Audiobook Books

After listening to this great audio book, I now understand why it is one of the all time best-selling books on leadership. This 4th edition presents the latest research, interviews with people at all levels in organizations around the world, and case studies of real people achieving remarkable results. So much of this edition is new, it's a must have for even those who loved the original...and it's certainly required listening for anyone who happened to miss it the first 3 times!

This is a good book but could have been written in about 150 pages... Much of it was common sense over and over again... I totally understand repetition is good but this is a little overkill.... I did pick up some good points and have put them in place already....
I have read several good management books and this one ranks a 3 to me on a 5 point scale... I have read some worse but have read several I think are better...

Interesting story. Made me think a lot about how comfortable sometimes we become as Christians and loose the "fear" of the Lord. While I don't agree with the premise that you can loose your salvation (http://www.ppbc.org/can_you_loose_your_salvation.htm#Believe%20in%20Him), I do think that as believers, we need to examine our motives and make sure we are bringing Glory to God in all we do.

A story that will jolt you out of complacency, whether as a believer or non-believer. It pushes the believer to a sincere heart check and self assessment of their relationship with the Lord. To the non-believer it's a compelling cry to know the truth, and discover the true God that brings life changing significance.

Affabel is the most inspiring cd anyone can listen to! It will change your life! A friend told me that with life in general as busy as we are, we forget why we are here. She said that Affabel put her back into place. I have seen it with my own eyes absolutely change my jewish girlfriend overnight! How awesome is that! I am so blessed. My daughter gave Affabel to me and I have listened to it 5 times and still have it in my car listening to it. I can't pass mine on because I want it. I have purchased many more and have given them to my family and friends. My 91 year old Auntie LOVES it and is going to listen to it again. She tried to listen to it a little at a time but just could not stop! She was up until 12:30 in the night so that she could finish listening! I sent her 2 of them so she could pass one on and I am in the process of spreading God's word by buying some more. I love it. God has blessed me and my family and friends. Amen!

This audio drama is very profesionally produced, very profesionally acted, and the message is very convicting. Just make sure when the drama is over you listen to the message at the end. This drama is great for the unsaved, but also extremely good for people that claim to be Christians.

This was purchased as a birthday present for my sister in-law. She loved everything about the audio tape.

Pullman manages to wrap up his signature trilogy nicely enough, but I'm afraid that everything felt a little forced.

I still love the absolute creativity that goes on with this trilogy, but to make a story perfect one needs better characters and motivations than what is given here. I've always preferred character-driven stories to those that are plot-driven, and these stories prefer to preach philopshy rather than develop their characters.

But do not doubt the power of imagination. It is clear that Pullman spent a lot of time making this plot. It's astounding and breathtaking.

Sadly, though, it's pretty much useful for preaching Pullman's atheistic beliefs. He makes a lot of great points, but I can see why these books are so controversial--frankly, they're a little unfair to far too many belief systems. And I guess I have some spite against children's books that are written for the sole purpose of forcing people to believe something.

Creative and thought-provoking, but I still have yet to care much for any of the characters. They're just so flat, pretty much there just to keep this story going so a few ideas of philosophy can be preached to the world.

I suppose I should feel bitter about that, and I actually do, a little bit.

But wow, this is creativity up the wazoo, and I guess I can't complain much about that.

I just wish Pullman had cared more about his characters and less about his beliefs. Too much story and character is forced and sacrificed for those beliefs, and frankly it's annoying.

Now I know Pullman had no idea what he was doing when he started this trilogy. This book runs on fumes, and it's made even worse when the author introduces ideas only to discard them lazily. Like the guy who goes after our main characters. Father Gomez, I think his name is. The book keeps returning to him like he's important to the story, but he winds up not being important at all.

And then there's Iorek Byrnison, the bear. He shows up for a while, then disappears. I mean, come on. And don't get me started on the ending. I just don't get the significance of the angels and the ghosts and the daemons and the witches and the mulefa. They're all here, but they don't gel in this mess of a book.

