Audio
Book Review:
Cuthbert Collingwood:
The Northumbrian Who Saved the Nation
By
Andrew Griffin
Read by Gordon Griffin
I
think I - and any person who has to commute to work my car - could
easily become a devotee of audio books.
You
put in a CD and then listen as the words are brought to life in
the perfect form for listening to while sitting behind the wheel
of a car, or at an airport, or on a train.
My
first encounter with an audio book is Cuthbert Collingwood
The Northumbrian Who Saved the Nation from Absolute Audio
Books.
Obviously
it focuses on Admiral Collingwood - a highly underrated British
naval warrior - who brought home the British fleet following the
battle of Trafalgar and death of Admiral Horatio Nelson.
Cuthbert
Collingwood The Northumbrian Who Saved the Nation details
Collingwood's childhood and career and does so with an expertly
told lifestory bolstered by personal accounts and readings
from personal letters.
Collingwood
was one of Nelson's best friends and the pair's closeness was
both at sea and on shore.
His
career - and the protection of Britain - was always placed ahead
of his family, but this didn't stop Collingwood being a devoted
and loving husband and father. His service was wide and varied
and as the overall picture of the man builds by listening to his
biography you understand he was a rock upon which the Royal Navy
relied on so heavily.
There
are four CDs in this audio book and running time is about four
hours. I found myself eschewing the usual car CD music choice
in favour of Cuthbert Collingwood The Northumbrian Who Saved
the Nation for a week of running into and from work.
The
voice work by Gordon Griffin is very pleasing and the use of various
tones and accents to separate the characters is very skilfully
done. Contemporary music is well used.
As
said before, this new-to-me way of picking up information on the
Napoleonic period has taken the fancy and I will be searching
out more of them.
-
Richard Moore
8/10
Cuthbert
Collingwood The Northumbrian Who Saved the Nation, Absolute
Audio Books, ISBN: 0-9546-6242-3.
