-
Civilizations
- A Novel
- Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
Freydis is the leader of a band of Viking warriors who get as far as Panama. Nobody knows what became of them....
Five hundred years later, Christopher Columbus is sailing for the Americas, dreaming of gold and conquest. Even after he is captured by the Tainos, his faith in his superiority and his mission is unshaken.
Thirty-nine years after that, Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, arrives in Europe. What does he find? The Spanish Inquisition, the Reformation, capitalism, the miracle of the printing press, endless warmongering between the ruling monarchies, and constant threat from the Turks. But most of all, downtrodden populations ready for revolution. Fortunately, he has a recent guidebook to acquiring power - Machiavelli's The Prince. It turns out he is very good at it. So, the stage is set for a Europe ruled by Incas and for a great war that will change history forever.
Laurent Binet's Civilizations is a wildly entertaining counterfactual novel from one of Europe's most exciting writers, about the modern world, colonization, empire, and the eternal human quest for domination.
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
HHhH
- By: Laurent Binet
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
HHhH: "Himmlers Hirn heisst Heydrich," or "Himmler's brain is called Heydrich." The most dangerous man in Hitler's cabinet, Reinhard Heydrich was known as the "Butcher of Prague." He was feared by all and loathed by most. With his cold Aryan features and implacable cruelty, Heydrich seemed indestructible-until two men, a Slovak and a Czech recruited by the British secret service-killed him in broad daylight on a bustling street in Prague, and thus changed the course of History.
-
-
Himlers Hirn heisst Heydrich
- By Darwin8u on 02-02-13
By: Laurent Binet
-
The Seventh Function of Language
- By: Laurent Binet, Sam Taylor - translator
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paris, 1980. The literary critic Roland Barthes dies - struck by a laundry van - after lunch with the presidential candidate François Mitterand. The world of letters mourns a tragic accident. But what if it wasn't an accident at all? What if Barthes was murdered?
-
-
Outstanding reader! Excellent choice of victim(s).
- By William on 11-01-17
By: Laurent Binet, and others
-
The Years of Rice and Salt
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 25 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the 14th century, and one of the most apocalyptic events in human history is set to occur - the coming of the Black Death. History teaches us that a third of Europe's population was destroyed. But what if the plague had killed 99 percent of the population instead? How would the world have changed? This is a look at the history that could have been - a history that stretches across centuries, a history that sees dynasties and nations rise and crumble, a history that spans horrible famine and magnificent innovation.
-
-
Robinson's best; Pinchot's usual excellence
- By Alex Levine on 05-13-15
-
Why Read
- Selected Writings 2001-2021
- By: Will Self
- Narrated by: Will Self
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From one of the most unusual and distinctive writers working today, Will Self’s Why Read is a cornucopia of thoughtful and brilliantly witty essays on writing and literature.
By: Will Self
-
The Strangest Man
- The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom
- By: Graham Farmelo
- Narrated by: B. J. Harrison
- Length: 19 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paul Dirac was among the great scientific geniuses of the modern age. One of the discoverers of quantum mechanics, the most revolutionary theory of the past century, his contributions had a unique insight, eloquence, clarity, and mathematical power. His prediction of antimatter was one of the greatest triumphs in the history of physics.
-
-
Excellent biography of great physicist
- By Eileen on 05-09-13
By: Graham Farmelo
-
Nazi Literature in the Americas
- By: Roberto Bolaño, Chris Andrews - translator
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A tour de force of black humor and imaginary erudition, Nazi Literature in the Americas presents itself as a biographical dictionary of writers who espoused extreme right-wing ideologies in the 20th and 21st centuries.
-
-
Eerie and fascinating
- By Jikai Zenshin on 03-19-21
By: Roberto Bolaño, and others
-
HHhH
- By: Laurent Binet
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 10 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
HHhH: "Himmlers Hirn heisst Heydrich," or "Himmler's brain is called Heydrich." The most dangerous man in Hitler's cabinet, Reinhard Heydrich was known as the "Butcher of Prague." He was feared by all and loathed by most. With his cold Aryan features and implacable cruelty, Heydrich seemed indestructible-until two men, a Slovak and a Czech recruited by the British secret service-killed him in broad daylight on a bustling street in Prague, and thus changed the course of History.
