Are we listening to the same audiobook?

Some have found this this audiobook lacking in one aspect or another of historical presentation and others were irritated by the repeated announcement: "This is a short history of Ireland in 240 episodes." Try it yourself. It takes about 3 seconds to read aloud. And what the complaints don't focus on is that each announcement is followed by a very brief title, like "Episode 52: Religious Strife and Plantation." It serves as a marker, a preview, a focusing device that helps the reader anticipate what's to come. They are like chapter or section headings in a textbook.

Some listeners have suggested that the announcements should have been removed. Silly BBC didn't have enough sense and left them in. But maybe the BBC Radio Ulster people actually were professionals who really knew what they were doing.

If those subheadings weren't there, the almost 23 hours of history would be a steady stream of information. Imagine how frustrating that would be--trying to sort through an undivided stream of narration. Imagine 500 or 600 pages of text without chapter or subheadings.

The complaints also don't mention that each 5 second announcement is followed by 1,200 or more seconds (about 20 minutes) of history. Right now I am on Episode 60, and I not only don't mind the announcements, I find them helpful.

And about what's missing in the history: Yes, things are missing. But this book is exactly as advertised: a SHORT history. It is ONE book. It cannot possibly cover ALL aspects of history, politics, war, culture, religion, customs, art, literature, and all the other aspects of life in Ireland.

So far I've picked up all kinds of things about Ireland . . . a little prehistory, a bit about what life was like in early and medieval Ireland, about climactic conditions and how they changed, about the source of Yeats' "I am of Ireland," about the plague in the 14th century, about the awful misrule of England in Ireland, about Roman Catholicism in early Ireland and the impact of the Reformation in the 17th century, and so much more. It's NOT all about warfare and battles.

I'd also like to commend the way the narrators--all good readers so far--break up the narration and do so very appropriately. For example, at the beginning of an episode, a man gives a basic idea of what is happening (26 seconds); then further details about the events are given by a woman (almost a minute); the man's voice returns for about 30 seconds, leading up to "King Henry the Eighth received this warning . . ."; the warning itself is read in a tense, more rapid, highly-pitched male voice (15 seconds); and then the narration continues with the original reader. This is a marvelous way to avoid the drone of reading a history that some other audiobooks with only one narrator fall into. And the voice changes are not arbitrary--they are not there just to break up monotony. They set off the meaning of the sentences. The variation, the scripting, the timing are REALLY well done.

OK. I'm only 1/4 way through--episode 60--and I am thoroughly enjoying this audiobook. Maybe I'll feel differently at episode 120. If I do, I'll come back and revise the review.

I felt I just had to say something because the negative comments almost prevented me from purchasing this excellent audiobook.

36 people found this helpful

Three and a half?

The tone is good, the narration charming, the repetive "This is a short history of Ireland in 240 episodes" every 5 - 15 minutes is highly annoying. The small episodes chop up the content a bit too much for my taste, but I suppose that's a consequence of it being presented via radio.

All of that would take it to a 4 for me, but the distressing part is that the history is mostly about who fought against whom. The oral history of Ireland is covered in the first 5 - 10 minutes; early and pre-conquest Celtic art isn't mentioned at all; the difference in belief, clerical requirements, status of monestaries and abbies, and relationship to the elite families prior to the take-over by the Latin rite is barely mentioned; the impact of Celtic/Gaelic concepts of kinship on the shape of society; the society, culture, and politics of pre-conquest Ireland is hardly mentioned; and, at least through the coverage of Cromwell's activities, there's precious little of even a mention of day-to-day life, even within the elites.

The later part of the presentation may give more attention to culture and society, but the first half (as far as I got) is almost completely battles and massacres.

41 people found this helpful

Good but...

...hearing the phrase, "This is a short history of Ireland in 240 episodes" 240 times will drive most people insane. I made it up to about 40 before giving up. This was doubly frustrating as the content was enjoyable and informative. Surely these "links" could have been expunged before turning a radio series in to an audiobook.

