The Pursuit of Italy
A History of a Land, Its Regions, and Their Peoples
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Narrated by:
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Napoleon Ryan
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By:
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David Gilmour
About this listen
Did Garibaldi do Italy a disservice when he helped its disparate parts achieve unity? Was the goal of political unification a mistake? These questions are asked and answered in a number of ways in this engaging, original consideration of the many histories that contribute to the brilliance - and weakness - of Italy today.
David Gilmour's exploration of Italian life over the centuries is filled with provocative anecdotes as well as personal observations, and is peopled with the great figures of the Italian past - from Cicero and Virgil to Dante and the Medicis, from Garibaldi and Cavour to the controversial politicians of the 20th century. Gilmour's wise account of the Risorgimento, the pivotal epoch in modern Italian history, debunks the nationalistic myths that surround it, though he paints a sympathetic portrait of Giuseppe Verdi, a beloved hero of the era.
Gilmour shows that the glory of Italy has always lain in its regions, with their distinctive art, civic cultures, identities, and cuisines. Italy's inhabitants identified themselves not as Italians but as Tuscans and Venetians, Sicilians and Lombards, Neapolitans and Genoese. Italy's strength and culture still come from its regions rather than from its misconceived, mishandled notion of a unified nation.
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- A History
- By: Ewan Butler
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, award-winning historian Ewan Butler writes, struggled through unions and separations with both outsiders and each other, developing their own personalities and languages yet retaining their ancient connections.
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Excellent History of Scandinavia after the Vikings
- By Arthur on 05-05-17
By: Ewan Butler
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The Red Prince
- The Secret Lives of a Habsburg Archduke
- By: Timothy Snyder
- Narrated by: Michael Damon
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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From the palaces of the Habsburg Empire to the torture chambers of Stalin's Soviet Union, the extraordinary story of a life suspended between the collapse of the imperial order and the violent emergence of modern Europe. Wilhelm Von Habsburg wore the uniform of the Austrian officer, the court regalia of a Habsburg archduke, the simple suit of a Parisian exile, the collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and, every so often, a dress.
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little known story about Hapsburgs
- By Janice on 03-30-10
By: Timothy Snyder
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The Birth of Classical Europe
- A History from Troy to Augustine
- By: Simon Price, Peter Thonemann
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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To an extraordinary extent we continue to live in the shadow of the classical world. At every level, from languages to calendars to political systems, we are the descendants of a “classical Europe,” using frames of reference created by ancient Mediterranean cultures. As this consistently fresh and surprising new audio book makes clear, however, this was no less true for the inhabitants of those classical civilizations themselves, whose myths, history, and buildings were an elaborate engagement with an already old and revered past - one filled with great leaders and writers....
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Excellent overview of the Classical World
- By David I. Williams on 01-12-14
By: Simon Price, and others
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Napoleon
- Soldier of Destiny
- By: Michael Broers
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 20 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Written with great energy and authority - and using the newly available personal archives of Napoleon himself - the first volume of a majestic two-part biography of the great French emperor and conqueror.
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Clarity
- By Tad Davis on 03-25-19
By: Michael Broers
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Brazil: A Biography
- By: Lilia M. Schwarcz, Heloisa M. Starling
- Narrated by: Sarah Mollo-Christensen
- Length: 28 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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For many Americans, Brazil is a land of contradictions: vast natural resources and entrenched corruption; extraordinary wealth and grinding poverty; beautiful beaches and violence-torn favelas. Brazil occupies a vivid place in the American imagination, and yet it remains largely unknown. In an extraordinary journey that spans 500 years, from European colonization to the 2016 Summer Olympics, Lilia M. Schwarcz and Heloisa M. Starling's Brazil offers a rich, dramatic history of this complex country.
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Not great; not many English alternatives
- By Seth House on 07-02-19
By: Lilia M. Schwarcz, and others
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Sicily: Three Thousand Years of Human History
- By: Sandra Benjamin
- Narrated by: Fred Filbrich
- Length: 16 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Emigration of people from Sicily often overshadows the importance of the people who immigrated to the island through the centuries. These have included several who became Sicily's rulers, along with Jews, Ligurians, and Albanians. Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Goths, Byzantines, Muslims, Normans, Hohenstaufens, Spaniards, Bourbons, the Savoy Kingdom of Italy and the modern era have all held sway, and left lasting influences on the island's culture and architecture.
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Surprisingly compelling!
- By P. Strayer on 08-25-12
By: Sandra Benjamin
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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 Shortest History of Germany
- From Julius Caesar to Angela Merkel: A Retelling for Our Times
- By: James Hawes
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 6 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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A country both admired and feared, Germany has been the epicenter of world events time and again: the Reformation, both World Wars, the fall of the Berlin Wall. It did not emerge as a modern nation until 1871 - yet today, Germany is the world's fourth-largest economy and a standard-bearer of liberal democracy.
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The narrator can’t pronounce German
- By Vauras Ilmari on 03-22-19
By: James Hawes
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The Islamic Enlightenment
- The Struggle Between Faith and Reason: 1798 to Modern Times
- By: Christopher de Bellaigue
- Narrated by: Charles Armstrong
- Length: 15 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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This absorbing account of the political and social reformations that transformed the lands of Islam during the 19th and early 20th centuries offers a game-changing assessment of the Middle East. Beginning his account in 1798, de Bellaigue demonstrates how the Middle East has long welcomed modern ideals and practices, including the adoption of modern medicine, the emergence of women from seclusion, and the development of democracy.
