The History Book Club discussion

This is a thread to discuss what audiobook you are listening to right now.

Please add a bookcover, the author's photo if available and the author's link. If you can add a photo of the narrator and a little bit about them; that would be great too.

Also, tell us a little bit about the audiobook and why you like it or not.

This thread was recommended by Michael.

I am listening to
by Terry Pratchett narrated by Stephen Briggs

After the marathon listen that was
by by Jon Lee Anderson I thought something a bit lighter was called for.

In this Discworld book a group of very senior "Heroes", or as we would call them barbarians are on a final quest to really get under the Gods skin.

How did you like either of them Michael? How was the narration and would you recommend either one?

I just finished by Annie Leonard

The author read it and I thought she and the book were fabulous...althought you won't find me out shopping much after listening to it. I definetly recommend the book!

Also, I have to say, anything narrated by Patrick Lawlor is a must listen to. My favorites by him are:

by Ted Kerasote

by Michael J. Durant

by Frank Antenori

by Evan Wright

But by far the best is Merles Door!!

Recently found out I can download audio-books from my library, so I am giving it a shot. I started listening to "The Poison King" last week, a book I have wanted for a while. I am enjoying it, wishing I had some maps though..

by Adrienne Mayor
(no idea on narrator, no audio version in goodreads)

it looks like the version available of The Poison King has the Narrator as Paul Hecht

by Adrienne Mayor narrator Paul Hecht

Well this is horrible..

by Adrienne Mayor

In the middle of segment 8/16 there is about a 5 minute gap of silence! Mithridates was about to attack Rhodes!
Does this kind of thing happen often in audiobooks?

Tom wrote: "Well this is horrible..

by Adrienne Mayor

In the middle of segment 8/16 there ..."

First time I have heard of such a long gap. But I agree no good.

Bentley wrote: "How did you like either of them Michael? How was the narration and would you recommend either one?"

Hi Bentley I always recommend Terry Pratchet novels. Those who do not like him have something wrong with them :) The narrator Stephen Briggs does a good job with some great character voices. Though I feel that no one does Pratchet as well as Tony Robinson aka Baldric from Black Adder.

As for by by Jon Lee Anderson

This audiobook was very good the narrator Armando Duran is very engaging and the subject matter well researched.

Right now I am listening to How To Understand and Appreciate Great Music by Robert Greenberg. It isn't so much a book as a lecture series from The Teaching Company, but since goodreads has it listed I'll count it.

Greenberg is the author and the voice. And he is absolutely excellent. His voice is dynamic and eloquent, his text is informative and interesting, and his subject is fascinating. I very much enjoy and appreciate that he gives brief reviews at the beginning of most of the lectures. Not only does it remind me of what where we are, it also reinforces what he taught before.

Slow going because I don't often have listening time. At this point in my life (i.e. small children), I doubt I'll go the listening route for anything that is also in written form. Perhaps later. But these lectures are really helping me get my feet wet.

by Robert Greenberg

I have just finished listening to;
by Patrick Robinson
It was a bit too heavy going and I missed large parts as my mind wandered off.

And now I am listening to;
by Elizabeth Chadwick

Which is not usually my style. But it was the only audiobook that looked remotely appealing at the library and I need audiobooks to listen to when I am on the treadmill in the mornings.
The narrator reads it as if she is reading to a child and I am not enjoying it.
The narrator is Patience Tomlinson.

I now have by Ken Follett lined up and can plug that in if To Defy a King bothers me too much. :-)

I'm currently listening to
by Laura Hillenbrand and finding it much better than I expected. Her last book,

was also a top listen.

I listen to quite a lot of audio books and often they are history books or historical fiction. I want to check this site for recommendations! Thanks.

Becky wrote: "I'm currently listening to
by Laura Hillenbrand and finding it much ..."

Hi Becky I love listening to history audio books as well. I find the more hard going ones easier to digest by listening rather then reading them.

I about to start
by Michael Norman narrated by Michael Prichard.

I've heard some very good things about Let us know.

I am about to start Bernard Cornwell in a few days.

Be interested in your thoughts Terri. Its a book of got on my to hear list

Michael wrote: "Be interested in your thoughts Terri. Its a book of got on my to hear list"

I love "to hear list." Perfect. :)

I'm currently listening to by William Manchester.

Let me tell you to skip it - Manchester was pretty good in his prime (popular historian) but he blew it with this one. He still writes well but I think he forgot how to do research. Much of the book sounds like it was taken straight from some primary source, Protestant propaganda archives. I think it's as lurid and as sensational as Manchester could get it to be. The narrator sounds like he has practiced his monotone.

