The Measure of Man
Liberty, Virtue, and Beauty in the Florentine Renaissance
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
David de Vries
About this listen
It was one of the most concentrated surges of creativity in the history of civilization. Between 1390 and 1537, Florence poured forth an astonishing stream of magnificent artworks. But Florentines did more during this brief period than create masterpieces. As citizens of a fractious republic threatened from below, without, and within, they also were driven to reimagine the political and ethical basis of their world, exploring the meaning and possibilities of liberty, virtue, and beauty.
This vibrant era is brought to life in rich detail by noted historian Lawrence Rothfield in The Measure of Man. His account introduces listeners to a city teeming with memorable individuals and audacious risk-takers, capable of producing works of the most serene beauty and acts of the most shocking violence. Rothfield's cast of characters includes book hunters and book burners, devout Christians and assassins, humble pharmacists and arrogant oligarchs, all caught up in a dramatic struggle - a tragic arc running from the cultural heights of republican idealism in the early 15th century, through the aesthetic flowerings and civic vicissitudes of the age of the Medici and Savonarola, to the brooding meditations of Machiavelli and Michelangelo over the fate of the dying republic.
©2021 The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. (P)2021 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Prince
- By: Niccolo Machiavelli
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 4 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From his perspective in Renaissance Italy, Machiavelli's aim in this classic work was to resolve conflict with the ruling prince, Lorenzo de Medici. Machiavelli based his insights on the way people really are rather than an ideal of how they should be. This is the world's most famous master plan for seizing and holding power. Astonishing in its candor The Prince even today remains a disturbingly realistic and prophetic work on what it takes to be a prince, a king, or a president.
-
-
You have to know what you get with The Prince
- By Cody Brown on 02-10-15
-
Winslow Homer
- American Passage
- By: William R. Cross
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1860, at the age of twenty-four, Winslow Homer (1836-1910) sold Harper’s two dozen wood engravings, carved into boxwood and transferred to metal plates to stamp on paper. One was a scene that Homer saw in his hometown of Boston, showing Frederick Douglass speaking about freedom and a crowd of abolitionists being thrown from a church; at their front is Frederick Douglass, declaring “the freedom of all mankind.” He is at the heart of the image, face turned skyward and right arm reaching out like a Roman orator.
-
-
Detailed account of Homer's life
- By Lisa Defrancesco on 11-08-24
By: William R. Cross
-
Evil Roman Emperors
- The Shocking History of Ancient Rome's Most Wicked Rulers from Caligula to Nero and More
- By: Phillip Barlag
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Roman history, from the very foundation of the city, is replete with people and stories that shock our modern sensibilities. Evil Roman Emperors puts the worst of Rome's rulers in one place and offers a review of their lives and a historical context for what made them into what they became.
-
-
Brisket and nu potato
- By Michael Ayers on 06-27-21
By: Phillip Barlag
-
Emperor of Rome
- Ruling the Ancient World
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Mary Beard
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her international bestseller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome. Now she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius.
-
-
Wasn't sure but won me over
- By John S. on 01-26-24
By: Mary Beard
-
Hero of Two Worlds
- The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution
- By: Mike Duncan
- Narrated by: Mike Duncan
- Length: 17 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the massively popular podcaster and New York Times best-selling author comes the story of the Marquis de Lafayette's lifelong quest to protect the principles of democracy, told through the lens of the three revolutions he participated in: the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Revolution of 1830.
-
-
Thrillingly storytelling — brilliant narration
- By Byron on 08-24-21
By: Mike Duncan
-
Pax
- War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Tom Holland
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Pax Romana has long been shorthand for the empire’s golden age. Stretching from Caledonia to Arabia, Rome ruled over a quarter of the world’s population. It was the wealthiest and most formidable state in the history of humankind. Pax is a captivating narrative history of Rome at the height of its power. From the gilded capital to realms beyond the frontier, historian Tom Holland shows ancient Rome in all its glory
-
-
Great book!
- By Mic on 09-27-23
By: Tom Holland
-
The Prince
- By: Niccolo Machiavelli
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 4 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From his perspective in Renaissance Italy, Machiavelli's aim in this classic work was to resolve conflict with the ruling prince, Lorenzo de Medici. Machiavelli based his insights on the way people really are rather than an ideal of how they should be. This is the world's most famous master plan for seizing and holding power. Astonishing in its candor The Prince even today remains a disturbingly realistic and prophetic work on what it takes to be a prince, a king, or a president.
