
Istanbul
City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World
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Narrated by:
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Edoardo Ballerini
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By:
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Thomas F. Madden
About this listen
The first single-volume history of Istanbul in decades: a biography of the city at the center of civilizations past and present.
For more than two millennia, Istanbul has stood at the crossroads of the world, perched at the very tip of Europe, gazing across the shores of Asia. The history of this city - known as Byzantium, then Constantinople, now Istanbul - is at once glorious, outsized, and astounding. Founded by the Greeks, its location blessed it as a center for trade but also made it a target of every empire in history, from Alexander the Great and his Macedonian Empire, to the Romans and later the Ottomans. At its most spectacular, Emperor Constantine I re-founded the city as New Rome, the capital of the eastern Roman Empire, and dramatically expanded the city, filling it with artistic treasures, and adorning the streets with opulent palaces. Around it all, Constantine built new walls, truly impregnable, that preserved power, wealth, and withstood any aggressor - walls that still stand for tourists to visit.
From its ancient past to the present, we meet the city through its ordinary citizens - the Jews, Muslims, Italians, Greeks, and Russians who used the famous baths and walked the bazaars - and the rulers who built it up and then destroyed it, including Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the man who christened the city "Istanbul" in 1930. Thomas Madden's entertaining narrative brings to life the city we see today, including the rich splendor of the churches and monasteries that spread throughout the city.
Istanbul draws on a lifetime of study and the latest scholarship, transporting listeners to a city of unparalleled importance and majesty that holds the key to understanding modern civilization. In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, "If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital."
©2016 Thomas F. Madden (P)2016 Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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The Earth Is Weeping
- The Epic Story of the Indian Wars for the American West
- By: Peter Cozzens
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 18 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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With the end of the Civil War, the nation recommenced its expansion onto traditional Indian tribal lands, setting off a wide-ranging conflict that would last more than three decades. In an exploration of the wars and negotiations that destroyed tribal ways of life even as they made possible the emergence of the modern United States, Peter Cozzens gives us both sides in comprehensive and singularly intimate detail.
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Excellent detailed history of US conflict with Native Americans
- By White Thai on 06-24-17
By: Peter Cozzens
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Balkan Ghosts
- A Journey Through History
- By: Robert D. Kaplan
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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From the assassination that triggered World War I to the ethnic warfare in Serbia, Bosnia, and Croatia, the Balkans have been the crucible of the 20th century, the place where terrorism and genocide first became tools of policy. Chosen as one of the Best Books of the Year by the New York Times, and greeted with critical acclaim as "the most insightful and timely work on the Balkans to date" (The Boston Globe), Kaplan's prescient, enthralling, and often chilling political travelogue is already a modern classic.
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Anti religious/anti catholic hit piece
- By Daniel Calvert on 05-04-21
By: Robert D. Kaplan
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Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America
- A Biography
- By: William E. Gienapp
- Narrated by: L.J. Ganser
- Length: 8 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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In Abraham Lincoln and Civil War America, historian William Gienapp provides a remarkably concise, up-to-date, and vibrant biography of the most revered figure in United States history. While the heart of the book focuses on the Civil War, Gienapp begins with a finely etched portrait of Lincoln's early life, from pioneer farm boy to politician and lawyer in Springfield, to his stunning election as 16th president of the United States. Students will see how Lincoln grew during his years in office and much more.
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A great man we could use in the current political climate.
- By dts67 on 01-30-24
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A Year in the Life of Ancient Egypt
- By: Dr Donald P. Ryan
- Narrated by: Philip Bretherton
- Length: 6 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Spend a year in the company of the ancient Egyptians, during the twenty-sixth and final year of the reign of Amenhotep II (c.1400 BC), which saw a royal transition bringing Thutmose IV to the throne of Upper and Lower Egypt. Following the Egyptian calendar year, which was divided into three seasons (inundation, sowing and harvest), we will meet a farmer and his family, an embalmer, an artisan, a royal physician, a priest and even a royal wife as they live their lives in Thebes and Memphis during the eighteenth dynasty of the New Kingdom in this year in ancient Egyptian history.
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Nice but only scratches the surface...
- By Lukasz Wsciubiak on 06-15-24
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Saving Italy
- By: Robert Edsel
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 11 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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When Hitler’s armies occupied Italy in 1943, they also seized control of mankind’s greatest cultural treasures. As they had done throughout Europe, the Nazis could now plunder the masterpieces of the Renaissance, the treasures of the Vatican, and the antiquities of the Roman Empire. On the eve of the Allied invasion, General Dwight Eisenhower empowered a new kind of soldier to protect these historic riches. In May 1944 two unlikely American heroes—artist Deane Keller and scholar Fred Hartt—embarked from Naples on the treasure hunt of a lifetime, tracking billions of dollars of missing art, including works by Michelangelo, Donatello, Titian, Caravaggio, and Botticelli.
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More Personalities than Art Chasing
- By Craig on 01-17-15
By: Robert Edsel
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American Colonies: The Settling of North America
- Penguin History of the United States, Book 1
- By: Alan Taylor
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 21 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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In the first volume in the Penguin History of the United States series, edited by Eric Foner, Alan Taylor challenges the traditional story of colonial history by examining the many cultures that helped make America, from the native inhabitants from millennia past through the decades of Western colonization and conquest and across the entire continent, all the way to the Pacific coast.
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Excellent ..
- By aintbuyinit on 09-03-18
By: Alan Taylor
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The Fall of the Ottomans
- The Great War in the Middle East
- By: Eugene Rogan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Fall of the Ottomans, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan brings the First World War and its immediate aftermath in the Middle East to vivid life, uncovering the often ignored story of the region's crucial role in the conflict.