That said, I will finish it just to see what he comes up with next.

I think Manchester's point is that the Medieval mind was filled with such deep dark claptrap that it took blood, gore and rampant sex to free it with the Renaissance.

Michael wrote: "Be interested in your thoughts Terri. Its a book of got on my to hear list"

Slight delay on Azincourt. It was not brought back to the library by the due date. I should have it any day now though.

Will let you know what I think of it, Michael. I love Cornwell's battle/warrior style books...Saxon series, Grail Series, Arthur series. But this will be my first Corwnell as an audio. So, we'll see how it goes.



Bernard Cornwell

I've been listening to my wife yelling at me: "no more books!!!!!"

:)

Hmm. Interesting.
Are you saying you won't be recommending that one?
And, is there a long drawn out battle sequence in the end? (no spoilers though :-) )

Started listening to by Terry Pratchett

I am on the discworld push, loving Stephen Briggs as a narrator.

'Aussie Rick' wrote: "I've been listening to my wife yelling at me: "no more books!!!!!"

:)"

Aussie Rick...so is that your new audio book? (smile)

I am the Terry Pratchett train and nex stop is
by Terry Pratchett

Looks good Michael and I am in catch up mode for all of the books I have lined up.

An interseting contrast with narrators in by Terry Pratchett it is read by Nigel Planer instead of Stephen Briggs. Why I am enjoying Planer I must admit I prefer Brigg's. Which suprises me for those who do not know Nigel Planer played Niel in the Young Ones, one of my favourite TV shows. But the all time best narrator I have heard reading Pratchett has been Tony Robinson of Black Adder fame.

Next Pratchett stop is by Terry Pratchett

Slight detour in the Pratchett trip. I have managed to source most of the discworld audiobooks so I am going back to book 1
by Terry Pratchett

Next stop book 2 by Terry Pratchett

You are on a roll.

Book 3 is up and on my Ipod by Terry Pratchett

Up to book 4 by Terry Pratchett read by Nigel Planer

I am currently listening to by Steven D. Levitt. So far, I'm really enjoying it. Next one is definitely by Terry Pratchett , inspired by Michael, so maybe I can start my own Pratchett train with it :)

Ivbells wrote: "I am currently listening to Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt. So far, I'm really enjoying it. Next one is definite..."

The Terry Pratchett train is a great trip :). I loved both and so I will be greatly intrested in how they work as an Audiobook Ivbells.

Thank you Bentley, I think I got it right now:)

So far is great as an audio, it's narrated by Stephen J. Dubner.
I'm going on a one week vacation the day after tomorrow, so I'm packing more books than clothes, and Terry Pratchett's works are definitely included, thanks to you Michael :)

Ivbells wrote: "Thank you Bentley, I think I got it right now:)"

Yes you do Ivbells, great job.

Just started
T.J. Stiles

Got piping into my ears by Ben MacIntyre

I'm listening to To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild

Mary wrote: "I'm listening to To End All Wars by Adam Hochschild"

I heard good things about this book. Mary, good job on the citation, don't forget to add an author link with the image:

by Adam Hochschild

Good to see more hoping on board the Audio train :)

I listen to A LOT of audio books. Recently finished by Mitchell Zuckoff and I'm listening to by Stacy Schiff. I really enjoyed Lost in Shangri-La and would recommend it to anyone, not just history buffs. Cleopatra is a little different, great for history people, but might be boring for those not already interested in history.

Thanks Jason for pointing out the differences in listening style and background for the two books.

We look forward to any suggestions that you might have on audiobooks you have enjoyed and are listening to.

Bentley

Right now I am listening to:

What is the What by Dave Eggers

by Dave Eggers

Excellent.

Awards:

Best Book of the Year-San Francisco Chronicle, National Book Critics' Circle Award Nominee for Fiction, New York Times Notable Book of the Year, Independent Publishers Award (IPPY) for Literary Fiction (2007), Medicis Prize (France) (2009)

Publsher's Synopsis:

Valentino Achak Deng, real-life hero of this engrossing epic, was a refugee from the Sudanese civil war-the bloodbath before the current Darfur bloodbath-of the 1980s and 90s. In this fictionalized memoir, Eggers (A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius) makes him an icon of globalization. Separated from his family when Arab militia destroy his village, Valentino joins thousands of other "Lost Boys," beset by starvation, thirst and man-eating lions on their march to squalid refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, where Valentino pieces together a new life. He eventually reaches America, but finds his quest for safety, community and fulfillment in many ways even more difficult there than in the camps: he recalls, for instance, being robbed, beaten and held captive in his Atlanta apartment. Eggers's limpid prose gives Valentino an unaffected, compelling voice and makes his narrative by turns harrowing, funny, bleak and lyrical. The result is a horrific account of the Sudanese tragedy, but also an emblematic saga of modernity-of the search for home and self in a world of unending upheaval.

