Believe

A Horseman's Journey

By: Buck Brannaman, William Reynolds

Narrated by: John Pruden, Karen White

Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

From Buck Brannaman, best-selling author of The Faraway Horses, Believe: A Horseman's Journey continues to chronicle Buck's efforts as a catalyst and mentor through the stories of thirteen people with whom he has worked.

©2004 Buck Brannaman and William Reynolds (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Buck Brannaman is a remarkable person. Remarkable in that he can communicate on a variety of levels - with people as well as horses - all with one desire, to help free the spirit in everyone involved." (Jill Rappaport, Entertainment correspondent on Today Show)

Overcome fears & issues and ride your horse

I almost returned this audio book after listening to the first chapter. But, thankfully I wasn't home near my computer and decided to try listening some more to the next chapter. Glad I stuck with it because there are useful examples in the book that I can apply.

With regard to the narration. I understand and agree with the decision to have a man speak Buck Brannaman's parts of the book and have a woman narrate the "stories" told by the woman clinic participants who spoke about their issues, their clinic experiences, and the results with their horses and lives. Makes sense.

And, I understand that some of the narrators for audiobooks dramatically portray characters by changing their "persona" and even adapting an accent, as this woman narrator did for one of the women's stories by speaking with a Texas twang for only that story.

But that first "persona" the woman narrator used almost cost Buck Brannaman a sale as I surely would have returned the book if I was at home. I don't know any real life woman who speaks in such an uncertain, halting, "I-am-a-helpless-female" tone. Every woman I can think of speaks like a real person, and even those with fears or issues up the wazoo don't speak like that. And a horse woman who shovels manure, carries 50 lb feed bags, backs her pickup to her trailer's hitch, picks out hooves, cleans and bandages wounds, knows how to give her horse banamine or bute paste . . . well, what horse woman would talk like that? That voice portraying the woman in the first chapter was amazingly irritating.

Which is a shame, because there are some really good experiences shared in this book, and I found some useful tips, and came away with encouragement to stick with it to overcome my riding fear issues.

The breathy, halting,, "me-just-so-helpless, you-so-big-and-stwong" persona of the first chapter should be saved for some anime book with an audience of young men who don't think with their brains. But the audience for this book is more likely to be adults, at least half of which are women who have given up a lot to have horses in their life, and that means they know how to get by in life. Please redo the first chapter, and read those words in the voice of a real woman, with confidence and directness. I couldn't envision a woman who trailered her horse to a roping clinic speaking like that. I just wanted to reach through my iPod and . . . . well . . . it was really annoying.

Good story line, but would not recommend this book

What would have made Believe better?

The story line was good. Listening to the narrator Karen White made it very difficult to listen to. She just did not fit. It made no sense to have a women's voice to narrate the women's story. I had a very difficult time listening to her voice and it ruined the entire story. Buck Brannamans first book " Faraway Horses" was Amazing, not this one..

What other book might you compare Believe to and why?

Buck Brannamans first book " Faraway Horses" was the Best and we all just loved the narrating.

What didn’t you like about John Pruden and Karen White ’s performance?

Keeping John Pruden as the narrator. I had a very difficulty time listening to Karen White. The stories would of been great without the narrator Karen White.

Any additional comments?

Have John Pruden be the narrator and remove Karen from the book

I'm a BELIEVEr

Buck Brannaman is truly inspirational and hearing his experiences gives me great joy and hope. I wish everyone could read/listen to this book so that they would understand that one should treat others, no matter how many feet they have, with respect and kindness! And that there are NO excuses for taking out aggression on another being!

Female narration made me stop listening.

You'd think with John Pruden who narrated Buck's first book The Faraway Horses, which was great by the way, they'd pick an outstanding female to read the female sections. Honestly, I'd rather listen to John with a softer voice than Karen White who seemed so focused on her narrating formula, you couldn't take in what she was saying but how she was saying it. Very choppy with no natural flow and with a breath after every phrase, I just couldn't enjoy it even though I wanted to.

Believe

Another great horse story. You not only learn about horses but also how animals can help people.

OK stories about how horses change people's lives

Any additional comments?

Nice to hear how horses affect people's lives and how we learn lessons in one area but are able to apply them in another, but I wanted more, a lot more, horse training tips and discussion of the nature of horses, how they are in the wild. If it was not about horses, I'd have given it 2 stars.

Great horsemen

Buck is a true master at his profession would love to go to a clinic he is teaching as I think he is a master of horsemanship I’ve learned so much from both his books.

AGAIN AGAIN

I will be reading / listening to this AGAIN AND AGAIN ... too much to absorb the first times. thank you BB

Loved it

I can listen to Stories about and from Buck all day everyday I will listen to this book several times in my future

So a great book

love this book so much. I am listening to it for a second time. I suggest to all my horse friends

Confusing narration. Not enough about Buck.

I found the narration for this book really challenging. I listen to hundreds of audible books and usually, the narrators make variation in characters clear. But in this book, they have a male and female speaker but they don't clearly demarcate when they were moving between characters, which I found both annoying and confusing. This book is also about the stories of others (who were touched by Buck's work) and not enough about the man himself. In my opinion.

Believe

Fantastic book truly enjoyed listening to this one and it as given me ideas to try out on my horses

Excellent

Lovely book and follow on from his first one Faraway Horses. It goes deeper into how Buck has been able to affect horses and humans alike. The stories are heartfelt and inspire with hope, especially if you want to break out of the mould and be your best or find another chance. Loved it.

Very good, but not brilliant!

What made the experience of listening to Believe the most enjoyable?

This book was filled with interesting stories of horse-owners and their horses, peppered with wisdom and observations from the author. It was nicely written and interesting, and although it was slightly slow in places, still very much worth listening to!

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was okay, but the female narrator seemed overly ponderous! The male narrator was good and engaging. I wouldn't let this put people off though!