Showdown

De: David Corn

Narrado por: David Corn

Veteran journalist David Corn—Washington Bureau Chief for Mother Jones magazine and New York Times bestselling author of Hubris (with Michael Isikoff) and The Lies of George W. Bush—now brings us Showdown, the dramatic inside story of Barack Obama’s fight to save his presidency. With Bob Woodward-esque insight and narrative flair, Corn takes readers into the White House and behind the political scenes during the beleaguered president’s pivotal third year, and explores the most earth-shaking events of the Obama presidency—from the game changing 2010 elections to the Arab Spring, the debt ceiling battle with Congressional Republicans, the killing of Osama bin Laden and beyond.

Please, Please get a narrator next time!

I'm trying very hard to keep listening to this fascinating look inside the Obama admin, but I just can't used to the author's narration. A fabulous reporter and author, but just not someone you want reading an entire book.

Good behind-the-scenes view

What did you love best about Showdown?

I was looking for insight into how the Obama administration manages its policies and how the insider politics and deal-making influences the results. the book does not disappoint and in fact presents a more objective view than I'd expected. I was anticipating a very pro-Obama, hero-worship. Instead, the book seems to be pretty straightforward about what is handled well and what is not.

What other book might you compare Showdown to and why?

"Obama's Wars," not for its tone but for its accurate detail of administration power plays, struggles, conflicts, and reasons behind actions.

Would you listen to another book narrated by David Corn?

His reading doesn't work on my nerves as much as it does other listeners, but the book would have gained by having a professional reader. Corn rushes words, mispronounces words ("stimulus" is always "stim-liss," for example), and is not as well modulated as a professional, which makes the book harder to listen to than it would be with a better reader.

Any additional comments?

It's a good book to read for background information before the upcoming presidential elections.

If not for the narration

The content is quite good and is presented in an interesting way. I’ve read and listened to other material by the same author and was pleased, but this is the first of his books I’ve listened to which was read by the author, and that was a mistake. His speed is all over the place, many of his pronunciations are incredibly distracting (and also inconsistent from one chapter to the next), and at times when he is speaking very quickly he will mispronounce words to the point where they no longer resemble the actual word and- without context- you would have no idea what the word was supposed to be.
These things are all common in conversation, but professional audio book readers clearly set themselves apart by avoiding these issues.
There are certain professions where you know you’ve done an outstanding job if no one notices you, such as light/audio technician. I feel like that applies to an audio book reader; it the listener is paying attention to the reading, strange vocal inflections or ticks and so on, then the mission has already failed.