Kristi

Horse survives Humans!

Yes, however I found myself bored a little and remembered how important pictures can be to a children's story. The story is good, but pictures improve it.

He is an excellent narrator and this is one of his best! Very much enjoyed his performance.

Beauty can do it!

I enjoyed the story especially the discovery of the secret valley. I didn't care much for the dated treatment of women, however this book isn't as bad as some I have read.

The ending was perfect and well worth waiting for.

Mark Bramhall has the perfect western twang to his voice. He doesn't do as good a job as the women, is horrendous for little Fay and sometimes all the men sound the same, but his voice is a good listen.

I would love to find out what happens next, especially to little Fay!

Zane Grey is an icon of western literature and is a great listen for those who love this genre.

Most of this information was new to me. I have heard of Scientology and even experienced some of their tactics to get me to join in the 70's, but I knew little of the beginnings and dirty dealings of this so called religion. This book was an eye opener to me. I was engrossed in this book for a lot of the time.

When the book gets into the death of Lisa McPherson, it's like an Ann Rule true crime book. I listened straight through that section, dreading what was going to happen to her. I won't forget that for along time.

Mr. Hoye was adequate. Not great.

When the woman whose husband had left Scientology finally is able to escape from the church by jumping over the wall and finding her husband waiting on the other side I almost cried. I can't remember all of their names but that whole section was a tear jerker.

I enjoyed this book and learned a lot about the beliefs and tactics of Scientology. It's hard for me to believe they get away with this kind of stuff. To me it's not a religion but a self help group out to make money and not pay taxes.

I enjoyed this book and as it was the first book Fitzgerald wrote (when he was 23); it holds up well so many years later.
This is the story of Amory Blaine, a young man whose mother raises him eccentrically and who comes into his own when he gets away from her and enters Princeton. His many loves and frequent heartbreaks all ring true and make you care for this young man.
I understand this is almost an autobiography and you can read into that what you will.
The most touching part of this story was when he knows he can't hold onto the love of his life because she must marry someone of her own class, (read Money!). A touch of Daisy Buchanan here perhaps?
This is a fine book with some excellent prose and even a section that reads like a play that made for interesting listening.
Dick Hill is a good narrator and I enjoyed him for the most part. Some words I would have pronounced differently, but then maybe I'm wrong in my pronunciation.
Great story of a young man's life from high school, through college and the Great War and even a few years into his career. I'm hoping he survives!

This was an amazing book detailing the fight for the Mediterranean Sea access. I had no idea how long this conflict went on and how close the west was to losing it.

I learned a great deal about the parties who fought for dominance of the seas in the 1300's to late 1500's. The author was very non partisan and I enjoyed learning about the Ottoman Empire and that my prejudices that Muslims at this time were backwards and savages just isn't true. Both sides could be savage at times. Once after a huge battle the Muslim commander cut off everyone's heads and shot them in cannons back to the ships of the Christians to show he meant business. Other times Christians did similar things to the Muslims.The arquebus (an early gun) was something I had not known about.

This book was narrated by John Lee who is one of the best narrators in Audiobooks.

My favorite person was Don Juan of Austria in the battle of Lepanto. He tried to be fair with his opponents but sometimes his wishes were not respected. He was very sad that Aly Pasha had been killed. He was a wise leader and would have been a good ruler. He wasn't above asking for suggestions from others who had fought the Turks before.

I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone interested in history and warfare.

I wanted to love this book. I expected to love it. It won the Pulitzer Prize this year. I can't "love" it because it didn't engage me like a good biography should.
I wasn't thrilled with the narrator, but he was competent. Some of his pronunciations seemed off to me but overall he did an adequate job.
What most disturbed me about this book is the author's tendency to use modern references to explain the way things happened in Dumas' world. This dates the book to me and may cause it too be irrelevant in the future when people don't understand his explanations. For example he makes a case that the "99%" were really the 94% in France when the Revolution began. Twenty years from now, will people understand what he was getting at?

I liked the author's introduction and epilogue in which he ties up the story of Alexandre Dumas by first explaining how he got the information from a safe in a small town. The only person who had the combination to the safe and had promised to share with him the information ( a treasure trove of letters and documents on the Dumas family) dies suddenly days before his arrival. He then has to wine and dine the mayor until finally he is given permission to have a locksmith get into the safe and allow him one day to photograph everything in it. That seems to be right out of an Alexander Dumas, Pere novel.
The epilogue states the sad story of a statue commissioned by Sarah Bernhardt and friends honoring each of the three Dumas, Grandfather, Father and Son. Hitler's destruction of it and the sorry story of getting anyone interested in getting it remade.

The remarkable life of a half black who becomes a General in the Army of the Revolution, his exploits as a swordsman and horseman and his sad imprisonment were an inspiration for his son to write some of the greatest adventure novels ever written.
He was a remarkable man and deserves more recognition.

1. Gotta get me a horse
This first story was a war comedy about a cowboy getting in the Navy and taking his saddle with him, hoping for a horse somehow. He finally gets his wish when a sickly colt is found on a South Seas Island. He raises the colt and sends it home with a circus that was visiting them. Charming Jimmy Stewart.


2. Destry Rides again
The radio show of the Western movie with Jimmy playing the new Sheriff and Joan Blondell playing the Marlene Dietrich part of Frenchie, the bar maid with a heart of gold. Well done.


3. Madame X
The movie version I know is with Lana Turner. This one is with Jimmy as the son and Ann Rutherford his mother. This story is about a woman who abandons her husband and son. The husband refuses to give her a divorce because he wants to be a judge some day. He also refuses to let her see her son, even when he almost dies as a child. She becomes a singer and is blackmailed by a man who discovers her true identity. She kills him in order to protect her son. Jimmy is assigned her as his first case as a lawyer.