From Bookmarks Magazine

Dave Eggers is best known for A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius (2000), and here he shows that he is as adroit at telling another person's biography as he is narrating his own. Over three years, he conducted 100 hours of interviews with Deng and visited Sudan with him in "synergistic collaboration" (Time). Labeled as a novel, this work nonetheless has a historical basis and lends a personal face to the brutality of civil war, squalor, and the struggle for survival. A few critics questioned where Deng's story ended and Eggers's literary license began, and the book as a whole could have been better edited. While visceral and heartrending, Deng's and Eggers's joint story is ultimately a powerful tale of hope. When both People and the ever-glum Michiko Kakutani of the New York Times rave, how can one resist?

Here is a history of how and why the book came about - very interesting:

History of the Foundation

Valentino Achak Deng met Dave Eggers in January 2003 in Atlanta, where Valentino had been living since his resettlement to the United States in 2001. He was working while attending community college, and was already well known as a captivating public speaker and spokesman for the Sudanese community. Valentino contacted Dave with the help of his friend Mary Williams, who was the founder of an Atlanta-based organization called the Lost Boys Foundation.

After spending a weekend with Dave in Atlanta, Valentino asked him to help write his autobiography. He felt that his story could convey to the world the realities of what had happened in the civil war in Southern Sudan, and its effect on the people there. Dave agreed to help, and they began the process of recording Valentino’s story—a process that took three years of steady work.

Early on, Valentino and Dave decided that any and all proceeds from the book would be controlled by Valentino and used to help the Sudanese community. Valentino knew immediately that he would send most of the funds home to his village of Marial Bai. When he returned there with Dave during the writing of the book, he was overwhelmed by the difficulties facing his people. Southern Sudan was (and still is) recovering from war, and the extreme damage to infrastructure has left most of the region in poverty.

Valentino decided that he would use the funds from What Is the What to provide better educational opportunities for the Sudanese both in Southern Sudan and in the United States. To help achieve his goals, Valentino established the Valentino Achak Deng Foundation in the fall of 2006. Its creation coincided with the publication of What Is the What. All proceeds from the book are donated—and will continue to be donated, as it’s published in paperback and overseas—directly to Valentino’s cause.

The Foundation's first major project is the construction of an educational center in Valentino's hometown of Marial Bai. Working closely with the local community, the Foundation is building a large educational complex, consisting of:

the region's first-ever high school
a teachers' training college
a public library
sports facilities
a community center

During the summer of 2007, Valentino returned to Marial Bai to talk with the community, consult government leaders in the region, and lay the groundwork for this project. In early 2008, he returned to start construction on the secondary school, on a large plot of land that was donated by local government. A Sudanese architect designed the structures, bricks were made locally, and all of the construction workers were from the Marial Bai region.

The Marial Bai Secondary School opened in May 2009. It is the first fully-functional high school in the entire region, where there are no other opportunities for students—and especially girls—to continue their education past the elementary level. In spring 2010, we constructed a girls' dormitory, to provide a safe learning environment and an alternative to early marriage for hundreds of young women in the region.

As the Foundation grows and its projects develop, it will largely depend on fundraising to achieve and sustain its goals. Valentino plans to keep working to help the Sudanese in Southern Sudan and the United States, and his dreams will only be limited by the funding that the Foundation receives.

Soure:

http://www.valentinoachakdeng.org/

Sounds like a goo listen Bentley I am keen to hear your thought on it.

It is extremely different; I think that it is better as an audio because of the narrator frankly.

I have added some info on the book above in post 45.

The narrator in my opinion in audiobooks can make or break the story.

Michael wrote: "The narrator in my opinion in audiobooks can make or break the story."

I agree Michael!

Started listening to discworld book by Terry Pratchett narrated by Nigel Planer. I got 30 minutes into the book and chuffed to find a character that Nigel Planer uses his Niel from The Young Ones voice.