
Heroes
From Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Churchill and de Gaulle
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Narrated by:
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James Adams
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By:
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Paul Johnson
About this listen
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Intellectuals
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- Length: 18 hrs and 17 mins
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Since the time of Voltaire and Rousseau, the secular intellectual has increasingly filled the vacuum left by the decline of the cleric and assumed the functions of moral mentor and critic of mankind. This fascinating portrait of the minds that have shaped the modern world examines the moral credentials of those whose thoughts have influenced humanity.
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Bias much?
- By Amazon Customer on 12-15-10
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In Churchill, Johnson applies a wide lens and an unconventional approach to illuminate the various phases of Churchill's career. From his adventures as a young cavalry officer in the service of the Empire to his role as an elder statesman prophesying the advent of the Cold War, Johnson shows how Churchill's immense adaptability combined with his natural pugnacity to make him a formidable leader for the better part of a century.
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Superlative Account of Churchill
- By Darrell on 12-08-09
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Socrates
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Acclaimed historian and best-selling author Paul Johnson’s books have been translated into dozens of languages. In Socrates: A Man for Our Times, Johnson draws from little-known resources to construct a fascinating account of one of history’s greatest thinkers. Socrates transcended class limitations in Athens during the fifth century B.C. to develop ideas that still shape the way we think about the human body and soul, including the workings of the human mind.
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Plat-Soc-Paul
- By Megasaurus on 11-17-12
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Beginning with May 29, 1919, when photographs of the solar eclipse confirmed the truth of Einstein's theory of relativity, Johnson goes on to describe Freudianism, the establishment of the first Marxist state, the chaos of "Old Europe", the Arcadian 20s, and the new forces in China and Japan. Also discussed are Karl Marx, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Roosevelt, Gandhi, Castro, Kennedy, Nixon, the '29 crash, the Great Depression, Roosevelt's New Deal, and the massive conflict of World War II.
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The Anti-Howard Zinn
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A History of the American People
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Johnson's monumental history of the United States, from the first settlers to the Clinton administration, covers every aspect of American culture: politics, business, art, literature, science, society and customs, complex traditions, and religious beliefs. The story is told in terms of the men and women who shaped and led the nation and the ordinary people who collectively created its unique character.
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A British conservative's view of American history.
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-17-09
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Napoleon
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Paul Johnson's book is a refreshing return to a concept whose time has come once again: the Great Man theory of biography. It serves as "the greatest possible refutation of those who hold that events are governed by forces, classes, economics, and geography rather than the powerful wills of men and women". Napoleon truly was the Great Man of his age, a towering and terrible genius who managed to conquer the Continent.
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Not your standard biography
- By Mark Grannis on 04-24-05
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Intellectuals
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Performance
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Since the time of Voltaire and Rousseau, the secular intellectual has increasingly filled the vacuum left by the decline of the cleric and assumed the functions of moral mentor and critic of mankind. This fascinating portrait of the minds that have shaped the modern world examines the moral credentials of those whose thoughts have influenced humanity.
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Bias much?
- By Amazon Customer on 12-15-10
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Churchill
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In Churchill, Johnson applies a wide lens and an unconventional approach to illuminate the various phases of Churchill's career. From his adventures as a young cavalry officer in the service of the Empire to his role as an elder statesman prophesying the advent of the Cold War, Johnson shows how Churchill's immense adaptability combined with his natural pugnacity to make him a formidable leader for the better part of a century.
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Superlative Account of Churchill
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Socrates
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- Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Acclaimed historian and best-selling author Paul Johnson’s books have been translated into dozens of languages. In Socrates: A Man for Our Times, Johnson draws from little-known resources to construct a fascinating account of one of history’s greatest thinkers. Socrates transcended class limitations in Athens during the fifth century B.C. to develop ideas that still shape the way we think about the human body and soul, including the workings of the human mind.
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Plat-Soc-Paul
- By Megasaurus on 11-17-12
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Modern Times
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- Length: 37 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Beginning with May 29, 1919, when photographs of the solar eclipse confirmed the truth of Einstein's theory of relativity, Johnson goes on to describe Freudianism, the establishment of the first Marxist state, the chaos of "Old Europe", the Arcadian 20s, and the new forces in China and Japan. Also discussed are Karl Marx, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Roosevelt, Gandhi, Castro, Kennedy, Nixon, the '29 crash, the Great Depression, Roosevelt's New Deal, and the massive conflict of World War II.
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The Anti-Howard Zinn
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A History of the American People
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- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 48 hrs and 15 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Johnson's monumental history of the United States, from the first settlers to the Clinton administration, covers every aspect of American culture: politics, business, art, literature, science, society and customs, complex traditions, and religious beliefs. The story is told in terms of the men and women who shaped and led the nation and the ordinary people who collectively created its unique character.
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A British conservative's view of American history.
- By Mike From Mesa on 06-17-09
By: Paul Johnson
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Napoleon
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Paul Johnson's book is a refreshing return to a concept whose time has come once again: the Great Man theory of biography. It serves as "the greatest possible refutation of those who hold that events are governed by forces, classes, economics, and geography rather than the powerful wills of men and women". Napoleon truly was the Great Man of his age, a towering and terrible genius who managed to conquer the Continent.
