Keith

Most definitely.

Its George Guidall!... there is no one better, some as good, but no one better.

I did both

This book is over 40 hours long and it seemed like it was over in the blink of an eye. I love the musical and wanted to listen to the book before the movie version hit the screens. I am soooo glad I did. The background information you get on these characters is amazing. To know why the Bishop Myriel is the way he is, to get the background of Fantine how she came to have Cosette and how the Thénardiers are (the are quite despicable in the book, not the comic relief they are in the play) where they are in life and to feel Valjean's anguish and inner turmoil is utterly amazing. Also when Hugo goes on about Paris or the Battle of Waterloo, if you are a history fan, get a map and a lot of what is read will come alive. I just loved the book... so did my kids, my 12 year old daughter is now reading it and my 14 year old son just finished it.

Yes, if they like the History Eastern Europe and Hitler and Stalin's impact on the area.

Mao-The Untold Story. It has a lot of the same tragedy but in a different location.

If you are interested in the impact of Stalin and Hitler on the area between Russia and Germany and the devastation wrought on these people you'll like this book. It gives a different perspective to WWII and the early Cold War era. It gives more ammunition to the discrediting of Communism and Fascism. Not uplifting but powerful.

The middle and the end. It started really interesting with how the infections started and spread through the hospital, but once it gets past there I was screaming... "really the dead are walking and you don't know the shoot for the head!!!!" No one figures it out but a 19yr old who plays video game. Oh and the infections takes hours on the first kid but by about the 10th person bitten its like 5 minutes with no explanation why that might happen-I have my thoughts but it would be nice get the authors ideas. I had to force myself to finish it.

Yes

The German Doctor, he was a sense of sanity in the insanity

After listening to this book I wonder why we don't hear more about the Japanese need to apologize for the atrocities they committed. The accounts in this book are quite disturbing, to think the human beings can do these things to other humans just proves that people are not basically good. This is definitely an R rated book because of the descriptions of the horror committed by the soldiers, be very wary of listening in front of kids. If you want a perspective on what the Japanese were like during WWII this will give it to you. If you like history without the rose colored glasses you will like this.

This book really made me think. Although there are things I really disagree with (like just because people are related to or in some tertiary way support the "looters" they deserve to die) there are many more that I agree with. I you follow current politics, there are many things that sound very familiar and hit a little to close to home. If you don't have over 40hrs to listen maybe try the abridged version.

If anyone ever tells you they think Mao is a person to look up to you might want to think again about that person. Mao was a total despot and one of the worst people to ever live. The things described in this book are frightening. It puts a lot of history into context, namely Korea and Vietnam and how this guy used those wars for only personal gain, he didn't care how many Chinese or others died. Not to be listened to with the kids, but excellent if you want to learn history and thus not be doomed to see it repeated.