Rick

Jenny's no Sarah Vowell or Tina Fey but the story is an enjoyable romp through her life. Not a rib splitter but rather a light, easy story with some fun and humorous interludes. This is one of those books that I can't imagine being read by other than the author and Jenny does a fine job of narration. I'd give it a 3.5 overall if that were allowed.

I've never given a one star review out of hundreds of Audible purchases - but they don't allow zero stars (or minus stars) for which this waste of hard drive space would qualify. Believe this pseudo-science bit of drivel if you wish, but utter drivel it shall remain. I suspect this to be largely a manufactured book deal to supplement the author's FBI pension. Don't expect even the merest whiff of scientific evidence to support his very nearly psychic claims and you shan't be disappointed. To overcome the boredom (and ponderous narration) I found it more informative to attempt to follow the profusion of logical fallacies that permeate this troubling discourse. I so rarely feel that I have wasted a credit (and my time) but, I regret that such is the case. And yes, as many others have so stated, the narration is, at best, quite intolerable. Purchase at your peril.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and, as I cannot improve on the many positive comments, I write in defense of the narrator. As a longtime Audible subscriber, I've listened to many of the best (and some of the worst) narrators in the Audible world. Frankly, I find some of the negative comments for this book's narration to be over the top and a few are downright mean spirited. That said, all are entitled to their own opinion. I found the narrator to be well-paced with a clear, pleasant voice and nice inflection, Do not be put off. This is a great book about a true visionary in our own time. Narrator, Dylan Baker, does a fine job with this much anticipated Audible release. Enjoy!

Excellent narration captures the "gee whiz" approach to life that seems to be the core of Woz. Clearly he was and is a kid at heart as well as the extremely intelligent engineer that created the original Apple 1 and 2. Without a doubt, his work helped to revolutionize how people live, work and play on a global scale. What came though for me was that Woz the engineer could neither communicate effectively with non-engineers nor could he envision how to market his products. I can see where some might think the story self-indulgent but it is, after all, an autobiography. Woz, ever the engineer, takes the logical approach of telling his story straight out, make of it what you will. What some find self-indulgent I took as Woz believing in himself and his accomplishments and wanting to get his side of the story on the record. The book was made more poignant for me as I was about halfway though when Apple announced that Steve Jobs had died. Woz was clearly a gifted engineer but without the marketing vision of Jobs, Woz might have remained just another engineer in the backroom. I was a high school student in 1970 and actually used most of the computers discussed in the book. It brought back some great memories. I found it to be a compelling, interesting story very well read by Patrick Lawlor.

I must confess that my ignorance of salt was thoroughly exposed. I was both educated and entertained by this book, a great combination!

The fundamental human need for salt has had far greater impact on civilization than I would have ever imagined. This book abounds in fun and interesting facts and historical reference. As reviewer Thomas states quite nicely, "This is one of those books that just opens your eyes to something you never knew."

Contrary to a few reviews that were less than thrilled at the pace of the book or the inclusion of details such as ancient recipes, I found that the book moved at a pace appropriate to the high level of detail and, for me, it is the precisely the extensive detail that makes the narrative so compelling. While it may be enough for some to hear that, "Salt was important in the Roman diet", I found the author's method of illustrating exactly HOW it was important, such as the inclusion of recipes, or formulas, or method for curing fish, meat, etc., helped to integrate the subject matter directly into the everyday lives of our ancestors in a more vivid and meaningful way. I respectfully suggest that the depth and impact of the book would suffer if such details had been left out.

Acclaimed narrator, Scott Brick, does a masterful job of bringing the story of salt to life. The sound quality and audio production is excellent. Highly recommended.

Loved Ender... Treason, not so much. It is clearly a good solid story that just came off a bit flat for me. I found it a bit rambling and disjointed; it never just grabbed me. OSC has stated that, if he could have done a rewrite, the first person perspective is the first thing he would change. The story line is interesting and extremely creative but did not hold my interest as much as I was expecting. Stefan Rudnicki is one of my top five narrators and his strong narration was the saving grace for me. I'm still a big OSC fan and, based on other reviews, understand that my opinion of Treason does not run with the majority. Can't win 'em all.

This is a wonderfully entertaining addition to the extremely enjoyable OSS series. The author(s) rank at the top of the military-historical fiction genre and this story continues the well-deserved legacy. Scott Brick is one of my favorite narrators possessing a polished ease of delivery that makes any story he reads come to life. This is, as I had hoped for and expected, another carefully researched and detailed narrative. The characters are tightly and skillfully interlaced with the actual historical timeline. I was extremely pleased with the story, the excellent quality of the audio production and Mr. Brick's exceptional skills as a narrator. Highly recommended and a must-read for W.E.B. fans.

Patti Smith as both author and narrator delivers depth, truth, insight, a most impressive study of the life and times of two true artists. I was captivated by Patti Smith's interview with Terry Gross on the "Fresh Air" podcast and was so pleased to find this available on Audible. This compelling narrative exceeded my high expectations. Authors are rarely the best narrators but such is not the case here. I cannot now imagine this being read by other than Ms. Smith. It is as if you are following her around, looking over her shoulder as her life unfolds before her. This is just SO good. I am very pleased with the story, the narration and the high quality of the audio production. Highly recommended.

I very much enjoyed the technical and mission oriented focus of this book and found the author to be a compelling narrator. Fortunately, the bulk of this very interesting narrative focuses on the covert aviation technology developed and operated at Groom Lake in the Nevada Desert including the building, testing and deployment of the U2 and the A-12 Oxcart spy planes. The A-12 Oxcart program was the actual workhorse of the high speed, high altitude fleet of spy planes often mistaken for the more widely known SR-71 Blackbird. The technical and mission differences between these aircraft variants are discussed. Most of this book is a work of investigative journalism backed up by extensive documentary analysis and interviews. Towards the end, the author wanders off the path of fact and carefully reasoned analysis into the weeds of conjecture and speculation regarding the Roswell "UFO" incident. The author admits that the information presented is based on a single human source and, as presented, is bizarre enough to rival the usual UFO conspiracies. Fortunately, this comprises a small part of the story of Area 51 and even seems to differs in tone and structure from rest of the book. It may be nothing more than the publisher wanting to open up sales to the conspiracy theorist market. Still, I found it easy enough to set that portion aside and focus on the well presented history of engineers, pilots and crews that pushed the boundaries of technology to new heights as they pursued long-range recon missions testing the endurance and abilities of men and machines. The long and dangerous U2 and A-12 missions provided essential information that very likely kept the Cold War cold and prevent unnecessary excalation into a World (and very probably nuclear) War. Highly recommended for readers interested in aviation, engineering, military, covert operations and the geopolitical impact of these efforts. Absent the UFO portion I would have rated 5-stars.

A thoroughly enjoyable, intriguing view of people and events. The interplay of great artists, writers and other notables, particularly during their most formative years, is absoloutely fascinating. Edward Herrmann's narration is, as always, outstanding. A great read and highly recommended.