Michael

The story and the characters were wonderfully developed. You hated the the evil doers and rooted for the good guys.

The ending.

Too many characters to pick just one.

The parting of Edmund and Mercedes.

Either a much shorter book or much more interesting characters. I cheered the ending--because it was the end, not because it had a good ending. The story read like a soap opera without the titillation.

Absolutely.

Perhaps.

George Eliot (the author)

I very rarely fail to finish a book, but this one came really close to reaching that level. I wished I had stopped after part 1, but I had heard how great the book was and figured it was just a slow starter. By the final part all hope of greatness was over, but finishing it was like completing a race--in mud.

The behind the scenes look at how the team and its GM made "Moneyball" work

The behind the scenes look with what seemed to be unfettered access. Also the tale of how this "can't miss" star missed.

I stopped following big league baseball in October 1994, when MLB cancelled the season and the World Series. So I was dubious about my interest in this book. But after reading how St. Bonaventure University women's hoops coach Jim Crowley read this book and used Moneyball principles to remake a losing program and save his job, I was intrigued. I'm very glad I choose to listen to this book.

I would have liked a tighter focus. It seemed the author reached in some areas to provide background and side stories that detracted from the main theme. Also the reading off of the vote tally in round after round of convention polling was tedious. It may have been less so in the printed book.

Not sure.

The first portion of the book, part 1 of the recording, was the strongest. It weakened after that.

No

I learned quite a bit about Harding, Wilson and Coolidge, presidents I had little knowledge about. Also I enjoyed reading about that time in U.S. history. I either never learned over forgot about some of the issues, such as the violence and bombings.

Yes, it is an excellent book that is well-written and well-narrated. The three-pronged approach to the subject: Garfield himself, the assassin Guiteau and Alexander Graham Bell worked well. It also tied in changes in science and medicine, as well as society.

I was not sure what to expect from this book. I’ve never used a Mac or an Apple product, but I like biographies and have enjoyed the author’s previous work. I also was interested in learning more about Jobs and the legions of devotees he has inspired. The book was excellent. The research and interviewing was strong.
The concern I had was it would be a tribute book to Jobs. It was not; the blemishes were there.
I came away respecting Jobs, admiring his achievements but disliking him as a person. The book was enthralling throughout. The only criticism would be that on occasion, it became a bit repetitious. The author seemed to go a bit overboard in showing evidence that 1) Job was brilliant and 2) Jobs was a jerk.
I also thought the narrator was excellent. He was clear, understandable and most importantly, to me at least, he did not get in the way of the story.