Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood
The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. to the First Crusade
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Narrated by:
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Nigel Patterson
About this listen
In the second half of the tenth century, Byzantium embarked on a series of spectacular conquests. By the early eleventh century, the empire was the most powerful state in the Mediterranean. Yet this imperial project came to a crashing collapse fifty years later, when political disunity, fiscal mismanagement, and defeat at the hands of the Seljuks and the Normans brought an end to Byzantine hegemony. By 1081, Byzantium's very existence was threatened.
How did this transformation happen? Based on a close examination of the relevant sources, this history offers a new reconstruction of the key events and crucial reigns as well as a different model for understanding imperial politics and wars. In addition to providing a narrative of this critical period of Byzantine history, Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood offers new interpretations of topics relevant to the medieval era.
The narrative unfolds in three parts: the first covers the years 955-1025, a period of imperial conquest and consolidation of authority under the great emperor Basil "the Bulgar-Slayer."
The second (1025-1059) examines the dispersal of centralized authority in Constantinople and the emergence of new foreign enemies.
The last section chronicles the collapse of the empire, concluding with a look at the First Crusade and its consequences for Byzantine relations with the powers of Western Europe.
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Prosecuting attorney in the Manson trial Vincent Bugliosi held a unique insider's position in one of the most baffling and horrifying cases of the 20th century: the cold-blooded Tate-LaBianca murders carried out by Charles Manson and four of his followers. What motivated Manson in his seemingly mindless selection of victims, and what was his hold over the young women who obeyed his orders? Now available for the first time in unabridged audio, the gripping story of this famous and haunting crime is brought to life by acclaimed narrator Scott Brick.
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Everything I remembered about the case was wrong..
- By karen on 06-22-12
By: Vincent Bugliosi, and others
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Fingerprints of the Gods
- The Quest Continues
- By: Graham Hancock
- Narrated by: Graham Hancock
- Length: 18 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Fingerprints of the Gods is the revolutionary rewrite of history that has persuaded millions of listeners throughout the world to change their preconceptions about the history behind modern society. An intellectual detective story, this unique history audiobook directs probing questions at orthodox history, presenting disturbing new evidence that historians have tried - but failed - to explain.
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Classic in Historical Mysteries
- By Kelly on 09-05-19
By: Graham Hancock
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The Secret History of Christmas
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins
- Original Recording
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Christmas is the single biggest annual event on the planet, a time for merry-making, over-indulgence, peace, goodwill, and the occasional family row. It’s as comfortable and familiar as a pair of old shoes and yet still glittery and exciting. But what do you really know about it? It’s stuffed full of traditions and rituals that most of us have been observing all our lives without having the slightest idea of where they come from.
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Fascinating and Entertaining
- By Laura Carrington on 11-23-22
By: Bill Bryson
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World War 2 in the Pacific Collection: Across Wake Island, Bataan, Guadalcanal, Corregidor, and Iwo Jima
- Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific, The Saga of Pappy Gunn, On Valor's Side, The Coastwatchers, They Call it Pacific, Joe Foss Flying Marine, South from Corregidor, The Story of Wake Island, & Mission Beyond Darkness
- By: Robert Lackie, General George C. Kenney, T. Grady Gallant, and others
- Narrated by: Museum Audiobooks Cast
- Length: 66 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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This is a nine-book bundle on the Pacific War, the theatre of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and Oceania. The Pacific War saw the Allies pitted against Japan, aided by Thailand and its Axis allies, Germany and Italy. Fighting included some of the largest naval battles in history, and the war culminated in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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Good collection, great bargain well worth a credit
- By R. Denton on 08-13-21
By: Robert Lackie, and others
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Black Elk Speaks
- Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, The Premier Edition
- By: John G. Neihardt
- Narrated by: Robin Neihardt
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
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Widely hailed as a spiritual classic, this inspirational and unfailingly powerful story reveals the life and visions of the Lakota healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863–1950) and the tragic history of his Sioux people during the epic closing decades of the Old West. In 1930, the aging Black Elk met a kindred spirit, the famed poet, writer, and critic John G. Neihardt (1881–1973) on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
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Tale of tears
- By William Sanders on 01-25-15
By: John G. Neihardt
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It was supposed to be a moment of great optimism, a cause for jubilation. The Congo was at last being set free from Belgium—one of seventeen countries to gain independence in 1960 from ruling European powers. At the helm as prime minister was charismatic nationalist Patrice Lumumba. Just days after the handover, however, the Congo’s new army mutinied, Belgian forces intervened, and Lumumba turned to the United Nations for help in saving his newborn nation from what the press was already calling “the Congo crisis.”
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Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975) led the Republic of China for almost fifty years, starting in 1926. He was the architect of a new republican China, a hero of the Second World War, and a faithful ally of the United States. Simultaneously a Christian and a Confucian, Chiang dreamed of universal equality yet was a perfidious and cunning dictator responsible for the deaths of over 1.5 million innocent people. This critical biography is based on Chiang Kai-shek's unpublished diaries, his extensive personal files from the Russian archives, and the Russian files of his relatives, associates, and foes.
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A hard story to tell
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Mao's Great Famine
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Mao Zedong threw his country into a frenzy with the Great Leap Forward, an attempt to catch up with and overtake the West in less than fifteen years. It led to one of the greatest catastrophes the world has ever known. Dikotter's extraordinary research within Chinese archives brings together for the first time what happened in the corridors of power with the everyday experiences of ordinary people, giving voice to the dead and disenfranchised. This groundbreaking account definitively recasts the history of the People's Republic of China.
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how it describes the horrors with anecdotes and then uses stats to show bot only did it happen but also that it was common
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American Bloods
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The Bloods were one of America’s first and most expansive pioneer families. They explored and laid claim to the frontiers―geographic, political, intellectual, and spiritual―that would become the very core of the United States. John Kaag’s American Bloods is the account of a remarkable American family, of its participation in the making of a nation, and of how its members embodied the elusive ideals enshrined in the Declaration of Independence.
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Weaves American philosophy and history magnificently. Another tour de force from John Kaag .
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What listeners say about Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 09-26-24
In depth historical analysis
Many history books are inch deep mile wide, this one does a great job delving deep.
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- 19levans
- 03-06-24
Well researched, well written
From the military, to the government, to the economy and trade, and all the way up to the first crusade, Kaldellis does an exceptional job both recapping and shedding new light on changes which took place in Roman society at the time. It is well written, easy to understand, and a must-read for anyone interested in that era of Byzantine history.
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- anya andreeva
- 11-11-24
Depth of research and clarity of presentation
Loved it! Great research, wonderful story and excellent narration. After listening I bought the hard copy. I highly recommend this book
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- Amazon Customer
- 09-06-24
Very Detailed but Tedious
This book is extremely dense with historical minutiae but the flow can be challenging at times. My primary relates to the narrator, who frequently mispronounces names/terms and is generally droning/monotone. This is a poor combination with such dense material. The information would have been much easier to integrate with a more exciting narrator who was familiar with the historical actors and terminology.
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4 people found this helpful