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Not your standard biography
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By: Paul Johnson
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A History of the English People
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- Length: 19 hrs and 13 mins
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This is a provocative and panoramic survey of 2,000 years of English history. Johnson tells the story of how a small nation, living in a geographical backwater, developed unique economic and political institutions, expanded its territory, and saddled upon it the frame of a modern industrial society.
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This historical magnum opus covers 4,000 years of the extraordinary history of the Jews as a people, a culture, and a nation. It shows the impact of Jewish character on the world: their genius, imagination, and, most of all, their ability to persevere despite severe persecutions. Compelling insights into events and individuals are chronologically detailed, from Moses and Jesus to Spinoza, Marx, Freud, the Rothschilds, and Golda Meir.
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Excellent History
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A History of Christianity
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First published in 1976, Paul Johnson's exceptional study of Christianity has been loved and widely hailed for its intensive research, writing, and magnitude. Weaving a great range of material, the scholar and author Johnson creates an ambitious panoramic overview of the evolution of the Western world since the founding of a little-known "Jesus sect".
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Read Brant Pitre's the case for Jesus instead.
- By Catherine BFT on 05-08-17
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David Lynch
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At once a pop culture icon, cult figure, and film industry outsider, master filmmaker David Lynch and his work defy easy definition. Dredged from his subconscious mind, Lynch's work is primed to act on our own subconscious, combining heightened, contradictory emotions into something familiar but inscrutable. No less than his art, Lynch's life also evades simple categorization, encompassing pursuits as a musician, painter, photographer, carpenter, entrepreneur, and vocal proponent of Transcendental Meditation.
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Essential listening for Lunch fans
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Eisenhower
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Acclaimed historian Paul Johnson’s lively, succinct biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower explores how his legacy endures today In the rousing style he’s famous for, celebrated historian Paul Johnson offers a fascinating biography of Dwight D. Eisenhower, focusing particularly on his years as a five-star general and his two terms as president of the United States.
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Quick and to the point!
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By far the most important figure in the history of the United States, George Washington liberated the 13 colonies from the superior forces of the British Empire against all military odds, and presided over the production and ratification of a constitution that (suitably amended) has lasted for more than 200 years. Yet today, Washington remains a distant figure to many Americans, a failing that acclaimed author Paul Johnson sets out to rectify with this brilliantly vivid, sharply etched portrait.
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Ideology interferes with story line
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Discrimination and Disparities challenges believers in such one-factor explanations of economic outcome differences as discrimination, exploitation, or genetics. It is listenable enough for people with no prior knowledge of economics. Yet the empirical evidence with which it backs up its analysis spans the globe and challenges beliefs across the ideological spectrum.
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This reissue of Thomas Sowell’s classic study of decision making, which includes a preface by the author, updates his seminal work in the context of The Vision of the Anointed. Sowell, one of America’s most celebrated public intellectuals, describes in concrete detail how knowledge is shared and disseminated throughout modern society. He warns that society suffers from an ever-widening gap between firsthand knowledge and decision making—a gap that threatens not only our economic and political efficiency but our very freedom.
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Thomas Sowell's Greatest Work
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Human history is full of the stories of peasants, subjects, and tribes. Yet the concept of the “citizen” is historically rare — and was among America’s most valued ideals for over two centuries. But without shock treatment, warns historian Victor Davis Hanson, American citizenship as we have known it may soon vanish.
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From an uneducated reader;
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Cynical Theories
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Have you heard that language is violence and that science is sexist? Have you read that certain people shouldn't practice yoga? Or been told that being obese is healthy, that there is no such thing as biological sex, or that only White people can be racist? Are you confused by these ideas, and do you wonder how they have managed to challenge the logic of Western society? In this probing volume, Helen Pluckrose and James Lindsay document the evolution of the dogma that informs these ideas, from its coarse origins in French postmodernism to its refinement within activist academic fields.
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From batting averages and political polls to game shows and medical research, the real-world application of statistics continues to grow by leaps and bounds. How can we catch schools that cheat on standardized tests? How does Netflix know which movies you'll like? What is causing the rising incidence of autism? As best-selling author Charles Wheelan shows us in Naked Statistics, the right data and a few well-chosen statistical tools can help us answer these questions and more.
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Starts well then becomes non-Audible
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Overall
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Performance
-
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Overall
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Performance
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-
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Stirring and (sometimes) wrongheaded
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By: Paul Johnson
What listeners say about Heroes
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- frequent buyer
- 01-08-15
Broad collection of interesting essays
Johnson covers much ground rampaging through history discussing innumerable historical figures and their heroic significance. The work of a towering intellect, it requires full attention.
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- Jay
- 04-24-16
Good stories, but not well delineated
Is there anything you would change about this book?
Breaking each individual covered into a chapter would have been helpful for the purposes of learning and memory. For now, these all flow together into one long narrative, and I have trouble separating out names/dates/chronology of these historical figures.
How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?
Less of the dramatized stories of British nobility. Good for entertainment, but few takeaways.
