Badass

By: Ben Thompson

Narrated by: L. J. Ganser

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.

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.

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!

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.