“Divulian”?

One of the narrators was a distracting amateur. Would pause as though end of sentence when it was just a comma, breaking up the thought. But the worst was that he consistently said “divulian” or “antidivulian” when the actual word is DILUVIAN or ANTIDILUVIAN. In a nonfiction historical work, this does serious damage to credibility.

16 people found this helpful

Great material, terrible performance

Why everyone gives the performance 5 stars is beyond me. In sections 1-3, the reader takes long pauses at every comma. I hear a sentence, think its over, and then the reader finishes the sentence. Its extremely annoying.

In section 4, there is a different reader but he reads as if his audience is children. He is a little too slow, and his attempts at reading with "emotion" and emphasis fail. That is extremely annoying.

I am about ready to return this audio book and buy the printed book. The material is great, the reading of the material ruins it.

Update: I returned it, can't stand the presentation.

12 people found this helpful

Dont buy this!

A lot of questionable claims such as humans at the same time as Lucy??? The narration is not the best. Lastly a lot of the good reviews appear fake as they are written by accounts who review the same books. It would be an awesome book if it were based on science fact, however the author disregards known evidence and says things like, democracy was invented in ancient Mesopotamia. These constant unfounded outrageous claims made me return this. If your looking for knowledge based on evidence then look elsewhere. I have never written a review before but this book is that uninspiring.

7 people found this helpful

Don’t Waste Your Money

I tried to listen to part one, but the narrator did an exceptionally poor job. Multiple mispronunciations and halting speech set my teeth on edge. In his fractured and disjointed words he made my favorite subject atrocious. This book is really simplistic and offers no new information. It’s not even enjoyable.

6 people found this helpful

Don't bother with this one!

This was the most boring book among the hundreds I've listened to. Only the terrible mispronunciations of the narrators roused me from my near stupor. Imagine someone reading seven Cliff's Notes in monotone and you will come close to this 21+ hour listening experience. The final book (the Persian Empire) was a bit better, but it, too, included endless lists of kings, satraps and miscellaneous rulers and of warfare in long-gone countries whose locations could not be guessed without using an atlas of ancient lands of the Middle East.

3 people found this helpful

Who hired these narrators?

I listen to a lot of audiobooks, and really, this is the absolute worst narrated one I've EVER heard. First narrator can't pronounce basic English words, never mind historical terms. It is incredibly distracting. Second narrator seems to think he is reading a fairy tale to a four year old, with all his ACTING skills on full display. Sadly, the material is interesting but it is only tolerable for very short periods of time. Feels like there is zero direction or oversight, and these guys are trying out a new job which really isn't for them. The history may be captivating but this audiobook is not....

3 people found this helpful

Bare bones and strange.

This book is needlessly pompous spending a couple paragraphs to explain why various types of people could be interested the book's subject. The authors provide some very basic information in sweeping generalizations without explaining or identifying the archeological underpinnings of the information they are providing. They also make some very strange side notes, for instance, they explain that while it may seem like Gilgamesh was a pan sexual who regularly slept with his male best friend we can rest assured that he is as hetero as they come and the Sumerians just like to exaggerate about the gay stuff. Also, they suggest the Out of Africa theory is in question because of findings in Europe but leave it for another day.

2 people found this helpful

No depth, poorly written

Sounds like it was written by 5th graders who happen to know a lot of facts about Mesopotamia. Lacks depth of analysis. Also lots of mispronunciation and poor editing

1 person found this helpful

Returning this one

High school level at best.

Abysmal performance. Numerous mispronunciations of even common English words.

Avoid.

Dreadful American accent for foreign words

I don’t recommend this book for listening as the voice is unclear especially on words not familiar in English. The historical content is excellent but the narration annoying