-
-
You have to know what you get with The Prince
- By Cody Brown on 02-10-15
-
Winslow Homer
- American Passage
- By: William R. Cross
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 14 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1860, at the age of twenty-four, Winslow Homer (1836-1910) sold Harper’s two dozen wood engravings, carved into boxwood and transferred to metal plates to stamp on paper. One was a scene that Homer saw in his hometown of Boston, showing Frederick Douglass speaking about freedom and a crowd of abolitionists being thrown from a church; at their front is Frederick Douglass, declaring “the freedom of all mankind.” He is at the heart of the image, face turned skyward and right arm reaching out like a Roman orator.
-
-
Detailed account of Homer's life
- By Lisa Defrancesco on 11-08-24
By: William R. Cross
-
Evil Roman Emperors
- The Shocking History of Ancient Rome's Most Wicked Rulers from Caligula to Nero and More
- By: Phillip Barlag
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Roman history, from the very foundation of the city, is replete with people and stories that shock our modern sensibilities. Evil Roman Emperors puts the worst of Rome's rulers in one place and offers a review of their lives and a historical context for what made them into what they became.
-
-
Brisket and nu potato
- By Michael Ayers on 06-27-21
By: Phillip Barlag
-
Emperor of Rome
- Ruling the Ancient World
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Mary Beard
- Length: 14 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In her international bestseller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome. Now she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE). Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius.
-
-
Wasn't sure but won me over
- By John S. on 01-26-24
By: Mary Beard
-
Hero of Two Worlds
- The Marquis de Lafayette in the Age of Revolution
- By: Mike Duncan
- Narrated by: Mike Duncan
- Length: 17 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the massively popular podcaster and New York Times best-selling author comes the story of the Marquis de Lafayette's lifelong quest to protect the principles of democracy, told through the lens of the three revolutions he participated in: the American Revolution, the French Revolution, and the Revolution of 1830.
-
-
Thrillingly storytelling — brilliant narration
- By Byron on 08-24-21
By: Mike Duncan
-
Pax
- War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Tom Holland
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Pax Romana has long been shorthand for the empire’s golden age. Stretching from Caledonia to Arabia, Rome ruled over a quarter of the world’s population. It was the wealthiest and most formidable state in the history of humankind. Pax is a captivating narrative history of Rome at the height of its power. From the gilded capital to realms beyond the frontier, historian Tom Holland shows ancient Rome in all its glory
-
-
Great book!
- By Mic on 09-27-23
By: Tom Holland
-
Powers and Thrones
- A New History of the Middle Ages
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 24 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the once-mighty city of Rome was sacked by barbarians in 410 and lay in ruins, it signaled the end of an era—and the beginning of a thousand years of profound transformation. In a gripping narrative bursting with big names—from St Augustine and Attila the Hun to the Prophet Muhammad and Eleanor of Aquitaine—Dan Jones charges through the history of the Middle Ages. Powers and Thrones takes listeners on a journey through an emerging Europe, the great capitals of late Antiquity, as well as the influential cities of the Islamic West.
-
-
Hard to take a break from it!
- By Mariano's Music on 12-09-21
By: Dan Jones
-
SPQR
- A History of Ancient Rome
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
- Length: 18 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In SPQR, world-renowned classicist Mary Beard narrates the unprecedented rise of a civilization that even 2,000 years later still shapes many of our most fundamental assumptions about power, citizenship, responsibility, political violence, empire, luxury, and beauty.
-
-
Shallow and unsatisfying
- By Joe on 02-19-17
By: Mary Beard
-
Roman Emperors
- Marcus Aurelius, Vespanian, Hadrian, Nero, and Others
- By: Ron Carver
- Narrated by: Brandon Woodall
- Length: 4 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this historical yet somewhat dramatic account of the Roman emperors, you'll find judgments, opinions, and for the most part, hard facts about the rulers of the vast empire that controlled the Mediterranean Sea and beyond for centuries. You'll discover the disgust of historians with Nero's and Caligula's murderous inclinations, their incest, their sexual orgies, and their betrayal. You'll hear of Julius Ceasar's success and totalitarianism during his despot reign.