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fascinating story not told.elsewhere in one place
- By Joseph Sullivan on 11-30-21
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Russian History
- A Captivating Guide to the History of Russia, Including Events Such as the Mongol Invasion, the Napoleonic Invasion, Reforms of Peter the Great, the Fall of the Soviet Union, and More
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Desmond Manny
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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This new Captivating History audiobook serves as an overview of Russian history over the span of more than a millennium, from the foundation of the Russian state by the Viking Prince Rurik in AD 862 until the collapse of the Soviet Union at the end of 1991.
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greater depth
- By Paul on 11-19-18
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The Murder of Professor Schlick
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On June 22, 1936, the philosopher Moritz Schlick was on his way to deliver a lecture at the University of Vienna when Johann Nelböck, a deranged former student of Schlick's, shot him dead on the university steps. Some Austrian newspapers defended the madman, while Nelböck himself argued in court that his onetime teacher had promoted a treacherous Jewish philosophy. David Edmonds traces the rise and fall of the Vienna Circle - an influential group of brilliant thinkers led by Schlick.
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great addition to the history of 20th century thought
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A Life Wild and Perilous
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If you have ever wondered what is was like to be an explorer in the unspoiled American West of the early 1800s, then this is the audiobook for you. Not only a groundbreaking work of American history by critically acclaimed author Robert M. Utley, A Life Wild and Perilous is also a dramatic story of innovation and survival. Here is your chance to live in the very heart of the American wilderness with legendary trappers and mountain men like Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Tom Fitzpatrick, and Jedediah Smith.
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A lot of good history and quite a story too.
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What listeners say about The Pursuit of Italy
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Christopher F. Wilson
- 12-20-23
Eye opening
Learned a ton about history geography economics politics architecture music conflicts wars oppression. Italy as well as Normans Spanish Austrians Communists Croatians Yugoslavs. Triumphs as well as setbacks. Things to emulate at the commune level as well as mistakes to avoid at international and national levels. Like being informed before making my 3d or 4th journey through parts of Italy. Helps explain what all those commemorative street names and statues are about.
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Overall
- A. Taylor
- 01-24-22
Ties the pieces together
I wish I'd read or listened to before or while living in Italy. It ties the pieces I'd heard here and there. Really great book
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- perrybw
- 01-30-23
Decent Book. Terrible Narration.
While this is an interesting book on the Risorgimento, the narration is stilted and emphasizes the wrong words, ruins the flow of the writing, and is difficult to stand for more than a bit at a time. Truly a shame.
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- James F.
- 04-18-18
worth the time.
I wanted a concise review of Italian history (from the Middle Ages forward. This book gave me what i wanted!
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4 people found this helpful
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- TonyT
- 01-31-19
A Great Narrative History Beautifully Read
I'll probably listen to it again soon. And buy the print book. Great adds to my understanding and appreciation of that wonderful country.
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- Scott Free
- 02-11-19
I love history, but there is always a spin
Basically, I appreciated this book. The narration was great, the history compelling. The missing part, which is so true of many history books, was a lack of insight into the real role and politics of the various secret societies.
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1 person found this helpful
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- R. Bhatt
- 07-10-20
Insightful (also delightfully catty)
The author knows a lot and has very specific opinions about Italy. He loves it but sees its flaws too. Listening to this book was like going for long walks with an erudite and funny friend who is an expert on Italian history. I learned about Italian street names, about opera, and the history of Sicily and Venice in particular. The author intermixes relatively dry stuff with gossipy details which I greatly appreciated as they kept my lowbrow interest. The narrator's diction matched the tone of the book and worked well. The only "complaint" is that when I wanted to read more about the many characters in the book, then going from the sounds of their names to the actual spellings was challenging for me. I managed but that's a place where the written format helps.
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- J. James-Long
- 02-23-19
Not enough translation into English
I do not speak Italian and there are important points made with no translation into English. a whole paragraph would build to a specific moment when a certain political party or expression was made, but it was completely lost on me because it was not in English. I appreciate all the research put into the book and the sweep of history, but it was very difficult to complete and away the intended depth.
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- Judas Mallory
- 10-21-17
A new take on Italian history
Gilmour swoops through Italian history by focusing on an whole peninsula vision throughout the story of a very divided region. Instead of meticulously going through all the events that occurred in the peninsula over the centuries, Gilmour is concerned about the events that defined what it was to be Italian, an often vague concept. For those looking for a straight history, avoid this book. For those who want a more thorough understanding of Itlay as a whole, as a concept, as it sees itself, and the divisions that the Italy label brings, read on. My only criticism is that I would have liked a little less history and a little more culture.
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- Alex Fuller
- 10-16-23
Enjoyable and informative
Mr. Gilmour writes a expansive book that traces Italy’s history from the Roman republic to the current day without ever being boring. I especially enjoyed the last couple chapters on the recent past, very interesting information that I had not known.
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