I especially like how the authors break down the science in easy to understand terms and how they pull back the curtain on the anti-nuke hysteria. Admittedly, I finished this book one year ago (I've been busy) so I can't provide a more comprehensive review, but I will say that I intend to listen to this again.

The narrator was solid, but not a narrator that would go on my "best of" list. He didn't add to the book, but he didn't detract from it either. While he didn't have a melodic tone he was well spoken and his enunciation was very clear.

If you're looking for a really good book about radiation and nuclear science with plenty of science in easy to understand terms this is the book you should get.

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2 people found this helpful

No Book Has Ever Had a More Appropriate Title

Reviewed: 05-11-18

Full disclosure; I bleed Ford Blue and I believe that Ford has always made some of the best cars and trucks in the world. Despite the fact that only one car has ever left me stranded on an interstate and it was a 4-cylinder Ford Taurus (I said some of the best in the world). Nobody's perfect. And that's the point this book makes. Every business; in fact, every venture in life, has ups and downs and how you react to the downs is typically more important than having the downs in the first place.

This book is so much more than a story about FOMOCO. It is a study in individual and group tenacity and personal triumphs and business successes and failures. As a lover of all things with a blue oval it frightened me to learn exactly how close the company came to shutting the doors for good! To think that my F150 and my Mustang may have never existed made me very sad, but then those thoughts evoked emotions of pride in how true American spirit and hard work coupled with some gamesmanship and business acumen came through and brought this company back from the brink of extinction to where it is today.

Alan Mulally. Wow! Thank the Gods of internal combustion and horsepower that this man was in exactly the right place at exactly the right time! And thank them again that the Ford family was so clever in protecting the company and keeping it family controlled. The history of the company leading up to the tenure of Mulally was fascinating and, even though I had a lot of knowledge about Ford the man and Ford the company going in, I learned a tremendous amount of additional information from this book. The author put a lot of great quotes from Henry Ford into the book and he wove them into the writing. It is true that Henry Ford was a flawed man; he was a stated anti-Semite. He wasn't perfect by any stretch, but he was also a forward thinker who improved the daily wages and working conditions for his workers and he brought freedom of movement to millions of people. I can't let his bad overshadow his good works and this book gives a balanced perspective on all of it.

The narration was phenomenal. The cadence, tone and inflection was always right at the right time. The book seemed too short to me and it read a little like historical fiction mixed with a suspense novel. You don't need to love, or even like, Ford in order to like, or even love, this book. So, if you don't like Ford, but you like business or you love this country I am fairly confident that you will like this book and you should get it. If you are a follower of the cult whose motto is "Build me a car that will crush Ferrari at Le Mans." then this book is a must for your library.

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1 person found this helpful

A Really Good, but Dreadfully Written Book

Reviewed: 03-08-17

‘Idaho Falls’ sat in my wish list for about 9-months gathering digital dust, all but forgotten among other various titles. Then, while listening to ‘Atomic Awakening’ this event was detailed. That reference piqued my interest and, upon finishing that book, I purchased this. I started this book last Friday night and finished it on Sunday morning. That should give some idea of how captivating this story was. I didn’t want to stop listening, which is ironic considering my overall opinion of the book.

The Writing – In short, it was sloppy. It lacked important scientific background information and details for some of the topics discussed. Because of that and the fact that the author was not clear and consistent with his use of descriptive words a reader who knows nothing about nuclear power or the physics behind it may have trouble following the content. Or, worse yet, if the reader harbors fear or bias about nuclear science this book will likely terrify them and make them feel as though all irrational fears have been confirmed. This is a significant problem because correct application of technical jargon is important for proper context and correct understanding of topics like this.

The Not So Good – The author wrote the following; “…others thought a sudden rod withdrawal would take the reactor critical destroying the reactor core.” Now, this isn’t ‘technically’ incorrect, it’s just an incomplete explanation even in context and is very misleading to any layperson and it’s frustrating to anyone who understands this subject. He, like so many, makes it sound as though “criticality” is a bad thing when, in fact, it’s a normal function of controlled nuclear fission. Further, some of his analogies were callus in presentation such as when he referred to the three victims of this event becoming “nuclear pioneers” because they were the first people to be killed by this type of incident or when he described retrieving the body of the third victim as a ‘rescue’ when it was clearly a recovery. Minor points? Maybe, but when I say aloud; “wow, that’s a bad way to describe things” I need to put it in my review.