Oh, yeah, and I still didn't give a crap about the characters. It's hard to relate to them when they talk like old people. Show me a kid who talks like Lyra and Will and I'll show you a monkey who craps gold.

Throughout junior high and high school, I heard constant mention of the "His Dark Materials" trilogy but never got to read it myself. Years later, I finally picked up the books and breezed through the first two in less than a week. The third book in the series, however, was far more difficult to read.

At first glance, I was surprised by its size: "The Golden Compass" and "The Subtle Knife" are both condense, well-written stories with less than 400 pages apiece, but "The Amber Spyglass" is over 500 pages long and definitely not as well-written as its predecessors. Many parts of the story dragged, and many of the major characters (aside from the two stars of the series, Lyra and Will) played significantly smaller roles than in the previous two books.

To add to this, many of the mysteries and secrets set up in the first two books are not fully explained in the third book. For example, advertisements for "The Amber Spyglass" claim readers will discover the startling secret of Dust. This never happens. I'm okay with a few unsolved mysteries but so many loose ends are left untied here that I was disappointed.

I also had a problem with the romance created between Lyra and Will. (Sorry if I'm spoiling this for readers, but anybody who's read the first two books should see it coming.) The story does have a coming-of-age subtone but Pullman treats Lyra and Will's romance as a complex, intimate, adult passion that is too rare among young teenagers to be believeable here.

Overall, the series is worth reading but don't expect the "astonishing conclusion" as promised by promotional advertisements and teasers.

Everyone that seems to love this book, also loves to bash anyone that didn't care for it. "Oh you're just offended because you're religious." Well, I'm tired of those same people saying religious people are "closed-minded" and "can't think for themselves". I consider myself religious but am not a part of organized religion (which I have some problems with myself). Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books, but could only make it through half the Amber Spyglass before being bored out of my mind. Am I still able to rate this book objectively? I think so. All of the characters seemed to change personalities in this book. The story became disjointed and confusing. I also agree with others: "why did they want to kill this god of theirs?". Some things should be kept mysterious in fantasy books, but the reason for the entire main plot of the book?? It makes the reader start to not care about the characters which never, ever endears one to a series. Maybe Pullman should find someone to write a different third book: perhaps an alternate ending with all of his alternate universes.

interesting story with a full cast of voices. Pullman takes a long time to finish up the narrative, but it's probably necessary. no bad music in this volume, but the poetry at the beginning of each chapter is hard to get when read quickly out loud. it adds nothing to this audio version. that part would make more sense in print.

I do not recommend this audiobook. The narrators are unimaginative and the background music is too loud. My daughter loves audiobooks but doesn't even get through one of these stories before losing interest. The audiobook Lilly and the Plastic Purse collection is by far her favorite. The difference between the narration of Berenstain and Lilly is remarkable.

I was so excited about getting this CD, as my grandaughters love the Berenstain Bear stories. I planned to use it on long drives in the car with them. I was extremely disappointed with the lack of expression of Mama Bear. I hate to be rude, but I think my five year old grandaughter could read with more expression. Papa Bear was fine. He "felt" the lines he was reading, but Mama Bear didn't feel her part and was not convincing. Lines were staggered and delayed. In fact, I am about to write Amazon to see if I can return the CD. I realize that the voices are the authors themselves, but I wish they had gotten the same voices that are on the DVD's.

This product naturally enhances interest in literacy and builds listening skills. The music is also a nice compliment to the stories, but a bit 70's. One piece of vocabulary I didn't agree with is the politically incorrect use of "sissy" as grandpa Berenstein bear was explaining to the children that only "sissies" do something wimpy. Wasn't pleased with that, but I look at those situations as a way to educate my child, rather than eliminate the material all together. One thing I truly was dissapointed with, however, was that the internet sales page displayed that a book should have been included with "book and audio" and I never received ANY of the books that came with the audio. Please send along the books! Thanks :)

There are two CDs for a total of 90 minutes.
The eleven stories are:
The Bears' Vacation
The Bears' Picnic
Bears in the Night
The Bear Scouts
The Big Honey Hunt
The Bears' New Baby
The Bears' Christmas
The Bike Lesson
The Bear Detectives
He Bear, She Bear
The Bears' Almanac

I agree that the voices and music are not the best but the kids still like to listen to it in the car.

