Robert

I have not read the print edition, but I think that perhaps some of the emotion conveyed in the audio edition would be lacking in the print version.

Other books of survival against hopeless odds, such as "breaking into Auschwitz", and "The long walk", both of which also are available on audible.

He read the book with some emotion, but did not overdo the emoting as some readers do. The feeling was that he was telling a story that was real to him.

It was depressing in that I felt that I was able to identify with or at least understand the people who lived through the dust bowl, and feel their hopelessness and despair.

This book is a historical account of what actually occurred in the depression/dust bowl, told from the perspective of the people who experienced it. It is good that the book was written while these people are still alive, as they will not be for much longer.

Perhaps not destined to receive any literary prizes, but a fun read for atheists. Considering the number of books that I wasn't able to finish, or had to struggle to finish, I would have to rate this book in about the 80th percentile.

The fact that it listed all of the diverse reasons that religion has been a bad influence in human society as well as being unsupportable as being true.

She managed not to make it sound like a rant. Her diction was clear and appropriately paced, with just enough emotion to emphasize her points.

Finally, an objective discussion of religion!

Most of the arguments and facts that she presented were already known to me, but she put them all together into a clear and compelling book.

On the positive side, it was certainly original. On the negative side, I didn't feel that I could identify with any of the characters, therefore, I did not get "into" the story

I suppose that the most disappointing part was that the story was not like the outstanding other fantasy books that I have read by Brandon Sanderson. Rather than the self consistent and emotionally appealing fantasy worlds that Sanderson has created, this book was more "comic fantasy". This is fine if that is what one wants to read.

None of the characters was "real" enough for me to have a favorite.

nope

Brandon Sanderson is truly a gifted author of some really fine fantasy. I am probably not the best person to evaluate a book of his that is not of the type that I prefer.

are we prepared?

This question is not really relevant

He seems to bring emotion to each sentence. Sometimes it is too much.

The Great epidemic of 1918: will it happen again in 2018?

Throughout my life I have heard of the killer flu pandemic of 1918, but have known no details of how the pandemic developed and why so many people died. This is a chilling story of how the medical system was completely overwhelmed, resulting in far more deaths than might otherwise have occurred. Although we have more effective medicines for the pneumonia which followed the flu and was the actual major killer, The sheer numbers of people involved would, if it happened again result in many deaths from the same cause. This is because our current ems system does not have the surge capacity to deal with the large numbers of very sick people. After reading this book, my feeling is that eventually another such pandemic is likely to happen again. Do we have a national plan for dealing with it? The book seems to say that the answer is no, and I think that the book makes the point very well.

The realization of just how bleak the lives of post slavery black people were, especially in the south, and also the realization of just how recently this changed.

The story followed the lives of several of the black people who migrated from the south in the early 20th century. The story seemed a little slow and plodding. Sometimes it was difficult to maintain interest. The story could/should have been told in perhaps 1/2 to 2/3 as much time.

This is my first Robin Miles reading

No, it was a story that I listened to for education, not entertainment.

I think that this is a worthwhile read for white people such as myself as well as Black people. It is about a shared heritage that none of us can be proud of. For a conscientious white person, it is horrifying to see just how cruel other white people were in the Jim Crow south. I am not sure how a black person might react, but I can imagine a mixture of emotions, some directed at white people for their cruelty, and some directed at themselves and other black people for their helplessness in the face of this cruelty.

I am 62 years old, and it is a bit humbling to realize that many of the abuses that are described were in full force during my lifetime, and indeed that some of this exists today.

I think that this book would be most valuable to young people of all races. This would help them to understand some of why the older generation acts and thinks the way it does.

Yes, because he gives logic and facts to back up his predictions. Whether I agree with his conclusions or not, I have to agree that they are plausible.

This one is my first

He read the book in a voice that sounded as though the author was speaking. Not overly emotional or bored sounding, but as though he believed what he was saying

No, I didn't see the book as trying to inspire action.

The book was not mainly about the technical advances of the next 100 years (although there was a little of that there), but was rather about the cyclical nature of political relationships and conflicts, and how they might play out over the next 100 years. In my opinion, the author gives too little importance to the technical advances, but sees these advances as simply adding a new dimension to the same political relationships that have been going on for hundreds of years.

The author believes that power struggles and wars will be our fate in the future just as in the past. I hope that he is wrong.

Yes. The main message seems to be that there aint no such thing as a free lunch, and that many individuals, companies, and governments act as though there is. The bill eventually will come due.

The consistent message supported by stories of individuals, companies and governments that continue to put off the day of reckoning, which only makes it more expensive.

It was a pretty straightforward reading of an unemotional book.

pay now or pay later - later it will cost much more.

The main theme of the book is that we all live beyond our means and that until we correct that imbalance, we will not be financially healthy. I think that it is a message that we all need to hear and understand - and act on.

The book gave a good overview of the kinds of parasites that are out there ready to feast on those who do not take them seriously.

The author. As a person who studies parasites, he has been himself exposed, and described his personal experiences with a number of parasites.

Nothing stands out, which is probably a good thing.

They're coming to get you!

I had mentioned in my title that the style was a bit odd. By this, I was referring to the book beginning in an outline kind of style, rather than a narrative, but I soon stopped noticing this as I became fascinated with the content.

1. include more general background on the war between china and Japan. How does the rape of Nanking fit into the whole story?

2. I had the feeling that the story was being told from one side, and with some emotion rather than objectivity. I would like to have been more convinced that I was getting the whole of the story.

3. The story also didn't flow very well. Rather than an organized progression of events leading to the end of story, it seemed to be a collection of smaller stories without context as to how they fit into the whole. The book could have been organized better

The most interesting aspect is that it was a story that I had never heard before. I wanted to know about this

I think that this question probably relates more to a fiction book. As far as the reading, I think that Anna read the book very well, and my only complaint is that the book was written by a Chinese woman, but the reading didn't sound very Chinese. This is probably irrational, but I felt a little uncomfortable with this.

Yes

This is the kind of original and engaging fantasy that has made Brandon Sanderson one of my favorite authors.