-
-
Himlers Hirn heisst Heydrich
- By Darwin8u on 02-02-13
By: Laurent Binet
-
The Seventh Function of Language
- By: Laurent Binet, Sam Taylor - translator
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paris, 1980. The literary critic Roland Barthes dies - struck by a laundry van - after lunch with the presidential candidate François Mitterand. The world of letters mourns a tragic accident. But what if it wasn't an accident at all? What if Barthes was murdered?
-
-
Outstanding reader! Excellent choice of victim(s).
- By William on 11-01-17
By: Laurent Binet, and others
-
The Years of Rice and Salt
- By: Kim Stanley Robinson
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 25 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is the 14th century, and one of the most apocalyptic events in human history is set to occur - the coming of the Black Death. History teaches us that a third of Europe's population was destroyed. But what if the plague had killed 99 percent of the population instead? How would the world have changed? This is a look at the history that could have been - a history that stretches across centuries, a history that sees dynasties and nations rise and crumble, a history that spans horrible famine and magnificent innovation.
-
-
Robinson's best; Pinchot's usual excellence
- By Alex Levine on 05-13-15
-
Why Read
- Selected Writings 2001-2021
- By: Will Self
- Narrated by: Will Self
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From one of the most unusual and distinctive writers working today, Will Self’s Why Read is a cornucopia of thoughtful and brilliantly witty essays on writing and literature.
By: Will Self
-
The Strangest Man
- The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom
- By: Graham Farmelo
- Narrated by: B. J. Harrison
- Length: 19 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Paul Dirac was among the great scientific geniuses of the modern age. One of the discoverers of quantum mechanics, the most revolutionary theory of the past century, his contributions had a unique insight, eloquence, clarity, and mathematical power. His prediction of antimatter was one of the greatest triumphs in the history of physics.
-
-
Excellent biography of great physicist
- By Eileen on 05-09-13
By: Graham Farmelo
-
Nazi Literature in the Americas
- By: Roberto Bolaño, Chris Andrews - translator
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A tour de force of black humor and imaginary erudition, Nazi Literature in the Americas presents itself as a biographical dictionary of writers who espoused extreme right-wing ideologies in the 20th and 21st centuries.
-
-
Eerie and fascinating
- By Jikai Zenshin on 03-19-21
By: Roberto Bolaño, and others
-
Collapse
- The Fall of the Soviet Union
- By: Vladislav M. Zubok
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 23 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1945, the Soviet Union controlled half of Europe and was a founding member of the United Nations. By 1991, it had an army four million strong, 5,000 nuclear-tipped missiles, and was the second biggest producer of oil in the world. But soon afterward, the union sank into an economic crisis and was torn apart by nationalist separatism. Its collapse was one of the seismic shifts of the 20th century.
-
-
Hopefully Not Prescient
- By Joshua on 01-29-22
-
If We Burn
- The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution
- By: Vincent Bevins
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From 2010 to 2020, more people participated in protests than at any other point in human history. Yet we are not living in more just and democratic societies as a result. IF WE BURN is a stirring work of history built around a single, vital question: How did so many mass protests lead to the opposite of what they asked for?
-
-
The final word on horizontalism on the left
- By Patrick Foote on 02-25-24
By: Vincent Bevins
-
The Man Without Qualities
- By: Robert Musil
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 60 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1913, the Viennese aristocracy is gathering to celebrate the 17th jubilee of the accession of Emperor Franz Josef, even as the Austro-Hungarian Empire is collapsing and the rest of Vienna is showing signs of rebellion. At the centre of this social labyrinth is Ulrich: a veteran, a seducer and a scientist, yet also a man 'without qualities' and therefore a brilliant and detached observer of his changing world.