The Bad – The deadly incident at the SL-1 reactor would properly be described as a ‘criticality accident’ and/or ‘power excursion’ in the reactor core resulting in over pressurization and explosion of the containment vessel. Granted, there’re several ways to accurately describe it, but the author was not consistent in his use of terminology when referring to this event calling it a blast, a nuclear catastrophe, an atomic incident, an excursion, and an explosion. That makes it hard for a layperson to stay on track with the events. Worse yet, he used grossly inaccurate terminology at least twice when referring to this event; once calling it a nuclear explosion, and later a nuclear blast! These two descriptions are so misleading, if not outright biased, as to make my head spin. The use of these two descriptions in this context for this event was sloppy writing and research at best and outright anti-nuclear bias at worst and it calls into question the author’s qualifications on this subject matter and/or the accuracy of other information in the book.

Narration – Bob Dunsworth’s narration wasn’t ‘bad’ it’s just very inconsistent. I didn’t take issue with the way he pronounced ‘nuclear’, as some did, but I did notice that he changed the way he pronounced it from time-to-time as well as how he pronounced ‘Roentgen’. It was as if he was practicing different ways to pronounce words while he was recording the book? Certain words were simply not pronounced clearly; ‘but’ sounded like ‘bought’, ‘rod’ sounded like ‘rawhd’, and ‘deaths’ sounded like ‘deafs’. When saying the reactor name, SL-1, it sounded like he was saying ‘SO-1’. Taken individually, these are minor points, but cumulatively it makes me not want to listen to his narration again.

The Editing – Including the information heretofore stated the editing was just bad. On at least one occasion, which I listened to three times to be sure I heard it correctly, the narrator said “nuclear erector” when it should have been “reactor”. I lay this on the writer and/or editor, not the narrator. It’s another sloppy and avoidable mistake.

The Feel - The feeling this book gave me was that of a mystery novel and it evoked that nostalgic and eerie, yet very entertaining, feeling I would get watching those 1950’s Sci-Fi films. Both of these factors, coupled with the importance of this particular event, made this a very engaging book. If this book were fiction, rather than a real-life tragedy, my rating would be five stars overall.

Summation – This book presented a conundrum for me in writing this review. While I take some significant umbrage to the book’s writing style, the editing and the narration I still thoroughly enjoyed the telling of the story and I did learn some things. I made 10 bookmarks with notes for later reference as well. All things considered with my aforementioned frustrations I can still recommend this book because it was a good story telling and it kept me captivated and wanting more of it. I recommend this book if for no other reason then the ‘feel’ it gives and the pure entertainment value it affords. If you’re a Sci-Fi fan I think you’ll love this book. I don’t want to be flippant about the true nature of this tragic event, but this book somehow worked for me in all the wrong ways.

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36 people found this helpful

Pretty Good, Well Presented Book with Bad Editing

Reviewed: 03-08-17

This is another book that languished in the wish list until it was on two for one. I had listened to this author's book, ‘Atomic Accidents’, and I was fairly curt in that review. I couldn’t commit to this book because of that, but the sale essentially got me this book for free so, I took it.

The Good - Atomic Awakening details the history of ‘atomic’ (nuclear) science in a detailed, yet easy to understand, way. From the very beginning, through the major discoveries, to the present day. Any layperson, with basic public education, should comprehend it. The book touches on science fiction and myths that surround this field and it also ties it together with other fields of study such as electricity. If you have no knowledge of nuclear science this book will provide a good foundation. If you have some knowledge it will supplement what you already know. I finished the book feeling satisfied and curios to learn more about some of the specific topics covered in the book. I made a total of 12 bookmarks with notes for later reference. It’s a fairly good book overall, but not a great book.

The Not So Good – The outline is a bit confusing because it’s broken into parts so you may hear the narrator say “Chapter 2” when you’re halfway through the book because it’s in the second chapter of that part. Also, some dates are slightly confusing because the story jumps ahead and then goes back. I think that’s more the reality of taking a book meant for reading and turning it into an audio book and not the writing however.

The Bad – There’s one major error in this book where it recounts a meeting of scientist working on the ‘A-Bomb’ before 1945. When citing the location of the meeting, the Bohemian Club, the narrator says “founded in 1972” when, in fact, it was founded in 1872. While I very easily made that determination through simple context this is an example of horrible editing because it takes zero knowledge of the subject matter to catch this error.

Caveat - I won’t write this entire book off over one error no matter how blatant because I know the bulk of the book is accurate. This was most likely a misreading by the narrator and not an error by the author; I hope? Regardless, the editor/author failed to catch it and coupled with the inconsistency in this author’s other book it does make me question the attention to detail by the editor and the author.

Narration – John McLain’s narration was good and well suited to this book’s writing style and subject matter, albeit somewhat mechanical in delivery and even slightly annoying, at times, in the way he would trail off at the end of sentences. However, it didn’t take long to grow accustomed to that. His narration didn’t add to, or detract from, the book.