The background music is an annoying tanbourine and flute that never changes and becomes way too loud in between narrations. The voices are too deep and soft (his) and too grating and plastic (hers) - you certainly cannot picture the caracters from listening to them.
The stories certainly are great but the narration is a great disappointment.

When average people are confronted by extreme circumstances and respond by behaving with extraordinary compassion and bravery, their example challenges us all. The story of the Zabinski family and their efforts sheltering Polish Jews and Resistance fighters in the remains of the Warsaw Zoo during World War II is eye opening. As the Nazi regime and their heinous crimes fade from living memory, it is meticulously documented stories like this that are crucial to keeping the truth alive. The author's style is confusing at times as she begins a story, then diverts to give us a great deal of background information, and then resumes the story pages later. The paperback version is a mere reprint of the hardcover, complete with photographs and consistent pagination.

This is a powerful read and should be required reading for all high school seniors. One must learn about the atrocities of the halocaust; remember history can be repeated.

Zookeepers Antonina and Jan Zabinski and their son Rys were three of the many, brave, caring persons who helped Jews survive certain death at the hands of the Nazis. The multi-lingual mom and dad's biggest strengths, beyond bravery, were their abilities to act quickly and correctly during a crisis. Eventually, with most of the animals moved elsewhere, the zoo was set up with the various "guests" being assigned animal names. When the arrival of the authorities was imminent, the resourceful Antonina would play (p 178) `Offenbach's "Go, Go, Go to Crete!"' to warn those in hiding. Through their connections to both unsuspecting bad guys and other good guys willing to risk their lives for the cause, they were able to help in ways that others could not due to their affiliation with the zoo. Author Diane Ackerman's research sources consisted primarily of Antonia's writings as well as interviews of both husband and wife. The writing style she employs to tell their story gives it a very authentic feel and allows the reader to get to know Antonia Zabinski (as much as one can with thirdhand knowledge). For example, on the subject of their varied, harried schedule, "attuned" to the needs of the animals, (p 20) "This brought a slated novelty to each day, and though the problems might be taxing, it imprinted her life with small welcome moments of surprise." Additionally, one learns about both the upside and downside of their decision to help: concerns and worries about each person's safety, as well as anecdotes of the exploits employed to fulfill their mission. One of my favorite examples of the latter is a situation involving the Zabinski's son, Encountering young male "guests" in their hiding place, (p 253) Rys (meaning lynx) states his name. One of the boys, aware of the family's use of animal names, replies that his name is "Pheasant." The Zookeepers Wife provides a well-researched and written look at the lives of an unconventional family in their attempts to help the Jews. Also good: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, Life in Auschwitz by Primo Levy and Time's Arrow by Martin Amis.

In a superbly told epic story of survival under terrifying circumstances, The Zookeeper's Wife depicts war and nature together, juxtaposing empathic descriptions of nature and animals and the brutal Nazi occupation of Warsaw, Poland. The narrative draws the reader into the daily activities of a family during years of deprivation, from 1939 pre-war Poland to occupation by the Russian army in 1945.

Combining history and the intimacy of family life, naturalist Diane Ackerman relates how Antonina Zabinski and her husband, Jan, sheltered and saved more than three hundred Jews in their villa and adjacent buildings on the grounds of the Warsaw Zoo. Antonina, a quiet, introspective, knowing woman of the early to mid twentieth century, sensed the underside of things and from that deep knowledge, tempered the violence in which she lived. Her calm courage in the face of great difficulty is never overstated, nor is she made out to be a heroine. Rather, she is a woman doing what she does best and doing it amazingly well in the horrifying circumstance of occupied Poland seventy years ago.