-
-
An unmatched intellectual epic
- By Delano on 06-23-22
By: Robert Musil
-
The Anomaly
- A Novel
- By: Hervé Le Tellier, Adriana Hunter - translator
- Narrated by: Dominic Hoffman
- Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In June 2021, a senseless event upends the lives of hundreds of men and women, all passengers on a flight from Paris to New York. Among them: Blake, a respectable family man, though he works as a contract killer; Slimboy, a Nigerian pop star tired of living a lie; Joanna, a formidable lawyer whose flaws have caught up with her; and Victor Miesel, a critically acclaimed yet commercially unsuccessful writer who suddenly becomes a cult hit. All of them believed they had double lives. None imagined just how true that was.
-
-
Dont Believe The Hype ;(
- By Aaron K on 01-10-22
By: Hervé Le Tellier, and others
-
When We Cease to Understand the World
- By: Benjamin Labatut, Adrian West - translator
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When We Cease to Understand the World is a book about the complicated links between scientific and mathematical discovery, madness, and destruction. Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger - these are some of the luminaries into whose troubled lives Benjamín Labatut thrusts the listener, showing us how they grappled with the most profound questions of existence.
-
-
the true heir w.g. sebald
- By Thomas on 12-23-21
By: Benjamin Labatut, and others
-
The Maniac
- By: Benjamin Labatut
- Narrated by: Gergo Danka, Eva Magyar
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Benjamín Labatut’s When We Cease to Understand the World electrified a global readership. A Booker Prize and National Book Award finalist, and one of the New York Times’ Ten Best Books of the Year, it explored the life and thought of a clutch of mathematicians and physicists who took science to strange and sometimes dangerous new realms. In The MANIAC, Labatut has created a tour de force on an even grander scale.
-
-
Gergo Danka and Eva Magyar are excellent narrators
- By Barbara S on 11-04-23
By: Benjamin Labatut
-
Sea of Tranquility
- A Novel
- By: Emily St. John Mandel
- Narrated by: John Lee, Dylan Moore, Arthur Morey, and others
- Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Edwin St. Andrew is eighteen years old when he crosses the Atlantic by steamship, exiled from polite society following an ill-conceived diatribe at a dinner party. He enters the forest, spellbound by the beauty of the Canadian wilderness, and suddenly hears the notes of a violin echoing in an airship terminal—an experience that shocks him to his core.
-
-
An excellent listen.
- By Mark on 04-11-22
-
How High We Go in the Dark
- A Novel
- By: Sequoia Nagamatsu
- Narrated by: Julia Whelan, Brian Nishii, Keisuke Hoashi, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 2030, a grieving archeologist arrives in the Arctic Circle to continue the work of his recently deceased daughter at the Batagaika Crater, where researchers are studying long-buried secrets now revealed in melting permafrost, including the perfectly preserved remains of a girl who appears to have died of an ancient virus. Once unleashed, the Arctic plague will reshape life on Earth for generations to come, quickly traversing the globe, forcing humanity to devise a myriad of moving and inventive ways to embrace possibility in the face of tragedy.
-
-
Should come with a sadness warning
- By KJH on 03-16-22
-
The Knowledge Machine
- How Irrationality Created Modern Science
- By: Michael Strevens
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A paradigm-shifting work that revolutionizes our understanding of the origins and structure of science.
-
-
Almost there. Scholarly review.
- By John on 05-02-21
By: Michael Strevens
-
My Antonia
- By: Willa Cather
- Narrated by: Jeff Cummings, Ken Burns (introduction)
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Through Jim Burden's endearing, smitten voice, we revisit the remarkable vicissitudes of immigrant life in the Nebraska heartland, with all its insistent bonds. Guiding the way are some of literature's most beguiling characters: the Russian brothers plagued by memories of a fateful sleigh ride, Antonia's desperately homesick father and self-indulgent mother, and the coy Lena Lingard. Holding the pastoral society's heart, of course, is the bewitching, free-spirited Antonia.
-
-
Good book
- By Sher from Provo on 03-31-14
By: Willa Cather
-
The Snail on the Slope
- By: Arkady Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky, Olena Bormashenko - translator
- Narrated by: Chris Andrew Ciulla
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Snail on the Slope takes place in two distinct worlds. One is the Administration, an institution run by a surreal, Kafkaesque bureaucracy whose aim is to govern the forest below. The other is the Forest, a place of fear, weird creatures, primitive people, and violence. Peretz, who works at the Administration, wants to visit the Forest. Candide crashed in the Forest years ago and wants to return to the Administration. Their journeys are surprising and strange, and listeners are left to puzzle out the mysteries of these foreign environments.