4. Magic Town
This was a lame Jane Wyman and Jimmy Stewart story about a town with the exact demographics for a polling service.



5. Moon’s our home
Carole Lombard and Jimmy Stewart make a wonderful couple who pretend to be someone else. Jimmy is an author and Carole a movie star. Once they realize who they really are will their marriage last?




6. No Highway in the Sky
A story of a scientist who figures out the life of an airplane which no one will accept his analysis as he tries to prevent a crash. Not much fun.





7. The Stratton Story


Like the movie version. June Allyson plays his wife. This is the story of a farm boy who becomes a baseball pitcher until he loses his leg in a hunting accident. His return to baseball is inspirational. Based on a true story.


8. Single Crossing
Myrna Loy plays Jimmy’s foil in this comedy. William Powell was supposed to do the part but was ill and Jimmy filled in. This is the story of mistaken identity on a ship to Hawaii. Very cute and clever.



9. Calling Northside 777
Like the movie, Jimmy plays a reporter who tries to prove an inmate’s innocence. Based on a true story.


10. Suspense: Consequence
Unusual story of a Doctor in a loveless marriage who when a fire gives him an opportunity to escape his life, he takes it. His wife happens upon him and refuses to let him be so he plans to kill her. What happens next is great.


11. Suspense: Mission Completed
This story was on the Pearl Harbor Anniversary and is about a man who survived a prisoner of war camp but can no longer move anything but his eyes. When he sees the guard who tortured him in the hospital flower shop, he begins to get his strength back in an attempt to kill his tormentor. Great twist at the end.


12. Tailored by Toni
Another story with Carole Lombard as the designer wife and Jimmy as a playwright. This one is cute but dated as Jimmy goes astray with an actress and Carole fixes things by staying home and keeping house.


13. The Silver Whistle
The story of a man who is not who he seems that helps the old folks into feeling better and younger about their lives. Not the greatest.


This collection is worth the small cost if you enjoy radio plays. Nostalgia at it’s best.
There were some stutters on the tape, but for the most part I had no trouble hearing it.

Yes, this is one of those performances that you could listen to any time you wanted. The prose is beautiful and Will Patton's accents and cadence are perfect.

Yes, I saw the movie years ago, but wasn't sure of the ending. This ending was exacting and though provoking and to think this was a first novel!

He is a master of the speech patterns of the deep south. The lazy drawls, the unique wording and the wonderful descriptions that encompass James Dickey's book.

It was a classic movie in 1972. If made today I would say, "Survival is all that matters."

The beautiful imagery of this book is truly captured in Mr. Patton's voice. "I was leaving the land of the nine-fingered people to return to the home of the Whopper."

“I was standing in the most absolute aloneness that I had ever been given.”

This book was told in the first person. You know exactly what Ed is thinking every moment of the story, that is something that is missing from the movie but what makes it perfect for an audiobook.

I can't recommend this book enough. Don't miss it!

I enjoyed it, but it took awhile for them to get to Australia. I was wondering for a bit if I bought the right book. I will listen to the next one in the series to see what happens next, so that means this book was a success for me.

I loved the character of Mary Abacus. All of the horrible things that happened to her and yet she still wanted the chance to start over and make something of her life. She was an inspiration.

His accents were wonderful and very easy to tell which character was speaking. A wonderful job!

Way too long, so this was one I enjoyed listening to a few hours at a time and cherish the story.

This was one of my favorite listens of all time. I would rank it very high on my book list. In the top 5 at least. It's amazing how topical it still is today.

I liked the openness of the writing and the depth of the characters.

My favorite scene was when Dr. Swain decided to save Selena Cross by telling the court what Lucas Cross did to her and why she was justified in killing him. It's times like that when you realize that small towns may not be forgiving, but they do cut through the crap and come through when you need them to.

I loved Selena Cross the best. Here is a girl who had to grow up fast and never gave up. She was the strongest character in the whole story and I really rooted for her to survive her awful life.

Tim O'Conner did a wonderful job on his narration. He played a character (Elliot Carson) on the TV Peyton Place, but his character was not in the book. Selena Cross also was not in the tv show. So if you are a fan of the television show, this book is better than that. Selena was based on a real person who killed her father who had abused her for many years and buried him in the pig pen. When the publisher insisted on making Lucas Cross her step father, Grace Metalious was afraid they had ruined her book. This version of the book also includes an essay on how this book affected the nation in the 1950's when the country was going through another conservative book banning time. The essay is a good listen.

Will Patton's voice makes this the only way to go for this book. He has the right nuances and cadences to each of the wonderful characters in this book of a Southern Apocalypse. I don't believe just reading the book would do it justice.

Earth Abides comes to mind because I listened to that a few years ago. They both tell the stories of survivors of an earth ending event. I liked Alas, Babylon better, only because I thought it was a little more reasonable than Earth Abides, but EA does take place over decades while Alas, Babylon is only a few months. Both are wonderful stories!

Will Patton is one of my favorite narrators, I find myself searching for more books he has done. I think my next one of his will be Deliverance. He never lets you down.

I think when Helen makes a pass at Randy and he doesn't know how to handle it, but Lib does and explains to him what is going on in Helen's head. I liked the way it was handled with dignity and strength.

This story was written in 1959 so the story could come off as a little dated, but then I look at the world today with North Korea and Iran desperately trying to show themselves as nuclear powers and I think how pertinent this story still is. Take the time to listen to this gem.