The most incredible thing about this book is that it really happened. Jan and Antonina Zabinski were zookeepers at the Warsaw Zoo and were disgusted and horrified by the treatment of the local Jews by the Nazis. As the Warsaw ghetto was gradually cleared by the total annihilation of its occupants, Jan devises ways to bring them to the Zoo secretly and to hide them in the cages which were formerly occupied with exotic animals, now stolen by the Nazis and sent to Germany to fulfill Hitler's mad scheme to "purify" even the animals and to attempt to restore the ancient lines of extinct species. How Antonina managed to keep a cool exterior in the face of the savagery of the soldiers beggars belief and if, as a reader, one attempts to feel the terror of the victims in one's own imagination, I, for one, broke out in a shivering sweat of horror. These incredibly brave people deserve the accolades heaped upon them by the Jewry after the war. Diane Ackerman writes this book as seen through the eyes of Antonina, interrupting the narrative to insert explanatory excerpts, and does a magnificent job of explaining Antonina's amazing rapport with all the animals in her care. It's a masterfully written account of how a few exectionally brave people saved the lives of so many innocents at a time when Poland was ruled by an evil madman who was trying to control and reshape humans and animals to fulfill the Nazi ideal of the worship of their kind of purity in all things.

This book is unique in the sense that it doesn't encourage argument with non-believers but instead, understanding. Keller points out, very elegantly, that we need to know what we believe and understand the doubts about what we believe whether they're ours or someone elses.

I recently bought this book from amazon and participated in a book study with a few fellow believers. We just finished and I can honestly say that i loved this book. The symbolism used is very effective and helpful!!! I love this book and if you dont own it we need to change that!!!!
:D Trevor

I've been reading this book for the past few months, and I have to save it is the best book on Christianity I've read this year. It is easy to follow, and Tim Keller raises many good points in it. I highly recommend it to both Christians and non-Christians alike.

This book is a must read for anyone who has ever struggled with their Christian faith or for those who want to know why they should believe in God. It is insightful and one of the most readable apologetics books on Christianity. I especially recommend this book for those who have accepted the usual secular arguments against belief in God.

My reasons for leaving Christianity are exactly the same as Tim Keller's reasons for why you should join it: There is no one overwhelming argument which can't be denied; instead there are a lot of smaller reasons which, when taken together, provide an inductive force so compelling I couldn't resist it. Also, like Keller, I like this story better.

Ironically, Keller's book was fairly instrumental in my deconversion. As I've said other places, it was a long and gradual process which finally led me away from the faith. But the last lifeline I had was Tim Keller's recent book, The Reason for God. I know and respect his work in many other places and was hoping that this book would provide me with the rationale I needed to counter credible unChristian arguments and sustain my Christian belief. The opposite happened.

Keller takes up a two-part strategy: First, he demonstrates how the objections to Christianity, or "defeater beliefs," assume the same form which they intend to criticize. Second, the constructive portion of his argument can probably be accurately caricaturized(1) as: "Christianity is a really nice story, so you should accept it."

In the first half of the book, the "defeater beliefs" section, Keller astutely lays out the overall problem: there is no objective place from which to judge various worldviews. Kudos to Keller on this because many people never get this, especially many Christians! Unfortunately, the book is all down hill from here. Keller tries to illustrate the issue with his elephant analogy. A summary: Imagine several blind people touching a creature which they don't know is an elephant. One says, "It's long and flexible like a snake," feeling the trunk. Another says, "No it's thick and round like a tree trunk," feeling its leg. Another touches the side and says, "No it's large and flat." Then Keller says:

In the same way, it is argued, the religions of the world each have a grasp on part of the truth about spiritual reality, but none can see the whole elephant or claim to have a comprehensive vision of the truth.

This illustration backfires on its users. The story is told from the point of view of someone who is not blind. How could you know that each blind man only sees part of the elephant unless you claim to be able to see the whole elephant? ... How could you possibly know that no religion can see the whole truth unless you yourself have the superior, comprehensive knowledge of spiritual reality you just claimed that none of the religions have?

