Audiobook Review: The Witches by Stacy Schiff

The Witches: Salem, 1692 by Stacy Schiff

Unabridged, 18 hr. 22 min.

Hachette Audio

Eliza Foss (Narrator)

October 27, 2015

★★★☆☆

 

Genre: Non-Fiction

Source: Downloaded from Audible

The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Cleopatra, the #1 national bestseller, unpacks the mystery of the Salem Witch Trials.

It began in 1692, over an exceptionally raw Massachusetts winter, when a minister's daughter began to scream and convulse. It ended less than a year later, but not before 19 men and women had been hanged and an elderly man crushed to death.

The panic spread quickly, involving the most educated men and prominent politicians in the colony. Neighbors accused neighbors, parents and children each other. Aside from suffrage, the Salem Witch Trials represent the only moment when women played the central role in American history. In curious ways, the trials would shape the future republic.

As psychologically thrilling as it is historically seminal, THE WITCHES is Stacy Schiff's account of this fantastical story-the first great American mystery unveiled fully for the first time by one of our most acclaimed historians.

I’ve held off writing this review for a little while because I really wanted to love this book. So much has been made of Schiff’s Cleopatra and that the Salem Witch Trials took place on my home turf, I was extremely excited to read this one and see what light Schiff could shine on those dark days. In some ways, she did just that, but at the same time made it less accessible to readers.

There are a plethora of books that have been written about the Salem Witch Trials, it’s not a new and unique subject, but Schiff brings an all-encompassing approach to this history. Her strength is that she doesn’t just focus on the key witches and accusers, but looks at a wide range of players, the intricacies of the witch trials, the backstory of the Salem region, Cotton & Increase Mather, and the families whose lives were torn apart during this time. You can get a true sense of how expansive this event was for the region. One angle that I thought was unique to The Witches was the focus and depth of coverage on the Mathers, Increase and Cotton. Both were extremely integral to the trials and I think that a discussion on them brings a lot to the complete understanding of how the events unfolded.

That being said however, there is such a thing as too much detail. While this is a bit of exaggeration, it felt like Schiff covered every witch trial in excruciating detail. There is a reason most books on the subject focus on the big names; they are the most interesting! Many of the trials covered were, quite frankly, extremely boring and I found myself tuning out; the names blended together and I lost interest and didn’t pick it back up for days. The other area that I believe suffered from too much attention was the Mathers. The detail just bogged down the forward progression of the book, there was just too much to digest it all. Even if you were working on a dissertation I think you would quickly lose interest in this book.

I really can’t recommend this book to my everyday reader friends – I struggled through the whole thing and really would have put it down earlier if I hadn’t been listening to it on audio. If you are going to be writing on the time period, the witch trials, or some of the names, then you might find this book helpful.

★★★½☆☆

I tend to prefer to read non-fiction books on audio because a narrator can help bypass some of the density of fact bombs. While the narrator was very good here, even she couldn’t help too much in getting through the slog of details here. I would listen to this narrator again, don’t get me wrong there – I liked her voice and the way she read, it was just dense reading.

You can listen to a sample of the audio production here:

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Doing Dewey
  

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

You can watch/listen to a discussion of this book with the author as part of CSPAN's BookTV segment.

Also by Stacy Schiff:

Cleopatra: A Life

Vera: Mrs. Vladimir Nabokov

Saint-Exupery: A Biography

A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America

 
Find Stacy Schiff: Website | Facebook | Twitter

Find Eliza Foss: Website |

 
 


Copyright © 2016 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Wilson by A. Scott Berg

Wilson by A. Scott Berg
Unabridged, 32 hr. 29 min.
Simon & Schuster Audio
Jeremy Bobb (Narrator)
September 10, 2013
★★★★☆

Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography

Source: Received from Publisher for Review as Part of Audiobook Jukebox Solid Gold Reviewer Program

“One hundred years after his inauguration, Woodrow Wilson still stands as one of the most influential figures of the twentieth century, and one of the most enigmatic. And now, after more than a decade of research and writing, Pulitzer Prize-winning author A. Scott Berg has completed Wilson--the most personal and penetrating biography ever written about the 28th President.

In addition to the hundreds of thousands of documents in the Wilson Archives, Berg was the first biographer to gain access to two recently-discovered caches of papers belonging to those close to Wilson. From this material, Berg was able to add countless details--even several unknown events--that fill in missing pieces of Wilson’s character and cast new light on his entire life.

From the scholar-President who ushered the country through its first great world war to the man of intense passion and turbulence , from the idealist determined to make the world “safe for democracy” to the stroke-crippled leader whose incapacity and the subterfuges around it were among the century’s greatest secrets, the result is an intimate portrait written with a particularly contemporary point of view – a book at once magisterial and deeply emotional about the whole of Wilson’s life, accomplishments, and failings. This is not just Wilson the icon – but Wilson the man.”

The period of time in which Wilson was President is a time I was not all that familiar with and I knew even less about this President. Surprisingly I did know about his stroke while in office and how integral his wife, Edith, was at keeping his illness a secret. When I saw this title available for review, I knew that I had to take advantage to learn more about this remarkable man.