-
-
What insanity must feel like
- By Matt on 01-10-19
By: Arkady Strugatsky, and others
-
Super-Infinite
- The Transformations of John Donne
- By: Katherine Rundell
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sometime religious outsider and social disaster, sometime celebrity preacher and establishment darling, John Donne was incapable of being just one thing. In his myriad lives he was a scholar of law, a sea adventurer, a priest, an MP—and perhaps the greatest love poet in the history of the English language. Along the way he converted from Catholicism to Protestantism, was imprisoned for marrying a sixteen-year old girl without her father’s consent, struggled to feed a family of ten children, and was often ill and in pain.
-
-
Oh but the narration…
- By David Benjamin on 01-01-23
Related to this topic
-
The Last Viking
- The True Story of King Harald Hardrada
- By: Don Hollway
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harald Sigurdsson burst into history as a teenaged youth in a Viking battle from which he escaped with little more than his life and a thirst for vengeance. But from these humble origins, he became one of Norway’s most legendary kings. The Last Viking is a fast-moving narrative account of the life of King Harald Hardrada, as he journeyed across the medieval world, from the frozen wastelands of the North to the glittering towers of Byzantium and the passions of the Holy Land, until his warrior death on the battlefield in England.
-
-
Just okay
- By Amazon Customer on 06-28-24
By: Don Hollway
-
Ines of My Soul
- A Novel
- By: Isabel Allende
- Narrated by: Isabel Allende, Alma Cuervo
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Though she was born into poverty, Inés Suárez, a seamstress in 16th-century Spain, embodies the same restless hope and opportunism that fuels her nation’s conquest of the Americas. Learning that her shiftless husband has vanished, Inés uses his disappearance to embark on her own adventure. It is a journey will lead her to Pedro de Valdivia - a conquistador who becomes the first royal governor of Chile - and to a love that not only changes her life but the course of history.
-
-
Disappointed
- By Elva Pulido on 04-01-21
By: Isabel Allende
-
The Flame of Islam
- By: Harold Lamb
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 17 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A history of the Crusades. Out of the chaos of Muslim tribal warfare and regional animosity arose a military genius such as Islam had never known: Saladin. Uniting the sultanates of Cairo and Damascus, Saladin created a single powerful state. Luring the crusaders into an ill-considered confrontation, he destroyed their army at the Battle of Hattin in 1187, leaving the few remaining crusaders clinging perilously to a series of towns and forts along the Levantine coast. Into this desperate situation stepped the most formidable warrior of the age, Richard the Lion-Hearted.
-
-
An absolute Joy to read
- By gzak on 03-06-15
By: Harold Lamb
-
Conquistador Voices
- The Spanish Conquest of the Americas as Recounted Largely by the Participants, Volume I
- By: Kevin H. Siepel
- Narrated by: Kevin H Siepel
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Spanish Conquest: What really happened? If you like to use your drive time for education by audiobook, consider this audiobook for widening and deepening your view of an event you studied briefly in school - the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Conquistador Voices, neither glamorizes nor condemns the conquistadors. Somewhat in the manner of a modern film documentary, it treats the so-called conquest as an historical event that’s worth learning about for its own sake, with most of the moralizing left to the listener.
-
-
The Misleading Title is the Most Forgivable Part..
- By Tyler Sanders on 12-19-22
By: Kevin H. Siepel
-
The Story of Liberty
- By: Charles C. Coffin
- Narrated by: Edward Lewis
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charles Coffin's The Story of Liberty, originally published in 1879, is not America's story alone. It belongs to all those who are enjoying freedom and liberty in any part of the world. And it belongs to all nations that will yet serve Him. As we reach back into the records of history to observe the hand of the Great Author of all liberty, we will find direction for the days ahead and discover the keys we need to understand and interpret the future.