As someone who was wrestling with this very question, I was thrilled when it looked like Keller would say something profound about it. Excitement turned sour when instead of the profound and rational thinking I've come to expect from Keller (and I have read/listened to his work many other places with the highest praise), I was given a very flimsy straw man and logic-less pebbles hurled in its general direction.

My immediate response to this particular analogy was first that it is probably a good analogy, and the many different religions do "feel" different parts of a single great reality. But to answer the last question in this quote above: We would know by listening to each other charitably, thinking clearly, and not by a theological imperialism that claims the perspective of omniscient narrator simply because we already proved no one can hold that position (sic).

The rest of Keller's first section on "doubting your doubts," is filled with more of the same: straw man arguments weakly attacked. No person who actually holds the various positions Keller represents would agree with his caricatures--evidenced by each of the non-Christians and even my Keller-loving Pastor friend who made up our book discussion group. By the end of the first half, our group continued reading out of astounded disbelief at what could possibly be in the second half that would redeem the first.

The second half of Keller's book is nice. He starts with a smart approach which finally recalls his admission in the Introduction that no one stands in an objective position to evaluate other worldviews. So he suggests that instead of looking for airtight arguments, we look at the gestalt of small indicators like: The origin of the Big Bang, cosmological constants allowing for life, the regularity of nature, beauty, and "the clue-killer [that] is really a clue." This is not meant to be a long book review, so I must deprive you of specifics, but as Keller went through his clues for God, each of them struck me as either having a simpler explanation short of God, or even as full support against his Christian suggestion.

To close, Keller morphs the last six chapters away from almost any rational argument at all. Instead, he describes features of Christianity that are nice and appealing, expecting to make the sale on ideal virtues. Isn't it nice that Christianity gives you paradise after you die? Isn't it nice that Christianity give you a justification for morality? Isn't it nice that God did such a dramatic thing as sending his son to "write himself into the story?" If you're ready to convert, see the epilogue.

So Keller's project is actually three-part: 1.) give reasons to doubt objections to Christianity, 2.) Present Christianity as something that "would be nice if it were true," then 3.) Invite the reader to believe it.

My response to Keller's book went like this: 1.) every single objection you raised has far deeper merit than you even begin to acknowledge, 2.) There are parts of Christianity which are great and really "would be nice if it were true," but "want makes not." 3.) I already want to believe Christianity is true, but it's the real arguments which your straw men caricaturize that have twisted my arm away from belief.

After reading Keller's book, I'm left at the last conclusion that Christianity is a nice story--and even my favorite religion--but it's a long way from being true. But his book is very convincing: It has convinced many Christians that they should be Christians; and it has convinced many non-Christians that they should be non-Christians. But it has also convinced at least one Christian that he should be a non-Christian.

(1) I use this word "caricaturize" several times despite my spell-check trying to make it "characterize," because I mean it as: "a good natured exaggeration of the most significant features: to make a caricature."

What a great place to start if your looking to change your future. Alot of information given on the cd's. You might have to listen a couple of times for it to sink in. But well worth it.

I paid $26 to listen to Jerry Hicks speedread another Abraham book. I like to savor the material, reflect on it's meaning but he's in such a hurry that he really isn't into the material at all.I had to turn it off after 2 chapters. When Esther speaks it's the opposite. Jerry needs to get out of the way!

I have listened to the The Law of Attraction & Ask and It Is Given twice. It is very uplifting and spiritual. I believe it to be true. I am trying to change my thoughts to reflect what Abraham and Ester and speaking about.

It is starting to work.

I have read and listened to all kinds of books on topics regarding spirituality, religion, the mind, power of believe, self improvement, etc. and this is by far the most complete and effective explanation of its kind. It really is where its at, right to the point. It also gives you stages on how to go about doing what it takes to bring what we really want into our lives.

So far I have listened to Law of Attraction, and I am on my second go round. The information here is fantastic, if you were to apply only 50% of it, you would make some astonishing changes to all areas of your life!

This book has definitely helped me with my AP test. With this book, i am more confident and i know that i will do well on the AP test. It has helped me with my worst topic on the AP test, the essay. It was very helpful and i don't know what i would of done without the book.