Summation – Reflecting on the entire work; it left me with the not so surprising impression the author is a supporter of nuclear science and energy. However, I don't think he displayed any unfair bias or mindless predilection toward them. He hides nothing and goes into a fair amount of detail about all the major accidents; devoting large sections to the incidents at Idaho Falls, Three Mile Island, and Chernobyl to name a few. He provides facts about these events from a balanced perspective. This book sparked my interest in reading (listening to) other books about those incidents. As a result, instead of switching genres, as I do after finishing a book, I went to the book ‘Idaho Falls’ (see that review too). Even with its faults I wouldn’t steer anyone away from this book because overall it was accurate and it was put together pretty well. That said, I'm still glad I didn't pay full price or drop a full credit for it.

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4 people found this helpful

What They Did in the Shadows; Sees the Light

Reviewed: 03-04-17

The Good – I learned a lot of information about things I never knew about and more information about things I knew little about. ‘Mossad' laid out the struggle to survive that Israel has faced since it was born. I was shocked to learn that Israel attempted to trade back all the territory it had conquered in the Six Day War for lasting peace with the Arab nations, but the offer was angrily rejected by those nations.

The Not So Good – The book gave the sense of a very slight pro-Israel bias, but in light of the rabid hatred they've faced, on a minute-by-minute basis, since 1948 I can’t blame the authors and I forgive and understand whatever slight amount of bias there may have been. That said, it does not detract from the facts or the reality that the book outlines. Also, to their credit the authors are very open about the not so good aspects of this agency as well.

The Bad – It ended too soon. Aside from that, nothing about this book was bad.

The Length – Not long enough at 14-hours. It could have gone on for 6 more hours and I would have carried on with fascination. I wanted more.

The Narration – Benjamin Isaac had the perfect voice for this reading. He had a measured cadence, good inflection and balanced tone. I’m not sure about some of the negative review comments for his narration? I thought he was a very good narrator for this book. Serious and to the point. I don’t speak Hebrew so, perhaps, he didn’t pronounce some of the words correctly? That may be unfortunate, but not everyone will be happy when it comes to pronunciations.

The Overall – While I only made one bookmark with note I attribute that to the fact that I knew early on that I would listen to it again. This book sat in my wish list for nearly a year until, one day, it was on a special two-for-one credit sale. Ironically, now that I've listened I feel like I got a real steal on this book at half a credit! Don't let that stop you though; it's worth a full credit. I let it sit for so long because I was concerned it would be too biased and I was also concerned about some of the reviews where people said it needed more context. Wrong! I don’t think the book needs more context at all. It can stand alone and it did so very well. In fact, adding more historical context may have actually ruined the book and turned it into one of those ‘in the weeds’ history books that makes you say aloud, "please get to the point". The only context you need to know before listening to this book is that Israel is, and always has been, surrounded by nations that want to kill it. That’s a fairly simple context to help anyone ‘understand’ this book. This was a gripping book that told amazing stories that need to be told. It read like a spy/thriller novel, but it told gut wrenching real life stories. This was a very good book and I will be listening to more works by these authors and this narrator. I would not say it is a “great” book because it didn’t have that “I don’t want to put it down” feel. Hence, the four star overall rating.

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8 people found this helpful

A Unique Telling About the War in the Pacific

Reviewed: 03-02-17

General – ‘The Fleet at Flood Tide' was a very unique look at the war in the Pacific and I really enjoyed the tactic of telling it from the perspective of these three uniquely individual commanders who contributed so much to the effort to defeat Imperial Japan and to exact revenge for Pearl Harbor.

Content – I bought this book on its release date without any Audible reviews to go by because I knew, from his other works, that James D. Hornfischer would do a decent job and not let me down. I was correct in my assumption. That said, I got so busy working and tied up with listening to multiple books simultaneously that I neglected to write a review and I didn’t make any notes aside from the six bookmarks I made in the book. As a result my memory has lapsed somewhat on details so I’ll just get to the bottom line in a broad manner. This book got to the point without mincing any words and was done very well. I learned more about the war in the Pacific due to the unique perspective of the telling. I do recall that some parts were slightly confusing due to the timeline of events and the manner of the writing. If you multi-task while listening, like I do, you may find yourself having to listen to certain sections for a second time just to be sure you heard what was being said correctly. The book was well done and I didn’t feel the need to listen again upon completion, but I know that I will listen again at some point. While the author does jump around I didn’t find that to be distracting. He laid out good background information on the three commanders in a concise fashion without going too far into miniscule or unnecessary detail. Finally, he explained certain items that made me bookmark them so I could refer back later; the “Sinister Ratio” in regard to the planned invasion of Japan, the events surrounding the U.S.S. Indianapolis and also the development and the use of napalm to name a few.

Length – Based on when I bought the book and my last bookmark I can say that I finished the book in about 30-days time, which is average for me for a ‘good’ book of this length when I enjoy it, but I don’t feel that urge to listen at every available moment. Looking back while writing this review I was surprised to see this book is 23-plus hours in length. I don’t recall it feeling like it was that long.

