Grits
- 94
- reviews
- 179
- helpful votes
- 1,236
- ratings
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The Templars
- The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,861
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,490
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,473
In 1307, as they struggled to secure their last strongholds in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Templars fell afoul of the vindictive and impulsive king of France. On Friday, October 13, hundreds of brothers were arrested en masse, imprisoned, tortured, and disbanded amid accusations of lurid sexual misconduct and heresy. They were tried by the Vatican in secret proceedings. But were they heretics or victims of a ruthlessly repressive state?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Unexpected
- By Protogere on 10-30-17
- The Templars
- The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
Too Detailled for Audio
Reviewed: 12-13-17
This would be a good reference book. Too much detail for listening.
The peripheral information included in the text has many diamonds of information. Anyone who likes trivia will love it. For example: Where does the name "Rambo" come from?
If you have an interest in Medieval history or in the Knights Templar themselves, this book is a treasure chest.
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The Spanish-American War
- By: Joseph Stromberg
- Narrated by: George C. Scott
- Length: 1 hr and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 148
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 132
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 130
In 1895 Cuba began its struggle for independence from Spain - a struggle that resulted in a demand for US involvement. This demand gained intensity when the USS Maine inexplicably sank in a Havana harbor in 1898. Tensions between the two nations rose as the United States continued to insist that Spain grant Cuba its independence and withdraw forces from the island. On April 24, 1898, Spain declared war on the United States. Due to an utter lack of preparedness on Spain’s part, the war was decidedly one-sided.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A "SPLENDID LITTLE WAR" SO WELL TOLD
- By Grits on 08-01-17
- The Spanish-American War
- By: Joseph Stromberg
- Narrated by: George C. Scott
A "SPLENDID LITTLE WAR" SO WELL TOLD
Reviewed: 08-01-17
This is a combination of George C. Scott as a superlative military speaker plus an author who does not waste time or words, but gets on with the story as a war correspondent might. This is The Best story and The Most Comprehensive that I have ever read on the Spanish American War and all the little idiosyncrasies that accompany it. Any American History teacher should treat this book like a military man would treat a rare steak: Eat it up!
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4 people found this helpful
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The Shack
- By: William P. Young
- Narrated by: Roger Mueller
- Length: 9 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 11,955
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 10,598
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 10,625
Mackenzie Allen Phillips' youngest daughter, Missy, has been abducted during a family vacation, and evidence that she may have been brutally murdered is found in an abandoned shack deep in the Oregon wilderness. Four years later, in this midst of his great sadness, Mack receives a suspicious note, apparently from God, inviting him back to that shack for a weekend. Against his better judgment he arrives at the shack one wintry afternoon and walks back into his darkest nightmare. What he finds there will change his life forever.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Soul Changing
- By LucySue on 12-30-16
- The Shack
- By: William P. Young
- Narrated by: Roger Mueller
Just Awful Book
Reviewed: 07-11-17
I have read a lot of worse books but not recently. When I finished this book -- yes, dumb me read it all -- I knew I had been infiltrated by "The Good Squad" of the southern evangelical convention's children's section of preferred reading.
Just an awful book.
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7 people found this helpful
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Custer's Trials
- A Life on the Frontier of a New America
- By: T.J. Stiles
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 23 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 503
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 456
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 456
Winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for History. In this magisterial biography, T. J. Stiles paints a portrait of Custer both deeply personal and sweeping in scope, proving how much of Custer’s legacy has been ignored. He demolishes Custer’s historical caricature, revealing a volatile, contradictory, intense person - capable yet insecure, intelligent yet bigoted, passionate yet self-destructive, a romantic individualist at odds with the institution of the military (he was court-martialed twice in six years).
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4 out of 5 stars
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Custer and his times
- By Mike From Mesa on 11-17-15
- Custer's Trials
- A Life on the Frontier of a New America
- By: T.J. Stiles
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
Fantastic!
Reviewed: 06-23-16
I thought I might gain a little bit of of knowledge about Custer, believing that I already knew Custer well. I was so wrong. I did not know as much as I thought I knew, and most of what I thought I knew was wrong.
The author has done an incredible job of telling the reader about the man who was Custer and about the people around Custer and the world that Custer lived in. Most importantly, he put the reader into Custer's head and heart and considered the times that Custer faced and who and what made Custer who he was, beyond only being a brave man.
If you like the whole period of American History around the Civil War and the first American depression, then you must read this book.
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12 people found this helpful
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A. Lincoln
- A Biography
- By: Ronald C. White Jr.
