William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M).
- 977
- reviews
- 1,014
- helpful votes
- 1,423+
- ratings
-
How Civil Wars Start
- And How to Stop Them
- By: Barbara F. Walter
- Narrated by: Beth Hicks
- Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Political violence rips apart several towns in southwest Texas. A far-right militia plots to kidnap the governor of Michigan and try her for treason. An armed mob of Trump supporters and conspiracy theorists storms the U.S. Capitol. Are these isolated incidents? Or is this the start of something bigger? Barbara F. Walter has spent her career studying civil conflict in places like Iraq, Ukraine, and Sri Lanka, but now she has become increasingly worried about her own country.
-
-
Reveals the limits of a Political Science approach
- By Bill on 01-17-22
- How Civil Wars Start
- And How to Stop Them
- By: Barbara F. Walter
- Narrated by: Beth Hicks
Causes and prevention of civil war
Reviewed: 11-07-24
Narration is exquisite, crystal clear, engaging, enthusiastic, perfectly paced and intoned, pronunciation and phrasing are flawless.
Refreshingly, the narrator, Barbara Walter, speaks with a full throated woman’s voice, which is refreshingly not the ridiculous teeny weeny high pitched voice affected by many.
Information is valuable, clearly explained, convincingly presented, logically organized, thoroughly documented, vetted by premier scholars and experts.
The last few chapters are frighteningly vivid hypotheticals followed by proven effective counter-revolutionary strategies and tactics.
Highly recommended!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Rebellion
- How Antiliberalism Is Tearing America Apart—Again
- By: Robert Kagan
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
- Length: 5 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 2024 election could be the last free election held in a unified America. So warns Robert Kagan in this brilliant and terrifying analysis of the perilous state of democracy in the United States today. If Donald Trump loses the upcoming election, as he did in 2020, but refuses to accept the result, as he also did in the last election, he is likely to call on his millions of followers to repudiate the election results. It will be a short step from there to Republican-dominated states rejecting the legitimacy of the federal government and effectively seceding.
-
-
Best Book In Its Class
- By Laurie on 05-02-24
- Rebellion
- How Antiliberalism Is Tearing America Apart—Again
- By: Robert Kagan
- Narrated by: Jason Culp
Historical analysis of America’s anti-liberalism
Reviewed: 11-02-24
Narration is clear, but plodding, dead pan, and stultifying.
From inception to present, the author describes endemic, obdurate commitment to privileged, elitist, Christian-based, unfair economic, societal, political policies and practices.
Author builds the case that Trump is the lionized personification of these values and norms. If elected, his administration will be fascism instantiated. Only the very rich will avoid affliction. We, in fact, already have, as will future generations.
Defeating him in the 2024 election will not stay all harm. It is too late for that, but it may shield us from its most immediate, severe insults.
Conclusion: Rating this one is a tough call. While the content is very important, the narration is lumbering and enervating.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Accidental Presidents
- Eight Men Who Changed America
- By: Jared Cohen
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 16 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The strength and prestige of the American presidency has waxed and waned since George Washington. Accidental Presidents looks at eight men who came to the office without being elected to it. It demonstrates how the character of the man in that powerful seat affects the nation and world.
-
-
LOVE LOVE LOVE this book
- By Samuel Stephen Ross on 05-03-19
- Accidental Presidents
- Eight Men Who Changed America
- By: Jared Cohen
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
Detailed analyses of accidental presidents
Reviewed: 11-02-24
Narration is clear.
Content is detailed, informative, encyclopedic, even.
Recommended for those wanting an especially detailed description of presidents who became presidents whose predecessors died before serving their full terms.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
The Betrayal
- The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball
- By: Charles Fountain
- Narrated by: Bob Reed
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the most famous scandal of sports history, eight Chicago White Sox players - including Shoeless Joe Jackson - agreed to throw the 1919 World Series to the Cincinnati Reds in exchange for the promise of $20,000 each from gamblers reportedly working for New York mobster Arnold Rothstein. Heavily favored, Chicago lost the Series five games to three. Although rumors of a fix flew while the series was being played, they were largely disregarded by players and the public at large.
-
-
Great telling of a truly American story
- By Robert Taylor on 01-06-21
- The Betrayal
- The 1919 World Series and the Birth of Modern Baseball
- By: Charles Fountain
- Narrated by: Bob Reed
The black Sox scandal
Reviewed: 11-01-24
Narration is clear and enthusiastic without being over the top.
This is a detailed analysis of the scandal ensconced in historical context. The key players are all identified, their relationships scrutinized, and plausible scenarios delineated.
For baseball fans this is a must listen.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Taking Berlin
- The Bloody Race to Defeat the Third Reich
- By: Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fall, 1944. Paris has been liberated, saved from destruction, but this diversion on the road to Berlin has given the Germans time to regroup. The American and British armies press on from the west, facing the enemy time and again in the Hurtgen Forest, during the Market-Garden invasion, and at the Battle of the Bulge, all while American general George Patton and British field marshal Bernard Montgomery vie for supremacy as the Allies’ top battlefield commander.
