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As a Driven Leaf
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, World Literature
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Publisher's Summary
As A Driven Leaf is a novel in which fictional and historical characters comfortably coexist. It is a gripping tale of the renegade Talmudic sage, Elisha ben Abuyah, caught in a personal struggle between his own faith and the compelling culture of Rome, circa 70 CE.
The genius of Milton Steinberg's great work is that it illuminates the political and intellectual conflicts of Rabbinic times in a way that shows their relevance to Jewish faith, nationhood, and personal development in every era, including our own.
A helpful Listener's Guide adds fascinating historical background on the book's events - including Bar Kochba's bloody revolt against the Romans - and its characters, among them the great woman scholar Bruriah and the revered Rabbi Akiba.
Critic Reviews
"Imposing...remarkably effective." (The New York Times)
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What listeners say about As a Driven Leaf
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Jeffrey
- 05-03-06
A Classic
This book is not for everyone, as it is more about reflection, faith and doubt than sheer entertainment. However, for those who think about life and purpose, meaning and time, this is a wonderful story which teaches an important lesson.
13 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Richard A
- 07-25-18
Audio is TERRIBLE. Story is great.
I don’t understand how a professional audio product can be so poorly recorded. The narrator is partially to blame, as enunciation is poor, especially at the end of words and phrases. This could be solved by applying a little audio compression. It’s really too bad because the story is so engaging.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Simon Nadulek
- 01-29-15
A wonderful book Everyone should read
Great book met all my expectations I have recommended to all my friends
As a child of the Holocaust survivor increased my belief Zionism
1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Elad
- 02-06-12
Great book, relevant to our time!
The narrator spoke a bit softly. As I listen while I'm driving, I missed a bit; it simply wasn't loud enough, even with the volume turned up full. I felt as if I was a part of the world of 2000 years ago, but I suspect that quite a lot was cut out of the abridged edition, and the jumps in place and time were a little ragged. I imagine that an unabridged version would be even better. Still I enjoyed this thought-provoking audible book.
1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Stitcher's Page
- 07-15-15
Did not enjoy this title
What disappointed you about As a Driven Leaf?
I felt that the audio was hard to hear and understand
Would you ever listen to anything by Milton Steinberg again?
I will purchase but not listen.
How could the performance have been better?
This book needed a better audio
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from As a Driven Leaf?
I didn't finish this book.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Ethan Schwartzman
- 10-15-18
Extremely boring.
the mononotoned voice of the actor, is extremely boring. it took me a long time to finish it, because of it. Other than that: "good book".