One star! Let me explain. This book does have a lot of practice activities but the 2008 is quite misleading. There is very little that is new here. Barron's has the vocabulary lists, same listening practice, same reading practice as it has had since at least 1996. I guess coming up with new material cuts into the profits. Very little here will help with the new test formats. The paragraph grammar fill in with root word is recycled from a previous edition and doesn't allow the use of perfect and progressive tenses even though the AP exam does. The conversation speaking section is really messed up since their dialogs are impossible to interact with unless you have listened to the dialog previously which you cannot do on the AP test. For example, one between the student and a college guide has instructions for the student to indicate where to go first on the tour, then the guide answers "oh, I see that you've heard a lot about the science program." These conversation dialogs were not written according to the new guidelines and are the same ones that Barron's used in their messed up, rushed 2007 version. Also, the reading sections are not from authentic sources even though the college board is now using authentic sources. Overall, this book is harder than the actual AP test (buy a released version from 1998 or 2003 and you'll know what I mean) which one would think is a good thing but it is not. They are more difficult (especially the reading) because Barron's has gone out of its way to use extremely obscure vocabulary. Unless you have a great chance at a five you will be extremely frustrated by this book.

I suppose for students studying on their own this book would be ok although it doesn't matter really, unless you are pretty close to fluent or have had extensive traditional instruction in the language you'll fail anyway or if your lucky get a three which is good for nothing. However, language teachers don't buy this book if you have any previous Barron's edition. These greedy money suckers come up with ten new pages and call it a new version except in this case the 2007 version and the 2007-2008 version are almost exactly identical.

It's too bad there isn't an AP practice book filled with practice activities and with no explanation about the test, no vocabulary lists, no wasted pages - just practice. 100 dialogs, 100 reading selections, etc. Now that would be a real practice book.

I was just reading the previous review, and he is right. This book is just frustrating and demoralizing. First of all, the reading section in this book is nothing like it on the real AP test; the real AP test reading selections are actually quite easier. The listening selections were somewhat helpful for the AP test... the actual clips were probably just as hard to understand as these were. Other than that, this book was of no help for me for the AP test. Because of this, I thought I would earn a 3, when in fact I earned a 5. I would highly recommend the NEWEST VERSION of AP Spanish: Preparing for the Language Examination by Jose Diaz if you want a great grade on the exam. The test was very, very similar to the activities in this book, maybe because Jose Diaz is a table leader at the AP Spanish readings. If you purchase Diaz's workbook, make sure to buy the audio CDs and answer key seperately if your teacher does not use it as a supplement in class like mine did.

Of many books I have read on the misdeeds and mistakes of the Bush Administration in Iraq, Afghanistan, and the War on Terror generally, this is the best. Its impact sinks in page after page, horrific detail after horrific detail.

Jane Mayer has written a well-documented analysis of how the White House succumbed to the sociology of groupthink and pretty much froze out those who disagreed with or questioned the wisdom of allowing torture under any name.

There are a lot of books about the machinations of the White House available, but I think this one is the best.

While this book does not mince words, about the horrific tactics that our government has done, I found it informative but tedious. The public must be informed but the main objective I think is to "vote the rascals out!"

(From a conversation with the author on a local radio call-in program)
Somehow, i endured to the end of this frightening book. It frightened me in ways i didn't know i could be frightened. I found your vignettes well-supported and the story they tell, coherent and overwhelming. They are even more overwhelming when read as a whole than as a series of episodes.

By the time I got to the bottom of page 274, and read that Ramzi Kassem, whom you describe as having taught at Yale Law School, had reported that his Yemeni client "told him that during his incarceration in the Dark Prison [which you report as being near Kabul Airport] he had attempted suicide three tines by ramming his head into the walls..." By that point, knowing that I still had 60 nightmarish pages to finish, i found myself considering beating my own head with the book, so i wouldn't have to read them.

