AMERICA The Last Best Hope, Volume 1: From the Age of Discovery to a World at War

The first volume of AMERICA covers the period from the voyage of Christopher Columbus to the beginning of the Woodrow Wilson Administration. The speedy journey through time will not satisfy lovers of historical detail but could be recommended for the curious who want an overview. Wayne Shepherd uses a comfortable reading pace to modulate the author's haste. His animated voice does everything it can to keep the interest level high, and his diction makes all the words easy to understand. Alternate pronunciations of many English words--such as "exigency" and "paroxysm"--are jarring, and Shepherd's pronunciations of foreign words--Spanish, French, and Latin--are imprecise. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2006, Portland, Maine [Published: DEC 06/ JAN 07]