The Last Man (Mitch Rapp #13) (audiobook) by Vince Flynn

Published by Simon and Schuster in 2012
Read by Armand Schultz
Duration: Approximately 6 hours
Abridged

In The Last Man, Vince Flynn takes a break from the Mitch Rapp prequels and puts Mitch right in the thick of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. He is brought in to investigate the disappearance (a presumed home invasion kidnapping) of Joe Rickman, the head of the CIA's clandestine operations in Afghanistan. In fact, he's been involved in so many clandestine operations that he could singlehandedly gut the intelligence agency's efforts in multiple countries around the world.

But, as Rapp and his team start to investigate they find that all of the pieces don't quite fit together. Add to that an FBI agent that believes that Rapp and Rickman have pocketed millions of dollars intended for intelligence efforts in Afghanistan and the reappearance of a deadly man from Rapp's past and you have the basis for a good story.

While the action is solid, there is too much posturing by Rapp and probably too much taken out of this abridged edition of the book. It is 6 hours compared to 12 hours in the unabridged version and the story most likely suffers a lot. The abridged version gets the highlights (Rapp shoots, fights, glowers, curses and throws righteous anger tantrums all over Afghanistan and Washington, D.C.).

There is much that is ridiculous in this book. I am assuming that the abridgement of the book took out all of the important non-action stuff that makes the book makes sense. For example, the bad guy is so blatantly cruel that you have to wonder who would ever want to work with him (at one point he determines that he will have to kill a woman simply because she is ugly - not because she knows too much, but because she knows too much and she is too ugly). Another time, Rapp is badly injured in the story but he recovers so quickly that I wondered why the injury was even worked into the story line in the first place.

So, my recommendation: spend a few more bucks and get the unabridged version of the audiobook. It will most likely be a better experience.

I rate this audiobook 3 stars out of 5. It can be found on Amazon.com here: The Last Man by Vince Flynn. 

Reviewed on December 22, 2012. Edited on January 19, 2025.

Note: I was sent a copy of this audiobook by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Killing Kennedy: The End of Camelot (audiobook) by Bill O'Reilly and Martin Dugard

Published in 2012 by MacMillan Audio
Duration: 8 hours, 25 minutes
Unabridged
Read by the author, Bill O'Reilly

I was a little reluctant to listen to this audiobook because of the author. Not Martin Dugard. This is the third book I have read or listened to that he has written or co-written and I know he can really tell a story. No, it's Mr. "No Spin Zone" that I cannot stand. Our politics are similar but I just find O'Reilly difficult to stomach.

That being said, I enjoyed this audiobook quite a lot.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy
(1917-1963)

O'Reilly narrates Killing Kennedy, which means it's a mixed bag for me. He speaks for a living so he reads it well and knows what phrases and words he wanted to emphasize but, like I said above, a little O'Reilly goes a long way for me. Also, his frequent use of dramatically read foreshadowing that alludes to the date of JFK's assassination got very old very fast.

But, the positives are the way the book is presented. O'Reilly tells the story of JFK from PT 109 forward and gives the reader of the man Kennedy was becoming. JFK's family life, his relationship with his brothers, LBJ and Jackie are explored in great detail and presented in an interesting fashion and really expose Kennedy's good points as well as his considerable failings.

As they tell the story of the Kennedy Administration, O'Reilly and Dugard lay out all of the parties that have been blamed for the assassination: the Cubans, the CIA, the FBI, the Mafia, anti-civil rights crazies and Lee Harvey Oswald. O'Reilly and Dugard acknowledge that these other groups had a grudge against Kennedy but they go with the traditional explanation of Lee Harvey Oswald.

Perhaps the best piece of the book is how well they tell the story of Jackie Kennedy on the day of the assassination. It is a fine piece of writing that brought tears to my eyes at one point (please note, I have not been a particular fan of JFK or of O'Reilly so the fact that a bit of writing read by O'Reilly about JFK brought tears to my eyes speaks volumes about its power).

Well done.

I rate this audiobook 5 stars out of 5.

Reviewed on December 22, 2012

Note: I was provided a copy of this audiobook by the publisher in the hopes of receiving an honest review.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: Killing Kennedy.

The Sheriff of Sorrow (#1 in the series) (audiobook) by Jack Bates

Published in 2012 by Mind Wings Audio

Read by Joe Barrett
Duration: 1 hour, 6 minutes

Technically, The Sheriff of Sorrow is not a western because it takes place in northern Michigan. However, the story has all of the traditional pieces of a Western: a wild town, miners, rich guys manipulating the town, card games, people accused of cheating at card games, saloons, prostitutes, gun play and a new sheriff in town. Let's face it, in the days of the Old West, most of the rest of the country was not particularly settled, either.