-
-
You gotta appreciate things like this
- By Anonymous User on 02-14-20
By: Ron Carver
-
Emperors of Rome: Julius Caesar, Constantine, Nero, Caligula, and More
- By: Kelly Mass, Summaries from History
- Narrated by: Miriam Webster
- Length: 3 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What do you know about the emperors of Rome? Rome had good and bad emperors, selfish and selfless ones. Some were wise, others were foolish. And each left their legacy and their imprint on historical concepts of the Roman empire itself. In this book, we will explore the details of a number of these emperors, especially some of the best-known ones that have been hand-picked by the editors of this book.
-
-
That's interesting
- By Bettie on 10-05-19
By: Kelly Mass, and others
-
Crusaders
- The Epic History of the Wars for the Holy Lands
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 16 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For more than 1,000 years, Christians and Muslims lived side by side, sometimes at peace and sometimes at war. When Christian armies seized Jerusalem in 1099, they began the most notorious period of conflict between the two religions. Depending on who you ask, the fall of the holy city was either an inspiring legend or the greatest of horrors. In Crusaders, Dan Jones interrogates the many sides of the larger story, charting a deeply human and avowedly pluralist path through the crusading era.
-
-
Gripping but not tidy
- By Tad Davis on 01-06-20
By: Dan Jones
-
The Medici
- Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Fun Story Bad History
- By Elizabeth Barrett on 05-09-16
By: Paul Strathern
-
Shakespeare and the Resistance
- By: Clare Asquith
- Narrated by: Allan Corduner
- Length: 7 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The 1590s were bleak years for England. The queen was old, the succession unclear, and the treasury empty after decades of war. Amid the rising tension, William Shakespeare published a pair of poems dedicated to the young Earl of Southampton: Venus and Adonis in 1593 and The Rape of Lucrece a year later. Although wildly popular during Shakespeare's lifetime, to modern readers both works are almost impenetrable. But in her enthralling new book, the Shakespearean scholar Clare Asquith reveals their hidden contents.
-
-
Excellent scholarship unveiling hidden history
- By Lumen Fidei on 07-03-23
By: Clare Asquith
-
The Florentines
- From Dante to Galileo: The Transformation of Western Civilization
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between the birth of Dante in 1265 and the death of Galileo in 1642, something happened that transformed the entire culture of Western civilization. Painting, sculpture, and architecture would all visibly change in such a striking fashion that there could be no going back on what had taken place. Likewise, the thought and self-conception of humanity would take on a completely new aspect. Sciences would be born - or emerge in an entirely new guise.
-
-
Narrator ruins the narrative
- By amavita on 03-24-22
By: Paul Strathern
-
The Roman Emperors
- Hadrian, Constantine the Great, Commodus, Caracalla, Etc.
- By: Coby Evans
- Narrated by: Adam Forsyth
- Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This guide will guide you to the right knowledge about all the historical details you need to know about Nero, Caligula, Hadrian, Commodus, Constantine the Great, Caracalla, Marcus Aurelius, Julius Caesar, Augustus, and others. Some were pure evil, abusive, and sheer dictators with their own self-interest that was their only focus. Others had the best intentions for the empire. These emperors left their mark on the people, the history of the entire empire, and the cultural influence the Romans had on us.
-
-
Great book
- By Ruth on 01-10-20
By: Coby Evans
-
The Tigress of Forli
- Renaissance Italy's Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de' Medici
- By: Elizabeth Lev
- Narrated by: Edita Brychta
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this glittering biography, Elizabeth Lev reexamines Caterina Sforza's extraordinary life and accomplishments. Raised in the court of Milan and wed at age ten to the pope’s corrupt nephew, Caterina was ensnared in Italy’s political intrigues early in life. After turbulent years in Rome’s papal court, she moved to the Romagnol province of Forlì. Following her husband’s assassination, she ruled Italy’s crossroads with iron will, martial strength, political savvy—and an icon’s fashion sense. In finally losing her lands to the Borgia family, she put up a resistance that inspired all of Europe.
-
-
Excellent history of a fearless woman
- By Linda M on 11-18-24
By: Elizabeth Lev
-
The Bad Popes
- By: E.R. Chamberlin
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The papal tiara has been worn by a number of infamous men through the course of its history. Some have been accused of murder, many have had mistresses, while others sold positions in the church to their followers or gave land and wealth to their illegitimate children. E. R. Chamberlin examines the lives of eight of the most controversial popes, from the reign of Pope Stephen VI, who had his predecessor exhumed, put on trial and thrown in the Tiber, in the ninth century, through to Pope Clement VII, whose failed international policy led to the Sack of Rome in 1527.
-
-
Complete trash.
