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Andy

Westport, CT, United States | Member Since 2002

302
HELPFUL VOTES
  • 279 reviews
  • 382 ratings
  • 0 titles in library
  • 36 purchased in 2013
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FOLLOWERS
182

  • Zeitoun

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 24 mins)
    • By Dave Eggers
    • Narrated By Firdous Bamji
    Overall
    (641)
    Performance
    (247)
    Story
    (252)

    When HurricaneKatrina struck New Orleans, Abdulrahman Zeitoun - a prosperous Syrian-American and father of four - chose to stay through the storm to protect his house and contracting business. In the eerie days after the storm, he traveled the flooded streets in a secondhand canoe, passing on supplies and rescuing those he could. A week later, on September 6, 2005, Zeitoun abruptly disappeared.

    David says: "Compelling event, plodding delivery"
    "terrific book about a stunning failure"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Difficult to believe what happened here could actually happen in America. Nonetheless, Eggers tells a very descriptive story about how one man got caught in a vortex of bureaucratic incompetence in the weeks after Katrina.

    9 of 11 people found this review helpful
  • Jobs That Could Kill You: True Stories of People Risking Their Lives to Make a Buck

    • UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 11 mins)
    • By Tom Jones
    • Narrated By David Marantz
    Overall
    (1)
    Performance
    (1)
    Story
    (1)

    Insight into the lives of people who work on the edge. Jobs That Could Kill You is a fascinating collection of candid and intimate conversations with 42 men and women who describe in gripping detail how physical risk is a familiar companion in their working lives, and how they deal with it.

    Andy says: "quite a variety"
    "quite a variety"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    This book offered a glimpse of a wide variety of occupations that are indeed dangerous. The information came across as if transcribed verbatim from an oral description into a tape recorder by the job holder. I think the descriptions would have benefited if the author was able to dig deeper.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Detroit: An American Autopsy

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 25 mins)
    • By Charlie LeDuff
    • Narrated By Eric Martin
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (20)
    Performance
    (15)
    Story
    (15)

    In the heart of America, a metropolis is quietly destroying itself. Detroit, once the richest city in the nation, is now its poorest. Once the vanguard of America’s machine age - mass production, automobiles, and blue-collar jobs - Detroit is now America’s capital for unemployment, illiteracy, foreclosure, and dropouts.

    With the steel-eyed reportage that has become his trademark and the righteous indignation that only a native son can possess, journalist Charlie LeDuff sets out to uncover what has brought low this once-vibrant city, his city.

    Elton says: "Dystopia Defined"
    "through one lens"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    I enjoyed listening to this book, but I think it was more about Charles LeDuff and his family, than the city of Detroit.

    1 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • Straight Flush: The True Story of Six College Friends Who Dealt Their Way to a Billion-Dollar Online Poker Empire - and How it All Came Crashing Down...

    • UNABRIDGED (7 hrs and 8 mins)
    • By Ben Mezrich
    • Narrated By Sean Pratt
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (11)
    Performance
    (11)
    Story
    (10)

    Based on extensive insider interviews and participation, acclaimed author Ben Mezrich's Straight Flush tells the captivating rags-to-riches tale of a group of University of Montana frat brothers who turned a weekly poker game in the basement of a local dive bar into AbsolutePoker.com, one of the largest online companies in the world. But then the U.S. Department of Justice placed a bull's-eye on Absolute Poker. Did they fold - or double down and ride their hot hand?

    Bryan says: "Im not sure I believe this the whole story"
    "they even tried to do it the right way"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Another fast moving, feels like you are there, story from Ben Mezrich. The usual themes: young folks with a laser focus on bringing home the brass ring. Great narration too.

    0 of 1 people found this review helpful
  • Neuromancer

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 30 mins)
    • By William Gibson
    • Narrated By Robertson Dean
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (683)
    Performance
    (587)
    Story
    (591)

    Twenty years ago, it was as if someone turned on a light. The future blazed into existence with each deliberate word that William Gibson laid down. The winner of Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Awards, Neuromancer didn't just explode onto the science fiction scene - it permeated into the collective consciousness, culture, science, and technology.Today, there is only one science fiction masterpiece to thank for the term "cyberpunk," for easing the way into the information age and Internet society.

    David says: "5 stars for coolness, 3 stars for give-a-heckness"
    "Seminal fiction with perfect narration"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    NEUROMANCER, beyond being a landmark in the sci-fi genre, is just a plainly well-written novel by one of the best current practitioners in the English language. It's a hard-boiled noir tale set in a brilliant future imagined in the 1980s. If that doesn't sell you, then this just isn't your cup of tea.