-
-
Facinating history
- By KenLStone on 02-20-08
-
The Conquering Family
- By: Thomas B. Costain
- Narrated by: David Case
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thomas B. Costain's four-volume history of the Plantagenets begins with The Conquering Family and the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066, closing with the reign of John in 1216. The troubled period after the Norman Conquest, when the foundations of government were hammered out between monarch and people, comes to life through Costain's storytelling skill and historical imagination.
-
-
An Entrancing History of the Early Plantegenets
- By Peter on 01-20-09
-
The Last Viking
- The True Story of King Harald Hardrada
- By: Don Hollway
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows
- Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Harald Sigurdsson burst into history as a teenaged youth in a Viking battle from which he escaped with little more than his life and a thirst for vengeance. But from these humble origins, he became one of Norway’s most legendary kings. The Last Viking is a fast-moving narrative account of the life of King Harald Hardrada, as he journeyed across the medieval world, from the frozen wastelands of the North to the glittering towers of Byzantium and the passions of the Holy Land, until his warrior death on the battlefield in England.
-
-
Just okay
- By Amazon Customer on 06-28-24
By: Don Hollway
-
Ines of My Soul
- A Novel
- By: Isabel Allende
- Narrated by: Isabel Allende, Alma Cuervo
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Though she was born into poverty, Inés Suárez, a seamstress in 16th-century Spain, embodies the same restless hope and opportunism that fuels her nation’s conquest of the Americas. Learning that her shiftless husband has vanished, Inés uses his disappearance to embark on her own adventure. It is a journey will lead her to Pedro de Valdivia - a conquistador who becomes the first royal governor of Chile - and to a love that not only changes her life but the course of history.
-
-
Disappointed
- By Elva Pulido on 04-01-21
By: Isabel Allende
-
The Flame of Islam
- By: Harold Lamb
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 17 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A history of the Crusades. Out of the chaos of Muslim tribal warfare and regional animosity arose a military genius such as Islam had never known: Saladin. Uniting the sultanates of Cairo and Damascus, Saladin created a single powerful state. Luring the crusaders into an ill-considered confrontation, he destroyed their army at the Battle of Hattin in 1187, leaving the few remaining crusaders clinging perilously to a series of towns and forts along the Levantine coast. Into this desperate situation stepped the most formidable warrior of the age, Richard the Lion-Hearted.
-
-
An absolute Joy to read
- By gzak on 03-06-15
By: Harold Lamb
-
Conquistador Voices
- The Spanish Conquest of the Americas as Recounted Largely by the Participants, Volume I
- By: Kevin H. Siepel
- Narrated by: Kevin H Siepel
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Spanish Conquest: What really happened? If you like to use your drive time for education by audiobook, consider this audiobook for widening and deepening your view of an event you studied briefly in school - the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Conquistador Voices, neither glamorizes nor condemns the conquistadors. Somewhat in the manner of a modern film documentary, it treats the so-called conquest as an historical event that’s worth learning about for its own sake, with most of the moralizing left to the listener.
-
-
The Misleading Title is the Most Forgivable Part..
- By Tyler Sanders on 12-19-22
By: Kevin H. Siepel
-
The Story of Liberty
- By: Charles C. Coffin
- Narrated by: Edward Lewis
- Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Charles Coffin's The Story of Liberty, originally published in 1879, is not America's story alone. It belongs to all those who are enjoying freedom and liberty in any part of the world. And it belongs to all nations that will yet serve Him. As we reach back into the records of history to observe the hand of the Great Author of all liberty, we will find direction for the days ahead and discover the keys we need to understand and interpret the future.
-
-
Facinating history
- By KenLStone on 02-20-08
-
The Conquering Family
- By: Thomas B. Costain
- Narrated by: David Case
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thomas B. Costain's four-volume history of the Plantagenets begins with The Conquering Family and the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066, closing with the reign of John in 1216. The troubled period after the Norman Conquest, when the foundations of government were hammered out between monarch and people, comes to life through Costain's storytelling skill and historical imagination.
