Derek

I am a Michael Connelly fan but this book did not cut it for me. The unbelievability factor is just too high in both dialog and storyline. Maybe the Len Cariou narration contributed to this problem as the father daughter conversations did not ring true. I prefer Connelly read by Dick Hill or Adam Grupper. I did, however, enjoy the Hong Kong scenes as I've been there a few times and could visualize the settings. I got through it pretty easily and enjoyed some moments but Connelly has written many better books.

As a follower of all things Silicon Valley, I enjoyed this book. The first half of the book was great as I was less familiar with the early days of Google. I especially enjoyed the parts about how the search and advertising innovations came about and evolved.

Two things, however, prevent me from giving this book a higher rating. The first is Levy's bias in favor of all things Google. Maybe this was the price he had to pay for access but he included many gratuitous snide remarks toward Microsoft. Secondly, I am not sure why, but I did not enjoy the narrator.

I'll read just about anything from Michael Lewis and have been a fan since Liar's Poker. In this book, Lewis is informative as ever, but throws in much more humor. Maybe he abuses a few stereotypes but the result is so damn funny that I'll let it go.

Dylan Baker, new to me, is the perfect narrator for this tale. He adds the right touch of sarcasm that fits perfectly with the story. I'll look to him to introduce me to some new authors.

Whenever I am stuck in the middle of a few crappy audiobooks, I always know I can turn to Micheal Connelly or Nelson DeMille to get me out of the hole. That said, I like I like the Mickey Haller books better than the Bosch titles. Despite its title (Bosch Book 16), I agree with another reviewer that this was much more of a Mickey Haller book. Connelly's behind the scenes looks into the justice system, lawyer tricks, and police activities round out the storyline nicely. If you are already a Connelly fan, I think you will enjoy The Reversal which a big step up from the far-fetched Nine Dragons.

This was my first Daniel Silva book and I very much enjoyed it. I love it when I can learn about a piece of history while reading a great book. Such was the case with The Unlikely Spy. These qualities made me remember The Company by Robert Littell which is one of my all-time favorite listens. After completion I immediately started Silva's The Confessor which is also good. In sum, I recommend this book and I recommend Daniel Silva.

This book provides the background of the economic crisis and knowledge of the financial instruments involved necessary for you to come to your own conclusions. The author also provides the context of politics, conflicts of interest, regulatory loopholes, personalities and ideologies. The book is also a great story with many interesting characters and a great build-up to the meltdown that is still fresh in all of our minds. The author's concluding remarks seemed slightly contrived and counter to the book's overall objectivity. Nevertheless, this is a very minor point as only the final 20 minutes of the book were affected.

I should have read the other reviews before buying this book. The introduction was interesting and I looked forward to the science behind the themes it presented. It was not to be. Way too many musings about the character of Johnny Appleseed for a book I thought would be more about evolution and genetics. Perhaps if I was expecting something different, I would not be as disappointed. I gave up after the Apple chapter.

Really a great book. I just could not stop thinking and talking about this book to whoever would listen. I also felt compelled to look up all the main characters on Wikipedia along the way as I could not wait to find out what happened. After listening to this book I had a weird (and unsubstantiated) feeling that I was somehow an authority on the Enron case with some sort of uncommon knowledge.

I have listened to a lot of audio books in a lot of genres but only this one and The Company by Robert Littel really grabbed me in this way.