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The Great Tours: Washington, D.C.
Audio and video course for visitors to and residents of Washington, D.C.
- GenresHistory
Audiobook
First published January 1, 2019
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 18, 2022
3.5, rounding up.
Doing some armchair traveling during The Great 2020 Lockdown. I've been to DC several times, but always for events where my time to simply be a tourist was very limited. I've seen more of the city's conference rooms than the many wonderful attractions.
This GC has 32 sections; however, there is some repetition in that the final 8 are the unedited interviews, the edited versions of which are included in the first 24 sections. Among those interviewed are Colin Powell, Jose Andres, YoYo Ma, and David Rubenstein.
This series made me want to take a nice long trip to the city and see many of the places Mr. Kurin covers. Of course there are the well-known buildings and monuments, but he also covers quite a few lesser-known museums, parks, and events.
Presentation is a little uneven. Among the best sections are the ones on Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian museums, although that one could, and probably should, have been expanded to two or three sections to properly cover everything.
The episode on churches and cathedrals was disappointing as there just wasn't much detail on most of them and very few interior pictures. He did spent a good amount of time on the National Cathedral, which made it the best part of that episode. The interview with the cathedral's stone mason was especially interesting.
I felt the sections on the restaurants and the waterfront came off more like a Chamber of Commerce brochure and were an afterthought. Still the bulk of this GC is quite good.
Doing some armchair traveling during The Great 2020 Lockdown. I've been to DC several times, but always for events where my time to simply be a tourist was very limited. I've seen more of the city's conference rooms than the many wonderful attractions.
This GC has 32 sections; however, there is some repetition in that the final 8 are the unedited interviews, the edited versions of which are included in the first 24 sections. Among those interviewed are Colin Powell, Jose Andres, YoYo Ma, and David Rubenstein.
This series made me want to take a nice long trip to the city and see many of the places Mr. Kurin covers. Of course there are the well-known buildings and monuments, but he also covers quite a few lesser-known museums, parks, and events.
Presentation is a little uneven. Among the best sections are the ones on Arlington Cemetery and the Pentagon, the Library of Congress, and the Smithsonian museums, although that one could, and probably should, have been expanded to two or three sections to properly cover everything.
The episode on churches and cathedrals was disappointing as there just wasn't much detail on most of them and very few interior pictures. He did spent a good amount of time on the National Cathedral, which made it the best part of that episode. The interview with the cathedral's stone mason was especially interesting.
I felt the sections on the restaurants and the waterfront came off more like a Chamber of Commerce brochure and were an afterthought. Still the bulk of this GC is quite good.
April 20, 2020
This is one of the best Great Courses I have listened to. Toured DC 3 times but made me want to do 2-3 more tours.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews