Emperor Audiobook By Geoffrey Parker cover art

Emperor

A New Life of Charles V

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Emperor

By: Geoffrey Parker
Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
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The life of Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), ruler of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and much of Italy and Central and South America, has long intrigued biographers. But the elusive nature of the man (despite an abundance of documentation), his relentless travel and the control of his own image, together with the complexity of governing the world's first transatlantic empire, complicate the task.

Geoffrey Parker, one of the world's leading historians of early modern Europe, has examined the surviving written sources in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish, as well as visual and material evidence. He explores the crucial decisions that created and preserved this vast empire, analyzes Charles' achievements within the context of both personal and structural factors, and scrutinizes the intimate details of the ruler's life for clues to his character and inclinations. The result is a unique biography that interrogates every dimension of Charles' reign and views the world through the emperor's own eyes.

©2019 Geoffrey Parker (P)2019 Tantor 16th Century Europe Medieval Modern Politicians Politics & Activism Royalty Middle Ages Italy Biography Imperialism Global Crisis

Critic reviews

"This is a splendid book. It's well-written, engaging the reader, even while marshalling to good use a truly impressive erudition...." (James D. Tracy, author of Emperor Charles V)
Scholarly Biography • Engrossing Account • Flawless Narration • Excellent Historical Background • Great Storytelling
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best narrated book on Charles v. overall excellent historical background on family and the habsburgs.

best read on Charles V

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I liked the book. It was very detailed. I did find it a little repetitious but still enjoyed it.

Interesting story about a historical person

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I really appreciate the style by Parker. He brings Charles to life with great skill. Narration is also flawless.

Excellent biography

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A book both well written and well read. Nigel Patterson does a tremendous job here.

A book both well written and well read

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Excellent writing, it is thorough without taxing. It is also beautiful writing. The reading is superb.

Excellent

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The amount of study involved in the making of this book was significant. I can't believe how long this book is. Time just flew by the book is so interesting. Narration was also great.

Amazing.

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Geoffrey Parker is a great storyteller and careful historian. I wasn’t even especially interested in Charles V, but knew i would enjoy a major work by Parker.

Detailed, scholarly and entertaining.

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Quite an amazing life, and the author balances appreciation with criticism. Well read with familiarity in a number of languages necessary.

Satisfies the curious

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It's really good but it needs some pictures to make the story more interesting and fun...😉

Cool

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Excellent popular biography that shows notable familiarity with primary sources and adequately contextualizes the life and legacy of Charles V. I would have appreciated more engagement with the key figures and ideas of the reformation in Germany and the inquisition in Spain. Perhaps also with the theological questions and challenges behind the debates over the treatment of the indigenous population of Spanish America. Engagement with church politics in Italy was also reductionistic at some points. Otherwise, very solid work.

Great overall

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