-
-
An Entrancing History of the Early Plantegenets
- By Peter on 01-20-09
-
Mythos
- By: Stephen Fry
- Narrated by: Stephen Fry
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Here are the thrills, grandeur, and unabashed fun of the Greek myths, stylishly retold by Stephen Fry. The legendary writer, actor, and comedian breathes life into ancient tales, from Pandora's box to Prometheus's fire, and transforms the adventures of Zeus and the Olympians into emotionally resonant and deeply funny stories, without losing any of their original wonder. Learned notes from the author offer rich cultural context. This volume is a doorway into a captivating world.
-
-
Please, will you tell me a story?
- By L. Kampp on 09-24-19
By: Stephen Fry
-
The Road to Jerusalem
- Crusades Trilogy Series, Book 1
- By: Jan Guillou
- Narrated by: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born in 1150 to a noble Swedish family and coming of age at a monastery under the tutelage of a Cistercian monk and a former Knight Templar, young Arn Magnusson is sent to fulfill his destiny beyond the cloister walls. But the world awaiting him is a place at odds with his monastic ways. And when the murder of a king engulfs Western Götaland into a whirlwind of intrigue and ruthless power plays, headstrong and naive Arn is forced to leave the woman he loves behind and take up arms to battle infidels in the Holy Land.
-
-
Went looking for trashy historical fiction...
- By Anonymous User on 02-01-22
By: Jan Guillou
-
A Little History of the World
- By: E. H. Gombrich
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
E. H. Gombrich's world history, an international best seller now available in English for the first time, is a text dominated not by dates and facts but by the sweep of experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements, and an acute witness to its frailties.
-
-
an enlightening book; very well read
- By A.B.Oxford on 06-03-06
By: E. H. Gombrich
-
The Iron King
- The Accursed Kings, Book 1
- By: Maurice Druon
- Narrated by: Peter Joyce
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the publishers that brought you A Game of Thrones comes the series that inspired George R.R. Martin’s epic work. France became a great nation under Philip the Fair - but it was a greatness achieved at the expense of her people, for his was a reign characterised by violence, the scandalous adulteries of his daughters-in-law, and the triumph of royal authority.
-
-
Historical Goodie
- By Syd Young on 08-03-13
By: Maurice Druon
-
Asura
- Tale of the Vanquished: The Story of Ravana and His People
- By: Anand Neelakantan
- Narrated by: Denzil Smith
- Length: 18 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The story of the Ramayana had been told innumerable times. The enthralling story of Rama, the incarnation of God, who slew Ravana, the evil demon of darkness, is known to every Indian. And in the pages of history, as always, it is the version told by the victors that lives on. The voice of the vanquished remains lost in silence. But what if Ravana and his people had a different story to tell? The story of the Ravanayana had never been told. Asura is the epic tale of the vanquished Asura people, a story that has been cherished by the oppressed outcastes of India for 3,000 years.
-
-
Makes you thinks about everything
- By Anonymous User on 12-04-23
-
Suleiman the Magnificent: Sultan of the East
- By: Harold Lamb
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Suleiman the Magnificent is the story of the Ottoman Turks' greatest leader. He came to power at the early age of 25 in 1520. Before his death in 1566, he had altered the power structure and geography of Eastern Europe, and Turkey had become the dominant naval power in the Mediterranean. Suleiman's reign would mark the high tide of Turkish power in Asia Minor and Europe.
-
-
A Great look into Suleiman The Magnificent & the Ottoman Empire
- By L Young on 08-14-19
By: Harold Lamb
-
Isabella of Castile
- Europe's First Great Queen
- By: Giles Tremlett
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 19 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1474, a 23-year-old woman ascended the throne of Castile, the largest and strongest kingdom in Spain. Ahead of her lay the considerable challenge not only of being a young female ruler in an overwhelmingly male-dominated world but also of reforming a major European kingdom that was riddled with crime, corruption, and violent political factionism. Her pivotal reign was long and transformative, uniting Spain and setting the stage for its golden era of global dominance.
