DWD's Reviews

Lovely speech - a joy for any history lover Narrated by the author, David McCullough Duration: About 40 minutes I am a high school history teacher - not the type of history teacher who got into it so he could also coach. I am a REAL history teacher. I love history. I read histories for entertainment. I go on trips to see historical places. History is exciting and important to me. The Course of Human Events , McCullough's wonderful 40 minute speech on the Founding Fathers, history and great literature made my soul sing. I learned a lot but mostly I found the joy of listening to a kindred spirit discuss history and its importance and the joys of learning.  McCullough is a two time winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a winner of the National Book Award for his histories. David McCullough I also found myself being a bit envious of McCullough's wonderful speaking voice and the fact that he writes so well. However, I quickly recovered since McCullough is not stingy ...

Keefe's "voice" captured perfectly on this version of the audiobook   Read by Barry Kraft Duration: 3 hours. Publisher: Book of the Road (August 1990) You Know Me Al: A Busher's Letters consists of a series of rather detailed letters written by a bush-league ballplayer named Jack Keefe. Keefe has been called up from the Terre Haute team to join the Chicago White Sox. He is writing to one of his former bush-league teammates in Bedford, Indiana. Ring Lardner (1885-1933) Keefe is truly a country bumpkin, a rube, a bumbling fool who does not understand the more sophisticated world of the major leagues, but who still succeeds based on the strength of his pitching arm. The reader gets a kick out of seeing the world through his eyes but really understanding the situations he is in, similar to Forrest Gump , except that Jack does not have a disability - he is just ignorant. The audio version I heard (Book of the Road's version) is wonderfully perf...

Tremendous. Unbelievably strong. Published in 2003 by Hachette Audio. Read by Len Cariou. Duration: 19 hours, 37  minutes. Unabridged. Allow me a rare moment to gush over Lost Light by Michael Connelly. I've reviewed over 500 books and rarely do I gush, so please permit me this indulgence. Harry Bosch has retired. He no longer has the power and the protection of the badge. He also no longer has the limits and restraints of a cop. He is enticed to start investigating a case that he never solved and soon gets sucked into way more than he bargained for. Connelly leads us into the dark world of criminal conspiracies, police bureaucracy and the FBI counter-terrorism unit. Len Cariou, the narrator, did such a strong job that I can honestly say that I have never heard a better job of narration, and maybe only one or two that equal his effort. Cariou is especially strong reading the part of Lawton Cross, a former LAPD detective who is a quadriplegic due to an i...

Thoroughly enjoyable audiobook Published by Hachette Audio in 2004. Read by Len  Cariou Duration: 11 hours, 1 minute. Unabridged. Fans of Harry Bosch know that he is named for the Renaissance painter Hieronymus Bosch. Bosch the painter specialized in sweeping panoramic paintings of hell, with details of how individual sinners were being gouged, burned and otherwise tormented by gleeful demons. Connelly has commented many times that Harry Bosch is meant to be our tour guide through the hellish side of Los Angeles - the world of serial killers, hidden sins and chaos. Interestingly, Bosch the detective sits in his house high in the hills of Los Angeles looking down on the panorama of it all, just as the viewer of a Bosch painting sees hell from high above. In The Narrows , Bosch spends a great deal of time in Las Vegas. It would not be inappropriate to say that Vegas is "Sodom" to LA's "Gomorrah" - twins in sin. Bosch is worried that his daughter...

Sigh... Published in 2005 by Hachette Audio. Read by Daniel Whitner and Kevin O'Rourke Duration: 8 hours, 10 minutes Unabridged. I used to think the Alex Cross series had a lot going for it. I used to be very impressed with it when I first discovered it about 10 years ago. I don't know if my tastes have improved or if the series has declined but this is definitely not as good as I remember them being (and frankly, I'm scared about going back and re-reading one of them and ruining my only strong memories of the series). There are two concurrent plots in Violets are Blue . One involves an investigation into the "Goth" underworld and vampires (are they real or are they just people who are REALLY into vampires and like to act like they are real vampires..?) The other story involves the recurring criminal mastermind character conveniently named "the Mastermind". I hate to write spoilers so I won't re-hash the entire plot here, but let m...

