Tim

Good History

Reviewed: 12-25-22

everything I have listened to by Stephen Ambrose has been excellent. he does a great job of weaving the story from several different sources and making it a concise flowing narrative.

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Instructional

Reviewed: 11-14-21

This is a well-organized, Down to Earth, step-by-step approach of defending the Christian faith. He details tools. questions and approaches for revealing the flaws of other belief systems.

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Good, But Not Forsyth's Best

Reviewed: 09-13-13

First of all let me say that I've read all but one or two of Forsyth's fictional works. Compared with all of his previous novels, I'd say this is one of the weaker ones. At times, I almost wondered if was reading an abridged version, as the character development seemed far less than most of Forsyth's other novels.

As is the case with all of his works, you learn a lot about the subject at hand, which in this case is terrorism.

The story in and of itself is not bad, but the twists and turns are not as surprising or clever as in other works like Day of the Jackal, The Fourth Protocol or Avenger. Nor is the story as well told.

I would also question whether George Guidall was the best choice as a narrator for this story. I think he is a very gifted narrator and have enjoyed numerous books that he has read, however this type of book doesn't really fit Guidall, in my opinion. I'm not sure if it's his age or his voice quality, but his voice and delivery doesn't really add to the suspense of the story. And I say this as one who very seldom quibbles with a narrator. Often times I'm puzzled by the number of people who don't like a narrator, but in this case, I just don't think George fits well.

All in all, if you are a fan of Forsyth and want to read all of his works, I'd go ahead and get a copy. If you are new to Forsyth, I'd skip this one (and The Dogs of War) and pick up one of his best novels, such as "The Day of the Jackal", "The Fourth Protocol", "Avenger", "The Veteran" or "The Cobra". He is really one of the best writers in this genre and one of my very favorite authors, I just don't think this is Forsyth at his best.

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9 people found this helpful

A Classic!

Reviewed: 04-17-13

I had run into this story by accident when renting the newer version of the movie (with Bill Murray). I liked it so well that I rented the earlier version (with Tyrone Powers?) and loved it just as much, even thought the two are somewhat different.

Definitely a thought-provoking book, no matter what your position on matters of theology. In one sense, the book is summed up by a statement Larry (the main character) makes partway through the book. He says he is searching to find out if there really is a God, because everything else in life depends on the answer to that question (my paraphrase).

While you may or may not agree with Larry's final conclusion about God and morality, the search he goes through, and his commitment to REALLY search for the truth make for a great read. The characters around him, who are on a much different journey - seeking position, power and wealth - really contrast the "examined" and the "unexamined" life.

It is also an interesting literary device to have the author actually appear as a character in the story - something I don't think I've seen before.

If you've seen the movies, the book is much truer to the black and white adapatation.

Regardless of my differences in theology with the book, it was a great read and really makes you think!

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6 people found this helpful

Great Insight Into a Changing Hollywood

Reviewed: 04-17-13

I had put off buying this audiobook for over 2 years due to the reviews and comments about the narration and pronounciation. Very sorry I did.

This was a fantastic book! The stories behind each of the 5 films were VERY interesting. By the time I finished the book, I had seen all 5 of the movies (I had seen 3 of them previously).

Other than the obvious discussion of the 5 movies, other highlights of this book:

1. The story of the censorship code that quickly collapsed after a few exceptions were made. Two movies in particular were responsible for the change, one regarding nudity and one regarding language - both have interesting stories.

2. The behind-the-scenes mayhem with "Dr. Doolittle". Had been a big Rex Harrison fan (due to My Fair Lady) until I read this book. Changed my mind after reading this.

3. Interesting to see how "Best Picture" votes were 'bought' by the studios as early as 1967. Explains a number of puzzling things I've seen over the years in the Oscars. Must still be going on...

4. The treatment of Sidney Poitier during the filiming of one portion of "In the Heat of the Night" was quite shocking.

5. I was surprised to learn the general practice that caused pictures to be made in black and white even after color was available for decades. Very interesting.

If you aren't a Hollywood buff, you may not notice the pronounciation errors (I noticed a few, but not all those that are mentioned). Please note that these errors DO NOT get in the way of a fantastic book.

