J. R. Bowers

Some great speeches

Reviewed: 02-16-23

I was generally disappointed with this collection of "greatest" speeches. I do not know who put together the list but many of the speeches, though given by important people at important times, were not very good speeches. The delivery for most of them was a bit theatrical and not in a good way. Mostly it was the amount of time given for some speeches versus others. Lincoln, perhaps our country's greatest orator, was only represented by his two-minute-long Gettysburg Address. He has at least three or four other speeches that are amongst the greatest in our history and yet are not provided. Some interminable speeches drag on for an hour and are, in my opinion, not very good. There are no speeches by Kennedy or Reagan. Where is FDR's "Live in Infamy" speech? The speech by Cato the Elder is a particularly strange choice. I would go elsewhere to find a better selection of speeches.

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The roots of today’s political dysfunction

Reviewed: 02-09-22

This book is a must read if you want to understand today’s political climate. Much of it is a review of American history - the book doesn’t really get going until chapter four - but the analysis of Movement Conservatism since Nixon is the heart of the book. One thing it does not do is to explain exactly why the anti-democratic ideals of conservatism remain so popular. Why did so many people tune in to Rush Limbaugh and Fox News? Nonetheless, a good book worth exploring.

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An intro to mythology not to myths

Reviewed: 01-09-20

Perhaps I should have read the description more closely or some of the reviews because this book was not what I expected. It is a scholarly look at the historiography and meaning of mythology across time and cultures not a introduction to the myths themselves. As such it is a fine work. Concise and informative but obviously textbook-y in tone rather than a narrative. It was worth the listen.

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Great information; reads like a college textbook

Reviewed: 02-05-17

Would you consider the audio edition of The Reformation to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the printed version but the Audible version is very much like a textbook.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I was surprised that Martin Luther, while important, was not the primary driver of the Reformation. There were many more individuals involved in largely local efforts to reform the church from Switzerland to Scandanavia to Eastern Europe.

What three words best describe Lisa Cordileone’s voice?

Computer generated textbook

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The way Martin Luther survives his persecution from the Church was particularly interesting.

Any additional comments?

The book is full of rich material that tells a tale much broader than I would have thought. The Reformation was not the work of any one individual or any one place. This work reads very much like a textbook (perhaps it is intended as one) which packs a lot of information into a small space. Unfortunately, the performance sounds a bit like a computer-generated voice that is a bit halting and choppy.

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Terrible

Reviewed: 12-22-16

What disappointed you about The Complete Infidel's Guide to Iran?

Everything. I was interested in Iran, saw good reviews, and thought this would be a good pick. I should have looked into the author more and done more research. First, the book is put together in a completely random order. What editor looked at this thing and allowed it to be published? Chapter 7 (yes 7) deals with a history of Persia and clearly should have been the first chapter. Chapter 1 deals with JCPOA, which chronologically is last in order of events. Most puzzling was a chapter that espoused a conspiracy theory that President Obama wanted the JCPOA because he is the son of a Shia Muslim and therefore sympathetic to Iran. Just strange. The early chapters are made up almost entirely of quotes strung together which make them incredibly difficult to listen to. He also throws in random headlines like "ostrich alert" and "not that this has anything to do with Islam" over and over again which are painful to hear again, and again, and again. This is only audible book I've downloaded that I might not actually finish.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Real history or something by an actual scholar

What three words best describe Bob Reed’s performance?

Not that great

What character would you cut from The Complete Infidel's Guide to Iran?

The author

Any additional comments?

This book is a clearly partisan screed with little to no actual scholarship. Listen only if you want your anti-Islam, anti-Iran biases confirmed.

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One of the most important books I've ever "read"

Reviewed: 08-01-16

If you could sum up Tribe in three words, what would they be?

Important, ground-breaking, relevant

What other book might you compare Tribe to and why?

I've not read anything comparable

What about Sebastian Junger’s performance did you like?

Sebastian Junger winds together his own wealth of experience with psychological and anthropological research to tell an unexpected tale that turns everything we thought we knew about PTSD on its head. This book tells us as much about our own society and what is wrong with as it does about how our warriors come home from battle disillusioned and out of place in the society they left to defend.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book made me think deeply about my own experiences as a veteran. The alienating and divided society that we live in is perhaps the most important contributing factor to veteran mental health problems and violence writ large.

Any additional comments?

This book is a must-read for anyone wanting to understand our divided society and the impact it is having not only on our veterans but our entire population. Highly recommended.

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