The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior
Da Vinci, Machiavelli, and Borgia and the World They Shaped
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Narrated by:
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Nigel Patterson
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By:
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Paul Strathern
About this listen
Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Cesare Borgia - three iconic figures whose intersecting lives provide the basis for this astonishing work of narrative history. They could not have been more different, and they would meet only for a short time in 1502, but the events that transpired when they did would significantly alter each man's perceptions - and the course of Western history.
In 1502, Italy was riven by conflict, with the city of Florence as the ultimate prize. Machiavelli, the consummate political manipulator, attempted to placate the savage Borgia by volunteering Leonardo to be Borgia's chief military engineer. That autumn, the three men embarked together on a brief, perilous, and fateful journey through the mountains, remote villages, and hill towns of the Italian Romagna - the details of which were revealed in Machiavelli's frequent dispatches and Leonardo's meticulous notebooks.
Superbly written and thoroughly researched, The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior is a work of narrative genius - whose subject is the nature of genius itself.
©2009 Paul Strathern (P)2018 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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- By Steven on 12-10-14
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Elizabeth
- The Forgotten Years
- By: John Guy
- Narrated by: Alex Jennings
- Length: 17 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Elizabeth was crowned at 25 after a tempestuous childhood as a bastard and an outcast, but it was only when she reached 50 and all hopes of a royal marriage were dashed that she began to wield real power in her own right. For 25 years she had struggled to assert her authority over advisers who pressed her to marry and settle the succession; now, she was determined not only to reign but also to rule.
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worth the credit
- By Lesley on 04-19-17
By: John Guy
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Marquis
- Lafayette Reconsidered
- By: Laura Auricchio
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 12 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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A major biography of the Marquis de Lafayette, French hero of the American Revolution, looks past the storybook general and selfless champion of righteous causes who, at the age of 19, volunteered to fight under George Washington, casting aside fortune and family (from one of France's oldest families; his ancestors served in the Crusades and alongside Joan of Arc) to advance the transcendent aims of liberty and justice.
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Lafayette: A Hit Abroad! & A Miss at Home!
- By James on 03-05-15
By: Laura Auricchio
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Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician
- By: Anthony Everitt
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 15 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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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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Edward III
- The Perfect King
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
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Holding power for over 50 years starting in 1327, Edward III was one of England's most influential kings and one who shaped the course of English history. Revered as one of the country's most illustrious leaders for centuries, he was also a usurper and a warmonger who ordered his uncle beheaded. A brutal man, to be sure, but also a brilliant one.
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Great book about Edward III
- By Kiesha on 07-05-16
By: Ian Mortimer
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The Norman Conquest
- The Battle of Hastings and the Fall of Anglo-Saxon England
- By: Marc Morris
- Narrated by: Frazer Douglas
- Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins
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An upstart French duke who sets out to conquer the most powerful and unified kingdom in Christendom. An invasion force on a scale not seen since the days of the Romans. One of the bloodiest and most decisive battles ever fought.
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A Balanced, Entertaining, and Informative History
- By Jefferson on 06-01-14
By: Marc Morris
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The Conquering Family
- By: Thomas B. Costain
- Narrated by: David Case
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Thomas B. Costain's four-volume history of the Plantagenets begins with The Conquering Family and the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066, closing with the reign of John in 1216. The troubled period after the Norman Conquest, when the foundations of government were hammered out between monarch and people, comes to life through Costain's storytelling skill and historical imagination.
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An Entrancing History of the Early Plantegenets
- By Peter on 01-20-09
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Francis I
- The Maker of Modern France
- By: Leonie Frieda
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Catherine de Medici's father-in-law, King Francis of France, was the perfect Renaissance knight, the movement's exemplar and its Gallic interpreter. An aesthete, diplomat par excellence, and contemporary of Machiavelli, Francis was the founder of modern France, whose sheer force of will and personality molded his kingdom into the first European superpower. Arguably the man who introduced the Renaissance to France, Francis was also the prototype Frenchman - a national identity was modeled on his character.
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Rekindling salamandrine fires...
- By Adeliese Baumann on 09-29-18
By: Leonie Frieda
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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
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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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Napoleon
- A Life
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 32 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Andrew Roberts' Napoleon is the first one-volume biography to take advantage of the recent publication of Napoleon's thirty-three thousand letters, which radically transform our understanding of his character and motivation. At last we see him as he was: protean multitasker, decisive, surprisingly willing to forgive his enemies and his errant wife Josephine.