- Narrated by: Bill Weideman
- Length: 27 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 867
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 647
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 647
In this important new biography, Ronald C. White, Jr. offers a fresh and fascinating definition of Lincoln as a man of integrity - what today's commentators are calling "authenticity" - whose internal moral compass is the key to understanding his life. Through meticulous research, utilizing recently discovered Lincoln letters, legal papers, and photographs, White depicts Lincoln as a person of intellectual curiosity, comfortable with ambiguity, and capable of changing his mind.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Insight into Lincoln
- By Julieann on 02-17-10
- A. Lincoln
- A Biography
- By: Ronald C. White Jr.
- Narrated by: Bill Weideman
Outstanding
Reviewed: 06-01-16
5 stars all around! This is the best thing I have ever read about our sixteenth president. History is presented in a fresh and exciting way. The depth of research is so noticeable and the work so revealing. I will read this book a second time. This is a must read.
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1 person found this helpful
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The Death of Caesar
- The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination
- By: Barry Strauss
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 227
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 203
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 202
William Shakespeare's gripping play showed Caesar's assassination to be an amateur and idealistic affair. The real killing, however, was a carefully planned paramilitary operation, a generals' plot put together by Caesar's disaffected officers and designed with precision. Brutus and Cassius were indeed key players, but they had the help of a third man - Decimus. He was the mole in Caesar's entourage, one of Caesar's leading generals, and a lifelong friend.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Absorbing
- By Jean on 03-24-15
- The Death of Caesar
- The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination
- By: Barry Strauss
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
Just . . . Great!
Reviewed: 06-01-16
Great history lesson. If all history was so well written, history would be the most popular major in colleges across the land.
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1 person found this helpful
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Orphan X
- Evan Smoak, Book 1
- By: Gregg Hurwitz
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 25,111
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23,002
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 22,934
Evan Smoak is a man with skills, resources, and a personal mission to help those with nowhere else to turn. He’s also a man with a dangerous past. Chosen as a child, he was raised and trained as an Orphan, an off-the-books black box program designed to create the perfect deniable intelligence asset: An assassin. Evan was Orphan X - until he broke with the program and used everything he learned to disappear. But now someone is on his tail.
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4 out of 5 stars
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An Excellent Distraction
- By A. Musser on 06-03-16
- Orphan X
- Evan Smoak, Book 1
- By: Gregg Hurwitz
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
Fun Fantasy
Reviewed: 06-01-16
This is a book that tries the mind for realism, but it is so exciting and fun that the fantasy can be forgotten.
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Artemis
- Thomas Kydd, Book 2
- By: Julian Stockwin
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 268
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 248
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 245
This second naval adventure follows the life of Thomas Paine Kydd who sails into Portsmouth a hero after a ferocious battle against the French. Soon the sea beckons and Kydd sets off aboard his beloved Artemis for another adventure.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A 1790s sailors view of China
- By Jean on 12-08-14
- Artemis
- Thomas Kydd, Book 2
- By: Julian Stockwin
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
A Fine Sea Tale
Reviewed: 06-01-16
This is a fine sea tale and a good read, but not up to snuff on sailing or details of ship work. The story is excellent however, and if sea stories are your bag, read it.
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Black Cherry Blues
- By: James Lee Burke
- Narrated by: Mark Hammer
- Length: 12 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,403
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,950
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,932
Dave Robicheaux had begun to put the pieces of his broken life together again when an old friend turned up on his doorstep, dredging up old memories and new threats.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fantastic
- By Geoff Rea on 12-15-08
- Black Cherry Blues
- By: James Lee Burke
- Narrated by: Mark Hammer
Best Dave Robicheaux Book Yet
Reviewed: 06-01-16
This is the best Dave Robicheaux novel of them all. Mark Hammer is a good reader but not the best. The story, however, is a real nail biter and gut-puller. Just darned good!
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Earth Moved
- On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms
- By: Amy Stewart
- Narrated by: Heather Henderson
- Length: 6 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,210
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,074
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,063
They destroy plant diseases. They break down toxins. They plough the earth. They transform forests. They’ve survived two mass extinctions, including the one that wiped out the dinosaur. Not bad for a creature that’s deaf, blind, and spineless. Who knew that earthworms were one of our planet’s most important caretakers? Or that Charles Darwin devoted his last years to studying their remarkable achievements?
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4 out of 5 stars
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I bow down to our benevolent worm overlords
- By Kirstin on 04-17-14
- Earth Moved
- On the Remarkable Achievements of Earthworms
- By: Amy Stewart
- Narrated by: Heather Henderson
Glad I got it
Reviewed: 06-01-16
This is a truly remarkable book about a most common subject. A fun and very informative read. Thank you.
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2 people found this helpful