-
-
Enlightening
- By Jean on 03-07-17
By: Giles Tremlett
-
Iron, Fire and Ice
- The Real History That Inspired Game of Thrones
- By: Ed West
- Narrated by: Rory Barnett
- Length: 20 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A young pretender raises an army to take the throne. Learning of his father’s death, the adolescent, dashing and charismatic and descended from the old kings of the North, vows to avenge him. He is supported in this war by his mother, who has spirited away her two younger sons to safety. Against them is the queen, passionate, proud, and strong-willed and with more of the masculine virtues of the time than most men. She too is battling for the inheritance of her young son, not yet fully grown but already a sadist who takes delight in watching executions.
-
-
Fun history for all -not just Game of Thrones fans
- By Annabells on 06-14-19
By: Ed West
-
Lords of the Horizons
- A History of the Ottoman Empire
- By: Jason Goodwin
- Narrated by: Grahame Edwards
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Ottoman Empire has long exerted a strong pull on Western minds and hearts. For over 600 years the empire swelled and declined, rising from a dusty fiefdom in the foothills of Anatolia to a power which ruled over the Danube and the Euphrates with the richest court in Europe. But its decline was prodigious, protracted and total.
-
-
Good introduction to the Ottomans, bad narration
- By Skeptical on 06-06-18
By: Jason Goodwin
-
Marco Polo
- From Venice to Xanadu
- By: Laurence Bergreen
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 16 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As the most celebrated European to explore Asia, Marco Polo was the original global traveler and the earliest bridge between East and West. A universal icon of adventure and discovery, he has inspired six centuries of popular fascination and spurious mythology. Now, from acclaimed author Laurence Bergreen, comes the first fully authoritative biography of one of the most enchanting figures in world history.
-
-
Educational and Entertaining but a bit repetitive
- By PETER on 01-02-13
-
Four Princes
- Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
John Julius Norwich - whom the Wall Street Journal called "the very model of a popular historian" - has crafted a big, bold tapestry of the early 16th century, when Europe and the Middle East were overshadowed by a quartet of legendary rulers, all born within a 10-year period. Against the vibrant background of the Renaissance, these four men laid the foundations for modern Europe and the Middle East, as they collectively impacted the culture, religion, and politics of their respective domains.
-
-
For the most part, very informative.
- By Paula on 02-05-18
-
Foundation
- The History of England from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors: The History of England, Book 1
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 18 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Foundation the chronicler of London and of its river, the Thames, takes us from the primeval forests of England's prehistory to the death of the first Tudor king, Henry VII, in 1509. He guides us from the building of Stonehenge to the founding of the two great glories of medieval England: common law and the cathedrals. He shows us glimpses of the country's most distant past - a Neolithic stirrup found in a grave, a Roman fort, a Saxon tomb, a medieval manor house.
-
-
The Most Annoying Narrator EVER
- By JudieBee on 12-25-15
By: Peter Ackroyd
What listeners say about Civilizations
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- J. H. Robinson
- 09-21-21
Fun but kinda hops around
Lighter than Binet's HHhH, a fun pastiche of Conquest narratives where the Incas invade Europe. Kind of just cuts off at the ending but otherwise it is an enjoyable reworking of Early Modern history. narration leaves something to be desired, pronunciation sometimes bizarrely flubbed though at least consistently so.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 09-25-21
A BRILLIANT BLEND OF HISTORY AND FICTION
The narration was excellent. Lively. The story was chocked full of historical fiction and detail. It compelled one to continue listening.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- CBT
- 10-16-21
Fascinating story
Terrific listen. I enjoyed the mixing of fact and fiction into one compelling narrative. The story let’s the mind wander and think “what if…???” My heart broke when it ended.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- em
- 11-28-23
a pleasure for the historically minded
I love this whack ass book. My colleague recommended it to me when I was looking for a book that was “a romp”. It is 1000 percent a romp. You’ll be amused by what happens to Luther. A pleasure for the historically minded and nice short chapters for before bed listening.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
- J. Erard
- 12-04-21
Why the Cervantes turn?
interesting use of historical figures and events to tell a new story. Out of the blue comes a more personal perspective in Cervantes, as if the author got bored and realized he had wanted to write a different story. Also, too much reliance on third person narrator.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful