Rich in BCS

David Dow's memoir is not just about the death penalty; it is about a father, a husband, and a lawyer. If this were fiction, it would be a great story. But it's fact, making it all the more compelling. Of course, the book also teaches us an awfully lot about criminal justice in Texas, and what you learn is not pretty.

The narration by the author is excellent.

The best reviews that I read do not answer silly questions like, "If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?" Why does Audible do that?

OK, enough griping.

Leaving Atlanta is a wonderful collection of stories set in a tragic situation. The main characters are all fifth graders and the author deftly draws out the character of each one. They are as rich as a fifth grader can be and marvelously real -- worrying about the superficial things that are so important to a 10 year old, while also worrying that tomorrow that may be killed by a faceless murderer. The author's attention to details make the story all the more real.

I strongly recommend this great piece of fiction surrounded by historical truths.

I learned much from this book and, as other reviewers have pointed out, it is very well written and read. However, I must confess that it was a chore for me to get through. The lists of words often went on and on and would definitely work better in written form than in audio. While driving I often had to switch to the radio to keep from falling asleep.


If you have a serious interest in language and etymology, this is a must read. For the rest of us, it's a bit like homework that you know you should do, but don't always look forward to with glee.

Skousen's book does a nice job of summarizing the development of modern economics since Adam Smith. But the weakness of the book is his religious fervor for the free market. He makes his bias clear at the start: Adam Smith is at the top of the pyramid, Marx at the bottom. Government intervention in BAD, free enterprise is GOOD. There is almost no attention to distributional issues or market failure, with a consistent belief that the free market will raise all boats. Hopefully, listeners will not be convinced by his repeated attacks on Nobel Laureates and other esteemed economists. He derides economists who, with scholarly hesitation, confess uncertainty about important macroeconomic questions. He tries to convince us that the "truth" of economics was discovered by Adam Smith, and that any economist who deviated from that free-market path is not only wrong, but has damaged society immeasurably. Don't be convinced. You can learn from Skousen, but avoid indoctrination!