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Diamonds, Gold, and War
- The British, the Boers, and the Making of South Africa
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 19 hrs and 13 mins
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Publisher's summary
Southern Africa was once regarded as a worthless jumble of British colonies, Boer republics, and African chiefdoms, a troublesome region of little interest to the outside world. But then prospectors chanced upon the world’s richest deposits of diamonds and gold, setting off a titanic struggle between the British and the Boers for control of the land. The result was the costliest, bloodiest, and most humiliating war that Britain had waged in nearly a century, and the devastation of the Boer republics.
The New Yorker calls this magisterial account of those years “[an] astute history.…Meredith expertly shows how the exigencies of the diamond (and then gold) rush laid the foundation for apartheid.”
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Colin Calloway uses the prism of George Washington's life to bring focus to the great Native leaders of his time and the tribes they represented: the Iroquois Confederacy, Lenape, Miami, Creek, Delaware; in the process, he returns them to their rightful place in the story of America's founding. The Indian World of George Washington spans decades of Native American leaders' interactions with Washington, from his early days as surveyor of Indian lands to his military career against both the French and the British to his presidency.
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A Washington hate book
- By EJ morris on 02-08-19
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Andrew Jackson
- His Life and Times
- By: H.W. Brands
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 25 hrs and 57 mins
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The extraordinary story of Andrew Jackson—the colorful, dynamic, and forceful president who ushered in the Age of Democracy and set a still young America on its path to greatness—told by the bestselling author of The First American.
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Very Thorough
- By Eric on 02-07-06
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Paris 1919
- Six Months That Changed the World
- By: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 25 hrs and 47 mins
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Winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize, renowned historian Margaret MacMillan's best-selling Paris 1919 is the story of six remarkable months that changed the world. At the close of WWI, between January and July of 1919, delegates from around the world converged on Paris under the auspices of peace. New countries were created, old empires were dissolved, and for six months, Paris was the center of the world.
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Good book, well narrated
- By W. F. Rucker on 02-07-09
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The Great Democracies
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The fourth and last volume in Churchill's famous account spans 1815 to 1901. It closes when the British Empire is at its peak, with a staggering one-fifth of the human race presided over by the longest reigning monarch in British history: Queen Victoria.
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A fitting conclusion to Sir Winston's narrative.
- By Vradeen Sengir on 02-11-19
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The Balfour Declaration
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Issued in London in 1917, the Balfour Declaration was one of the key documents of the 20th century. It committed Britain to supporting the establishment in Palestine of "a National Home for the Jewish people", and its reverberations continue to be felt to this day. Now the entire fascinating story of the document is revealed in this impressive work of modern history.
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From the Zionist Point of View
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Lone Star Nation
- How a Ragged Army of Courageous Volunteers Won the Battle for Texas Independence
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- Narrated by: Don Leslie
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Lone Star Nation is the gripping story of Texas' precarious journey to statehood, from its early colonization in the 1820s to the shocking massacres of Texas loyalists at the Alamo and Goliad by the Mexican army, from its rough-and-tumble years as a land overrun by the Comanches to its day of liberation as an upstart republic.
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Texas: From Spanish colony to statehood
- By Brian Shivers on 04-06-05
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The Making of America: Volume 1
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- By: Teri Kanefield
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Unlike other biographies, the Making of America series goes beyond individual narratives linking influential figures to create an overarching story of America's growth that will deepen understanding of the country we live in today. This bundle featuring Alexander Hamilton, Abraham Lincoln, and Andrew Jackson tells the story of American constitutional history from the founding of the nation through the end of the Civil War.
By: Teri Kanefield
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For Liberty and Glory
- Washington, Lafayette, and Their Revolutions
- By: James R. Gaines
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On April 18, 1775, a riot over the price of flour broke out in the French city of Dijon. That night, across the Atlantic, Paul Revere mounted the fastest horse he could find and kicked it into a gallop. So began what have been called the "sister revolutions" of France and America. In a single, thrilling narrative, this audiobook tells the story of those revolutions and shows just how deeply intertwined they actually were.
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Excellent presentation
- By Hal on 08-20-12
By: James R. Gaines
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The World Remade
- America in World War I
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
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After years of bitter debate, the United States declared war on Imperial Germany on April 6, 1917, plunging the country into the savage European conflict that would redraw the map of the continent - and the globe. The World Remade is an engrossing chronicle of America's pivotal, still controversial intervention into World War I, encompassing the tumultuous politics and towering historical figures that defined the era and forged the future.
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"100% America" - a disturbing place to be
- By DPM on 04-01-17
By: G. J. Meyer
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Alexandra Fuller tells the idiosyncratic story of her life growing up white in rural Rhodesia as it was becoming Zimbabwe. The daughter of hardworking, yet strikingly unconventional English-bred immigrants, Alexandra arrives in Africa at the tender age of two. She moves through life with a hardy resilience, even as a bloody war approaches. Narrator Lisette Lecat reads this remarkable memoir of a family clinging to a harsh landscape and the dying tenets of colonialism.
