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possiblytheworstbookreviewer's review
I just didn't feel like I was getting as much history from the book as I wanted.
momoney_moproblems's review against another edition
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
My expectations for Dan Carlin are always high because he always delivers. The writing in The End is Always near is so clever, and his little snide remarks always make me chuckle.
I traipsed across history with Dan, and learned about ancient empires that fell so long ago they barely registered as a footnote in my public school history education. The sheer amount of human ingenuity that has been wiped away with pestilence and war has left me feeling frustrated - there are so many mysteries that will never be solved, or even known to those of us lucky enough to be alive today.
I didn’t enjoy the atomic age portion as much as I thought I would. And maybe that’s because I already listened to his hardcore history episode on the atomic age, maybe it’s because Oppenheimer just came out, maybe it’s because I just got so sick of hearing about mass destruction at a certain point.
I loved that he threw in the Fermi Paradox in at the afterword. Dan’s nod to the puzzle of our planet’s isolation left me equal parts unnerved and optimistic.
I would definitely recommend reading this book, unless you are overly anxious about the world ending.
I traipsed across history with Dan, and learned about ancient empires that fell so long ago they barely registered as a footnote in my public school history education. The sheer amount of human ingenuity that has been wiped away with pestilence and war has left me feeling frustrated - there are so many mysteries that will never be solved, or even known to those of us lucky enough to be alive today.
I didn’t enjoy the atomic age portion as much as I thought I would. And maybe that’s because I already listened to his hardcore history episode on the atomic age, maybe it’s because Oppenheimer just came out, maybe it’s because I just got so sick of hearing about mass destruction at a certain point.
I loved that he threw in the Fermi Paradox in at the afterword. Dan’s nod to the puzzle of our planet’s isolation left me equal parts unnerved and optimistic.
I would definitely recommend reading this book, unless you are overly anxious about the world ending.
arkaycee's review
adventurous
dark
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
4.5
If you like the Dan Carlin's Hardcore History podcast, I highly recommend you get hold of this in audiobook format -- Carlin reads it, and it really feels like several of his podcasts strung together, though with a bit more philosophy about human tendencies, and how humanity is impacted going through crises (for instance, what is "toughness" and does a generation that goes through hardships become "tougher"?)
lucita_knjige's review
4.0
4.5
Listening to this during a pandemic, that's what I call emotional parkour.
This book is about historical events that the contemporaries would describe as apocalyptic and it's nicely divided into chapters based on historical period or a potential cause of the end of the world (i. e. wars vs plagues).
Quote that stuck with me is (paraphrased) that the Four Horsemen rarely ride alone.
Sooooo, WW3 coming soon, I guess?
Listening to this during a pandemic, that's what I call emotional parkour.
This book is about historical events that the contemporaries would describe as apocalyptic and it's nicely divided into chapters based on historical period or a potential cause of the end of the world (i. e. wars vs plagues).
Quote that stuck with me is (paraphrased) that the Four Horsemen rarely ride alone.
Sooooo, WW3 coming soon, I guess?
suebrownreads's review
4.0
Dan Carlin is a great storyteller and we enjoy his podcasts regularly. I don't enjoy the BC era as much as who knows if any of that stuff is even true. He also includes all the gory details, so be prepared.
jsmith26365's review against another edition
This was recommended by someone who reads a broad depth of historical texts. Unfortunately it reads like a low budget history channel documentary. This may be more suitable if you've listened to the podcast creator who wrote it, which admittedly I have not. Overall just felt like a surface level examination of bad things that happened throughout history. You'd be better spent reading extensively about the things this book merely highlights and glosses over.