-
-
Great until personal politics showed up
- By UP North on 12-16-22
- Taking Berlin
- The Bloody Race to Defeat the Third Reich
- By: Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
Overview last yr of WW2
Reviewed: 10-30-24
Narration: clear, although I don’t think relatively high pitch of speaking voice is conducive to facilitating serious listening.
Content: if one knows relatively little of the key engagements fought during the last year of WW2, then this is a handy, informative overview. Otherwise, not much new here.
Personal gripe: the amateurish reiteration of general Patton’s monologue (as far more impressively spoken by George c Scott [Patton]) was not at all impressive. Frankly, I think it a cheap riff ripping off Scott’s far more impressive rendition. As such, it was entirely banal, unnecessary and indulgent. In fact, one can nearly view the narrator blushing when speaking Patton’s profanities. Geez. We’re all adults here. If profanity is going to be spoken gratuitously, at least let it be spoken by a voice actor with a more commanding voice.
The description of this audio implies focus on the closing months of the war in which American v Russian frenzies are cast in vivid relief. It is for this reason that I bought the audio. This audio does not deliver on that implicit promise, as most of the content concerns D-Day, subsequent advancements: The Bulge, Market Garden, and Hurtgen Forest, with far less attention given to eastern campaigns. I would not have bought this audio if I knew this in advance.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
U.S. Presidents for Dummies (2nd Edition)
- By: Marcus A. Stadelmann
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 16 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From periwigs and knee breeches to the 24-hour news cycle and presidential tweets, the fascinating and colorful stories of the 45 incumbents are a powerful lens through which to view US history and get insight into the present. Taking listeners on a fact-filled journey through two centuries, this book examines how each individual obtained their dream (or nightmare) position, what they stood for (or against), achieved (or didn't), and how their actions affected the country - for better or worse.
-
-
One of the better overviews of each president
- By Amazon Customer on 12-12-24
- U.S. Presidents for Dummies (2nd Edition)
- By: Marcus A. Stadelmann
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
Brief descriptions of US presidents
Reviewed: 10-29-24
Narration is clear.
Content is clear, well organized, and interesting but must be vetted by consulting other references.
The Trump entry is dated, incomplete, and insufficiently critical.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
War
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Bob Woodward tells the revelatory, behind-the-scenes story of three wars—Ukraine, the Middle East and the struggle for the American Presidency. War provides an unvarnished examination of the vice president as she tries to embrace the Biden legacy and policies while beginning to chart a path of her own as a presidential candidate.
-
-
Draws Connections
- By Kyle on 10-18-24
- War
- By: Bob Woodward
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
Avoiding war after October 7
Reviewed: 10-21-24
Narration is clear.
Biden does not get enough credit for keeping us out of war following October 7.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
ON THE RECORD: What is Project 2025?
- Length: 5 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In recent weeks, Democrats and President Biden have been sounding the alarm on a conservative manifesto titled "Project 2025." CBS News White House Correspondent Major Garrett joins On the Record with Steve Scott with a rundown of what "Project 2025" includes. Photo: Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump reacts during the CNN Presidential Debate at the CNN Studios on June 27, 2024 in Atlanta, Georgia. Former President Trump and U.S. President Joe Biden are facing off in the first presidential debate of the 2024 campaign. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
-
-
2025 in a nut shell
- By William R. Todd-Mancillas (Name includes hyphen and capitalized M). on 10-12-24
2025 in a nut shell
Reviewed: 10-12-24
Clear narration.
2025 explained succinctly. Let’s hope 2025 does not come to pass.
Obviously, trump did not design this. He’s not that smart.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers
- By: Thomas Fleming
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 17 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
With his usual storytelling flair and unparalleled research, Tom Fleming offers a compelling, intimate look at the founders—George Washington, Ben Franklin, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison—and the women who played essential roles in their lives.
-
-
Interesting, but unbalanced, angle
- By Devon on 07-03-14
- The Intimate Lives of the Founding Fathers
- By: Thomas Fleming
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
The presidents’ wives, children, and intimates
Reviewed: 10-07-24
Narration is somewhat plodding and induces boredom.
Meticulous details of the lives of the presidents’ children, wives, and other family members.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Eruption
- By: Michael Crichton, James Patterson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 10 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Michael Crichton, creator of Jurassic Park, ER, Twister, and Westworld, had a passion project he’d been pursuing for years, ahead of his untimely passing in 2008. Knowing how special it was, his wife, Sherri Crichton, held back his notes and the partial manuscript until she found the right author to complete it: James Patterson, the world’s most popular storyteller.
-
-
I expected a better story
- By Robert Powers on 06-06-24
- Eruption
- By: Michael Crichton, James Patterson
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
Good story, lots of science
Reviewed: 09-17-24
Narration clear but too slow. Suggest play at 1.2
Story is interesting although more like a long lecture on vulcanization.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!