Narration – While somewhat stoic in his tone I think Pete Larkin had the perfect narration for this subject matter and this book. While I wouldn’t say his narration added to the book it certainly didn’t detract from it either.

Summation – Yes, taking all things into consideration this may not be Hornfischer’s best work, but I doubt that even he could top ‘Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors’. So, if you’re in any way a WW II aficionado you need to have this book in your library. It will add to your level of knowledge.

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9 people found this helpful

Well Written, Well Read, Well Done!

Reviewed: 02-25-17

General - 'African Kaiser' provided copious amounts of information on a part of World War One I knew little about and a person I knew nothing about. It has a wealth of interesting information about the colonial conflict in Africa and it was told in a very engaging style.

Content – Robert Gaudi set good background information; first about the history of airships used in the war, then about the conditions the troops faced, in particular the entomology in the area, then about the colonial subjugation of Africa, and finally, about the early life of Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck. All of this was done without getting too deep into the weeds like some authors tend to do with books like this. The book evoked some emotions, primarily that ‘creepy-crawly’ feeling down the back when the narrator described some of the bugs, diseases and depravations the troops on both sides suffered during their time in the bush. For the most part this book held my interest to a point where I didn’t want to stop listening. Overall, the book read like a very good novel; being part romance, part war, and part spy-thriller. I don’t mean to make light of this horrific time in human history by saying that, I’m simply trying express the ‘feel’ the book had for me. I made five bookmarks with notes for future reference that, for me, is always a barometer of a really good book.

Length – This book did not seem like it was 18-plus hours in length. I believe the length was perfect for the subject matter. I finished the book in 12-days, which may seem a long time, but aside from having to work fulltime I was also listening to six books simultaneously. Of those books, this was my go-to every day until I finished it. If an abridged version is ever produced I’d recommend avoiding it unless you’re a person who only wants CliffsNotes; which begs the question, why you’re an Audible member in the first place? In that event, or, if you don’t want to commit the 18-hours, I suggest using Wikipedia; you’ll learn everything the book provides in a quick and efficient, albeit, completely banal manner.

Narration – Outstanding! Paul Hogston has one of those classic British voices and he can deliver an impeccable German accent, albeit slightly overplayed to the point of being humorous at times. His cadence and pronunciation were perfect throughout. I believe his narration added to the overall experience and enjoyment of this book.

Summation - If you enjoy historical books, general knowledge, useful details, and precise background information this book should be in your library. I wouldn't say this is a "Great" book, but it is certainly a very, very, good book and I will most assuredly be listening to it again.

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30 people found this helpful

I Cannot Hold!

Reviewed: 10-22-16

As I hit the Submit Review button it appears mine is the first for the Audible format of “I Will Hold”. Based on the sample it’s no wonder why, but I like a challenge so after reading three reviews for the printed format I decided to get the book despite the sample. I was interested in Clifton B. Cates, someone I had never heard of before this book. However, what I really wanted to learn about was the full account of how ferociously the Marines fought at Belleau Wood and how they so terrified the Germans that they earned the nickname ‘Devil Dogs’.

After holding on for 19 of 32 chapters, with just over 3-hours left, I’ve decided to throw in the towel. Initially I thought my brain was simply not engaged while listening, but after making several conscious efforts to pay particular attention I realized it wasn’t me. The problem with this book is the writing and the narration; together they make this book mind-numbingly boring and completely impossible to follow. The narration itself is not ‘bad’, it’s just lifeless. This, in my opinion, is more related to the writing then the narrator. The writing jumps around so much that there's no common thread to the story so I was totally lost the entire time.

This is a collection of very loosely or barely connected events within a larger event. I can’t even say it’s a collection of short stories because there’s not enough information given for each event to actually call any of them a ‘story’. It’s as though the author grabbed a bunch of Post-It notes with scribbled thoughts on each and put them together in no particular order to create a book. Furthermore, the title is misleading. This is not told from Belleau Wood to victory. The book starts before the U.S. involvement in the war and it plods on for 18 chapters before finally getting to some sort of a point about the woods, but even then it jumps around so much that I’m not sure what battle or action is actually being described at any given moment. I’ve stayed with it long enough to reach the point where Cates sent the message “I will hold”, but the telling was so anti-climactic I nearly missed it. Lastly, at more than halfway through the book there’s still been no mention of the Devil Dogs nickname. Or, if it was mentioned, I was so catatonic from boredom I missed it.

From the reviews it appears to be a decent book in print format, but it’s definitely not decent in audio format. I gave this book more of a chance then I normally would simply out of respect for the subject matter, but I’m ending it now feeling very disappointed.

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9 people found this helpful