The book covered Wilson’s life from childhood through death, with intense focus on his time as President of Princeton and as President. Both of these periods were very interesting. I’m glad that the author spent ample time discussing his Princeton time period; it gave a precursor view of what he might be like as US president. The time he spent overseas while working on the peace to end WWI was fascinating and most interesting was seeing just what he was up against while trying to obtain a reasonable peace. As mentioned above, I knew that Wilson suffered a stroke while in office. His medical history was indeed discussed throughout the book creating a build-up of understanding that lead up to his stroke and the drama surrounding how that was handled while he was in office.

With regard to both of Wilson’s wives, I feel that Berg spent enough time introducing the reader to both of them and showing how they affected Wilson’s life/decisions. Ellen was his support structure in getting him through Princeton and into the White House, while Edith was his support in the White House and during his illness.

There was only one aspect that I found a little jarring while reading this book and that was the first chapter. This wasn’t titled as an introduction, it was titled Ascension, but it somewhat served as one. It jumped right in to a period where Wilson was President of the US and already married to his second wife. I found it confusing as to where we were or placing it chronologically. The second chapter however begins back with the early life of Wilson – so in essence I just forgot about the first chapter and moved on. It would have been better titled as an introduction or without the chapter all together.

Overall this book certainly covers all the necessary aspects to get an excellent understanding of Woodrow Wilson as both a man and the President. Are there areas that could be explored further? Yes; but for the average person who wants to understand that time period and this President, I think it served its purpose.

★★★★☆

The narrator of this book did an admirable job narrating this non-fiction work. I find that non-fiction can be a very tough book type to turn into an audiobook production. While he didn’t need to voice different characters, he still kept the book flowing without causing the reader to fall asleep.

Author A. Scott Berg also has written Kate Remembered, Lindbergh, Goldwyn, and Max Perkins. You can visit Berg’s website for additional information about the book. If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

Berg’s website also includes some great additional reference material such as timelines, audio clips of speeches, and photos.

You can watch this video clip of the author, A. Scott Berg, speaking about his book:

My reviews of other books by this author:

• Lindbergh

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• The Oligarch Kings
• Booking Mama

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

 

Copyright © 2014 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America by Walter Borneman

Polk: The Man Who Transformed the Presidency and America
by Walter R. Borneman
Unabridged, 13 hr. 13 min.
Recorded Books
Alan Nebelthau (Narrator)
April 8, 2008
★★★★☆

Genre: Non-Fiction, Biography

Source: Borrowed audiobook from my library

“In Polk, Walter R. Borneman gives us the first complete and authoritative biography of a president often overshadowed in image but seldom outdone in accomplishment. James K. Polk occupied the White House for only four years, from 1845 to 1849, but he plotted and attained a formidable agenda: He fought for and won tariff reductions, reestablished an independent Treasury, and, most notably, brought Texas into the Union, bluffed Great Britain out of the lion’s share of Oregon, and wrested California and much of the Southwest from Mexico. On reflection, these successes seem even more impressive, given the contentious political environment of the time.

In this unprecedented, long-overdue warts-and-all look at Polk’s life and career, we have a portrait of an expansionist president and decisive statesman who redefined the country he led, and we are reminded anew of the true meaning of presidential accomplishment and resolve.”

I must confess that Polk was not someone that I remember learning about in school, but he came to my attention rather recently when doing some research on various First Ladies, and in particular, Sarah Polk. There is also a song my fiancé likes to sing about Polk which keeps him in my mind too, but more on that later this week. So as I endeavored to read about all the presidents, and I was organizing who I wanted to read about, I put Polk toward the top of my list.

I can’t even begin to explain how much this book taught me – not only about Polk himself and his method of politics, but the mindset of the time and his contemporaries. At times this felt beneficial and other times completely overwhelming. The author spends ample time on the political atmosphere surrounding all the presidents from John Quincy Adams up through Polk, giving the reader a solid understanding of just what Polk was walking into as President. The author also had a good source of insight into the President as Polk kept a diary of the days in office. Central to understanding many of Polk’s decisions is understanding the politics of Andrew Jackson, Polk’s political mentor. I do somewhat think that the author needed to bulk up the narrative a little bit seeing as Polk dies within 6 months of leaving office; there was less physical time that needed to be told about his life.

Whether I agree with Polk’s political philosophy or not (which isn’t the issue here), I admit that I admire the man for the fact that he campaigned on a platform, succeeded on making those 4 platform issues happen during his presidential term, and then decided not to run again because he did everything he felt his duty called him for. That is something the majority of the other presidents cannot say.

With regard to time spent on the First Lady, I have to give some kudos to the author. From what I know there is only one, very short, biography on Sarah Polk, so he didn’t have much to work with here – but he covered what I consider to be all of the important points and paints her as important to the President.

★★★★☆

I thought that the narrator did a commendable job with this book. The most important thing in my opinion about narrating a non-fiction is to not let it feel boring with all of the facts. Nebelthau keep it interesting and has a great speaking voice.