I have three questions. First, how have you defended "The Dark Side" against people who continue to support what i'd term Cheney/Bush's "security über allez" irrespective of constitutionality approach? Second, have you faced charges that you are merely "swiftboating" Cheney/Bush; if so, how would you defend yourself? I ask these questions so that i might better help you defended your book when people around me question your work. [The author answered that not a single claim had been challenged by anyone involved, or by any agent of the government,]

Finally, in view of Dan Levin's 'magic footnote' (my term) which stated that "nothing that the [US} government had previously authorized would be considered criminal under [Levin's] new interpretation of the law" (page 306, bottom), do you, Ms. Mayer foresee any possibility of criminal charges being brought against either Cheney or Bush under US laws? ... or War Crime charges being brought at the World Court? Is it possible that any of the Principles Group cold be arrested under international law, as General Pinochet was in England? [The author responded that this was unlikely to happen in the US,, but more likely to happen in another country---so, I say, let's start up a Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld international travel fund!]

Thank you for writing this truly troubling book.

If you truly love your country, you must read this book. I have to be honest, because I love my country, because the ideals of this nation are so important, because due process and the rule of law are what separate us from our enemies, I felt incredible sadness, even shame as an American, reading this book. Still, it must be read, and it should be read by everyone planning to vote in November. Quite simply, Bush, Cheney, Addington, Yoo and others betrayed this nation and, I believe, should be brought up on war crime charges. And, if you think I'm just another liberal, you're wrong. I supported the first President Bush and John McCain in 2000, and I honor of memory and legacy of Ronald Reagan.

The truth is never easy to accept, but it must come out. We should always remember John 8:32.

I got the whole "Lord of the Rings" trilogy for my husband woh loved the movies. He has truly enjoyed listening to the audiobooks and so have I. The reader is excellent and provide different voices for each character. I would compare the reader to Stephen Fry of the UK version for the Harry Potter audiobooks. These books were definatly worth the money.

The third book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy (which was never meant by Tolkien to be a trilogy, but three separate books seem a lot more manageable than one 1008-page volume). I liked this one better than the second book, but not as much as the first. I thought that, like in the second book, the way Tolkien divided the narrative was weird. Rather than switching back and forth between two simultaneous stories, he tells all of one, then all of the other. Still, that's a little nit-pick for an epic of this magnitude. I'm not sure if The Lord of the Rings as a whole would make my personal top 10 list, but it definitely deserves a spot among the greatest novels ever written, if not for the writing then for the sheer imagination and ambition of the project. I've never read a book that so convincingly creates an entire world. It's no wonder this is considered to be the definitive fantasy. There were times when I wanted to live in Middle Earth and other times when I set the book down and felt like I had been in Middle Earth for a while. An incredible escape, and well worth the time it takes to read it.

I won't go into what Lord of the Rings is all about. If you're looking at this book you probably already know. Instead I'll tell you about the version you are looking at. This publication has a wonderful, classic feel to it. Map in the back which provides detail of Rohan and Gondor. The cover slip is great. Wonderful artwork. I purchased this version because it doesn't have the movie art work all over it. Remember, it was a book before a movie. If you're going to read the book, leave the movie behind. The Return of the King also has the Appendices and has a quality hard binding. I would recommend this version (any of three books) to anyone who wants the real Lord of the Rings experience.

I listen to a lot of books on tape. Every once in a while I come across a narrator who is perfectly suited to the work. I don't mean a narrarator who has a good voice, I mean a narrator whose voice brings the story alive. Rob Inglis is such a narrator in all three books in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Each character is clearly identifiable by his uncanny ability produce dozens of distinct voices. I've listened to other audio versions of Tolkien's works. Those narrarated by Rob Inglis are the only ones that I've found worth the purchase.

While Tolkien's epic has its obvious flaws : the blatant racism,
simplistic politics and superiority of Westerners he beats you over the
head with, the wonderful setting is not to be denied.

Pitched battle as decoy is not too bad a stunt either, as they try and given Sam and Frodo more time to destroy the One Ring.

After this, the repercussions of this war for Middle-Earth are felt closer to home for the four fuzzy short guys.