Peter the Great
His Life and World
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Narrated by:
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Frederick Davidson
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By:
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Robert K. Massie
About this listen
This superbly told story brings to life one of the most remarkable rulers––and men––in all of history and conveys the drama of his life and world. The Russia of Peter's birth was very different from the Russia his energy, genius, and ruthlessness shaped. Crowned co-Tsar as a child of ten, after witnessing bloody uprisings in the streets of Moscow, he would grow up propelled by an unquenchable curiosity, everywhere looking, asking, tinkering, and learning, fired by Western ideas.
We see Peter in his 20s traveling "incognito" with his ambassadors to the courts of Europe; as the victorious soldier proclaimed Emperor; as the simple workman at his forge; and as the visionary statesman who single-handedly created a formidable world power. Impetuous and stubborn, bawdy and stern, relentless in his perseverance, he was capable of the greatest generosity and the greatest cruelty.
©1980 Robert K. Massie (P)1991 Blackstone Audio, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
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- Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo
- By: Tom Reiss
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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General Alex Dumas is a man almost unknown today, yet his story is strikingly familiar—because his son, the novelist Alexandre Dumas, used his larger-than-life feats as inspiration for such classics as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.
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The story behind the greatest novelist of all time
- By Melinda on 01-13-13
By: Tom Reiss
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The White King
- Charles I, Traitor, Murderer, Martyr
- By: Leanda de Lisle
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Less than 40 years after England's golden age under Elizabeth I, the country was at war with itself. Split between loyalty to the Crown or to Parliament, war raged on English soil. Its casualties were immense. At the head of the disintegrating kingdom was King Charles I. In this vivid portrait - informed by previously unseen manuscripts, including royal correspondence between the king and his queen - Leanda de Lisle depicts a man who was principled and brave but fatally blinkered.
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Enlightening Stuart history
- By Adeliese Baumann on 01-25-18
By: Leanda de Lisle
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Defenders of the Faith
- Charles V, Suleyman the Magnificent, and the Battle for Europe, 1520-1536
- By: James Reston Jr.
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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In the best-selling Warriors of God and Dogs of God, James Reston Jr. limned two epochal conflicts between Islam and Christendom. Here he examines the ultimate battle in that centuries-long war, which found Europe at its most vulnerable and Islam on the attack. This drama was propelled by two astonishing young sovereigns: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Turkish sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Though they represented two colliding worlds, they were remarkably similar.
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Good account of interesting period of history
- By ItalCali on 03-11-22
By: James Reston Jr.
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The Black Prince
- England's Greatest Medieval Warrior
- By: Michael Jones
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 16 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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As a child, he was given his own suit of armor; at the age of 16, he helped defeat the French at Crecy. At Poitiers, in 1356, his victory over King John II of France forced the French into a humiliating surrender that marked the zenith of England's dominance in the Hundred Years War. As lord of Aquitaine, he ruled a vast swathe of territory across the west and southwest of France, holding a magnificent court at Bordeaux that mesmerized the brave but unruly Gascon nobility. He was Edward of Woodstock, eldest son of Edward III, and better known to posterity as "the Black Prince".
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Outstanding history
- By Scott on 02-17-19
By: Michael Jones
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Isabella of Castile
- Europe's First Great Queen
- By: Giles Tremlett
- Narrated by: Karen Cass
- Length: 19 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1474, a 23-year-old woman ascended the throne of Castile, the largest and strongest kingdom in Spain. Ahead of her lay the considerable challenge not only of being a young female ruler in an overwhelmingly male-dominated world but also of reforming a major European kingdom that was riddled with crime, corruption, and violent political factionism. Her pivotal reign was long and transformative, uniting Spain and setting the stage for its golden era of global dominance.
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Enlightening
- By Jean on 03-07-17
By: Giles Tremlett
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América
- The Epic Story of Spanish North America, 1493-1898
- By: Robert Goodwin
- Narrated by: Thom Rivera
- Length: 20 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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At the conclusion of the American Revolution, half the modern United States was part of the vast Spanish Empire. The year after Columbus' great voyage of discovery, in 1492, he claimed Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for Spain. For the next 300 years, thousands of proud Spanish conquistadors and their largely forgotten Mexican allies went in search of glory and riches from Florida to California. Many died; few triumphed. Some were cruel; some were curious; some were kind. Missionaries and priests yearned to harvest Indian souls for God through baptism and Christian teaching.
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A Narration That is Difficult to Follow
- By Amazon Customer on 05-24-19
By: Robert Goodwin
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Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom
- China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War
- By: Stephen R. Platt
- Narrated by: Angela Lin
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Stephen R. Platt is widely respected for his incisive nonfiction, particularly in regard to his knowledge and understanding of China. With Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom, Platt details the absorbing narrative of the Taiping Rebellion, which resulted in the loss of 20 million lives. Occurring in the 1850s, this is the story of a cultural movement characterized by intriguing personages such as influential military strategist Zeng Guofan and brilliant Taiping leader Hong Rengan.