    Roberston Dean perfectly executes the narration here-- his low-toned, guttural voice complements the prose in a surprising way. I had read NEUROMANCER before listening to it here, and found I enjoyed it in a whole new way, which is rare for me when it comes to audiobooks on fiction.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Abundance: The Future Is Better Than You Think

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 22 mins)
    • By Steven Kotler, Peter H. Diamandis
    • Narrated By Arthur Morey
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (247)
    Performance
    (209)
    Story
    (205)

    We will soon be able to meet and exceed the basic needs of every man, woman, and child on the planet. Abundance for all is within our grasp. This bold, contrarian view, backed up by exhaustive research, introduces our near-term future, where exponentially growing technologies and three other powerful forces are conspiring to better the lives of billions of people. This book is an antidote to pessimism by tech-entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist Peter H. Diamandis and award-winning science writer Steven Kotler.

    brett says: "Refreshingly Optimistic"
    "a very powerful glimpse"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Diamandis and Kotler do a fabulous job here of laying out some reasonable assertions about how the creative mind will continue to harness technology to make the world a better place. I'm looking forward to Abundance 2.0, because all of this stuff is moving very, very fast.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Dad Is Fat

    • UNABRIDGED (5 hrs and 26 mins)
    • By Jim Gaffigan
    • Narrated By Jim Gaffigan
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (127)
    Performance
    (120)
    Story
    (119)

    In Dad is Fat, stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan, who’s best known for his legendary riffs on Hot Pockets, bacon, manatees, and McDonald's, expresses all the joys and horrors of life with five young children - everything from cousins ("celebrities for little kids") to toddlers’ communication skills ("they always sound like they have traveled by horseback for hours to deliver important news"), to the eating habits of four-year-olds ("there is no difference between a four-year-old eating a taco and throwing a taco on the floor").

    Sean says: "Good for Gaffigan fans - better for expecting dads"
    "for parents, after the first one is born"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Pretty funny riff, primarily on life as a parent. While the pace of jokes is not quite equivalent to stand up, this is a pretty funny book.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

    • UNABRIDGED (8 hrs and 5 mins)
    • By Stephen King
    • Narrated By Stephen King
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (1755)
    Performance
    (646)
    Story
    (645)

    The prolific, perennially best selling author recounts his early life and writing struggles, gives advice on the crucial aspects of the writing art, and talks about his much-publicized, near-fatal accident.

    Bill says: "Excellent!"
    "how Stephen King sees his world"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    It was fun to hear, in his own words and voice, a little about how Stephen King approaches the craft of writing, and how his life experiences are reflected in his books. While far too short to be considered exhaustive, the book does provide a helpful glimpse into the importance of authenticity in long-term success.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation

    • UNABRIDGED (13 hrs and 25 mins)
    • By Michael Pollan
    • Narrated By Michael Pollan
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (113)
    Performance
    (98)
    Story
    (101)

    In Cooked, Michael Pollan explores the previously uncharted territory of his own kitchen. Here, he discovers the enduring power of the four classical elements - fire, water, air, and earth - to transform the stuff of nature into delicious things to eat and drink. Apprenticing himself to a succession of culinary masters, Pollan learns how to grill with fire, cook with liquid, bake bread, and ferment everything from cheese to beer. In the course of his journey, he discovers that the cook occupies a special place in the world....

    Kurt says: "Excellent"
    "helpfully, more than skin deep"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    In his wonderfully mellow, yet engaging performance, Mr. Pollan takes us through the details of a handful of cooking journeys, from barbeque to breadmaking to cheese, kimchi and more. A terrific listen. All that was missing, understandably, was the ability to actually taste what he was telling us about.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • The War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle

    • UNABRIDGED (2 hrs and 56 mins)
    • By Steven Pressfield
    • Narrated By George Guidall
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (360)
    Performance
    (306)
    Story
    (299)

    Internationally best-selling author of Last of the Amazons, Gates of Fire and Tides of War, Steven Pressfield delivers a guide to inspire and support those who struggle to express their creativity. Pressfield believes that “resistance” is the greatest enemy, and he offers many unique and helpful ways to overcome it.

    William says: "Trying to beat the Resistance."
    "a little left brain, a little right brain"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Interesting riff on the creative path. Pressfield does a good job of opening the kimono on what it takes to start, to continue, to deal with rejection and to learn how to enjoy the journey.

    0 of 0 people found this review helpful
  • The New Digital Age: Reshaping the Future of People, Nations and Business

    • UNABRIDGED (10 hrs and 48 mins)
    • By Eric Schmidt, Jared Cohen
    • Narrated By Roger Wayne
    • Whispersync for Voice-ready
    Overall
    (49)
    Performance
    (39)
    Story
    (38)

    In an unparalleled collaboration, two leading global thinkers in technology and foreign affairs give us their widely anticipated, transformational vision of the future: a world where everyone is connected - a world full of challenges and benefits that are ours to meet and to harness. Eric Schmidt is one of Silicon Valley’s great leaders, having taken Google from a small startup to one of the world’s most influential companies. Jared Cohen is the director of Google Ideas and a former adviser to secretaries of state Condoleezza Rice and Hillary Clinton.

    Mike says: "Disappointing. At once obvious and curious."
    "some good, some terrifying"
    Overall
    Performance
    Story

    Nice survey of what great things are possible, along with the potential nightmare scenarios. Much of this book discusses how the digital age will create new public policy issues, both domestic and international.

    3 of 3 people found this review helpful

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