Alexander Hamilton
By Ron Chernow and read by Scott Brick
"Ron Chernow, whom The New York Times has called "as elegant an architect of monumental histories as we've seen in decades," brings to startling life the Founding Father who was the principal designer of the federal government,the patron saint of Wall Street, and the object of both ardent idolatry and vehement loathing by his peers. Alexander Hamilton was arguably the most important figure in American history who never attained the presidency, but he had a far more lasting impact than many who did."

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

Frankly, the printed form of this biography of Alexander Hamilton (and much of the history of the founding of the United States) is simply too darned many pages for anyone but an Evelyn Woods speed reader or a non-glaucoma burdened retiree. If you assume that it is by chance the government of this country birthed the free-est, wealthiest and most powerful people's this planet has ever known, you need to listen carefully to this thirty-six hour audio book. Alexander Hamilton, founder of the Treasury Department, was a Federalist and an outspoken proponent of the same strong central government that is busy stripping Christianity from our public places in this Year of Our Lord 2005. Alexander Hamilton was also an incredibly intelligent, massively educated, moral and hard working gentleman. Speaking of being brilliant, for instance, he was almost denied entry into the university due to his advanced age of approximately nineteen years. Aaron Burr (who in 1804, while holding the post of Vice President of the United States, gut-shot and killed a forty-nine year old Hamilton in a pistol powered duel) had entered the university at the not unusual age of thirteen. According to Mr. Chernow's research, the majority of the Founders of this nation were both intellectuals and devout Christian's. Prior to listening to this book, I wasn't quite certain that this country was founded as a Christian nation and continually protected and blessed by God. Now I am positive.

The Fabric of the Cosmos
By Brian Greene and read by Michael Prichard
"From the author of the Pulitzer Prize finalist THE ELEGANT UNIVERSE comes the widely anticipated new book that unearths the strange and startling layers lying beneath the everyday world - and reality as we know it. In his characteristically witty and accessible prose, Greene explores the nature of space - from Newton's static realm, through Einstein's fusion of space and time, to recent breakthroughs suggesting that ours may be one of many island universes moving through the multi-dimensional fabric of space. We are introduced to the volatile world of quantum physics, paradoxical nature of time - which, according to the laws of physics, does not necessarily need to run in any one particular direction - and made to wonder: is there a unified theory of the universe?"

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

Oh my gawd. I over-extended my normal rental time by at least two weeks. However, I was burdened with no additional charges from the fine folks at Books on Tape. But do not try this at home, because you are not Mr. Wonderful <grin>. Sorry for the folks at Books on Tape (but since I receive no compensation from them, I can be honest) this is not a book that you should listen to. You should wait about another six months, until, say, March of 2005 and then link over to www.hamiltonbook.com and type into the "Title Search" box "Fabric of the Cosmos" and purchase this $28.95 book for around $12.95 or, more likely $9.95. You really need the drawings found only in the printed version to even begin to comprehend what the author is saying. Your Mr.Wonderful is pushing a 176 IQ (or is it 76?) and I found the verbal version of this book very, very hard to follow. If you insist on listening to this particular Book-on-Tape, I strongly suggest that prior to renting and listening, you should purchase The Dancing Wu Li Masters, an easy to read primer on physics. If you find that title intriguing, then quickly rent and listen to this book on tape. I did learn that the idea of generating a worm hole, that rips through time and space, would require more energy than man could ever hope to generate (many times the amount our sun generates over millenia) so worm holes aren't going to happen. Other than that, try picturing eleven different dimensions with the seven of them, in addition to time, width, length and depth, no larger than a Planck Length. And who the hell cares?

