Badass

By: Ben Thompson

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins

Publisher's summary

A Relentless Onslaught of the Toughest Warlords, Vikings, Samurai, Pirates, Gunfighters, and Military Commanders to Ever Live

Throughout history - from the bone-crushing age of antiquity to the sack-tearing modern era - there have been larger-than-life ass-kickers with a natural talent for unleashing their epic bloodlust on anyone who crossed them. They built empires, smashed armies, and ravaged civilizations for wealth, glory, and ultimate supremacy. Sometimes villains, sometimes heroes, sometimes criminally insane, they had one thing in common: They were all Badass!

Chandragupta Maurya
An Indian warlord who commanded an army of drunken war elephants and employed an elite detachment of highly trained female bodyguards

Peter Francisco
An unsung hero of the American Revolution, this powerful giant battled the British with a massive five-foot-long broadsword

Wolf the Quarrelsome
A mysterious barbarian leader who only appears in history twice - and both times he's kicking someone's ass

Bhanbhagta Gurung
A fearless Gurkha who won the Victoria Cross by clearing out six Japanese foxholes with nothing more than grenades, a bayonet, and a knife

From Alexander the Great to George S. Patton, from Genghis Khan to Bruce Lee, this pantheon of ass-kicking awesomeness should inspire you to quit your stupid job and dive headfirst into a new career as a professional badass.

©2009 Ben Thompson (P)2009 Audible, Inc.

Brilliant Badass Book

This book was well written and highly engaging. It serves almost as a primer to wet the appetite of any reader. I find myself hunting down other books in Audible to learn more about many of the historical figures in the books.

Note to Audible: You might want to consider seeing how many historical books or bios you could add or at least link up to via a promotion or on this book's profile page. I'd love to add more books related to many of the badasses discussed!

A bit slow

The humor gets a little tiring after a few chapters, and if you read for ~30min at a time (ie commute to work), you get lost in each historical figure and have a difficult time remembering who's story we're hearing.

Unconventional

If you weren't put off by the title and you enjoy a great story narrated with gusto, this might be the book for you. I loved it but I don't think any english teacher is going to recommend it. Review the author's web site, badass.com, to read some story lines on 'badass' history characters to get a flavor for his 'over the top' writing style. The author, himself, is badass and doesn't care one bit for someone's sensibilities. He just likes to tell a great story in a fun way. L

Amusing but too juvenile

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The writing got very repetitive, someone was always about to rip someone's face off or tear their guts out along with various other phrases that were used over and over again.

What was most disappointing about Ben Thompson???s story?

I think I was hoping for a bit more historical fact and less exaggeration, most of these stories would've been plenty impressive without the over top descriptions.

What does L. J. Ganser bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

I doubt I would've finished reading the book- the narrator was very good.

Any additional comments?

After reading it I found out he had a blog where he does Badasses of the week- I think one short post a week would be easier to handle as the repetitive phrasing wouldn't be so obvious.

The Greatest Book Ever!!

Hands down the most awesome, amazing, and entertaining book I have ever experienced. Nothing will ever come close to it in any way ever. If you don't like it you have absolutely no taste, and should go live on a deserted island somewhere waiting for the end of the world.

accurate but hilarious history!

This had me laughing so hard that I kept having to rewind so my husband could hear it; yet the history is accurate. I LOVE this book!

Fun and Interesting, but at times can be vulgar

This book is put together well and is really fun to listen to. I've listened to it several times and I just don't seem to get tired of it. Ganser's narration is incredible and extremely easy to listen to. The chapters are pretty short and offer an overview of some really cool historical figures, some I've never heard of! Thompson's writing though can be pretty vulgar at times. Since he's writing about badasses, I guess that's to be expected. However, I reduced this star count by one simply because after eight+ hours of vulgarity it just got tiresome. This is fun to listen to and well worth the money if you can take the vulgarities. For the most part, that doesn't bother me and this book was fun to listen to.

It's a historical comedy

Really, the title and the discription of the book says it all. This book is history as told by a comedian. I personally think it's a nice change from the stuffy history books that I am used to. Some other reviewers complain that the humor is stupid and immiture. I admit that this humor is not for everyone,The author uses a lot of exageration comedy when it comes to talking about the people in this book. If you are in high school or college and want to read an interesting and funny history book, then this is the book for you.

One of the best most fun books EVER

Look Badass is funny, but also factual, the humor is what really sold it for me. This book as gotten some not so great reviews by guys trying to bash the way it was written. Which I feel is unjust; Gentlemen this is not a stiff collegiate essay or a history channel documentary. However, this is a light hearted romp that is a joy to listen to and can appeal to anyone. Buy this book you don't have to be interested in History to really enjoy it. As for me I absolutely adore Badass and if I'm in a bad mood or feeling unmotivated I just listen to this and it always helps.

Pretty Cool!

Would you consider the audio edition of Badass to be better than the print version?

although I haven't seen the printed edition, I'm sure listening to a good narrator reading the funny and amusing lines are icing on the cake.

What does L. J. Ganser bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

It's very light hearted narration of the different characters you seldom hear in the history books. Learned a few people I possibly would never know as well.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I listen this audio book with my kids (teen agers) and even they have a few nice chuckle. Besides, they also learn a few characters as well.

Any additional comments?

There are a lot more people I think that should've been included but, over all, I really enjoyed the book. Great job.