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An African Childhood of Harrowing Proportions
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Born in Blackness vitally reframes the story of medieval and emerging Africa, demonstrating how the economic ascendancy of Europe, the anchoring of democracy in the West, and the fulfillment of so-called Enlightenment ideals all grew out of Europe's dehumanizing engagement with the "dark" continent. In fact, French reveals, the first impetus for the Age of Discovery was not—as we are so often told, even today—Europe's yearning for ties with Asia, but rather its centuries-old desire to forge a trade in gold with legendarily rich Black societies in the heart of West Africa.
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American History World History Our History
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What listeners say about Diamonds, Gold, and War
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Abdallah Diwan
- 04-15-18
Amazing Audiobook
Was Diamonds, Gold, and War worth the listening time?
Its an amazing book, full of stories that describe lots of missing pieces of the history of south africa
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- Knight Rain
- 01-16-15
Controlling "history," is critical to control
Would you listen to Diamonds, Gold, and War again? Why?
Raw history without agenda and its ugly, behind the scenes dramas, are the same story in all cultures time after time, age after age: ego, domination, war and exceptional people, some willing to use almost any tool and most by the ends of exceptional lives very dangerous when their time wanes.
Which character – as performed by Matthew Waterson – was your favorite?
This is historical narrative and characters are a small part of it, because the book is about events that come very quick upon another... and many are of great historical note still today. Rhodes has a tone to his remarks certainly and Waterson does a good job conveying that... but the grab by Europeans and behind scenes really the entire British Imperial class', their overt condescension to the entire world... is fascinating in its raw forms. But so are the individuals who have the courage to act even if they are often here in the service of domination and little else, certainly not, morality. The events here are stupendous in scope h on the Imperial level and for the Black tribes of Southern Africa, so, the history itself has a tone here not familiar to us today except to one who is aware that virtually the same thing that occupied Rhodes' vision, what he gave... to the world... is with us today in the acts of the "Deep State."
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The book's arc of events is overwhelming, almost unbelievable to our tame world. His relatively... secrete society, (one of several groups still vying for world domination) that Rhodes created as his legacy, I suspect today is still central to world evens so for understanding that alone, who was behind it and why, the man himself and his life... tells us a great deal. This is not the British Empire's finest hour nor is it is low water mark! The tensions in part led to WW1 and 2. Bigotry can be a national trait, as we see in America and its allies' imperial moment today; raw emotions... not more complicated than any bully's treat or the fear he inspires... can be used for propaganda and the truth has nothing to do with it.
Any additional comments?
One fears the worse when reading great books such as this that time has allowed the real political truths to seep out. It seems humanity is forever divided into two groups: elites and the masses. And the masses are forever partially asleep and easily manipulated, even volunteering their lives... for the most common of reasons: a lie.
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- shu
- 03-21-15
bad narration ruins a possibly good story.
How could the performance have been better?
Narrator Matthew Waterson spitsoutwords.................instacattophrases................interspersedwith............longpauses.
The topic is an interesting one. The writer's treatment of the subject seems to have a Liberal/Progressive slant (but because of the wretched narration I have not been able to endure enough of this book to really tell).
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3 people found this helpful
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- horoscopy
- 05-20-16
About the best audio book I have listened to!
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
this book is just very well written and very well narrated!
What did you like best about this story?
the characters are very well portrayed , described and the setting as well
Have you listened to any of Matthew Waterson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
his narration was very well done, I think he is one of the best narrators out of three I have thus far listened to on Audible
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
listened to it actually numerous times1
Any additional comments?
great book and narration!
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- Kristy A. Massey
- 06-17-23
Martin Meredith never disappoints
Comprehensive in scope but well written in the view of many perspectives portrayed in the complexity of their environment.
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- carrieandcorgi
- 12-21-16
Shocking and absorbing
Fascinating account of the early years of white South Africa. The writer does a remarkable job of bringing the major players to life through quotes, communications, and anecdotes. The two major players, Cecil Rhodes and Paul Kruger, come across as tragic figures who ignore their own salvation: The integration of the African natives into their new society. Lots of parallels to the US, but apparently the British weren't able to deploy smallpox on the population. Highly recommend to those who think our current politics is brutal. We've got a long way to go.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-06-18
A Diamond Of A Book
The story of south Africa told through its diamond trade. I found it very interesting and it is a subject not often covered.
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- Hein Du Plessis
- 03-31-15
Great story, eye opener for me
Just a pity the narrator didn't take the trouble to find out how to pronounce the one Afrikaans word that is spoken throughout the book : Boer
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Story
- Johnny K
- 02-25-18
Great
Extremely detailed history. One thing that is very annoying is the incorrect pronunciations of all Afrikaans words, names and places. Boer is pronounced "Booor" not "Bowwer" "Van" is pronounced "Fun" and "W" is usually a "V" otherwise really enjoyable.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- natedog
- 11-23-16
informative and entertaining
An interesting history full of complex characters. The narrator has a wonderful voice and did an excellent job. The ending was rather abrupt and sometimes the story-telling seemed unwieldy but all in all, a great read with a lot to learn from. I considered it overall very well written.
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