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Mary

ratings

161

REVIEWS

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HELPFUL VOTES

The Green Mile

UNABRIDGED
- by Stephen King
- Narrated by Frank Muller
The Green Mile

UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 45 mins)

By Stephen King

Narrated By Frank Muller

Overall
(1390)
Performance
(484)
Story
(486)

At Cold Mountain Penitentiary, the convicted killers on E Block await their turn to walk the Green Mile and keep a date with the electric chair. Paul Edgecombe has seen his share of oddities in his years working as a guard on the Mile, but he's never met anyone like John Coffey.
Orita says: "Both the book and the reader were just plain great"
"An insufferable, plodding narrative"

Overall
Performance
Story

I hadn't been a fan of Stephen King, but I had just finished reading (listening to) Neil Gaiman's wonderful faery tale, Stardust, and was moved to try another "master" storyteller's fanciful tale. I should have saved my listener's credit. The story was dull, uninteresting, and not believable. It might have been redeemed if the narrator had any sense of the dramatic, but this was sorely lacking. Die-hard King fans obviously found the story compelling, but I would not recommend it to anyone looking for a good yarn. Stick with Gaiman.

0 of 1 people found this review helpful
The Graveyard Book

UNABRIDGED
- by Neil Gaiman
- Narrated by Neil Gaiman
The Graveyard Book

UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 47 mins)

By Neil Gaiman

Narrated By Neil Gaiman

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(5295)
Performance
(2115)
Story
(2134)

Why we think it’s a great listen: Gaiman’s not just an award-winning author, but a narrator who earns rave reviews – and fields requests from other authors to perform their books, too! Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. He would be completely normal if he didn't live in a sprawling graveyard, being raised and educated by ghosts, with a solitary guardian who belongs to neither the world of the living nor of the dead....
Guillermo says: "Masterful Fantasy for the Jaded Heart"
"A delicious, engaging tale, perfectly told"

Overall
Performance
Story

I'm so glad I peruse kid's books and read some of them. If I didn't I would have missed this wonderful gem. The story is tense and gripping, but also filled with lovely relationships between living people and, well.... I'll have to let you find out. Neil Gaiman is not only a terrific writer, his story telling is among the best. The music interludes are also perfect in every way. I know it's trite to say, but it's true in this case--kids of every age will adore this book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful
Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey through His Son's Meth Addiction

UNABRIDGED
- by David Sheff
- Narrated by Anthony Heald
Beautiful Boy: A Father's Journey through His Son's Meth Addiction

UNABRIDGED (11 hrs and 27 mins)

By David Sheff

Narrated By Anthony Heald

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(491)
Performance
(130)
Story
(127)

David Sheff's story is a first: a teenager's addiction from the parent's point of view, a real-time chronicle of the shocking descent into substance abuse and the gradual emergence into hope.
Before meth, Sheff's son, Nic, was a varsity athlete, honor student, and award-winning journalist. After meth, he was a trembling wraith who stole money from his eight-year-old brother and lived on the streets. With haunting candor, Sheff traces the first warning signs, the attempts at rehabilitation, and, at last, the way past addiction. He shows us that, whatever an addict's fate, the rest of the family must care for one another, too, lest they become addicted to addiction.
S. Butler says: "Painful and honest account"
"Sad Personal Story, Beautifully Told"

Overall
Performance
Story

Having read David Sheff's article about his son's meth addiction in the New York Times magazine, I knew this book would be wonderful, and I wasn't disappointed. Sheff takes us through every high, every low, every hope, and every crisis he, and everyone else with an addicted loved one, experiences. His ability to describe these emotions is unparalleled. Most importantly, we see that he is able to progress in his understanding of addiction and his unwitting role in it. Highly recommended for anyone trying to comprehend the crazy world addiction takes us into.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful
The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America

UNABRIDGED
- by Timothy Egan
- Narrated by Robertson Dean
The Big Burn: Teddy Roosevelt and the Fire That Saved America

UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 2 mins)

By Timothy Egan

Narrated By Robertson Dean

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(649)
Performance
(313)
Story
(317)