Skeletons of the Zahara
By Dean King and read by Michael Prichard
"A journal, comprising an account of the loss of the brig Commerce... upon the western coast of Africa, August 28th, 1815 : also of the slavery and sufferings of the author and the rest of the crew, upon the desert of Zahara." Dean King has combined this first-hand account of human bondage with his own on-the-ground research in Africa to create a compelling and terrifying picture of the crew's hellish trek after they were taken captive by nomadic Arabs. The men were prodded onward, subject to the most alarming privations of food and water, blasted by sun and sand, their feet cut to ribbons on the rocks. That they survived at all is a tribute to human endurance. That some managed to escape is wholly providential.

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

This book relates a greater degree of inhuman treatment by these Muslim nomads of their Christian captives, than the Nazi's abuse of concentration camp confined Jews during World War II. Simply because, as they traveled towards Morocco, these ". . . Christian slaves, Christian dogs . . ." were physically abused, emotionally molested, and often starved of both food and water for every single waking moment for days. Then weeks. Then months. This is an excellent book to begin to grasp an understanding of the incredible, unbelievable, and brutal behavior of many Muslim's, even in the 21st Century, evidence towards Christian's. This book is not for the weak-stomached, because while, "Go drink camel piss!", may be line of cursing in America, for the men of the brig Commerce and often their Arab captors, it was the only drink they knew for weeks. And, although it was sure to be hot, I don't imagine it tasted anything like a Starbucks Frappuccino. I also learned why camels, even though they embody the demeanor of an off-camera Hillary Clinton, are so prized and are so uniquely suited to desert travel. In addition readers get a taste of how monumentally difficult life was (and most likely continues to be) in and around the Sahara deserts of western Africa. Comparing the way these "Christian dogs" were treated against the mostly Muslim prisoner's involved in the Iraqi Abu Gahrib Prison Scandal of 2004, would be similar to teasing a horny bull porcupine with a single Q-Tip.

Raid on the Sun
By Rodger W. Claire read by Michael Prichard
Since the earliest days of his dictatorship, Saddam Hussein had vowed to destroy Israel. So, when France sold Iraq a nuclear reactor in 1975, the Israelis were justifiably concerned. The plant was situated just outside of Baghdad, only 1,100 kilometers from Tel Aviv. Israeli Prime Minister Begin knew he would have to confront its deadly potential. He turned to Israeli Air Force commander General David Ivry to secretly plan a daring surgical air strike on the reactor - a never before contemplated mission that would prove to be one of the most remarkable military operations of all time. Rodger Claire now gives us the full, white-knuckle, story of how Israel plotted the unthinkable: defying its U.S. and European allies to eliminate Iraq's nuclear threat.

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

With the Frog's help, Saddam Hussien's Iraq built the Osirak nuclear facility near Baghdad. The smelly government of France could not resist the fact that Saddam was going to pay $100 for a $50 French designed nuclear reactor. Or was it $100 million? Sadly, the reactor could not produce the weapons grade plutonium Saddam desired, unless the toadies also sold The Butcher of Baghdad 83% enriched atomic fuel. Momentarily growing a spine, apparently made of Brei cheese, France told Iraq they would only ship 50% enriched atomic fuel (which could not be used to manufacture atomic weapons) however, when threatened with a loss of millions of barrels of promised cheap Iraq petroleum (resulting in higher gasoline prices) the leaders of the deodorant-deprived, republic founded in 1792, caved and sent the Muslim's the makings for several Hiroshima sized A-Bombs. The Israeli's, whose gonads are larger than their noses, unilaterally took things into their own hands (thank Jehovah) and in an unexpected and daring raid in 1981 bombed the Osirak nuclear facility flatter than John Kerry's personality.

The Darkest Jungle
By Todd Balf and read by Scott Brick
In the 1850s, the whole world looked to the Darien Gap in eastern Panama as the site for a glorious canal linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. But someone had to survey the land of the Darien Gap. That task fell to the U.S. Darien Exploring Expedition, and what a task it was! Misled by the false maps of a fraudulent earlier "explorer," the expedition was faced with two mountain ranges, damp and brutal heat, swarming mosquitoes and flies, a hostile native population, and a catalog of other hardships. The expedition was soon at the brink of disaster; the men's ordeal of starvation, exhaustion, disease, madness, and ultimate despair as they succumbed to the brutal jungle is one of the great untold tales in the history of exploration.