32 people found this helpful

Short and Often Too Brief

Short and often too brief of an overview however, it does span 12,000 years so what can one expect? The story line or events are enough to give you the idea of time and events and it does wet the appetite to seek further into the depth of events.
My biggest problem with this book was, it constantly interrupted every 5 min. or so with annoying announcements by saying "this audio BBC twelve thousand years of the history of Ireland - episode 1, then 2 etc. ." 240 times throughout the whole book, by the end of the book you just can't wait to throw it away.

You would think they would of had the sense to break it up by chapters every 45 - 60 minutes but every few minutes is crazy.

I would not recommend this book based mainly on the annoying interruptions.

7 people found this helpful

Very interesting read

The reading of the material is well done. The information is fun and given in a very friendly manner that would appeal to just about anyone with a history of Celtic culture.

The only negative I have is that the bedanged thing stops every 20 minutes or so and gives a long (and after 244 times) very tiresome lead in that this is A Short History of Ireland in 244 parts by the BBC or something along those lines. It gets super-old!

Still, it is a good read. We listened to it during a carpool last month with kids from 10 to adults and everyone enjoyed it.

15 people found this helpful

mionsonraithe, críochnúil, oideachais agus sweet

"detailed, thorough, educational and Sweet" is the English translation of my title. This 21 hour reading by numerous presenters tells a fascinating tale of the Irish. 'tis very enlightening. This presentation includes readings, musical inserts, and recreations of period speeches. In 65 years, I have never known a people who suffered so long and so resilient. The peoples of Ireland have suffered the barbary of vikings, indescribable religious persecution and governmental over rule.

This is a great education and a statement of man's inhumanity to fellow men.

5 people found this helpful

Comprehensive, excellent history of Ireland

What made the experience of listening to A Short History of Ireland the most enjoyable?

The combination of voice actors alternating narration made this a much more than interesting history to listen to. In addition, the short-ish and titled chapters (each 5- 10 minutes long), and the occasional background music and sound effects enhance the narration. Although "A Short History of Ireland" is a misnomer as it runs over 22 hours it is always interesting. I listened to this an hour a day walking my dog over the month preceding a trip to Ireland and it was a perfect preamble for pre-trip prepping on the political, military, and cultural history of the country.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Short History of Ireland?

Hearing about Georg Frederick Handel's debut of his "Messiah" in Dublin in 1742 was fascinating and it was delivered with clips of the music in the background. Great history!

Which scene was your favorite?

Handel's "Messiah", the Flight of the Earls, the failed efforts of Spain and France to support Ireland vs. English domination, many more.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Cromwell and Famine times are very well explained and particularly sad, but mostly the whole book was filled with fascinating history that illuminated rather than hit emotional highs and lows.

Any additional comments?

The two flaws are that it ends at World War II so the post-war "Troubles" and peace-making efforts are not covered, and, it is divided into 240 chapters (it apparently was made for BBC Ulster radio for one chapter a day to run on radio), each chapter of which is introduced with a repetitive "This is a short history of Ireland in 240 chapters." I appreciated the different chapters, each covering a theme in 5 - 10 minutes and with an explanatory title, but repeating "This is a short history of Ireland in 240 chapters" over and over is annoying. Luckily, the chapterization on my downloaded version stopped at about chapter 200, so the rest of the way there were no more chapters or repeats of that phrase.Overall, this is a wonderful and comprehensive history of Ireland (albeit only up until the mid-20th century), brilliantly narrated, and I highly recommend it. Back from Ireland I am re-listening to it and enjoying and learning from it again.

4 people found this helpful

Needs serious editing

The information in this audiobook is excellent - well presented - BUT there is a really irritating chapter system (240 episodes in fact) each of which is introduced VERY ANNOYING.....needs to be edited so that it flows from one chapter to the next without interruption

9 people found this helpful

Only if you really have to.

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

After reading other reviews, I purchased it anyway because it was the only Audible on this topic. I struggled through and found some useful information. But this production is really annoying. It is a bunch of short segments that hard to connect. It seem very British-centric. But as other said, the part that makes you want to give up is the constant breaks so you can here that intro that says the same thing over and over except for the segment number.

What three words best describe uncredited’s voice?

ok

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Anger

3 people found this helpful

horribly horrible almost unlistenable

we are planning a trip to Ireland and thought this would be great. NOPE. RUN AWAY FROM THIS. The last part is worse than the first so don't think "maybe this will get better."

6 people found this helpful