The Dead Sea and the Jordan River

De: Barbara Kreiger

Narrado por: Becky White

For centuries travelers have been drawn to the stunning and mysterious Dead Sea and Jordan River, a region that is unlike any other on earth in its religious and historical significance. In this exceptionally engaging book, Barbara Kreiger chronicles the natural and human history of these storied bodies of water, drawing on accounts by travelers, pilgrims, and explorers from ancient times to the present. She conveys the blend of spiritual, touristic, and scientific motivations that have driven exploration and describes the modern exploitation of the lake and the surrounding area through mineral extraction and agriculture. Today, both lake and river are in crisis, and stewardship of these water resources is bound up with political conflicts in the region. The Dead Sea and the Jordan River combines history, literature, travelogue, and natural history in a way that makes it hard to put down.

©1988, 1997, 2016 Barbara Kreiger (P)2017 Redwood Audiobooks

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Students of the Middle East will doubtless find this exhaustive report on the history and geopolitical details of the Dead Sea and the Jordan River indispensable." ( Foreword Reviews)

"Combines fresh, imaginative writing and serious research." ( Baltimore Sun)

"A rare natural, political, and human history...Remarkable and timely." ( Booklist)

Interesting and informative history lesson

What made the experience of listening to The Dead Sea and the Jordan River the most enjoyable?

There is a ton of information in this book! She tells you anything you could want to know about the area and the history. Very good information!

Any additional comments?

If you have any interest in this topic or you just have a thing for history, this is very interesting and I am sure you would enjoy it. I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

A Salty Story

Would you listen to The Dead Sea and the Jordan River again? Why?

Probably not, it was interesting once, but not worth a second time.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narration was stilted and hard to listen to.

Any additional comments?

Lots of good history and research, but overall it felt rushed, disjointed and incomplete. The narrator was hard to listen to and made it hard to focus on the book as well.
This audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of AudiobookBlast dot com.

Detailed historical infomation in a story format

Having recently returned from a few weeks in Israel, and had the opportunity to visit and bathe in The Dead Sea, I was drawn to the title. That, and having studied the Old Testament in seminary, the topic and surrounding area has always interested me. When I was offered a free copy of this audiobook by the narrator in return for an unbiased review, I jumped at the offer.

As advertised, The Dead Sea and the Jordan River combines history, literature, travelogue, and natural history and puts it in format of a story. The geographical and historical information, from both scientific and biblical perspectives, is in depth and accurate. In addition the region is described in a manner in which one can picture it in their mind and likely be accurate, as well. The amount of information can almost be overwhelming and can easily be missed if one isn't completely focused on listening to the book; at least that was my experience after having to hit the rewind button a few times. Although it probably doesn't need to be said; this is not the type of book that one would listen to in a single sitting. Most of the chapters are about an hour long and I was never able to get through more than 2 at a given time. In fact, that speaks volumes as to the depth of the book. Needless to say, this is not light reading or listening.

As for the narration; I realize that some have been critical of Becky White's effort, but one most remember the genre of the book she is narrating. I challenge anyone to grab a history book off their shelf and try reading a single chapter with excitement. The The Dead Sea and the Jordan River is more of a textbook than a storybook and reads that way. Now, I will admit, that I sped up the narration a notch, but that is the whole purpose of the option. Given the material, I thought the narration was pretty good and certainly could have been a lot worse.

For anyone that is interested in this genre, I would recommend this title. For anyone that is specifically interested in this region of the world I would highly suggest that this is a "must have" title and easily worth a credit.

Thanks, and I hope some find this review helpful in making their listening choices.

A comprehensive and detailed book

What did you love best about The Dead Sea and the Jordan River?

The details and insights and historical perspectives discussed.

What does Becky White bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Narration was good.

Any additional comments?

This review copy audiobook was provided by the author, narrator, or publisher at no cost."

Everything you need to know about the subject

I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook though my one caveat would be the intonation, timber and speed of the narrator. Though somewhat slow and 'nasally', I was able to increase the speed to 2 1/2 Times the speed and was able to understand quite well what she was saying, so it turned out to be a good thing as I usually speed my book up."This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review."