This short story serves as the introduction to a new series about Sorrow, Michigan. Cal Haskell has been brought to town to be the new sheriff. The short story introduces most of the characters, give the listener a feel for the situation and establishes the new sheriff as a no-nonsense tough and smart guy that takes his job seriously - no matter who is involved.

The reader is Joe Barrett. I like Barrett's folksy midwestern voice. He does a good job with the voices of these stock Western characters (old prospector types, tough guys, slick gamblers, naive farm boys, etc.) without drifting into characterture.

This should be a strong series. I look forward to listening to more.

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

The kindle version of this book can be found on Amazon.com here: Sheriff of Sorrow.

Reviewed on December 20, 2012.

Note: I received a free download of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Here is the link to my review of audiobook #2 in the series: Trouble Comes to Sorrow.

10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America (audiobook) by Steven M. Gillon

Published in June of 2006 by Random House Audio
Read by Stephen Hoye.
Unabridged
Duration: 8 hours, 51 minutes.

The book and audiobook for 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America are companion works for a History Channel series of the same name. They cover the same ten days but are independently researched and written. These dates are not the super-obvious ones like July 4, 1776 and December 7, 1941. One could quibble with the choices (it is part of the fun of a project like this one) but his choices are good ones.

Here are the ten days and a few comments:

1) May 26, 1637

The date of a Puritan massacre of Indians at Mystic. He argues that King Philip's War is the model of American/Indian relations for the next 250+ years.

2) January 25, 1787

Shay's Rebellion and its influence on the Constitution. Emphasized the need for a more centralized government.

3) January 24, 1848

California Gold Rush. Focused on environmental degradation and not so much on the effect of all that gold on the American economy. It was a rather depressing entry.

4) September 17, 1862

The Battle of Antietam and the Emancipation Proclamation

5) July 6, 1892

The Homestead Strike against Carnegie Steel. The date of the battle against the Pinkerton agents. I was struck that the author noted in a single sentence that Carnegie (who comes off very poorly in this whole affair, no matter who is writing it) gave some money to charities. Carnegie gave away 90% of his immense fortune, well over $4 billion dollars in 2010 dollars, to charities across the globe, including having a hand in building nearly half of the public libraries in America (1,689 in total).

Carnegie was a complex man, he gets a one dimensional treatment in this entry.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)

6) September 6, 1901

The assassination of William McKinley and the subsequent Roosevelt Administration. The rise of activist government.

7) July of 1925

The Scopes Monkey Trial as a harbinger of future culture wars. Interestingly, it was started as a publicity stunt to attract tourists and is almost nothing like the play "Inherit the Wind."

8) August 2, 1939

Albert Einstein's letter to FDR about the possibility of the creation of an atomic bomb. This entry has some poor linkage to the Civil Rights movement and the creation of the Internet (I know it was created to communicate in the event of a nuclear war but this is still a stretch).

9) September 9, 1956

Elvis Presley on the Ed Sullivan Show. Focuses on the rise of teen culture, ending racial divisions and loosening sexual mores. This was an exceptionally long and interesting entry.

10) June 21, 1964

"Freedom Summer"

In a lot of ways, this entry was really and addendum to the points made in date number 9. It is a powerful entry and exceptionally well-read by the narrator, Stephen Hoye, who includes very good Southern accents when reading quotes by Southerners.

This will be an interesting listen for any history buff. Be prepared that the author's comments tend to drift to the political left. Nonetheless, it is well worth your time.

This audiobook can be found on Amazon.com here: 10 Days That Unexpectedly Changed America (History Channel Presents)

I rate this audiobook 4 stars out of 5.

Reviewed on December 18, 2012.

Deadly Appearances (Joanne Kilbourn #1) (audiobook) by Gail Bowen

Published by Post Hypnotic Press in 2012
Originally Published in 1990
Read by Lisa Bunting
Unabridged
Duration: 8 hours, 43 minutes

There are a dozen or so Joanne Kilbourn mysteries. They are set in Regina, Saskatchewan in Canada. Kilbourn is a middle-aged political party worker. She works behind the scenes helping to craft policy positions, write speeches, plan campaigns and the like.

Deadly Appearances literally starts with the murder of Andy Boychuck, a successful politician. Kilbourn has worked with him for years and he is suddenly dead from a poisoned glass of water he drank from as he began a celebratory speech.