In The Worst Hard Time, Timothy Egan put the environmental disaster of the Dust Bowl at the center of a rich history, told through characters he brought to indelible life. Now he performs the same alchemy with The Big Burn, the largest-ever forest fire in America, a tragedy that cemented Teddy Roosevelt's legacy.
P. Bergh says: "A fascinating history of early Forest Service"
"An Important American Story, Well Told"

Overall
Performance
Story

I worked for the Forest Service in Idaho in the 1980's, fought many forest fires, knew Ed Pulaski's heroic story, and especially loved working with the tool he invented, the pulaski. Egan is a terrific story teller and gets everything right, both the feeling and the facts about this time and place. I especially appreciated learning about Gifford Pinchot and how he and TR fought for and finally triumphed in establishing the Forest Service. The Big Burn is American history told at its best.

5 of 5 people found this review helpful
The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War

ABRIDGED
- by David Halberstam
- Narrated by Edward Herrmann
The Coldest Winter: America and the Korean War

ABRIDGED (13 hrs and 53 mins)

By David Halberstam

Narrated By Edward Herrmann

Overall
(546)
Performance
(113)
Story
(112)

Up until now, the Korean War has been the black hole of modern American history. The Coldest Winter changes that. Halberstam gives us a masterful narrative of the political decisions and miscalculations on both sides. He charts the disastrous path that led to the massive entry of Chinese forces near the Yalu, and that caught Douglas MacArthur and his soldiers by surprise. He provides astonishingly vivid and nuanced portraits of all the major figures.
Doug says: "Almost as good as The Best and the Brightest"
"The Coldest Winter"

Overall
Performance
Story

David Halberstam has written a clear and utterly beautiful history of the Korean War. He moves between describing the political, the military, and the personal aspects of the war with ease, and never loses the readers' interest. His honest portrayal of the flawed military leaders, Generals Ned Almond and Douglas McArthur, is illuminating and troubling and important for Americans to understand. We also get a clear understanding of the views and motives of the Communist leaders, Mao, Stalin, and of course Kim Il-sung, the North Korean strongman. Best of all are the stories of the American soldiers and their leaders who fought on the ground. The narrator, Edward Herrmann, is brilliant. His voice is able seemingly portray the direct feelings of Halbertstam without being overly dramatic. My only disappointment was that the book was abridged--I think it could have easily been presented in its entirety, but I solved that problem by reading the parts that were skipped from a library book.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful
The Guns of August

UNABRIDGED
- by Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by Nadia May
The Guns of August

UNABRIDGED (19 hrs and 9 mins)

By Barbara W. Tuchman

Narrated By Nadia May

Whispersync for Voice-ready

Overall
(773)
Performance
(256)
Story
(245)

In this Pulitzer Prize-winning classic, historian Barbara Tuchman brings to life the people and events that led up to World War I. This was the last gasp of the Gilded Age, of Kings and Kaisers and Czars, of pointed or plumed hats, colored uniforms, and all the pomp and romance that went along with war. How quickly it all changed...and how horrible it became.
IRP says: "A Great Book-One Of My Alltime Favorite Books"
"Guns of August is Magnificent"

Overall
Performance
Story

Tuchman's history of the people and circumstances leading to WWI, and the first month of that war, is a vibrant and compelling story that reads like a great novel. I'm always looking for history books that clearly describe important events in world history, and this one is now at the top of my list!

8 of 8 people found this review helpful
Fresh Air, 1-Month Subscription

NONE
- by Terry Gross
Fresh Air, 1-Month Subscription

NONE (1 hr)

By Terry Gross

Overall
(177)
Performance
(0)
Story
(0)

This Peabody Award-winning weekday magazine of contemporary arts and issues is hosted by the inimitable Terry Gross. Get the latest issue or subscribe!
Lori says: "usually a surprise, always interesting"
"Couldn't Live Without It"

Overall
Performance
Story

I really believe I couldn't live without Fresh Air. Because I can subscribe to it on Audible.com, I can be fully up-to-date on an incredibly wide variety of topics. I can learn about books, newspaper, and magazine articles I will never have time to read, I can keep fully informed about politics, world affairs, and entertainment. I am always able to participate knowledgeably in discussions of current affairs. If I I'm not interested in a particular topic, I don't have to download that session; instead I can focus on topics that are the most interesting to me.

Thank you Audible and thank you WHYY for bringing the world to my ears.

11 of 13 people found this review helpful