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

After listening to The Last of the Tin Can Soldiers, Skeletons of the Zahara and In the Heart of the Sea, this book was rather tame. Almost boring. Great cover art though, eh? I was glad to be done with it. However, it did help to keep me awake, behind the wheel of the cruise ship-sized DeVille as I steamed on my June 2004, 1,064 mile voyage from Paradise Valley, Arizona to Fort Worth, Texas.

The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors
By James Hornfischer and read by Barrett Whitener
On the morning of October 25, 1944, a pivotal moment in the history of the Pacific Theater during World War II began: the Battle off Samar. At stake was General Douglas MacArthur's return to the Philippines and the destruction of the Japanese supply lines; in order for this to happen, the Navy would have to clear the way for the landing of American troops. The bulk of the American naval forces, however, had been decoyed to the north of Leyte Gulf by a clever Japanese plan. As a result, the remaining U.S. ships had to stand their ground against the most fearsome ships of the Japanese navy. How could this small flotilla repel the mighty Nipponese and their dread pagoda-topped warships? A miracle happened here.

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

Oh man, oh man. Another tribute to the abuse that man can take. And for those of us not even alive during World War II, this book is a vivid reminder of all the thousands of brave sailors who died to keep us free. Until I listened to this book I never considered exactly what horrors happened to individual sailors during naval combat.

Martin Luther
By Martin Marty and read by Paul Michael
A superb work of intellectual history, this slim volume by one of today's foremost theologians takes you through the mind and times of Europe's firebrand, Martin Luther. Deeply convinced that man and God could have a spiritual relationship unmediated by the pomp, offices, money and power of the Catholic Church, he strove ceaselessly to gain an understanding of how to obtain God's love in a perilous, desperate, and rapidly changing world. With the posting of his famous "95 Theses" on the church door in Wittenburg, he laid down a challenge to the official Church which would end in the vast split known as the Reformation, from which most modern Protestant denominations spring. The questions Luther raised with his characteristic obstinacy still bedevil us in our own time.

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

All Protestant's have Martin Luther to thank for clearing what we believe is the means Jesus intended Man to commune with God. Catholic priest Luther was going up against the Vatican during the era the Pope had a huge and skilled army to do his bidding. Martin Luther spent much of his adult years in fear of losing his life. For those of you, my pastor's wife for instance, who believe that holy men do not engage in gutteral cursing, brace yourself for occasionally very vulgar verse. I also find it quite interesting that Martin Luther visited Rome while Michaelangelo was fresco-ing his eye straining masterpiece.

In the Heart of the Sea
By Nathaniel Philbrick and read by Scott Brick
This is the incredible story of the wreck of the whaleship ESSEX, the inspiration for Melville's great classic, MOBY DICK. In 1820, the ESSEX set sail from Nantucket on a routine voyage for whales. Fifteen months later, in the farthest reaches of the South Pacific, it was rammed and sunk by an eighty-ton bull sperm whale. Its twenty-man crew, fearing cannibals on the islands to the west, made for the 3,000-mile-distant coast of South America in three tiny boats. During ninety days at sea under horrendous conditions, they clung to life and, one by one, succumbed to hunger, thirst, disease, and fear. When eight survivors were retrieved off the coast of Chile, they had sailed almost 4,500 nautical miles across the Pacific.

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

An absolutely stunning listen and a tribute to exactly how much physical torment the human body can handle. This true story is not for the weak of stomach, but is for all of us who've think we've had a horrible day because we were yelled at by a boss, or customer or a spouse.