- By George on 07-16-21
By: E.R. Chamberlin
-
Alaric the Goth
- An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome
- By: Douglas Boin
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Denied citizenship by the Roman Empire, a soldier named Alaric changed history by unleashing a surprise attack on the capital city of an unjust empire. Stigmatized and relegated to the margins of Roman society, the Goths were violent "barbarians" who destroyed "civilization," at least in the conventional story of Rome's collapse. But a slight shift of perspective brings their history, and ours, shockingly alive.
-
-
Can't finish it.
- By Stan K. Smith on 06-21-20
By: Douglas Boin
Related to this topic
-
The Florentines
- From Dante to Galileo: The Transformation of Western Civilization
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between the birth of Dante in 1265 and the death of Galileo in 1642, something happened that transformed the entire culture of Western civilization. Painting, sculpture, and architecture would all visibly change in such a striking fashion that there could be no going back on what had taken place. Likewise, the thought and self-conception of humanity would take on a completely new aspect. Sciences would be born - or emerge in an entirely new guise.
-
-
Narrator ruins the narrative
- By amavita on 03-24-22
By: Paul Strathern
-
The Bad Popes
- By: E.R. Chamberlin
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The papal tiara has been worn by a number of infamous men through the course of its history. Some have been accused of murder, many have had mistresses, while others sold positions in the church to their followers or gave land and wealth to their illegitimate children. E. R. Chamberlin examines the lives of eight of the most controversial popes, from the reign of Pope Stephen VI, who had his predecessor exhumed, put on trial and thrown in the Tiber, in the ninth century, through to Pope Clement VII, whose failed international policy led to the Sack of Rome in 1527.
-
-
Complete trash.
- By George on 07-16-21
By: E.R. Chamberlin
-
The Medici
- Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Fun Story Bad History
- By Elizabeth Barrett on 05-09-16
By: Paul Strathern
-
Alaric the Goth
- An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome
- By: Douglas Boin
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Denied citizenship by the Roman Empire, a soldier named Alaric changed history by unleashing a surprise attack on the capital city of an unjust empire. Stigmatized and relegated to the margins of Roman society, the Goths were violent "barbarians" who destroyed "civilization," at least in the conventional story of Rome's collapse. But a slight shift of perspective brings their history, and ours, shockingly alive.
-
-
Can't finish it.
- By Stan K. Smith on 06-21-20
By: Douglas Boin
-
The Habsburgs
- To Rule the World
- By: Martyn Rady
- Narrated by: Simon Boughey
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive history of a powerful family dynasty who dominated Europe for centuries - from their rise to power to their eventual downfall.
-
-
An Excellent and Interesting History
- By Darrel Bishop on 09-14-20
By: Martyn Rady
-
Powers and Thrones
- A New History of the Middle Ages
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 24 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the once-mighty city of Rome was sacked by barbarians in 410 and lay in ruins, it signaled the end of an era—and the beginning of a thousand years of profound transformation. In a gripping narrative bursting with big names—from St Augustine and Attila the Hun to the Prophet Muhammad and Eleanor of Aquitaine—Dan Jones charges through the history of the Middle Ages. Powers and Thrones takes listeners on a journey through an emerging Europe, the great capitals of late Antiquity, as well as the influential cities of the Islamic West.
-
-
Hard to take a break from it!
- By Mariano's Music on 12-09-21
By: Dan Jones
-
The Florentines
- From Dante to Galileo: The Transformation of Western Civilization
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 14 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Between the birth of Dante in 1265 and the death of Galileo in 1642, something happened that transformed the entire culture of Western civilization. Painting, sculpture, and architecture would all visibly change in such a striking fashion that there could be no going back on what had taken place. Likewise, the thought and self-conception of humanity would take on a completely new aspect. Sciences would be born - or emerge in an entirely new guise.
-
-
Narrator ruins the narrative
- By amavita on 03-24-22
By: Paul Strathern
-
The Bad Popes
- By: E.R. Chamberlin
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The papal tiara has been worn by a number of infamous men through the course of its history. Some have been accused of murder, many have had mistresses, while others sold positions in the church to their followers or gave land and wealth to their illegitimate children. E. R. Chamberlin examines the lives of eight of the most controversial popes, from the reign of Pope Stephen VI, who had his predecessor exhumed, put on trial and thrown in the Tiber, in the ninth century, through to Pope Clement VII, whose failed international policy led to the Sack of Rome in 1527.
