EileenH

Indefaticable

Reviewed: 25-12-2024

Boris Johnson has researched and presented this biography of Sir Winston Churchill masterfully, which is no small feat, as there are literally hundreds of books, films, photos, quotes and misquotes regarding the chap.
Winston Churchill has been presented as a warts and all review and it is refreshing to read, not only of his triumphs but also setbacks, failures and at times, his grappling with decisions and the outcomes they produced.
Churchill was a complex man during a tumuluous period in world events. He was indefaticable, clear in his moral code, clear in his indestructible belief in the United Kingdom, Monarchy, Democracy and most of all the historical resilience of the British.
Those that adversely judge him are able to do so using the freedoms he and the Nations fought for.
He was the perfect, strong, decisive leader at the perfect time. He is the English Bulldog.

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Scotland by the Scots

Reviewed: 20-12-2024

It cannot be an enviable task to write about the history of a country. Here we are in the 21st Century, humans with likely amnesia as to how long we have been anywhere, liking back to guess at any history more than 500 to 1000 years old.

Where do you start to write about a country...Pangea, Gondwana...more recently? What do you includ?, exclude?, focus on? (flora, fauna, mythology, royalty, industry, history, sport, people (class distinctions), migration, immigration, weather, tragedy, victory) What makes a country, a country. What makes us part of it?

Alastaire Moffet has done an outstanding job in taking us on the journey that is Scotland from the hypothesis of its formation transiting through megafauna, people, industry, art, politics and a smattering of those "People and Nation defining events" that seem almost uniquely Scottish.

The narrator was superb, Scotland by a Scottish accent, was a joy to listen to.
If you like history, this is well worth a listen.

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1 person found this helpful

Important / Unimportant

Reviewed: 06-12-2024

The paradox that is life. Its true, nobody is getting out alive. Essentially you must work out what is and what is not important. But that is not always an easy task as you first need to gain "experience" (the word I use for my mistakes) before you can begin to compare and discern. The author often speaks of wisdom.....in hindsight.

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Batavia - From best to worst

Reviewed: 05-12-2024

Batavia was two things, a jewel flagship of the Dutch East India Company and the city that would become Jakarta, Indonesia. Both bled to transit.

The events described in this very well research book, regarding the wreck and aftermath of the VOC ship are nothing less than horrific. Stephen King is definitely a fiction writer and meek underling to the machinations of reality.

Could be used as an autocrats handbook, a how to manual of actions without a moral code or fear of consequences. Equally, could be used as a handbook for morally guided folk to not give up your rights perhaps dont always go along to get along, dont always believe that folks have the best intentions.

Masterful work.

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Irish Storytelling at its best

Reviewed: 30-11-2024

This is not a pleasant story with happy ending. But it is a wonderful tale of life at the cusp of change. The marked difference between city folks leans toward science and rural folk still heavily steeped in myth and legend. Hard times cause folks to look for reason, explanations and hope but they can also lead you places you don't want to go .
The narrator could not have been a better choice.

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Behaving ourselves

Reviewed: 25-11-2024

David Mitchell takes us, once again, on a romp through, a mainly British observance and asks the question "are mnners dispoearing?". Most people would say resounding "yes" or "no" and immediately provide some examples. But its not really as black and white as all that, perhaps what is changing is peoples understandings of words and meanings. Some say that good manners are a way to show respect for others, and that etiquette is the structure for how to present oneself. It's possible to have good manners but poor etiquette, or vice versa. Perhaps it is "respect", for self, for others, for institutions, for protocols that is changing. Our Late Queen, Elizbeth II managed to be an outstanding example of M, E and R. Perhaps we need more beacons, not fewer?

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A enigmatic fellow

Reviewed: 25-11-2024

Nikola Tesla's autobiography is modest and down to earth, but for a mind so brilliantly focused on invention, it is too brief and does not provide enough detail of his inventions and understanding of the Earth's "free" energy. I guess he did not envisage his lifes works, drawings, plans, notes being gathered up and stored or disposed of, after his death. What an amazing world could have been created, had he been listened to. An extraordinary man.

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An Extraordinary Gentleman.

Reviewed: 15-11-2024

What an extra ordinary chap Mr Boris Johnson is. He, is in some way or connection linked to every international culture and yet strongly, proudly British. He is forward thinking, with an eye on the past. He's a buoyant optimist...yeah there is no opposite here. All he has achieved and tried to achieve has all been formulated with a plan, a belief in the United Kingdom, the systems of government, a belief in "better, for all" and a self deprecating /self promoting wonderful style. After listening to this Audio book, I think the media deprived the UK of a Prime Minister that would have lead them from strength to strength. Thoroughly enjoyable, all the more so for being narrated by the great man himself.

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What's funny about everyday life?

Reviewed: 28-10-2024

What's funny about everyday life?....As it turns out, if its viewed from cynical comedian (David Mitchell) everything! Absolutely LOVED this book written by and narrated by self-depricating and scathingly funny David Mitchell. Quite a few "laughed out loud moments" which was a bit awkward in a Doctor's waiting room, but almost as equally funny. Cannot wait for his next installment.

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When the North Pole was a mystery.

Reviewed: 23-10-2024

The Age of Discovery where men with a hypothesis, courage, determination, practical survival skills and endurance were supported by men of financial means, to go forth and explore, gather, observe, discover and IF they survive, IF they make it back home, to share their observations with the world. Fridtjof Nansen, his entire crew, Colin Archer (who lived in Bundaberg, Queensland Australia for a time) and The Fram - survived, thrived and shared such knowledge so as to begin our understanding of the "conveyor belt" ocean flows. Incredible journey, fantastically narrated.

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