As with all parts to this masterpiece, A.B.&C., the audio is a big disappointment. Fans of the author will be saddened to hear the entire work of art read by the ranger from Jellystone Park from the Yogi Bear cartoon. Extremely difficult to listen to and the package of cassettes arrived in filthy condition, which is unusual for Amazon. I could not even clean the cases, they were so dirty. The work itself is magnificent, but why pay all this money and not get Mr. Foote's voice in any of it? I would not recommend this to anyone. I recommend Mr. Foote's work to everyone. The audios are a complete bust.

All three volumes of this excellent work, Part A.B.& C. are overpriced and a big dissapointment since it is not read by the author. Instead, the ranger from Jellystone Park from the Yogi Bear cartoon is assigned to the task. Extremely difficult to listen to. While the work itself is brilliant and a must have, the cassettes arrived in filthy condition (bottom of the bag?) and the whole point for spending the money for audio of this work was to hear Mr. Foote bring the history to life. Fans of the author will be greatly disappointed and I don't see any reason to recommend this to anyone.

Very disappointing to find that Shelby Foote does not read his own work. Instead, the entire masterpiece is read by the Jellystone Park ranger from Yogi Bear. Can't concentrate on anything he says without listening for Boo Boo and the pickinic basket. Not worth the price. Would have been priceless if Shelby had read this work of art.

Lest there be some confusion about the 2 stars I've given this book: Tacitus is fantastic and fascinating. So don't reproach me for SEEMING to criticize Tacitus, when my target here is the translation. (On the subject of reproach, Tacitus himself wrote: "To show resentment at a reproach is to acknowledge that one may have had it coming.") In fact, I think very highly of the incomparable Roman historian. Gibbon, among many others, loves him and so do I. However, this superficially handsome volume from The Modern Library (containing both The Histories and The Annals), does not do justice to Tacitus at all. These translations cannot be recommended, in spite of the praise lavished on them by the general editor. The Annals is barely acceptable but no more than that, and The Histories is inferior. No, the interested reader would be better off to consult the scintillating translation by W. H. Fyfe (revised by his editor, D. S. Levene) of The Histories, published by Oxford as a paperback in 1997. Tacitus' renown -- looking at his style rather than his content -- comes from his acerbic wit, pithy remarks and lucid analytical sentences. To get a truer sense of his abilities, look to another translation.