-
-
Complete trash.
- By George on 07-16-21
By: E.R. Chamberlin
-
The Medici
- Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Fun Story Bad History
- By Elizabeth Barrett on 05-09-16
By: Paul Strathern
-
Alaric the Goth
- An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome
- By: Douglas Boin
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Denied citizenship by the Roman Empire, a soldier named Alaric changed history by unleashing a surprise attack on the capital city of an unjust empire. Stigmatized and relegated to the margins of Roman society, the Goths were violent "barbarians" who destroyed "civilization," at least in the conventional story of Rome's collapse. But a slight shift of perspective brings their history, and ours, shockingly alive.
-
-
Can't finish it.
- By Stan K. Smith on 06-21-20
By: Douglas Boin
-
The Habsburgs
- To Rule the World
- By: Martyn Rady
- Narrated by: Simon Boughey
- Length: 14 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The definitive history of a powerful family dynasty who dominated Europe for centuries - from their rise to power to their eventual downfall.
-
-
An Excellent and Interesting History
- By Darrel Bishop on 09-14-20
By: Martyn Rady
-
Powers and Thrones
- A New History of the Middle Ages
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 24 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When the once-mighty city of Rome was sacked by barbarians in 410 and lay in ruins, it signaled the end of an era—and the beginning of a thousand years of profound transformation. In a gripping narrative bursting with big names—from St Augustine and Attila the Hun to the Prophet Muhammad and Eleanor of Aquitaine—Dan Jones charges through the history of the Middle Ages. Powers and Thrones takes listeners on a journey through an emerging Europe, the great capitals of late Antiquity, as well as the influential cities of the Islamic West.
-
-
Hard to take a break from it!
- By Mariano's Music on 12-09-21
By: Dan Jones
-
The Ugly Renaissance
- Sex, Greed, Violence and Depravity in an Age of Beauty
- By: Alexander Lee
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 15 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Renowned as a period of cultural rebirth and artistic innovation, the Renaissance is cloaked in a unique aura of beauty and brilliance. Its very name conjures up awe-inspiring images of an age of lofty ideals in which life imitated the fantastic artworks for which it has become famous. But behind the vast explosion of new art and culture lurked a seamy, vicious world of power politics, perversity, and corruption that has more in common with the present day than anyone dares to admit.
-
-
Author falls into the pit he digs for others
- By Sean on 01-23-16
By: Alexander Lee
-
Nero
- Matricide, Music, and Murder in Imperial Rome
- By: Anthony Everitt, Roddy Ashworth
- Narrated by: Greg Patmore
- Length: 13 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Roman emperor Nero’s name has long been a byword for cruelty, decadence, and despotism. As the stories go, he set fire to Rome and thrummed his lyre as it burned. He then cleared the charred ruins and built a vast palace. He committed incest with his mother, who had schemed and killed to place him on the throne, and later murdered her. But these stories, left behind by contemporary historians who hated him, are hardly the full picture, and in this nuanced biography, celebrated historian Anthony Everitt and investigative journalist Roddy Ashworth reveal the contradictions inherent in Nero
-
-
An amazing 360 degree portrait
- By Cooper A Day on 01-01-23
By: Anthony Everitt, and others
-
Ten Caesars
- Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine
- By: Barry Strauss
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Best-selling classical historian Barry Strauss tells the story of three-and-a-half centuries of the Roman Empire through the lives of 10 of the most important emperors, from Augustus to Constantine.
-
-
Good for beginners
- By Richferguson1 on 03-01-20
By: Barry Strauss
-
The Tigress of Forli
- Renaissance Italy's Most Courageous and Notorious Countess, Caterina Riario Sforza de' Medici
- By: Elizabeth Lev
- Narrated by: Edita Brychta
- Length: 14 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this glittering biography, Elizabeth Lev reexamines Caterina Sforza's extraordinary life and accomplishments. Raised in the court of Milan and wed at age ten to the pope’s corrupt nephew, Caterina was ensnared in Italy’s political intrigues early in life. After turbulent years in Rome’s papal court, she moved to the Romagnol province of Forlì. Following her husband’s assassination, she ruled Italy’s crossroads with iron will, martial strength, political savvy—and an icon’s fashion sense. In finally losing her lands to the Borgia family, she put up a resistance that inspired all of Europe.
