A Perfect Balance
I usually don't listen to histories. I like reading them. Dates and names need to be checked again, pages already read need to be flipped through and reexamined and let's face it: writing of a more scholarly bent goes down better on paper than on MP3. But I bought J Q Adams on sale, on a whim and I'm glad I did. Unger's style is perfect for audio: not so detailed and scholarly as to defy easy listening, nor so simple and straightforward as to defy the sand man. Unger keeps his narrative moving at a good pace, never lingering over the details too long, (something of a feat in a book that covers things like the Yazoo Land Fraud) yet always finding quotes that bring his cast of characters to life in your earbuds. And Johnny Heller, who I last heard reading a classic Noir thriller, does it all more than justice. True, I probably would never have read this book. But while I'm mowing the lawn or cleaning the kitchen or riding the train to work, I love listening to it. You probably will, too.