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InTOLerable Reader
- By Adam on 07-07-12
By: Stephen R. Platt
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Sicily
- An Island at the Crossroads of History
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: Michael Healy
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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"Sicily," said Goethe, "is the key to everything." It is the largest island in the Mediterranean, the stepping-stone between Europe and Africa, the link between the Latin West and the Greek East. Sicily's strategic location has tempted Roman emperors, French princes, and Spanish kings. The subsequent struggles to conquer and keep it have played crucial roles in the rise and fall of the world's most powerful dynasties.
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DISAPPOINTING
- By SRdto on 11-22-16
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The Borgias and Their Enemies
- 1431-1519
- By: Christopher Hibbert
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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The name Borgia is synonymous with the corruption, nepotism, and greed that were rife in Renaissance Italy. The powerful, voracious Rodrigo Borgia, better known to history as Pope Alexander VI, was the central figure of the dynasty. Two of his seven papal offspring also rose to power and fame. The Borgias were notorious for seizing power, wealth, land, and titles through bribery, marriage, and murder. The story of the family's dramatic rise from its Spanish roots to the highest position in Italian society is an absorbing tale.
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Covers the bases, but falls a little flat.
- By Chap Walker on 06-16-13
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Abridged to the point of NO content
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Scholarly but gripping
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DON'T BOTHER
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Steel Lobsters
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The 17th-century battlefield ushered in a new era, with formed musketeers and pistol-wielding cavalry gradually taking over from the knights and men-at-arms that had dominated the European battlefield. Based on a detailed study of the primary sources, Steel Lobsters tells the story of this transition through the history of the last fully armoured knights in England.
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Would have been better as a farce
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The predominant image of this first world war is of mud and trenches, barbed wire, machine guns, poison gas, and slaughter. A generation of European manhood was massacred, and a wound was inflicted on European civilization that required the remainder of the twentieth century to heal.
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Stick With It!
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An escaped convict with a false passport, Lin flees maximum security prison in Australia for the teeming streets of Bombay, where he can disappear. Accompanied by his guide and faithful friend, Prabaker, the two enter the city’s hidden society of beggars and gangsters, prostitutes and holy men, soldiers and actors, and Indians and exiles from other countries, who seek in this remarkable place what they cannot find elsewhere.
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Probably the best performance I've listened to.
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Abridged to the point of NO content
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Would have been better as a farce
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Foundation
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In Foundation the chronicler of London and of its river, the Thames, takes us from the primeval forests of England's prehistory to the death of the first Tudor king, Henry VII, in 1509. He guides us from the building of Stonehenge to the founding of the two great glories of medieval England: common law and the cathedrals. He shows us glimpses of the country's most distant past - a Neolithic stirrup found in a grave, a Roman fort, a Saxon tomb, a medieval manor house.
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A Kaleidescopic panorama of an enigmatic culture.
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BIG CHUNK MISSING
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The Thirty Years' War (1618-48) was Europe's most destructive conflict prior to the two world wars. Two of European history's greatest generals faced each other at Lutzen in November 1632, midway through this terrible war. This book is the first to combine analysis of the battle itself with an assessment of its cultural, political, and military legacy, and the first to incorporate recent archaeological research within a reappraisal of the events and their significance.
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Two retired Texas Rangers, Captains Woodrow Call and Augustus "Gus" McCrae, lead a cattle drive from the small town of Lonesome Dove to the unsettled Montana territories. On their grueling journey, they are joined by Joshua Deets, a Black scout and former Ranger, Jake Spoon, a fugitive, and Newt Dobbs, a 17-year-old boy who may have family ties to Call. Richly authentic, beautifully written, always dramatic, Lonesome Dove will make listeners laugh and weep, dream and remember.
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Could not listen
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"Me tomó mucho tiempo y a la mayor parte del mundo aprender lo que sé sobre el amor y el destino y las decisiones que tomamos, pero el corazón de esto me llegó en un instante, mientras estaba encadenado a una pared y siendo torturado".
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Una obra maestra leida por un maestro de la voz
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The Scapegoat
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In this compelling biography, historian A. J. P. Taylor reevaluates Bismarck's motives and methods, focusing on the chancellor's rise to power in the 1860s and his removal from office in 1890.
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Good, but read a primer first
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In August 1942, an overconfident Adolf Hitler would attempt to invade Stalin's namesake city on the Volga. The battle of Stalingrad is extraordinary in every way: the triumphant invader fought to a standstill; then the Soviet trap sprung, surrounding their attackers; and the terrible siege, with Germans starving and freezing, forced to fight on by a disbelieving Hitler.
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Audible! Pls provide Michael Tudor Barnes
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Peter the Great: A Life from Beginning to End
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What would Russia look like today if there had never been a Peter the Great? Peter I did so much for Russia, including changing the education system to reach more people, reorganizing the government and the Russian Orthodox Church, and even modernizing the dress and social living standards of the Russian people. Peter grew up in a Russia that was stuck in archaic times, but he recognized the need for change, and when his time came to rule over his country he met the challenge head-on. Peter the Great turned Russia into one of the greatest powers of the world.
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Savage!