-
-
Excellent history of a fearless woman
- By Linda M on 11-18-24
By: Elizabeth Lev
-
Born in Blood
- The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry
- By: John J. Robinson
- Narrated by: Paul Brion
- Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Its mysterious symbols and rituals had been used in secret for centuries before Freemasonry revealed itself in London in 1717. Once known, Freemasonry spread throughout the world and attracted kings, emperors, and statesmen to take its sacred oaths. But where had this powerful organization come from? What was it doing in those secret centuries before it rose from underground more than 270 years ago? And why was Freemasonry attacked with such intense hatred by the Roman Catholic church?
-
-
Interesting but not by a Freemason it seems.
- By What can I say? on 09-08-21
By: John J. Robinson
-
Evil Roman Emperors
- The Shocking History of Ancient Rome's Most Wicked Rulers from Caligula to Nero and More
- By: Phillip Barlag
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Roman history, from the very foundation of the city, is replete with people and stories that shock our modern sensibilities. Evil Roman Emperors puts the worst of Rome's rulers in one place and offers a review of their lives and a historical context for what made them into what they became.
-
-
Brisket and nu potato
- By Michael Ayers on 06-27-21
By: Phillip Barlag
-
Ancient Rome
- The Rise and Fall of An Empire
- By: Simon Baker
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of the greatest empire the world has ever known. Simon Baker charts the rise and fall of the world's first superpower, focusing on six momentous turning points that shaped Roman history. Welcome to Rome as you've never seen it before - awesome and splendid, gritty and squalid. From the conquest of the Mediterranean beginning in the third century BC to the destruction of the Roman Empire at the hands of barbarian invaders some seven centuries later, we discover the most critical episodes in Roman history.
-
-
Clear and dramatic
- By Tad Davis on 08-01-17
By: Simon Baker
-
The Craft
- How the Freemasons Made the Modern World
- By: John Dickie
- Narrated by: Simon Slater
- Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Founded in London in 1717 as a way of binding men in fellowship, Freemasonry proved so addictive that within two decades it had spread across the globe. Masonic influence became pervasive. Under George Washington, the Craft became a creed for the new American nation. Masonic networks held the British empire together. Under Napoleon, the Craft became a tool of authoritarianism and then a cover for revolutionary conspiracy. Both the Mormon Church and the Sicilian mafia owe their origins to Freemasonry.
-
-
The best book about Freemasonry out there.
- By Isaac Pea on 02-19-21
By: John Dickie
-
The Roman Emperors
- Hadrian, Constantine the Great, Commodus, Caracalla, Etc.
- By: Coby Evans
- Narrated by: Adam Forsyth
- Length: 3 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This guide will guide you to the right knowledge about all the historical details you need to know about Nero, Caligula, Hadrian, Commodus, Constantine the Great, Caracalla, Marcus Aurelius, Julius Caesar, Augustus, and others. Some were pure evil, abusive, and sheer dictators with their own self-interest that was their only focus. Others had the best intentions for the empire. These emperors left their mark on the people, the history of the entire empire, and the cultural influence the Romans had on us.
-
-
Great book
- By Ruth on 01-10-20
By: Coby Evans
-
Emperors of Rome: Julius Caesar, Constantine, Nero, Caligula, and More
- By: Kelly Mass, Summaries from History
- Narrated by: Miriam Webster
- Length: 3 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What do you know about the emperors of Rome? Rome had good and bad emperors, selfish and selfless ones. Some were wise, others were foolish. And each left their legacy and their imprint on historical concepts of the Roman empire itself. In this book, we will explore the details of a number of these emperors, especially some of the best-known ones that have been hand-picked by the editors of this book.
-
-
That's interesting
- By Bettie on 10-05-19
By: Kelly Mass, and others
-
Vanished Kingdoms
- The Rise and Fall of States and Nations
- By: Norman Davies
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 30 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is something profoundly romantic about lost civilizations. Davies peers through the cracks in the mainstream accounts of modern-day states to dazzle us with extraordinary stories of barely remembered pasts, and of the traces they left behind. This is Norman Davies at his best: sweeping narrative history packed with unexpected insights. Vanished Kingdoms will appeal to all fans of unconventional and thought-provoking history, from listeners of Niall Ferguson to Jared Diamond.
-
-
needs a good editor.
- By Ryan Anderson on 09-25-21
By: Norman Davies
-
Our Oriental Heritage
- The Story of Civilization, Volume 1
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 50 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The first volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume I chronicles the early history of Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia.
-
-
Wonderful
- By Michael on 11-30-13
By: Will Durant