Benjamin

This book is absolutely unbelievable. It should be required for anyone outside of school as a sort of adult text book you actually want to learn from. Written (and read) in plain language, the science remains in the proper place for lay people: fascinating and awe-inspiring, not incomprehensible and tedious. If you're always interested in the world and the balance of life, get this audio-book.

I had to listen to this one at 1.5 speed. Unlike his other, which didn't bother me, this narration sounded like he was a) high as a kite, b) having a seizure, or c) so enamored of his own writing and voice that he wanted to marinate in it by reading at a snail's pace. The stories can be interesting but for overall, I'd skip it.

I could not, for the life of me, get into this book. I was expecting a something akin to Bill Bryson given Palin's background in comedy. What I got was Rick Steves without the usefulness of a guidebook. It was like reading someone's fairly mundane journal. Don't get me wrong, the writing itself is good. So are the places he describes. But the overall story just left me completely bored. The reading, with his great voices, was a total letdown.

Not good. I'm a Christopher Moore fan, but this one does not represent his comedic talent well. Skip it. Plus, the reader has a very old school style that makes an already flat story worse, especially when compared to some of the other terrific performers of this other books.

Flew through this book faster than any other. The story is incredibly gripping but very intense. You don't be in cheerfuly spirits after listening. However, this may be one of the single best audio performances I've ever heard. The narrator is FANTASTIC.

As an audio book, this is terrible. The message of the material is great but the author made a horrible mistake by reading it himself. His dry, passionless, delivery taxes even the most devoted fan of Buddhism. In contrast, the actor they chose as the voice of the Dalai Lama is completely over the top campy and cheesy. He honestly sounds like one of the voice-overs from the old kung fu movies of the 70's. The result is a completely disjointed, unauthentic presentation that either puts the reader to sleep or turns them off because of the awful, somewhat insulting caricature of an Asian accent.

I respect the Dalai Lama immensely and have enjoyed previous titles in print. I had to turn this one off half way through because of the terrible choices made in this audio format.

Don't waste your time or money on this title.