As the book proceeds there is another murder and only Joanne has the key to solving the mystery as she struggles to put together her shattered professional life and deal with her own issues as a recent widow (her own husband died a couple of years earlier).

Lisa Bunting does a great job with the narration. She delivers on all of the emotions of Kilbourn – the frailty, the anger, the tenderness towards her own family. As a plus, Bunting’s accents are excellent.

But, quality narration does not overcome plot holes, the highly telegraphed ending and the poor pacing.

This mystery does not really get started until the book gets halfway done. The first half of the book is spent dealing with the emotions generated by the death of Boychuck and an incredibly long description of his funeral. The book is endlessly descriptive (clothes, hair colors, the weather, furniture, yards, food, drinks) but just fails to generate any sort of steam that propels it forward.

*******Spoiler Alert********

Most unforgivable is the treatment of the minister who is involved in a homosexual love triangle with a married man (the other man is married and involved with two different men at the same time). While it is true that some denominations accept openly gay ministers (and his seems unlikely to be one of those since they are referred to as Fundamentalist and consistently treated as simpletons who have fled the real world by the author), they are not forgiving of ministers who are involved with married men. That is clearly the sin of adultery. In a book that is all about exploring the dimensions of a tragic relationship, this book completely ignores this minister’s flock’s reaction to his choices.

*******End Spoiler Alert*******

Having read a little about this author, the consensus is that this first book is the roughest. I can believe it. If the other books maintain her high quality of development of realistic characters but eliminate the problems mentioned above this series could really be something special.

I rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

Reviewed on December 18, 2012.

Note: I received this audiobook from the publisher at no charge in exchange for an honest review. This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Deadly Appearances (Kilbourn series) 

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Book: The Definitive Guide to Getting Your Ugly On by Brian Miller, Adam Paulson and Kevin Wool

Published in 2011 by Abrams Image

Miller, Paulson and Wool (better known as Team Ugly) maintain the website uglychristmassweaterparty.com which is a re-seller of Christmas sweaters - the gaudier and more covered with Christmas bling, the better. This book tells the reader how to organize an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party, including ideas on how to turn it into a charity event, special adult beverages, games, ideas for gift exchanges and decorations.

But, the bulk of the book is "The Ugly Christmas Hall of Fame." There are nearly 100 pages of pictures of Ugly Christmas Sweaters that are named and delightfully described with a snarky paragraph or two. This is really more of a holiday coffee table book than a serious read. This is something to pick up and read for a couple of minutes and then move on. But, those few minutes will be amusing, the pictures of those atrocious sweaters are high quality and you'll find yourself wondering if you should pick one of these things sweaters up for yourself.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Ugly Christmas Sweater Party Book.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

Reviewed on December 15, 2012.

Conqueror: A Novel of Kublai Khan by Conn Iggulden

Published in 2011 by Delacorte Press

Conn Iggulden continues his historical fiction series about the Mongols with Conqueror: A Novel of Kublai Khan. This is the fifth book in the series, but you can easily jump in here, like I did, and not be lost so long as you have a rudimentary idea about the Mongols and their lifestyle.

Iggulden comments that he was interested in writing another trilogy focusing on Kublai Khan but decided against it when he realized that while Kublai's life and reign were interesting (Marco Polo, attempted invasions of Japan, etc. ), they were not nearly as dramatic as his early life and would be rather anti-climactic in comparison.

Kublai Khan (1215-1294) 
as a young man

Kublai is a grandson of Genghis Khan and he comes of age in a time of great political turmoil. The Mongols are undoubtedly the most dominant military force in Europe, Asia and the Middle East but they have no clear leader. Various relatives of Genghis Khan have a claim to the throne and the political give-and-take can be quite deadly.

Eventually, Kublai's oldest brother becomes the Great Khan. One of his little brothers is sent to the Middle East and Kublai is sent to northern China to subdue it. The bulk of the book is about this campaign and the ongoing political struggles in the Mongol Empire. For me, it was striking to realize how the Mongols were truly a bridge between Europe, the Middle East and China. It was interesting to note that Kublai was familiar with Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and Christianity as well as his own native Mongol beliefs.

The action is first rate and the political intrigues are simplified and explained well enough that readers will not have a problem. Iggulden has sacrificed strict historical accuracy for the sake of a better story. At times you can tell that Iggulden intended to write a much larger story - characters are fleshed out in detail and then abruptly dropped with little explanation. But, the story is still a good one and worthy of your time.

I rate this book 4 stars out of 5.

This book can be found on Amazon.com here: Conqueror: A Novel of Kublai Khan.

Reviewed on December 12, 2012.