GraphicAudio delivers the goods Published in 2008. Performed by 29 actors. Duration: 6 hours GraphicAudio promises "A Movie In Your Mind" and they come awfully close with 29 actors, special effects, music and a go-go-go plot. While not the best of the Justice League series that I have listened to, Superman: The Never-Ending Battle was still quite entertaining. Superman and the rest of the Justice League get caught up in a series of weather-related missions and about one-third of the way into the story the JLA begins to suspect that someone is manipulating the weather - summertime blizzards, ultra-thick fogs, record numbers of tornadoes, droughts and even worse abound. The questions, of course, are who is doing this and why are they doing it? The main characters in this mission are Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, The Martian Manhunter and the Atom who mostly sits in the satellite headquarters monitoring maps and analyzing data. Superman, th...

Short but pretty sweet Read by James Naughton and Dylan Baker Duration: about 1 hour, 30 minutes Published in 1999 by Simon and Schuster. These two stories are taken unabridged from a larger collection of Elmore Leonard short stories called The Tonto Woman and Other Western Stories . Both stories last about 45 minutes each. The entire package consists of one audio cassette lasting about one and one-half hours. They are read by veteran television actors James Naughton and Dylan Baker. I thought that "The Colonel's Lady" (she is taken captive as a result of an ambush) had a pretty good twist to it but was a bit slow. I would give it three stars. On the other hand, I enjoyed "No Man's Guns." In that story, a recently discharged member of the cavalry is framed for murder. I give the second story 5 stars. That makes an average of four stars. This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: The Colonel's Lady and No Man's Gun . Review...

Often frustrating. Sometimes shocking. Never boring. Read by Tom Weiner Duration: 10 hours, 24 minutes. Blackstone Audio Unabridged. Robert A. Heinlein was recognized many times over as a master of the science fiction tale – he is a multiple winner of the Hugo award and the first recipient of the Grand Master Award for lifetime achievement. Heinlein is one of those golden age writers that moved science fiction from being stories strictly for kids to a separate and recognized literary genre for adults, too. Farnham’s Freehold is, at best, a difficult book. Perhaps books like this were a requirement when moving science fiction from a kid’s genre to an adult genre. It seems that Heinlein the iconoclast was out to irritate as many sensibilities as possible in an attempt to question some of society’s long held ideas about race, sex and the male-female relationships, even if it caused the story to suffer at the expense of all of that questioning. The story first appeare...

Published in 2008 by Brilliance Audio. Read by David Stuart. Duration: 8 hours, 27 minutes. Unabridged. While not as action-packed as The Last Detective (which follows Indigo Slam in the series, but I've not read a single one of them in order so why start now?), this is a strong book. Lots of smart comments, action and twists and turns, although the very last twist was so obvious that only the clinically brain dead couldn't see it coming. But, that didn't lessen the overall value of the book for me. Elvis is hired by a group of children who have been living on their own for a while to find their missing father. As the investigation progresses, Cole and his enigmatic partner Joe Pike get caught up in the Witness Protection Program, a counterfeiting ring, a crime syndicate and all sorts of other incidents of violence and mayhem. Cole's deep down soft heart and his smart mouth are, of course, an enjoyable part of the story. The audiobook is read by David Stuart ...

