EAST OF EDEN by John Steinbeck

Narrated by Richard Poe

     American Horror Story

This is Steinbeck’s masterpiece.  Here is exposed the evil that is in men’s hearts. John Steinbeck depicts some people as monsters. Not the creepy paranormal  monsters of Stephen King but a much more horrifying type of monster; the kind that lives in the head of everyone. The people in this book are complex and realistic, all the more so because their proclivities toward evil are uncomfortably familiar to anyone of Adam’s race. I recommend this as a lofty example of American novel writing, and an engrossing excursion into the true nature of man. Richard Poe narrates in a voice that just seems perfectly apt for that of a young Steinbeck. This is everything I look for in an audiobook: captivating entertainment with a hook that forces your mind to ponder. 

LONESOME DOVE by Larry McMurtry

Narrated by Lee Horsley

     Death on the Plains

Listening to this was like reliving the TV miniseries from years ago. Every chapter brought to mind a scene from the video production and I realized that the movie was very faithful to the book. There are very strong influences of the television production evident in this audiobook. Lee Horsley is wonderful as the narrator, and his voicing of the character Gus is a perfect impression of Tommy Lee Jones.  There is so much beauty of characterization in this book that one must wonder what cruel intention was in McMurtry’s mind when he penned such fixation on death that pervades every story arc in this novel. 

THE REVENGE OF GEOGRAPHY by Richard D. Kaplan

Narrated by Michael Prichard

      Inside the Geo-Political Think-Tank

I recently concluded listening to several books on various elements of world history and this was the best. At first I thought this was too dry for my taste and the narration by Michael Prichard brought to mind the voice-overs of old Cinema news-reels. But after paying attention for several hours I began to track with the writer and discovered that Kaplan is in touch with current academic thought and is able to distill information from a wide variety of sources and relate it in a fashion that is understandable for the layman. Despite the title, this is not an unmitigated defense of geographical determinism. This books does, however, put forth many examples from history of people groups who—for a time—defy the restrictions of topography, in ambitious exploits of martial glory, only to succumb to the inevitable forces of the lands in which they live. For me, this book was a glimpse into the realm of the political experts that advise the movers and shakers of the world. It is useful for those trying to make sense of the ebb and flow of ancient civilizations—and attempt to predict what may transpire in our own time.  

THE SWERVE: HOW THE WORLD BECAME MODERN by Stephen Greenblatt

Narrated by Edoardo Ballerini

     Making the World Safe for Epicurean Atomism

This book is less a history lesson than it is a worshipful panegyric extolling the virtues of materialistic atheism. I found it to be well written and wonderfully narrated by Edoardo Ballerini.  What I did not find it to be was correct. Greenblatt’s premise is that the lost poem of Lucretius, “On the Nature of Things” was instrumental in shaping the modern way of thinking. And what was this great rediscovered revelation so nearly lost to history? “The denial of divine providence and the denial of the afterlife were the twin pillars of Lucretuis’ whole poem” (8:29). I hardly think that atheism was in danger of being forgotten. Greenblatt succumbs to the common error of many who spend their lives in the hollowed halls of higher learning: he fails to consider that the normal state of man is a life lived in rebellion against God. For Greenblatt the recovery of this lost poem of Lucretius was not just a boon to literature but to epistemology as well; for through it we remain connected to our classical atomistic roots. He attributes Lucretius the virtue of restoring our atomistic understanding of the ontological nature of the universe. This was summed up in the words of the modern popularizer of atheistic thought, Carl Sagan, who famously, and nearly reverentially, put mankind in his place with the words, “We are star stuff.” No humanistic, materialistic atheism was never in danger of extinction. That said, this book is an entertaining excursion exploring humanistic thought and Greenblatt makes his case as well as he can considering his presuppositional basis of Godlessness. 

LAWRENCE IN ARABIA: WAR, DECEIT, IMPERIAL FOLLY AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN MIDDLE EAST by Scott Anderson

Narrated by Malcolm Hillgartner

     Dissembling the Myth of Lawrence of Arabia

Any attempt to understand the modern world must explain the shape of the Middle East. This is a serious attempt to dismantle the Middle East turmoil from the perspective of World War One and the enigmatic figure of T. E. Lawrence. After listening, I can say that I think I grasp the shape of the political forces of the Middle East a lot better but that I fail to know the strangely paradoxical figure of Lawrence. Far from the romantic Peter O’Toole version of Lawrence of Arabia, Scott Anderson paints a portrait of the man that is more realistic and contradictory.

Malcolm Hillgartner submits a journeyman’s effort here. Nothing spectacular, but clear and unobtrusive. 

THE ORIGINS OF THE POLITICAL ORDER, Book 1 by Francis Fukuyama

Narrated by Jonathan Davis

     Bureaucrat’s perspective on World History

Consider the sweep of world history from the perspective of governmental structure. This book is useful to gain an understanding of our modern world by looking at the development of the various strategies employed by the ancients. I now have a better understanding of how China can have a tradition of central government going back thousands of years and still not have any sense of ethics in their leadership. I now know how Russia seems to have difficulty implementing Western-style democracy when all they have ever known is authoritarianism. Of course, for it to fully sink in I will have to listen to it a second time; but first I may tackle volume two. This book is structured much like a series of scholarly lectures. Narrated by the always excellent Jonathan Davis. 

COLLAPSE by Jared Diamond (Abridged)

Narrated by Christopher Murney

     Environmental Damage Will Get Us All in the End

This book has been in my library for years, and since I was on a history kick I decided to tackle it now. The first thing that struck me was the disparity in narrative impact between Diamond’s Guns, Germs and Steel and this book. Collapse has none of the human interest of the earlier work. He does give several examples of his theory of the reasons for cultural collapse—all of which are some variation of environmental damage. This reads (listens) like a piece of propaganda for the Climate Change believers.

At first I was disappointed that I had mistakenly obtained the abridged version, but after the first hour I began to wish for the end to come even sooner. I can recommend Guns, Germs and Steel as a thought provoking book; important for the cultural literacy of any conversationalist. Reading this book will not make you the life of any party. Hearing the doom and gloom of such cautionary tales from those looking to government to solve all of society’s ills is tedious and not at all entertaining.  

CHARLEMAGNE by Richard Winston

Narrated by Charlton Griffin

     Prototype of Holy Roman Emperors to Come

This book filled in some gaps in my understanding of  the history of Western Civilization but failed to thrill me as some other periods of history were able to do.

Charlton Griffin is a fine choice for narrator here. The production values employed here are quite high. I particularly enjoyed the treatment of quotations in this audiobook: When quoting, Griffin’s voice is given some reverb, thus setting the quotation material apart from the explanatory text.

GENGHIS KHAN AND THE MAKING OF THE MODERN WORLD by Jack Weatherford

Narrated by Jonathan Davis

Afterward by Jack Weatherford

…..The Civilized Savage…..

It is amazing what Genghis Khan was able to accomplish from the steppes of Asia.  The empire he established would eventually reign over all of what are now Chinese lands and extended to the realms of Europe. Most interesting was the high level of organization the great Khan instilled in his government without a dominant centralized capitol city. I found this to be an interesting historical account.

Jonathan Davis is one of my favorite narrators. I found his effort here to be a bit slow-paced. Increasing the playback speed to 1.5X retained all the qualities needed to understand his voice and helped me retain my interest.