The Year 1000
By Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger
Read by Grover Gardner
. . . is a vivid and surprising portrait of life in England a thousand years ago. A world that already knew brain surgeons and property developers and, yes, even the occasional gossip columnist. Uncovering such wonderfully unexpected details, authors Robert Lacey and Danny Danziger bring this distant world closer than it has ever been before. How did people survive without sugar? How did monks communicate if they were not allowed to speak? Why was July called "the hungry month"? The Year 1000 answers these questions and reveals such secrets as the recipe for a medieval form of Viagra and a hallucinogenic treat called "crazy bread".

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

Nothing spectacular, but a good book relaying much important information about the first thousand years in England. And now I know how the word "sheriff" evolved.

The Renaissance: A Short History
By Paul Johnson and read by Geoffrey Howard
The Renaissance holds an undying place in our imagination, its great heroes still our own, from Michelangelo and Leonardo to Dante and Chaucer. This period of profound evolution in European thought is credited with transforming the West from medieval to modern and producing the most astonishing outpouring of artistic creation the world has ever known. But what was it? In this masterly work, the incomparable Paul Johnson tells us. He explains the economic, technological, and social developments that provide a backdrop to the age’s achievements and focuses closely on the lives and works of its most important figures. A commanding short narrative of this vital period, The Renaissance is also a universally profound meditation on the wellsprings of innovation.

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

Nothing spectacular, but a good book relaying much important information about The Renaissance. It will certainly make my exploring of Italy much more enjoyable after Hilary comes into office in year 2008 and deports me and all other Conservative Christian's.

Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea:
Why the Greeks Matter
By Thomas Cahill and read by John Lee
The Greeks invented everything from Western warfare to mystical prayer, from logic to statecraft. Many of their achievements, particularly in art and philosophy, are widely celebrated; other important innovations and accomplishments, however, are unknown or underappreciated . . .

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

I imagine author Thomas Cahill would enjoy a massive meat pipe by the fire place; or anywhere else for that matter. And if my comment shocks you, I'd strongly advise you to stay away from this book, wherein you will witness language not seen outside of a pornographic novel or a "Letter's to Penthouse" column. According to Mr. Cahill's telling, virtually anyone and everyone both male and Greek was also a homosexual. This is a common reprise of gay men and I hear it so often that I'm surprised that population control is even an issue. Mr. Lee's excellent, virtuoso, reading of this book does not make up for the fact that probably forty five minutes is spent explicitly detailing the homosexual practices of the Greeks. Adopting the attitude that Mr. Cahill writes in, one might believe that if it were legal for adult males in America to bunghole males under the age of twenty-one, every adult man would have gathered about him a concubine of tight butted young boys to bugger. There are sure to be better books available that describe the incredibly valuable contributions the Greek's have made to our world than Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter.

Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling
By Ross King and read by John Lee
"In 1508, despite strong advice to the contrary, the powerful Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo Buonarroti to paint the ceiling of the newly restored Sistine Chapel in Rome. Four years earlier, at the age of twenty-nine, Michelangelo had unveiled his masterful statue of David in Florence; however, he had little experience as a painter, even less working in the delicate medium of fresco, and none with the challenging curved surfaces of vaults. The temperamental Michelangelo was himself reluctant: He stormed away from Rome, incurring Julius's wrath, before he was eventually persuaded to begin." Michelangelo & the Pope's Ceiling recounts the fascinating story of the four extraordinary years he spent laboring over the twelve thousand square feet of the vast ceiling while the power politics and personal rivalries that abounded in Rome swirled around him . . .

Mr.Wonderful Writes:

A very interesting 8 CD set. Mr. Lee's awesome voice and perfect accents makes for an enjoyable listen. I rent these CD's to listen to during my long drives to and from work and I found myself carrying this BOT into the office to continue listening. Don't imagine that this book is only about Michelangelo Buonarroti's work. It's about wars, the Papacy, Martin Luther, Italian history, mercenary Swiss soldiers, money, sculpture, art, mixing pigments, Raphael and the horrible climate of Rome in the 1500's. If you don't learn at least five fascinating facts while hearing Mr. Lee's pipe organ voice rumble out of your vehicle's speakers you are either a dolt or a scholar.