Originally published in 1989. Read by John MacDonald Duration: 6 hours, 35 minutes Unabridged Talking God is good, but not the typical Tony Hillerman book. Rather than being based in the Four Corners area, this one mostly takes place in Washington, D.C. Navajo Tribal Police Lt. Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee investigate a body found in Gallup, New Mex Tony Hillerman (1925-2008) ico. Some digging into the case discovers a trail that leads to the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. and Navajo artifacts that are on display there. It is interesting to see D.C. through Navajo eyes, but we do spend a lot of time in the mind of the bad guy as well, which is to the detriment of the story in my mind. Chee's personal life features prominently as he re-connects with his on again-off again love interest Janet Pete, who is now an attorney in D.C. Leaphorn's painful loneliness and a general feeling of loss pervades throughout the book. I would have rated the book as four stars, but I...

Funny story with a grisly ending. Read by the author, Stephen King Duration: 1 hour. Read by Stephen King at a live performance in the UK, LT's Theory of Pets is an entertaining short story about a couple with two pets - a cat and a dog - and what the fact that family pets tend to actually prefer one member of the family over the others. LT is a friend of the narrator of the story - they work at the same packing plant in Iowa. LT's wife left him nearly a year before and LT has become quite adept at telling the story of how his wife left him and why she took their dog with her and left the cat with him. LT's telling of the story is quite funny. His wife's "Dear John" note she left him on the refrigerator the night she left him has to be the funniest Dear John note ever written. LT's observations about pets and married life are quite funny. The end of the story has a hurried feel to it. King prefaces the story with a short introduction in which ...

A different look at our most written-about  president Duration: 42 minutes Produced by Teaberry Tapes Everyone knows the facts about Lincoln - the 16th president, the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, the Gettysburg Address, his assassination. But, do you really know Lincoln?  This CD offers a completely different look at the myth that the man has become by offering a look at his humorous side. Lincoln was a master storyteller and he often told his stories to prove a larger point. There are plenty of those types of stories on this CD.  Sometimes he just told stories to disarm an audience - the editor of this collection notes that Stephen Douglas feared the ability of Lincoln's homespun humor to win a crowd more than his arguments. Lincoln's stories were known to persuade juries and sometimes they were just for fun. His wife noted that Lincoln's sense of humor - his quick smile and laughing eyes were never present in his photographs - he always looked so sol...

Lord Byron as a vampire Originally published in 1996 by Simon and Schuster. Performed by Richard E. Grant Duration: 3 hours, 3 minutes. Abridged. I picked up this audiobook version of Lord of the Dead: The Secret History of Byron because I very much enjoyed Holland's non-fiction book about the end of the Roman Republic, Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic . I am not particularly a fan of vampire books nor of Lord Byron (who I can believe was a vampire, considering the level of his debauchery and self-absorption) but I decided to give Tom Holland another try and trust that he would make it interesting. Lord Byron (1788-1824) The abridgment of the book contributed to my enjoyment, I am sure. There were many long stretches that were so bloated by flowery speeches, especially in the first hour or so of the audiobook, that I probably would have bailed on an unabridged version of the book. However, the last two hours were so interesting and so well-performed by R...

Two short stories about the dark side of human nature Published in 2010 by Simon and Schuster Audio.  Read by Craig Wasson and Mare Winningham Duration: 2 hours, 40 minutes Unabridged This audiobook is actually two short stories. The first and longest story is called "Blockade Billy" read by Craig Wasson, the second is "Morality" read by Mare Winningham. **** "Blockade Billy" is the reminiscences of a retired coach of the fictional New Jersey Titans, an American League baseball team. The coach is being interviewed by a man named "Mr. King." We never hear what Mr. King asks, only the story of a former player named "Blockade Billy" as told by this old coach who lives in a retirement home. Stephen King is at his descriptive best in this story as he re-creates the world of 1957, when baseball ruled the sports pages. At times, it is like listening to Bob Costas or George Will, both writers who can wax on eloquently about this golde...

