DWD's Reviews

Published in 2013 by Harper Audio Read by the author, Simon Winchester Duration: 13 hours, 33 minutes Simon Winchester's sprawling book, The Men Who United the States , tells a history of the United States organized around five themes: Wood, Earth, Water, Fire and Metal. To be honest, I largely ignored the themes and just enjoyed listening to this magnificent, chaotic, rambling history. Starting roughly with Lewis and Clark (Winchester backtracks a lot), the story of America is told through the tales of the people that made America a more perfect union through their explorations or their inventions. The reader (or listener if you are enjoying the audiobook) is told about Lewis and Clark and the Pony Express and the invention of the telegraph, the first transcontinental rail line, the exploration of the Grand Canyon, the role of New Harmony (Indiana) in the study of American geography,  a con game involving jewels, how George Washington toured the Frontier before he became pr...

Not original material, but a compilation of an ongoing segment of his radio show Published by Simon and Schuster Audio in 2009. Multicast performance (but mostly Glenn Beck). Duration: 1 hour, 6 minutes. Glenn Beck's America's March to Socialism: Why We're One Step Closer to Giant Missile Parades is a compilation of an ongoing "bit: or segment of his radio show called, "America's March to Socialism." The bit features a 1940s/50s style voice over guy telling us he's bringing us even more proof that America is heading towards socialism while a military marching plays in the background, bringing those old Soviet-style "missile parades" to mind, thus the title. There are about 20 bits on here, including an introduction. One problem is the relentless background theme music - it can be annoying, although I listened while walking the dog and it kind of helped get me in a rhythm... This is the happy Glenn - the Glenn that lampoons and q...