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katykelly's review against another edition
4.0
Full of information, some silly asides add interest.
Almost a 'Horrible Histories' but for the ear. Only available on Audible, I believe, and the sound effects and narrative asides will probably amuse the children listening (I found them a little annoying).
The stories, though, were great. While I knew the history of Queens Elizabeth and Mary, I hadn't heard the stories of the Adidas/Puma rivalry, or that of the paleontologists and American politicians covered here.
My favourite was the Adidas/Puma story, but each showed a fascinating insight into how feuding can lead to innovation and advances (though not always positive ones).
Each story gives background and complete history of the feud (certainly important when historical - the Elizabeth/Mary segment had fun with Mary/merry/marry wordplay). Each was also accessible enough for a 10 year old to follow.
Only 3 hours in total, I was certainly keen to learn more about some of these stories when finishing, and I believe young people may feel the same too. There are duels here, details about elections, royalty, dinosaurs, a wealth of topics to spark an interest in the true stories of history.
Personally, the silly noises ("Jersey!") didn't add to the listening experience for me, but I'm really not the listener the producers were considering when putting this together. The narrator is clear and speaks with enthusiasm, which is the most important aspect, as there is no written material for a reader to refer back to.
Short but enticing Terry Deary-esque look at historical arguments that made their mark - for ages 9-13.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.
Almost a 'Horrible Histories' but for the ear. Only available on Audible, I believe, and the sound effects and narrative asides will probably amuse the children listening (I found them a little annoying).
The stories, though, were great. While I knew the history of Queens Elizabeth and Mary, I hadn't heard the stories of the Adidas/Puma rivalry, or that of the paleontologists and American politicians covered here.
My favourite was the Adidas/Puma story, but each showed a fascinating insight into how feuding can lead to innovation and advances (though not always positive ones).
Each story gives background and complete history of the feud (certainly important when historical - the Elizabeth/Mary segment had fun with Mary/merry/marry wordplay). Each was also accessible enough for a 10 year old to follow.
Only 3 hours in total, I was certainly keen to learn more about some of these stories when finishing, and I believe young people may feel the same too. There are duels here, details about elections, royalty, dinosaurs, a wealth of topics to spark an interest in the true stories of history.
Personally, the silly noises ("Jersey!") didn't add to the listening experience for me, but I'm really not the listener the producers were considering when putting this together. The narrator is clear and speaks with enthusiasm, which is the most important aspect, as there is no written material for a reader to refer back to.
Short but enticing Terry Deary-esque look at historical arguments that made their mark - for ages 9-13.
With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.
idette_scheepers's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
relaxing
fast-paced
3.5
wombo4combo's review against another edition
funny
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
3.5
richardiporter's review
2.0
Who should listen? People with an audible subscription, time to kill and an interest in paleontology or sneakers or Mary queen of Scott’s and Elizabeth I or Hamilton and Burr.
I skipped the sneaker story shoulda skipped the dinosaur one, and only kinda enjoyed the Mary vs Elizabeth and Hamilton vs Burr.
2 Star reviews mean I did not like this book. If you liked it I may not understand fully but I won’t put much into arguing about it unless you want to.
I skipped the sneaker story shoulda skipped the dinosaur one, and only kinda enjoyed the Mary vs Elizabeth and Hamilton vs Burr.
2 Star reviews mean I did not like this book. If you liked it I may not understand fully but I won’t put much into arguing about it unless you want to.
apochemu's review
3.0
The stories were interesting and I liked the narrator, but the attempts at humor were mostly just annoying.
kay_slayerofbooks's review
5.0
This was Quite entertaining!!
I am familiar with 2 out of the 4 rivalries mentioned and aware of how INTENSE they were. But the other 2 are definitely news to me. The manner in which these rivalries are told is comedic, informative and modern. I love it!
4.5 stars
I am familiar with 2 out of the 4 rivalries mentioned and aware of how INTENSE they were. But the other 2 are definitely news to me. The manner in which these rivalries are told is comedic, informative and modern. I love it!
4.5 stars
darthshep's review against another edition
4.0
A great fun book to read love hearing about all these crazy rivals some of which I had never heard before!