Author Walter Borneman also has written several other books including: The Admirals: Nimitz, Halsey, Leahy, and King—the Five-Star Admirals Who Won the War at Sea, 1812: The War That Forged a Nation, The French and Indian War: Deciding the Fate of North America, Alaska: Saga of a Bold Land, and Rival Rails: The Race to Build America's Greatest Transcontinental Railroad. You can visit the author’s website for additional information about the book.

You can also watch a discussion with the author about this book – it was a feature on Book TV in 2008 (it wasn’t embeddable so you will have to go to the Book TV link).

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Practically Historical
• The Skoalarian

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: Lincoln by David Herbert Donald

Lincoln by David Herbert Donald
Unabridged, 30 hr. 27 min.
Simon & Schuster Audio
Dick Estell (Narrator)
November 7, 2012
★★★½☆☆

Genre: Non-Fiction, Presidential Biography

Source: Received from publisher for review

“David Herbert Donald's Lincoln is a stunningly original portrait of Lincoln's life and presidency. Donald brilliantly depicts Lincoln's gradual ascent from humble beginnings in rural Kentucky to the ever- expanding political circles in Illinois, and finally to the presidency of a country divided by civil war. Donald goes beyond biography, illuminating the gradual development of Lincoln's character, chronicling his tremendous capacity for evolution and growth, thus illustrating what made it possible for a man so inexperienced and so unprepared for the presidency to become a great moral leader. In the most troubled of times, here was a man who led the country out of slavery and preserved a shattered Union -- in short, one of the greatest presidents this country has ever seen.”

I have to admit that I wasn’t planning to read about Lincoln until much later in my challenge mostly because there are SO many books about him available. You have books that cover his entire life as well as those that are focused on a smaller segment of his life. I know some things about him (as most people do) – so where to start? As luck would have it, Simon and Schuster contacted me with the offer to review Lincoln by David Herbert Donald on audiobook, so I jumped at the chance and the decision was made.

I really appreciate the approach that Donald took when writing this book. In the introduction he lays out the following: “In tracing the life of Abraham Lincoln, I have asked at every stage of his career what he knew when he had to take critical actions, how he evaluated the evidence before him, and why he reached his decisions. It is, then, a biography written from Lincoln’s point of view, using the information and ideas that were available to him. It seeks to explain rather than judge” (preface). He really seeks to keep the focus on Lincoln himself and not get tied up in all of the turmoil that was going on around him – which is something that other books tend to do. You won’t really find tangents on the specific battle of the Civil War here, unless it was something important to what Lincoln did or where he went.

The bulk of the book (and it certainly is a chunkster, with a page count of 720 pages and over 30 hours of audio) focuses on the time prior to the presidency – particularly his time as a lawyer in Illinois. While I appreciated understanding where Lincoln came from and how he grew in popularity to even become president sometimes I thought this section was a little too in-depth. The author went on to talk about the specifics of almost every case that Lincoln tried. I didn’t need these details. I think it would have been more effective to choose a few of the cases that were most important to some aspect on Lincoln’s development and focus on those. It got to a point where it was an endless list.

I appreciated learning about the relationship between Abraham and Mary – it made her a real person. Typically we see Mary following Lincoln’s death as a grieving widow, but Donald makes her a complex creature. It was also eye-opening to learn that most of the other politicians of the time period thought that Lincoln was doing a terrible job as president and that he almost wasn’t re-nominated for a second term. He is typically viewed as the greatest of our presidents by the modern American public. It makes me wonder how more recent presidents will be viewed once we are further removed from their term of office. If this book does one thing, it really gets you into Lincoln’s head which is a great feat since he kept his own mind most of the time.

I would recommend this book for someone looking for a complete life of Lincoln. However, be aware that the book ends almost immediately following the assassination, so do not expect an analysis of that issue.

★★★★☆

The audio narration was overall very well done. I thought that the narrator kept my attention throughout the book. My only complaint would be with regard to the production. There would be times where I was listening and the voice would seemingly change. I think, if this was done intentionally, it was to denote the reading of a footnote so as to help the listener differentiate from the text. Whatever the case, I found it to be a little jarring. I would have preferred if they were reading a footnote to say something like “footnote: blah, blah, blah”.

David Herbert Donald also has written several books about Lincoln and his times, including: We Are Lincoln’s Men: Abraham Lincoln and His Friends and Lincoln At Home: Two Glimpses of Abraham Lincoln’s Family Life. You can listen to an excerpt of the audiobook here.

Below is a segment from Book TV with David Herbert Donald discussing his book, Lincoln. This interview was a few months before his death in 2009.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Life is Short Read Fast
• Occam’s Razor

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court

Video Clip - Book Talk with Candice Millard

I wanted to share this video with you.  This is a full-length segment of CSPAN's Book TV with Candice Millard - author of Destiny of the Republic about President James A. Garfield.  She speaks at the James A. Garfield Historic Site about the book and the man.  I encourage you to watch this segment (it's 54 minutes long) and learn something about this great man.

I had intended to write a post today about his surprise election - however I found this video which does talk about his election in a much more eloquent manner and provides additional information about the man.

It doesn't allow embedding, so here is the link.  Hope you enjoy it!




Copyright © 2012 by The Maiden’s Court