My Favorite Stephen King Story Published by Phoenix Books in 2206 Read by Eric Roberts Duration: 45 minutes. It is true that with all of Stephen King's lengthy tales, my favorites are usually the shorter ones and Quitters, Inc. is probably Stephen King's shortest story. It was originally part of his book of short stories Night Shift and was one of three stories in the 1985 movie Cat's Eye . Stephen King The premise of the story is really cleverly simple. What if you went to a non-smoking clinic that was run by the mafia? Dick Morrison meets an old friend who has kicked the smoking habit who tells him that if he visits Quitters, Inc. they will get him off cigarettes and change his life for the better. Morrison laughs off the suggestion but eventually does go for an initial consultation out of curiosity about their methods. I cannot divulge any more about this very short story without introducing spoilers except to say that their methods are anything but AMA ...

It is better the second time around. Published by Recorded Books Read by George Guidall. Duration: 5 hours, 49 minutes. Unabridged. I've read all of the Hillerman books so I'm re-reading them as audiobooks to ease a tedious drive to work and to re-enjoy them. I had remembered Hunting Badger as a weak link in the series, and I was wrong. The book, as usual for this series, is set on the Navajo reservation. Joe Leaphorn is retired but gets involved anyway. The story involves the is about the armed robbery of a Ute Indian casino that results in the murder of two security guards. Throw in an anti-government militia movement and, as always, plenty of local color and you get the makings of great Leaphorn and Chee mystery. Watching retired Lt. Joe Leaphorn work the mystery from one end and current Navajo Tribal Police (now called Navajo Nation Police) officer Jim Chee work it from another was interesting and enjoyable. The banter in the early parts of the book between Ch...

Seinfeld's Wayne Knight's first foray into audiobooks Published by BBC Audiobooks America in 2008 Read by Wayne Knight Lasts 2 hours 30 minutes Karin Slaughter's  Martin Misunderstood  is a short (2 1/2 hours) audiobook about a loser named Martin, his awful mother, his cruel co-workers and his miserable life in Georgia. Martin is framed for murder and his extensive readings of James Patterson, John Grisham and Patricia Cornwell are all he has to help himself. Positives: Wayne Knight did a great job of creating the voices, especially those of Martin's mother and Unique (You-nee-quay). Knight's comic timing was a big help with some weak material. Negatives: Karin Slaughter. This is my second Karin Slaughter book (both this summer) and I am not going to read her anymore. Wayne Knight Slaughter spends nearly half of the book just setting up the characters and then she just wraps it all up like she was on a deadline and she just had to ge...

Up and Down Published by HarperAudio Read by William Dufris Duration: 12 hours, 27 minutes Unabridged Dale Brown knows how to write action very well. He certainly knows all about airplanes (sometimes he talks about them so much that it's quite easy to drift off for a while and then come back), he has created enough new technological gizmos to outfit an entire fleet and he does a solid job of creating dialogue that sounds good to the ear - from old men to teenage boys. But, the promised confrontation with militias in A Time for Patriots just sort of fizzles rather than pops. Lt.-General Patrick McLanahan is retired and living in Battle Mountain, Nevada on a remote air base safeguarding the last of America's space planes in the hopes that the program will be re-developed in earnest when the economy picks up and the budget can allow for it. In the meantime, he and his son are flying missions for the Civil Air Patrol (CAP). Brown, who is also a member of CAP, spends a gre...

Does a brilliant job of looking at the meaning of the battle of Antietam Published in 2002 by Recorded Books. Read by Nelson Runger. Duration: 5 hours, 48 minutes. Unabridged I have nearly 90 books that cover the Civil War on my bookshelf. Most books that cover the Civil War compartmentalize the battles into little chapters with titles like "Chancellorsville", "Antietam" and "Shiloh". The battles are thoroughly covered but the feel for the larger flow of the war is sacrificed. In Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam 1862 , McPherson dramatically sweeps the reader along and I was left with a renewed sense of amazement and respect for the fact that Lee's Army of Northern Virginia was able to fight, let alone go on the offensive against two separate armies and fight multiple, large battles from June through September of 1862. McPherson does an extraordinary job of tying in many of the political and military threads of this war to demonstrate that Anti...