In Xanadu
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Narrated by:
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Michael Maloney
About this listen
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Out of the heart of China into the mountains of Central Asia, across Northern Afghanistan and the plains of Iran into Kurdish Turkey, Colin Thubron undertakes a journey along the greatest land route on earth: the Silk Road. Travelling 7,000 miles in eight months, he traces the passage not only of trade and armies, but of ideas, religions and inventions.
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prose meets poetry
- By Paul on 11-05-07
By: Colin Thubron
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Street Without a Name
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- By: Kapka Kassabova
- Narrated by: Emily Gray
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Story
Kassabova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and grew up under the drab, muddy, gray mantle of one of communism’s most mindlessly authoritarian regimes. Escaping with her family as soon as possible after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, she lived in Britain, New Zealand, and Argentina, and several other places. But when Bulgaria was formally inducted to the European Union she decided it was time to return to the home she had spent most of her life trying to escape. What she found was a country languishing under the strain of transition. This two-part memoir of Kapka’s childhood and return explains life on the other side of the Iron Curtain.
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Good start, but ended up not liking the author
- By Giselle on 11-02-21
By: Kapka Kassabova
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Dreaming of Jupiter
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Performance
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Story
When Ted Simon rode 64,000 miles round the world on his 500c Triumph Tiger, he inspired thousands of motorcyclists to begin their own adventures, including Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman, who chronicled their travels in Long Way Round. Nearly 30 years later, Ted Simon took to the road again to retrace the epic journey he made in his 40s. He meets up with old friends and acquaintances, revisits old landmarks and locations, and rediscovers himself, as well as the world, along the way.
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Amazing book, Amazing Man
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The Last King of Scotland
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Shortly after his arrival in Uganda, Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan is called to the scene of a bizarre accident: Idi Amin, careening down a dirt road in his Maserati, has hit a cow. When Garrigan tends to Amin, the dictator, obsessed with all things Scottish, appoints him as his personal physician. So begins a fateful dalliance with the African leader whose Emperor Jones-style autocracy would transform into a reign of terror.
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Worst Production Ever
- By James on 01-24-07
By: Giles Foden
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The Glass Palace
- By: Amitav Ghosh
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Set in Burma during the British invasion of 1885, this masterly novel by Amitav Ghosh tells the story of Rajkumar, a poor boy lifted on the tides of political and social chaos, who goes on to create an empire in the Burmese teak forest. When soldiers force the royal family out of the Glass Palace and into exile, Rajkumar befriends Dolly, a young woman in the court of the Burmese Queen, whose love will shape his life. He cannot forget her, and years later, as a rich man, he goes in search of her.
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I struggled to finish... enough said.
- By Ty on 05-02-10
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Indonesia, Etc.
- Exploring the Improbable Nation
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- Unabridged
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Story
Bewitched by Indonesia for twenty-five years, Elizabeth Pisani recently traveled 26,000 miles around the archipelago in search of the links that bind this impossibly disparate nation. Fearless and funny, Pisani shares her deck space with pigs and cows, bunks down in a sulfurous volcano, and takes tea with a corpse. Along the way, she observes Big Men with child brides, debates corruption and cannibalism, and ponders "sticky" traditions that cannot be erased.
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Bill Bryson channels Margaret Mead
- By John S. on 09-01-14
By: Elizabeth Pisani
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Iranian Rappers and Persian Porn
- A Hitchhiker's Adventures in the New Iran
- By: Jamie Maslin
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 8 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
When Jamie Maslin decides to hitchhike the entire length of the Silk Road, he decides to travel first and plan later. Then, unexpectedly stranded in Iran - a country he's only read about in newspapers - he wonders whether he'll make it out alive. After crossing the border on foot from Turkey, Maslin finds himself suddenly plunged into the subversive, contradictory world of Iranian subculture, where he is embraced by locals who are happy to show him the true Iran as they see it....
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Entertaining & Informative
- By Bella Bates on 04-18-14
By: Jamie Maslin
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The Fracture Zone
- A Return to the Balkans
- By: Simon Winchester
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Award-winning journalist and author Simon Winchester takes readers on a personal tour of the Balkans. Combining history and interviews with the people who live there, Winchester offers a fascinating glimpse into the complex issues at work in this chaotic region. Unrest in the Balkans has gone on for centuries. A seasoned reporter, Winchester visited the region twenty years ago. When Kosovo reached crisis level in 1997, Winchester thought a return visit to the beleaguered area would help to make sense out of the awful violence.
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Loved this-Great combo:Story and History Explained
- By Jeremy on 07-10-14
By: Simon Winchester
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Black Mischief
- By: Evelyn Waugh
- Narrated by: Michael Maloney
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Black Mischief, Waugh's third novel, helped to establish his reputation as a master satirist. Set on the fictional African island of Azania, the novel chronicles the efforts of Emperor Seth, assisted by the Englishman Basil Seal, to modernize his kingdom. Profound hilarity ensues from the issuance of homemade currency, the staging of a "Birth Control Gala", the rightful ruler's demise at his own rather long and tiring coronation ceremonies, and a good deal more mischief.
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Raucous, Not Racist
- By John on 10-01-16
By: Evelyn Waugh
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What listeners say about In Xanadu
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- melkitemomma
- 10-15-20
So much fun!
The narrator makes the story— which is a perfect blend of the exotic and the real. Ive always been fascinated by the Silk Road and Dalrymple’s re-creation of Marco Polo’s journey is irresistibly interesting.
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- Sandra
- 05-04-15
I found it was read v fast and I could not adjust
Wonderful story that would be nice in full. Read too fast in places. Memorable moment - riding on top of coal trucks. Just too awful to imagine and the lovely homage in the end. The reader had nice voice.
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- caspar
- 08-22-24
Witty and well read
Witty writing and energetic audio performance that matches the spirit of the young adventurous protagonist. Recommend!
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- Sandeep Mehta
- 04-23-15
A young, immature, British lad's travelogue
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
A better story. A less condescending attitude towards locals from this clearly arrogant British traveler. Fewer contrived moments & situations, clearly designed to give this rather boring journey some excitement.
What do you think your next listen will be?
Probably something from Ha-Joon Chang.
What aspect of Michael Maloney’s performance would you have changed?
The narrator & main character of the story is rather dorkey, eager, and annoying. The actor conveyed that perfectly, as there were many moments I thought him guilty of the faults of this book.
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from In Xanadu?
None.
Any additional comments?
This is a travelogue written by a white British traveler clearly unable to to blend or integrate into the Middle-Eastern and Asian cultures he crosses. The result is a very distant and superficial look at locals. If you are looking to learn how locals would behave, or what they would say, towards a white British traveler...this would be the book for you. Just don't expect any deep or meaningful insights into these societies.
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2 people found this helpful