Andrew Nicks

Good, but not groundbreaking.

Reviewed: 10-12-19

The good:

1. The case studies were really really interesting. I thought all of them were interesting to hear about, and Gladwell writes them in a way that I find really enjoyable.

2. The science behind dealing with strangers, and how people deal with people they don’t know was really interesting. I liked Kansas City Experiment chapter was fascinating.

3. I enjoyed Malcolm reading the book. I always like when authors read their own work. I know some people didn’t like the interview recordings, but I enjoyed them.

The not so good:

1. It seemed like the themes varied and were never brought together completely in the end. I enjoyed the ride, thoroughly, but the end seemed to be almost a conclusion that wasn’t entirely connected with the themes previously addressed.

2. I didn’t like the music. I’m not a fan of music in audiobooks, I liked the interviews, but the music wasn’t my thing.

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Incredibly

Reviewed: 01-13-19

Beautifully written, incredibly interesting story, and something that everyone should know about. It’s insane how far this company got, but reading about what happened was unbelievably interesting. One of the best books I’ve read in a long while.

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An Awesome Piece about an Awesome Band

Reviewed: 11-24-18

I’ve been a huge Beastie Boys fan since I saw them live in high school. This book was absolutely fantastic, and if you’re not interested in the Beastie Boys I genuinely think you’ll still really enjoy this book.

It’s read by so many different artists and actors that each chapter really becomes its own story. There’s so many things to enjoy in this book, I really can’t recommend it enough.

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Taibbi Throws Down Against Structured Finance

Reviewed: 11-02-18

Performance: Ray Porter is one of the best readers I’ve listened to. This is the second book he had read that I’ve listened to and I think he does an incredible job.

The Divide: I thought this was a great book. I read the Chickenshit Club earlier this year (and if you liked The Divide I really recommend that) so I was excited to see which direction and stories Taibbi would go.

Taibbi writes in a tone much more accusatory than other books about the financial crisis that I’ve read. If you’re looking for something impartial then this might not be for you. The tone he took was one that I admired. I’m glad someone is writing while pissed off at how ridiculous everything banks get away with.

The way in which Taibbi structured the book, juxtaposing lower income crime with white collar crime was a fantastic way to put the book together. Mixing personal stories with the history of the Justice Department’s prosecutions against criminals and lack of action against banks was something; anyone who wants to understand what high finance gets away with today should read.

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Excellent!

Reviewed: 09-14-18

I’m a big fan of Michael Lewis, so I was excited to see that he had something new out. I thought this was a really interesting story. I would have liked to have seen more of this story developed, but for the price it was still great. If you enjoyed anything else Lewis has written this is a must listen.

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Slattery is magnificent

Reviewed: 09-11-18

I enjoyed Slattery’s reading much more than I enjoyed the book. I haven’t read Hemingway before, so I thought I’d try this one. I enjoyed the book, but i thought the characters weren’t relatable enough for me personally. Slattery did a truly fantastic job bringing the story to life however.

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A Vonnegut Classic

Reviewed: 09-01-18

I’m a pretty big Vonnegut fan, but never got around to reading this one. I loved it, and if you like Vonnegut then you have to check it out.

Bevine did a marvelous job as the narrator for this story.

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Interesting, well produced, and enjoyable.

Reviewed: 08-26-18

I enjoyed this a lot! I work with a guy from West Cork so I decided to check it out after he told me all about the story.

It’s an interesting case, with bizarre individuals. In terms of the story itself, I think there are many other true crime stories that are much more intriguing. However, this one does have many different story lines that develop in an interesting way.

If you like true crime, I think you should check it out.

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Liked it, didn’t love it.

Reviewed: 07-11-18

I enjoyed this book. I thought Foss was a great narrator, she did a good job conveying the frustration that comes off at certain points in the book; but it wasn’t constant (like some books I’ve listened to) so that was nice.

I agreed with many of the points brought up in the book. There’s a lot of great information presented, but 2/3 into the book it doesn’t seem to offer much. Charter schools, testing, and choice are thoroughly picked apart.

I understood the arguments against these remedies for education, I would have liked some possible suggestions as to how to fix the problem. Ravitch does offer some solutions in the epilogue, but I would have liked some education reform success stories.

If you’re interested in American education, and its reform I recommend this book. I read it because I wanted to learn more about education in America, and now that I am done I can say without a doubt that I do know more.

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Knowledgeable, interesting, and comprehensible! Hartford gives a fantastic explanation into the world of economics.

Reviewed: 06-07-18

Fantastic book!

I’ve taken political economy classes before, but never a full economics course. My knowledge in the field of economics is scattered, but I heard this book was a great source for understanding a variety of economic ideas.

I’m grateful for choosing this book, Hartford does a wonderful job detailing a wide range of important economic ideas. Hartford uses real life examples that each person knows and understands. He then uses these examples to explain and economic theory.

There’s a lot to learn from this book, I suggest you check it out!

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