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What a dynamo!
- By Tad Davis on 01-16-15
By: Andrew Roberts
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Hadrian and the Triumph of Rome
- By: Anthony Everitt
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 14 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Acclaimed British historian Anthony Everitt delivers a compelling account of the former orphan who became Roman emperor in A.D. 117 after the death of his guardian Trajan. Hadrian strengthened Rome by ending territorial expansion and fortifying existing borders. And - except for the uprising he triggered in Judea - his strength-based diplomacy brought peace to the realm after a century of warfare.
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A Biography "too tall for the height of the cella"
- By Darwin8u on 08-23-12
By: Anthony Everitt
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Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning, Paul Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence as well as the Italian Renaissance, which they did so much to sponsor and encourage. Interwoven into the narrative are the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists with whom the Medici had dealings, including Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello as well as scientists like Galileo and Pico della Mirandola.
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In 1508, despite strong advice to the contrary, the powerful Pope Julius II commissioned Michelangelo Buonarroti to paint the ceiling of the newly restored Sistine Chapel in Rome. During the four extraordinary years that Michelangelo spent laboring over the ceiling, power politics and personal rivalries swirled around him. He battled ill health, financial and family difficulties, inadequate knowledge of the art of fresco, and the Pope's impatience - a history that is more compelling than most novels.
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History brought to life!
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The Rise of Athens
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Filled with tales of adventure and astounding reversals of fortune, The Rise of Athens celebrates the city-state that transformed the world - from the democratic revolution that marked its beginning through the city's political and cultural golden age to its decline into the ancient equivalent of a modern-day university town. Anthony Everitt constructs his history with unforgettable portraits of the talented, tricky, ambitious, and unscrupulous Athenians who fueled the city's rise.
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Good but not great. With some disturbing opinions.
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Rome's Last Citizen
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Marcus Porcius Cato: aristocrat who walked barefoot and slept on the ground with his troops, political heavyweight who cultivated the image of a Stoic philosopher, a hardnosed defender of tradition who presented himself as a man out of the sacred Roman past-and the last man standing when Rome's Republic fell to tyranny. His blood feud with Caesar began in the chamber of the Senate, played out on the battlefields of a world war, and ended when he took his own life rather than live under a dictator.
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Unfortunate
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By: Rob Goodman, and others
What listeners say about The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Robert Sigurdsson
- 07-05-22
Great narration, pronunciation, and biographies.
Although this is another biased opinion about the Borgia family, I did enjoy it. Also, I did enjoyed the names of the important figures, being pronounced correctly.
Good for those who don't know much about Leonardo Da Vinci, Niccolo Machiavelli, or Cesare Borgia
Those who liked this book, should try "The Life of Cesare Borgia" by Rafael Sabatini. For an unbiased look upon the Borgia family.
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- George Monnat Jr
- 02-18-19
A Very Good Book (Just Not As Good As Others)
I listened to this after I listened to Paul Strathern's other books: The Medici and Death in Florence (in that order). I thought this one was still interesting, but the writing seemed more biased and preachy while the narration was good but not as well done as the others by Derek Perkins. I still highly recommend all three books, analog or audio, because they are fascinating.
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6 people found this helpful
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- C. Brown Leinberger
- 08-13-23
Brought so much renaissance life…to life
What a wonderful narrative history…about the best in its class I have read/listened to. The connections between the two seminal giants of the renaissance, joined by a force of nature (Borgia), was all new to me.
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- Loki
- 01-17-24
Incredible!
Paul Strathern is one of my very favorite authors, and this work of his is excellent! He weaves together the timeline in a compelling way that allows the audience to understand the good, bad, and truly human qualities of the artist, philosopher, and warrior. Highly recommend!
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- Gypsi
- 10-31-23
Disappointing
The author's premise is that these three men spent a small amount of time together, and that time changed their perspectives and, from there, the course of history. Unfortunately, the book is full of supposition and speculation -- especially about Da Vinci -- with these repeated words and phrases summing up the gist of the information given: might; might could have; possibly; probably; must have; in all likelihood; it would seem; it would appear to suggest; it would have been out of character; if we assume; we can surmise. Though I finished it in hopes that he would eventually prove his point, I came away very frustrated as he was unable to do so without postulating.
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1 person found this helpful