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- James Cannon
- 01-11-20
The best narrator yet. Perfect for the author.
Exceptional narration and an incredible narrative from a favorite historian! I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning from and emulating the greats of history.
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- William Richardson
- 06-09-24
Concise, varied history of the Hero
Paul Johnson’s abilities to make history a lively story is well known and much appreciated. His common sense and well balanced approach to me is an antidote to the Left.
I had just finished Mr. Johnson’s A History of the American People which I found to be superb, and a needed counterbalance to the propaganda and hatred apparently of all things American Howard Zin’s grim view of America.
I found the Heroes from the Biblical
, Roman, world war times to be the most fascinating for me because that was the weakest area of my knowledge. I also appreciated that he brought women -Heroins into the fold of people who changed their times.
For me, the latter part of the book showcasing the women who gave salons, Paris, and then London we’re interesting but not quite as dramatically important in my mind. p
Perhaps two or three could’ve been left out and it would’ve improved the book. On the other hand, the biblical women were ferocious and amazing to read about that section was very stimulating to listen to an area. I knew absolutely nothing about, so I appreciate his bringing the powerful women into the fold of being a hero.
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Overall
- Mike From Mesa
- 12-06-08
Very good although somewhat puzzling
I seem to be out of sync with the other reviewers. I really enjoyed this book although it was not what I expected based on the title. And I am puzzled as to why some of those listed as heroes were included and why some others were not.
Nevertheless the short histories and vignettes given for each taught me much that I did not know of the people involved, it is, as all of Paul Johnson's works, well written and very well narrated.
But do not expect a deep examination of the concept of "hero" or consistent explanations as to why some people are included. If you can just relax and listen to the book you may enjoy it as much as I did.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Kennet
- 12-27-07
Interesting, but deeply flawed
The book is an entertaining and informative menagerie of historical characters, many of whom arguably demonstrate heroic traits. The author clearly makes an attempt to represent heroism in all its forms, even explicitly voicing a distaste for overvaluing martial heroism (even so, heroic soldiers compose the gross majority of the list). Little effort is made to define or generalize heroism, leaving it as a subjective attribute. I find this ambiguity acceptable, but be forewarned that this book does not address the question of what it means to be a hero.
The book contains a number of serious flaws detracting both from my enjoyment and the informative value of the book.
With mild regularity the author lapses into French and Italian: whole, non-trivial sentences, without accompanying translation. This seemed either careless or pretentious.
The heroes from the modern era seem to have been chosen, not for any heroic attributes (two of whom, arguably demonstrate no heroism whatsoever), but instead because they embodied ideology that the author favored. Those chapters could just as well be renamed, "People I Agree With." His overly long section on Wittgenstein is speaks more of ideological worship by the author than heroism by Wittgenstein. On the same lines, the author's occasional personal anecdotes smack of pretentious name dropping.
Large swaths of geography and history are entirely overlooked. The list of heroes may be an adequate catalog of players in the history of Western European civilization, but is hardly a list of world heroes. With the exceptions of the classical heroes, biblical heroes, and Pope John Paul II, every person on the list is of British, French, or Germanic descent. South America, Asia, Africa, South and Eastern Europe are entirely unrepresented.
All told, this book is an entertaining, but forgettable read. The quality of the reading is excellent and the subject is interesting. However, there is little of lasting value.
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16 people found this helpful
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Barry Frieder, MD
- 08-10-18
wonderful presentation!
settle and richly textured descriptions of real people. don't miss it!.. moving and detailed descriptions let's. much to be learned here.
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Overall
- DJ
- 03-19-08
Brittish-centric
Sure, there are a handful of heros from Brittian - but what about the REST of the known world? Don't get this book unless you want to learn about a number of Brittish admirals and generals that are heros to only one small culture.
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Dave K
- 08-04-08
Disappointing
I have loved Paul Johnson's work for at least 15 years, but this book simply doesn't measure up. I finally put it aside, perhaps to finish at some later date.
In his introduction, Johnson writes "I have put into this collection one or two heroes and heroines of my own, believing that an element of idiosyncrasy is a legitimate part of hero worship." I don't object to this, but he then owes his readers an explanation of why an obscure British figure is included as a hero. Lady Jane Grey is one such character. After a short summary of her brief life (she was executed at age 16), he makes no explanation of why she should be considered a heroine. A tragic figure, yes, but a heroine? He simply doesn't make his case or even explain why she is included.
He assumes that his reader is familiar with both British history and events, which is problematic for his American readers (including me). For example, he mentions Nancy Mitford, a writer whom I had never heard of. (I Googled to find out that she was "an English novelist and biographer" who died in 1973. His mention of Ms. Mitford is completely extraneous - she told him that she masturbated while "thinking about Lady Jane Grey."
The book is also poorly edited. He has long, complex sentences that sometimes make it almost impossible to understand who he is talking about - especially when he is discussing Mary Queen of Scots and Mary Stuart at the same time.
Johnson will be 80 this fall. Maybe he is just getting too old to maintain the excellence he has had in the past.
I rated the book 3 stars because his stories and anecdotes about the heroes he has chosen are often interesting.
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6 people found this helpful