laconfidential

What a joy to hear the author read his extraordinary book. If you are even thinking about reading or purchasing the audio version, do not wait another moment.

The best autobiography or biography I have ever "heard" . . . Truly remarkable.

The author does not make the mistake of painting himself as the hero of his own narrative - bravo to him and even better for us.

Honest, profound, intriguing . . . a Love Letter to Life

If there was a God, I would want Him to bless Christopher Hitchens.

His careful, articulate, well researched and reasoned arguments are superb.

Finally, someone has said the Emperor is wearing only his birthday suit.

The only complaint is that Hitchens tends to drop the ends of his sentences to a low frequency - and I found it rather difficult to hear his last bits.

Overall, I am thrilled that he douses the Fire & Brimstone Crowd with both Common Sense and Thorough Scholarship.

Audio Book:

Sensational. Jacqueline Kennedy in her own words - terrific. Fascinating and truly compelling to hear her perspective. I admire her tremendously.

The Rest of the Cast:

If you can get past Caroline Kennedy's delivery - her typical snooze-fest monotone - her introduction is interesting. Why on earth no one ever bothered to give her a speech lesson when her father was one of the greatest orators in modern history is beyond me. She's simply awful every time she opens her mouth.

Michael Beschloss is far more interesting to listen to. Quite nice.

Schlesinger reveals himself to be a pompous bore - pretentious and overbearing.


But Jackie . . . Oh, Jackie! Classy, funny, intelligent, candid, lovely.

Larson's In the Garden of Beasts is excellent. He unpacks one of the most fascinating and studied moments in history and reveals the hard truth of hindsight. It's 20/20.

Sitting comfortably in 2013, we can pat ourselves on the back and say we would have done everything in our power to stop Hitler's rise. Indignantly, we will stomp our feet and judge the men and women who sat "idly by" and did nothing as Hitler and his thugs seized control of Germany and pulled the world into chaos.

But then Larson puts us in the moment - Berlin - the epicenter of it all. And without benefit of a crystal ball, we are left with the uncomfortable question: Would we truly have seen the danger signs? If so, would we have had the courage to act?

Perhaps those close enough to actually make a difference, were so far inside the belly of the beast, they could not see the teeth.

Before Catherine the Great by Robert Massie, my interest in Russian history was second only to that of watching a second coat of beige paint dry.

A friend told me how much he enjoyed CTG - and I grudgingly ordered the audio.

Before you could say Sputnik, I was fully engaged in Massie's masterful story. Deakins is a superb narrator.

Political thriller, Romance, History Lesson . . . CTG reigns supreme.

One hesitates to write a review of a book - any book - when one has not written or published a book - any book - and probably never will. But alas, here I am.

The Art of Fielding has one hell of a great dust cover - and there is some easy transition here to the adage "Never judge a book by . . . " but I will spare all of you.

Truth be told, this novel starts out like gangbusters. Spectacularly rewarding. The prose vivid and lively. Characters are rich and intriguing - plot is compelling. The roster of characters the author lines up to bat seem to be drafted from the Island of Misfit Toys - truly inspired.

But by the bottom of the 7th inning, each character's most admirable qualities are their undoing and the spirit of the book seeps out. I had to push myself to finish, if only out of respect for the author. But it was sour going in the home stretch.

If we wanted to feel miserable, we'd be spending time with our family - not reading a book.

The Art of Fielding leaves us with no one left to root for, staggering from the stands wondering what we had just witnessed - a mercy rule or simply a rain out.