Great Contemporaries
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Narrated by:
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Ric Jerrom
About this listen
Great Contemporaries profiles towering figures ranging from Franklin Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, Lawrence of Arabia and Leon Trotsky to Charlie Chaplin, H. G. Wells, Rudyard Kipling and George Bernard Shaw. Written in the decade before Churchill became prime minister, the essays in Great Contemporaries focus on the challenges of statecraft at a time when the democratic revolution was toppling older regimes based on tradition and aristocratic privilege.
Churchill's keen observations take on new importance in our own age of roiling political change. Ultimately, Great Contemporaries provides fascinating insight into the statesman's perspective.
Churchill's objective is clear: he tries to learn from these giants what makes a man great. He approaches his subjects with a measuring eye, finding their limitations at least as revealing as their merits. This new edition of Great Contemporaries brings back Churchill's unmatched insights and unforgettable prose for a new generation of listeners and leaders.
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Overall
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Performance
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Performance
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In this dynamic and engaging biography, Anthony Everitt plunges us into the fascinating, scandal-ridden world of ancient Rome in its most glorious heyday. Accessible to us through his legendary speeches but also through an unrivaled collection of unguarded letters to his close friend Atticus, Cicero comes to life here as a witty and cunning political operator.
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An eloquent man, and a patriot
- By Darwin8u on 01-19-15
By: Anthony Everitt
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Hitler
- By: Joachim C. Fest, Richard Winstton - translator, Clara Winstton - translator
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 41 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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This masterful biography by one of Germany’s best known journalists was the leading nonfiction best seller in Germany. Fest shows Hitler as the receptacle of the dreads and resentments of a shaken social order, gifted with an uncanny instinct for all that was hollow behind the appearance of power, at home and abroad. Though a warped human being, he was neither clown nor puppet, as many liked to think; Hitler appears here as an enormously astute politician, impressing and hypnotizing Germans and foreigners alike with the scope of his projects and the theatricality of their presentation. Fest uncovers in Hitler a constantly destructive personality....
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Should be part of high school education
- By Rex Riethmeier on 12-25-18
By: Joachim C. Fest, and others
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Napoleon
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 5 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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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
By: Paul Johnson
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The Problem of Democracy
- The Presidents Adams Confront the Cult of Personality
- By: Nancy Isenberg, Andrew Burstein
- Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
- Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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John and John Quincy Adams: rogue intellectuals, unsparing truth-tellers, too uncensored for their own political good. They held that political participation demanded moral courage. They did not seek popularity (it showed). They lamented the fact that hero worship in America substituted idolatry for results; and they made it clear that they were talking about Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Andrew Jackson. When John Adams succeeded George Washington as President, his son had already followed him into public service and was stationed in Europe as a diplomat.
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Very insightful and rewarding adding understanding
- By William on 05-12-19
By: Nancy Isenberg, and others
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Practicing History
- Selected Essays
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 12 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Master historian Barbara W. Tuchman looks at history in a unique way and draws lessons from what she sees. This accessible introduction to the subject of history offers striking insights into America's past and present, trenchant observations on the international scene, and thoughtful pieces on the historian's role. Here is a splendid body of work, the story of a lifetime spent "practicing history".
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Barbara Tuchman fan faced with reality
- By J. Whittle on 09-27-18
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Gandhi & Churchill
- By: Arthur Herman
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 29 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In this fast-paced epic, best-selling historian and master storyteller Arthur Herman spotlights two giants of the 20th century. Gandhi & Churchill shows how their 40-year rivalry revolutionized India and the British Empire, paving the way for a new era. Gandhi championed India's independence, Churchill the British Empire.
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A motif that works well
- By Maine Dave on 11-30-09
By: Arthur Herman
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The War That Ended Peace
- The Road to 1914
- By: Margaret MacMillan
- Narrated by: Richard Burnip
- Length: 31 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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From the best-selling and award-winning author of Paris 1919 comes a masterpiece of narrative nonfiction, a fascinating portrait of Europe from 1900 up to the outbreak of World War I.
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Detailed review of 1882 to 1914
- By smarmer on 04-06-14
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What listeners say about Great Contemporaries
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- M. Hu
- 07-26-20
Performance is too affected
I don't like the style of the narrator, too affected. The gyration of his tone serves as too much of a distraction, even to the point of losing the thread of story or mincing up words and phrases.
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1 person found this helpful
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- lps562
- 02-03-21
Churchill is brilliant
Churchill is one of the best writers of all time. His incredible insight into situations and people is often prophetic. Much of what he discussed, although about events that happened 100+ years ago, are timeless. “Democracy is like holding a wolf by the ears” is one great quote from the book. He also uses wit to make remarks of dry humor about his subjects.
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- JSL
- 07-27-18
Somewhat dated but interesting
Many of Churchill’s “great contemporaries” are not very well remembered today but nevertheless the profiles here are absorbing. Churchill has a florid style and the narrator gives it its full value. Many political scores are settled, but Churchill shows respect even for those he doesn’t like. All the profiles were written in the 1930’s, so the constant references to “the war” refer to World War I. A familiarity with late 19th century English political history helps a listener to follow these accounts.
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- Larry L. Booker
- 12-27-18
Churchill's Pre WWII Fame & Experience on Display
Anyone who loves history, understands that it is made by people. These narratives by Churchill reveal as much about him as it does his contemporaries... which, no doubt W.C. had planned. Excellent.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Montclair 65
- 09-23-23
Churchill's Classic Biographical Essays
Winston Churchill provides entertaining and opinionated biographical essays on his political, royal and cultural contemporaries.
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- Bronwen
- 05-10-17
Well-written short bios of Churchill's great contemporaries.
Churchill's writing is always entertaining, and he doesn't disappoint with this book. Each chapter is a mini biography of a famous public figure whose career overlapped with Churchill's. Due to his family position, he knew many important people and had an intimate inside perspective of many of their lives.
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- Courtland Hopkins
- 10-08-22
great to listen to
I really enjoyed this reading of Churchills work. it was so enjoyable and informative
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1 person found this helpful