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The life of Princess May of Teck is one of the great Cinderella stories in history. From a family of impoverished nobility, she was chosen by Queen Victoria as the bride for her eldest grandson, the scandalous Duke of Clarence, heir to the throne, who died mysteriously before their marriage. Despite this setback, she became queen, mother of two kings, grandmother of the current queen, and a lasting symbol of the majesty of the British throne.
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Wow! Did not want this to end!
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The Thirty Years War
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The Thirty Years War devastated seventeenth-century Europe, killing nearly a quarter of all Germans and laying waste to towns and countryside alike. Peter Wilson offers the first new history in a generation of a horrifying conflict that transformed the map of the modern world.
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Less caffeine, narrator
- By Jeff Joyner on 02-12-24
By: Peter H. Wilson
What listeners say about Peter the Great
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Abbas
- 04-17-19
That was great.
This was quite an encyclopedia on Czar Peter. It is quite long and detailed, due to that it was hard to finish. However, the info in this book was clear and easy to digest. I wouldn't recommend it if you just want a rough idea on Peter the Great, because this will give you everything.
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- Matt
- 07-31-12
Remarkable Man....Fantastic Book!
Absolutely loved this book. I read it about 10 years ago and decided to give the audio book a try as well. It is easily one of the best biographies I have ever read. You don't have to be a Russian history enthusiast to enjoy this book. Anybody who enjoys European history, sailing or military history will take something away from this book. 5 big stars on this one!!
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- Gwen McRae
- 10-08-19
Engaging history
I was intimidated by the length but wanted a deeper understanding of this period of history. The material is beautifully written even and engaging. The performance is a little annoying but the reading and execution is at a high level even so. Worth the investment.
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- JJ
- 10-10-20
Excellant !
The story of this mans life is fantastic. The reader however tends to drop off the volume at the end of a word or sentence. After replaying 3 times you still can not understand all of his words. I recommend this book be revised. On some occasions things are mentioned that a modern day reader doesnt know of that item of war or invention. There is a real opportunity here to modernize some of the descriptions. The story is still amazing in its own right.
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- Stephen
- 02-05-18
Comprehensive, but oddly-accented narrator
Listen to the sample before buying this book. The narrator has an extremely unusual British accent, and this book is LONG, so make sure you can tolerate it. The performance isn't bad, but it's definitely different.
That said, this is a magnificent and comprehensive biography not only of Peter but also of the Europe that surrounded him. The author covers every inch of Peter's reign, from his diplomatic and military triumphs to his personal obsessions and relationships. Included for critical context of Peter's reign are deep summaries of other European rulers of the day including Louis the 14th and William of Orange, and the book essentially contains a sub-biography of Charles the 12th, Peter's archnemesis whose Swedish army nearly destroyed the Russian Empire before it started. If you are looking for not only a biography but a history of Northeastern Europe at the turn of the 18th century, it would be hard to do better.
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- Eve Howard
- 08-07-18
Superb textbook that reads like a novel
It's not just Peter's history, this fantastic book fills in the background of every important monarch in Europe in the early 18th Century. A must for Russian literature fans, it sets the stage for all the upheavals to come. If you want to know what is meant by that vague phrase, the Russian soul, Peter's life and struggles will explain that too. The book is crammed with major events, social trends, commercial enterprises, international diplomacy, embassies, inventions, institutions, characters, and above all, war, war, war. Monster or visionary? Both in abundance. You wouldn't want to be part of his family, but after experiencing all he went through, all he wrought and all he tried to do, you become almost emotionally attached to this unique individual. The perfect companion to a library filled with Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Pushin and Gogol.
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- Jeffrey
- 08-06-12
A full history.
The history starts before he was born. It gives a good solid history of each person that plays a meaningful role in the story of Peter. It keeps up the interest to the last minutes of the book.
My only criticism is the narrator has a lisp. It is not bad but it is noticeable.
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- Dan
- 10-19-21
Excellent but in desperate need of a remaster
The content is phenomenal - I've never had a 40 hour book go by so quickly. Massie did a tremendous job of painting the Russia and Europe that Peter lived in with vivid detail and anecdotes about small events that truly add color to the history. I also loved how he devoted some time to the back stories of the other important figures in the narrative, such as Charles XII, Louis XIV, and William of Orange, which added context for those like me who don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of European history. Truly one of the best biographies I've listened to.
It's not fair to knock off an entire star but this audio quality really needs work - you can tell it was recorded ages ago. I think my ears got used to it eventually, but it might have been at the cost of some of the cells in my cochleas. I don't believe the Audible app has an equalizer, which is unfortunate because I did most of my listening through headphones at work. For the few hours that I listened while in the car, I found the sound to be unbearably painful (at sufficient volume to hear the words over the sounds of the road) until I turned the treble down all the way - this made the recording much more tolerable, albeit still low quality by today's standards. I strongly recommend someone run the book through a filter - even if it doesn't become perfect, the next listeners could have a much better experience than I did, and this book deserves it.
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- Jon Olinger
- 05-07-22
Terrible presenter
The readers accent is ridiculous. It is distracting and cartoonish. Additionally he injects his own opinion into the inflection of his voice
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- Howard A. Woltermann
- 06-06-23
Great review of that era
This was a great review of that era. This includes France ,Dutch Swedish and English
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