Catherine

Listening to the audio part 1, I wondered if this author had forgotten how to write history. He opens with an endless prologue, endlessly stitching together vignettes and stories about Ike, in no discernible order, many times repeating stories, all to set up his theme, which is that Ike governed much the way he played poker. FINALLY I skipped to Part 2 and was very pleasantly surprised. We get vivid depictions of Ike facing off against the demons in his cabinet, the CIA, Russia, and his own complex personality. Gripping history and excellent biography. The ending is also too long. Where was this author's editor?! Recommended for listeners who are not afraid to skip forward on their iPod.

This long and detailed biography of the patriarch of one of America's most famous families takes a listener into many fascinating segments of 20th century history. Along the way, a listener becomes familiear not only with the Kennedy family and children, but with other 20th century luminaries such as Gloria Swanson and, most brilliantly, FDR and his entourage. Many myths about the patriarch are dispelled and unknown facets of his life and those with whom he interacted are elucidated. The section during which Joseph P. was Ambassador to Great Britain is brilliantly told, tremendously gripping, and always shadowed by the listener's knowledge of the fate of the patriarch's oldest son. Wonderfully narrated even if the assumed accents are occasionally annoying. HIGHLY recommended for anyone interested in 20th century history.

two old hands at political observation and analysis present a detailed story of what those of us who follow politics with interest and increasingly with despair have noticed. their analysis is cogent and convincing. despair is mitigated by their suggestions for reform, most of which would only take a congress where the republicans agree to cooperate to implement (!!!). a very pleasing narration by William Hughes helps the medicine go down.

Not at all original or funny; I quit listening when it was clear she was going to inflict a confessional on us about The Day I Got My Period. REALLY, girls/ladies/women...we can't be more original than that??? We're past the 19th century, and we do have the vote!

The author knows how to tell a non-fiction story so that it unfolds with the suspense of fiction. Characters are lucidly drawn, facts presented to support the narrative, and the moral of the story elucidated. These are all stories we followed in the press, but no newspaper account included the amazing detail (never tedious) and the day by day snippets never contributed to the spellbinding narratives one gets here. Very competently read. Easy to segment with the four self-contained stories.

I am glad I bought the abridged version of this much-heralded book, because I found it tedious and eventually boring. The abridged version is a bit disjointed, but that was a small price to pay until the end, when the story became really interesting. At that point, the missing links in the text became annoying, and the story hard to follow, as the detectives who finally caught Holmes put together the clues that finally sealed his fate. You do get a sense of that astonishing era, when people could disappear without a trace with no one suspecting foul play and people naively trusted strangers. The story is competently read by Tony Goldwyn.

The only problem with this book is that it ends. If you listen to audiobooks while exercising, as I do, you will find that you exercise more so that you can listen to more of this story, which never flags, never for one sentence, from page 1 to the end. Wonderfully read by Edward Herrmann. A true classic.

I listened to every minute of this audio download, despite its length and my lack of training in finance and economics. The detail went over my head but the story is mesmerizing and very competently read by the narrator. The story is best when it gets into stories, as with the characters involved in AIG and Merrill Lynch. Why not 5 stars? I guess because of the overwhelming amount of detail, but that didn't stop me from listening!

A fascinating story that unfolds with great detail and sympathy and plot and character: on short, a wonderful "listen," all related in in clear, uncomplicated prose that is totally comprehensible to someone without medical training. Wonderfully read by Stephen Hoye. Not one minute is dull...it is the audio equivalent of a page turner.

Robert Reich has a gift for explaining complex economic arguments in a language a non-economist can understand. His argument here is very compelling and goes down easy read in his friendly, familiar voice. I give it 4 instead of 5 stars because the last third of the audio book seems like filler added at the insistence of a publisher, not necessary to make his argument. But the whole is a very pleasant listen and certainly convinced me that tea party demogagues notwithstanding, the American public is looking not for smaller but for fairer government, and getting there is critical to economic recovery and to the recovery of the legitimacy of our political system.