Arnold

I could have listened to this in one sitting. You watch on TV the wars the US has going on and don't know what to make of all the problems they have concluding them. Was it inevitable? Is it incompetence? This book insightfully connects all the dots since WWII and talks about individual generals and and how they can excel or screw up based on who is running the army. A major point he makes is that in WWII commanders were replaced quickly if deemed incompetent. Nowadays no one is fired. Another point is commanders are taught to think tactically but not strategically. I'll probably reread this one.

Fascinating to hear Kennedy and a two faced Mississippi governor talking about implementing a court order regarding segregation and how Kennedy worked him into a corner. Johnson gives a great life lesson on how to influence people. Nixon says unbelievable things, how did he forget it was all being recorded?

Heinlein makes an interesting plot around the idea that the moon is turned into a penal colony and then declares independence. Little of his speculative science (growing wheat on the moon? Electromagnetic slingshots for sending things to earth?) has worked out but he makes some good guesses about the future of computing considering this was written in the late 60's.
Oh, by the way, the narrator fakes a russian accent, which is off putting but you do get used to it.

The more interesting sub plot is about a computer that becomes self aware. This was the fun part that drew me in for the first third of the book. The rest of the story focuses heavily on the political circumstances they had to go through to be free and I found it trying to slog through, maybe because I was hoping for some emotional development that never materialized. The ending was good. Heinlein is a great concept guy and plotter so if that's your thing by all means get this audiobook

I was looking for Ron Chernow's biography of J.P. Morgan and settled for this. Jay Gould is mostly forgotten now and hearing the facts of his life filled in a lot of US Gilded Age history for me. You'll also learn about 'Commodore' Vanderbilt, the snaky bible talking Drew Pearson and my favourite, the big living 'Colonel' James Fisk Jr.
Gould was a master manipulator and to listen to the strategies he came up with and how he executed them was very entertaining. There were a few caveats- the book wasn't digitally mastered perfectly, there are a few glitches, mostly in the first half of the book. As well, the final chapter is an in depth tracing of all his descendants which felt unnecessary.
A final reason to read this - the next time you play Monopoly you'll know the crazy histories of all the railroad properties!

I didn't get through the second chapter. The interview scene was not a good start as it seemed to copy every police procedural ever written. The dialogue between him and the female cop turned me off as well with the same criticism; too clichéd.

I'm not sure how Asimov pulled off this story except to say he's a very skilled and original writer.
This story is now almost 60 years old and there are obvious criticisms.
The language of technology -people are 'psychoed' to not remember, 'tubes' are used to send reports, reports are written on film etc...- is dated of course. Happily, it adds an element of humour that the author may not have intended but it works pretty well.

And the sexism! The Eternals are all male and supposed to be Spock like but throw one voluptuous babe (Mickey Spillane could not have described her better) into the mix and suddenly everyone acts like a high school nerd and Eternity itself is in jeopardy.

You would think these problems would sink the plot but they don't. It has a lot of twists and turns and makes no sense sometimes but it keeps going right to the last page.

This was good science fiction and good fun. Think Douglas Adams meets H.G. Wells.

Jonah Berger brings you all the latest in marketing science with lots of interesting examples. I especially liked the stories of how sales were increased either with social psychology or with a new pricing tactic. He also offers new breakdowns of what type of viral messaging can hurt or help your business.
Very good, I'll be buying the paper version so I can highlight the best bits.

Great man doesn't mean nice man. When I finished this book (66 hours but never boring) I was left with the impression he was like Lance Armstrong, hugely driven and talented but a sociopath if you get in his way. One of those people you'd rather read about than meet. He did remake the face of New York in many ways and he never held office. Makes you wonder how the raw politics work in your own city.

The history was fascinating as well. You'll learn about everyone from Al Smith up to Nelson Rockefeller and everyone in between. Plus how he won a feud with Roosevelt when he was President.It's about Tammany politics and the history of New York from the 1890's up to the 1970s. The reader had a nice even voice too.

This is not a book you'll forget which is annoying since it's greatness lies in its one main idea but I didn't enjoy the execution of the story. For instance I've already forgotten the lead characters names and the subplots seemed like time fillers. There were too few characters to support a novel. It would have been a better novelette. I would encourage others to read it though if they are interested in early science fiction. That's why I read it. The reader did a good performance and his voice works well on the 2x setting on my player!

An amazing author and narrator to spend time with. This is a great post apocalypse book if you like that genre but it's also about how hard and worthwhile it is to do the right thing even if it kills you. I have a small list of books I would listen to again and this is on the list.

By accident my previous read had been Brideshead Revisited, which was another Edwardian story of aristocratic manners. It was good but I liked this story better. It combined many genres and gave a great historical account of what it was like in 1909-1914 England through the eyes of a reformed gunfighter from Colorado. There were many stories within stories and when it seemed it might be going flat in tone (it's 23 hours) General Harry Flashman walks in and picks things right up again. A great listen and David Case did another fine job. Plus the ending was touching. George Fraser really is a first class writer.