C. Beaton

This is one of the most intelligent, expansive, and interesting books I have ever listened to - but it is not for everyone. It is very long and some of the topics are distressing, but gripping. I have no children special or otherwise, but I am a retired special ed teacher and have always wondered how people dealt with having a disabled child.

Mr. Solomon does not "talk down" to the reader. He expects his reader to be well-educated and with a good vocabulary. His Ivy League education, intelligence and literacy infuse each page. I'm so glad Mr. Solomon narrated his own book. His voice is a little hard to get used to, but I grew to love the sound of it - and grew to love him as well. Only he could inflect the voices of the people he interviewed. I'm glad I took the time to listen to it instead of reading it. Hearing it made the book great to me. I don't think I would have enjoyed it nearly as much if I had read it. Listening forces you to slow down and hear each word. I am a very fast reader and miss a lot of detail and beauty of language - listening to books has opened up a new world of literature for me, and this non-fiction book is written so beautifully that I'm glad I heard every word.

If you are interested in this subject, have the time to sink yourself deeply into a fascinating new world, I highly recommend this beautiful book.

I bought GWTW on sale, and since I enjoyed it 35 years ago, I thought it might be fun to listen to at least some of it since it was on sale for $4.95. I never thought I'd listen to all 50 hours of it, but I did. The narrator is excellent. She is a fine actress and all her characters had a unique personality and a believable accent. She even got the Rhett Butler character down perfect.

The book is far more historical fiction than the movie, and far more interesting. It is so much more than a love story between Scarlett and Rhett - it a visit to a totally different time with totally different mores and standards of behavior which seem silly to us now.

She glossed over a lot of the slave problem as all of the black characters were quite sympathetic and seemed to be loved as part of the family. Many of the black slaves were smarter than the white folks and actually had a lot of power in the families. I'm not sure how true that was in other homes, but I hope so.

I plan to do more studying of this interesting era to see how much Margaret Mitchell got right, but right or not it was a fun read.

I watched the movie "Shawshank Redemption years ago and loved it. Morgan Freeman was fantastic as the protagonist and he really made the movie great. They also changed the plot for the movie to make it more compact. I usually hate movies made from books, because the book is usually so much better. I won't usually even watch a movie based on a book I read until years later (if ever).

If Morgan Freeman had narrated the book, it might have worked. He didn't and it doesn't.

I usually enjoy reading books by black artists who struggled with racism and a difficult life to achieve great success. I had heard of Miles and enjoyed his music over the years, but I knew nothing about him. One of the reasons I bought this book was the fantastic narrator, Dion Graham - one of my favorites. Dion somehow manages to sound like an old black musician with a gravely voice and dirty mouth. Dion has the talent to sound like almost anybody and can make a mediocre book great.

I listened to about two hours of this book and had to quit. Miles was a black child of well-off parents and lots of advantages. He worked hard at his music, is very gifted and he knows it. He comes off in this book as an unpleasant old man who manages to insert "mfer" into almost every paragraph. I'm not offended by bad language when it works in the book, but it gets tiresome in this one.

I like to be enlightened and educated by books like this, but I was bored by the tone and attitude of this gifted but unpleasant man. Give it a pass.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is one of my favorite scientists and writers. He has his own style - smart, funny and educational. Neil has a very distinct personality and voice. When I listened to this audiobook, I couldn't believe that Neil himself wasn't reading it! I have listened to and watched just about everything Neil has said and know his voice very well. Listening to this book was a good as if Neil had read it.

If you are into astronomy and physics, and love a good laugh as well, this is the book for you!

Dr. Carson's story is interesting and inspirational and well-read by one of my favorite narrators, Dion Graham. However, it was more about god than medicine. Dr. Carson worked very very hard to gain his skills as a neurosurgeon. He had a lot of help along the way, especially from his mother. And much of his skill and talent were gained on the backs of his predecessors. About one third of the book is about his faith - he is a Seventh Day Adventist. He gives god all the credit instead of his hard work and the help of actual human beings. He is very sincere, but it is hard for me to believe that such and intelligent and gifted man gives an imaginary friend credit for each success he has. If a patient dies, well, "It's god's will". I also read that he doesn't accept evolution. How can a brilliant scientist, who did research on rabbits not understand the essential essential concept of evolution? If you are religious, you will probably enjoy this book. As a non-believer, I got really tired of all the religious references. It would have been fine for him to mention his faith, but he beats you to death with it.

This book should be described and listed as a inspirational and religious book, as that is what it is. I'm sure Dr. Carson is a fine man and an excellent doctor, but he should stick to doctoring - or maybe start preaching.

I read the "The Power of One" years ago, and thought it was one of the best novels I had ever read. I don't usually read novels unless they are set in another country or era that I can learn more about. I never forgot this book. When I listened to "Shantaram" I was so impressed with the narrator, Humphrey Bower, that I checked to see what else he had narrated. There was "The Power of One"! I instantly downloaded it and was not disappointed. Bower is the best narrator I have ever listened to. I enjoyed listening to this book even more that I did reading it. Bower gives each wonderful character in the book a distinct voice and personality. He can speak in almost any accent convincingly and with great emotion. This is a book that would probably be considered a book for men, as most of the characters are men, and boxing and considerable violence are embedded in the story. I hate boxing and violence, but as a female who loves a good listen, I would give this book/narrator combination ten stars if I could! Perfect!

The book was entertaining, enlightening, and educational, plus funny. The only problem was the book was written by a Brit, using many humorous British expression and slang. The reader was American and the contrast of British writing and American reader didn't work. At the end of each chapter the author, John Powell, comes in and demonstrates with guitar or other instrument what the chapter was about. The author is hilarious and I wish that he or another Brit had read it. I recommend it highly and I learned a lot!