Don't make the same mistake I did and overlook this book for years due to the reveiws. It's a great book. As with all books of this length, a bit slow in spots, but definitely worth the time invested.

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5 people found this helpful

One of the Best! Absolutely Fantastic!

Reviewed: 09-08-12

They don't get much better than this book! WOW! What a book!

I was a little too young to remember the Munich Massacre, so after this book, I also rented a documentary of the event.

There is so much good stuff in here, it's hard to know where to start.

The details of the hostage taking and the unbelievable response of the German Special forces were not only fascinating, but very troubling as well.

The author maintains his neutrality well. He portrayal of the German Special Forces is balanced with the story of the operatives who killed the wrong person (and went to jail for it). Hard to believe that some of this stuff really happened.

The one story that sticks with me is the one that really got the Israelis in trouble in France, when they took out a terrorist (while being very careful not to kill his wife and child) in a rather unorthodox way - something I didn't realize was possible at that time.

Another highlight is the "Chocolate" story - how the Israelis got to one of the terrorists living in Iraq.

VERY GOOD BOOK! I've probably listed to over 100 audiobooks, and this is one of my favorites! Highly recommend!

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4 people found this helpful

Could have been half as long.....

Reviewed: 09-08-12

While there is both some good examples of the need for checklists and the benefits derived, this book could EASILY have been half as long and still been effective. Felt like the author trying to make a short story into a novel.

You'll learn some good things here, but will take more time than necessary to do it.

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3 people found this helpful

Very Thought Provoking - Even If You Disagree!

Reviewed: 09-08-12

As a musician and former teacher who has heard the term "natural talent" thrown around quite a bit, this book challenged a lot of my beliefs about "inherent abilities". I'm not sure that the author changed my mind 100%, but it really made me think about things.

A few highlights:

1. The study on the violinists in German Universities who became either concert violinists or teachers was VERY interesting.

2. The story about Jerry Rice and his "natural talent" was something I had never heard, but found fascinating.

3. The estimation of how many hours it takes to master a skill seems to fit my experiences in the area of music.

4. The suggestions for companies as to how best train employees may be a VERY good reason to read this book. Working in the corporate world as well, the authors suggestions ring true.

Very well done - really makes you think about your presuppositions. Regardless of what your opinion is, this will give you a lot of food for thought AND can help make you more effective at the same time.

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6 people found this helpful

Good, But Not For The Beginner (in spite of title)

Reviewed: 09-08-12

First a few thoughts: (1) This is a textbook, and unless you are interested in the subject matter, you will probably not enjoy the book, (2) Don't think about listening to the book without the attached PDF Files - you'll be very lost (3) This is a book that probably needs some amount of review as you move along.

I enjoyed the book, but I do agree it was very dry at times. When I first bought the book, Audible did not have the PDF's available. I tried to listen to it then and was unable to get very far into the book without being lost. I was also probably at an advantage, as I have read books on espionage and was familiar with some basic "encryption" techniques.

After Audible posted the content, I started again, and things made more sense.

I would recommend this book, but ONLY if you have a pretty good working knowledge of computers and are willing to put more time into it that reading an average book.

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5 people found this helpful

Very Good Overview - Title is Very Accurate!

Reviewed: 09-08-12

Really liked this book, although there are parts that will make you cringe.... I remember eating breakfast in my car while listening and having to set my breakfast sandwich down for a few minutes until the author moved on.

The history of surgery before anesthesia was probably most gruesome (as was the history of Lobotomies....yikes!), however I thought the author did an admirable job of condensing a vast sea of information into a small package. When a book calls itself "A BRIEF History of Medicine", it is my expectation that some things will be minimized or overlooked in the interest of brevity. Realize also, that I am NOT in the field of medicine, so what was new information to me may be common knowledge to others.

All in all, I was pleased with this choice.

While I wouldn't agree fully with some of more negative reviews, I do agree that the flow of the book was not totally linear in its organization. This may be because of so many "overlapping" areas discussed in the book, so I'll give the author the benefit of the doubt on that one.

Recommended for those who want to see the big picture of the development of medicine.

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1 person found this helpful