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Great Book About A Little Known Part of WWI
- By Nostromo on 06-08-15
By: Eugene Rogan
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Istanbul Passage
- A Novel
- By: Joseph Kanon
- Narrated by: Jefferson Mays
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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A neutral capital straddling Europe and Asia, Istanbul has spent the war as a magnet for refugees and spies. Even American businessman Leon Bauer has been drawn into this shadow world, doing undercover odd jobs and courier runs for the Allied war effort. Now, as the espionage community begins to pack up and an apprehensive city prepares for the grim realities of postwar life, he is given one more assignment, a routine job that goes fatally wrong, plunging him into a tangle of intrigue and moral confusion.
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What choice do you make when all options are bad?
- By Maine Colonial 🌲 on 06-08-12
By: Joseph Kanon
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Venice
- Pure City
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 14 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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The Venetians' language and way of thinking set them aside from the rest of Italy. They are an island people, linked to the sea and to the tides rather than the land. This latest work from the incomparable Peter Ackroyd, like a magic gondola, transports its listeners to that sensual and surprising city. His account embraces facts and romance, conjuring up the atmosphere of the canals, bridges, and sunlit squares, the churches and the markets, the festivals and the flowers.
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An endless droning list.....
- By jack on 03-15-11
By: Peter Ackroyd
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The Architect's Apprentice
- By: Elif Shafak
- Narrated by: Piter Marek
- Length: 16 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1540, 12-year-old Jahan arrives in Istanbul. As an animal tamer in the sultan's menagerie, he looks after the exceptionally smart elephant Chota and befriends (and falls for) the sultan's beautiful daughter Princess Mihrimah. A palace education leads Jahan to Mimar Sinan, the empire's chief architect, who takes Jahan under his wing as they construct (with Chota's help) some of the most magnificent buildings in history.
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I feel like I should like it more than I do
- By nyog on 04-19-17
By: Elif Shafak
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The Tragedy of Benedict Arnold
- An American Life
- By: Joyce Lee Malcolm
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Proud and talented, history now remembers this conflicted man solely through the lens of his last desperate act of treason. Yet the fall of Benedict Arnold remains one of the Revolutionary period's great puzzles. Why did a brilliant military commander, who repeatedly risked his life fighting the British, who was grievously injured in the line of duty, and fell into debt personally funding his own troops, ultimately became a traitor to the patriot cause?
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good story....questionable performance
- By Amazon Customer on 07-12-19
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Close Your Eyes
- By: Iris Johansen, Roy Johansen
- Narrated by: Elisabeth Rodgers
- Length: 10 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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A music therapist who thrives on helping others, Kendra Michaels cherishes the ordinary life she has achieved after stem cell surgery restored her sight. The skills she perfected during those sightless years - the ability to pick up the most subtle audio, olfactory, and tactile cues in the world around her - coupled with her laser-sharp mind - have made her a uniquely potent observer and problem solver. Kendra’s uncanny way of connecting the dots is as baffling to law enforcement as it is legendary.
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This is a good one!
- By K Erins on 09-26-13
By: Iris Johansen, and others
What listeners say about Istanbul
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- Anthony J. Priest
- 06-04-18
One of my favorites !
I love audiobooks and have listened to many. This one easily is in my top 3. The story was extremely well written without lots of fluff and offered a fabulous summary in 300 pages of the 2,000 year history of Istanbul. The author struck the perfect balance between detail and big picture. The narrator's voice and pacing was perfectly suited to the story and enhanced the overall experience. Together, the story and narration, make this one of my favorite audiobooks of all time.
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- Jeffrey Roberts
- 02-23-24
Great
Fascinating love it. Learned a lot well written easy to follow. Can’t wait to visit
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- Lauren
- 03-03-25
Excellent History
This historical treatment of the fascinating city and her main characters is thorough, yet manages to tell its story in a succinct manner for the armchair reader. This was a great introduction to the city for me prior to my first visit.
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- Sibawayh
- 07-17-18
Fabulous
Excellent book by the author of Venice : A New History. Well researched and the reader is clear.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 03-21-24
Fascinating history
In preparation of a visit, I wanted to know more of the city’s history. This was an excellent source.
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- Dale Frasier
- 02-03-25
Very good history of Istanbul.
Good narration and a well detailed and thoroughly explained history of Constantinople and Istanbul through modern times.
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- Cat Substrate
- 05-04-20
Audio noise unacceptable
Reader good. Book was recommended by a trusted History Podcaster. The recording is too noisy to enjoy.
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- Ellen Browne
- 04-05-22
How did I miss the amazing history of Istanbul
I do don’t usually enjoy non fiction history books, finding them dry. I’m more inclined to read historical novels. However Thomas Madden has done a superb job of presenting 2,500 year of history about this amazing city and people. I’m heading out on a cruise (with COVID and Russia’s war on Ukraine’s cooperation) from Istanbul to Athens and i felt a need to educate myself about the City. Wow!! The author presents the 2,500 year history in a easily followed, interesting, entertaining way which is no small feat. Edoardo Ballerini does a great job narrating this story. Kudos to both author and narrator!! Thank you for opening this history with all it’s drama and color.
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- Webb Fam
- 02-16-23
A must read
Anyone who wants to know the history of the world end of Christianity, needs to read this book.
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- Carolyn P. Dunlap
- 09-02-23
Good history
This is not only a good history of İstanbul but also of the cultures and lands in that part of the world. My criticism is the poor pronunciation of important Turkish words, for example: Ankara and Topkapı and other.
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