michael

This is a waste of paper pulp! The picture it paints of Ronald Regan has ABSOLUTELY NO basis in reality. The author's presentation is one which would not be out of place in the works of one of Leonid Brezhnev's simpering, sycophantic "court writers." It presents an utterly simplistic view of the Soviet Union and glosses over a great many issues. It is written in a disjointed style with competitively little material actually devoted to the books namesake, namely the Dead Hand system.

The narrator is ill suited to this book. He seems a bit unemotional and smug.

Fred has the narrowest voice characterization of any author I have ever heard. ALL of his American voices sound like a farcical British sketch show parody of a stereotypical "Yankee" politician and presidents and journalists and generals are all furnished with precisely the same obnoxious accent. His Korean-accented English speakers are no better.

It is interesting to learn about the quite substantial British and Commonwealth contribution to this war. It would be nice if the book was LONGER and went into more detail.

The author weaves a good story, which is what the book is all about. Namely, two conflicting cultural and religious narratives which inform and shape many aspects of life. Ansary does a good job depicting a whole tapestry, woven from both religion and culture and the ways in which they interact. He endeavors to retain an almost anthropological degree of objectivity. He provides explanations without necessarily approving of them.
I would recommend this to ANYONE seeking to understand this culture!

This is an amazing work. I can recall listening to this many years ago on tape, before I saw any of the Star Wars films.
In a way this production is a reconnection with the roots of the whole Star Wars saga, namely Flash Gordon and other science fiction radio and film serials. The production values are very high and the listener is not bombarded with too many incidental background effects. There is an emphasis on dialogue.

Radio is, after all "the theater of the mind's eye".