
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers
Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000
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Narrated by:
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Peter Coates
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By:
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Paul Kennedy
About this listen
Spanning five centuries of history, The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers offers a sweeping exploration of how nations rise to dominance and fall into decline. Paul Kennedy masterfully examines the intricate interplay between economics and strategy, revealing how shifts in wealth and resources have shaped global power dynamics from 1500 to 2000. Filled with keen insights, this groundbreaking and important work provides a compelling lens through which to understand the forces that continue to shape our modern world.
This audiobook is expertly read by Peter Coates, with audio engineering by Peter Coates and Blake Rook. It was produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©1987 Paul Kennedy (P)2024 Echo Point Books & Media, LLCListeners also enjoyed...
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Story
In 1948, seven hundred thousand Palestinians were forced out of their homes by the first Arab-Israeli War. More than seventy years later, most of their houses are long gone, but millions of their descendants are still registered as refugees, with many living in refugee camps. This group—unlike countless others that were displaced in the aftermath of World War II and other conflicts—has remained unsettled, demanding to settle in the state of Israel. Their belief in a "right of return" is one of the largest obstacles to successful diplomacy and lasting peace in the region.
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Important details and history
- By Alex Frenkel on 04-28-25
By: Einat Wilf, and others
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The Rivalry Peril
- How Great-Power Competition Threatens Peace and Weakens Democracy
- By: Van Jackson, Michael Brenes
- Narrated by: Christopher Grove
- Length: 6 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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For close to a decade, the US government has been preoccupied with the threat of China, fearing that the country will "eat our lunch," in the words of Joe Biden. The United States has crafted its foreign and domestic policy to help constrain China's military power and economic growth. Van Jackson and Michael Brenes argue that great-power competition with China is misguided and vastly underestimates the costs and risks that geopolitical rivalry poses to economic prosperity, the quality of democracy, and, ultimately, global stability.
By: Van Jackson, and others
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After Tamerlane
- The Global History of Empire Since 1405
- By: John Darwin
- Narrated by: Peter Johnson
- Length: 20 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Tamerlane, the Ottomans, the Mughals, the Manchus, the British, the Japanese, the Nazis, and the Soviets: All built empires meant to last forever; all were to fail. But, as John Darwin shows in this magisterial book, their empire-building created the world we know today.
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Comprehensive Single Volume
- By Iosa MacChrìsdein on 08-06-18
By: John Darwin
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Philadelphia
- A Narrative History
- By: Paul Kahan
- Narrated by: Jared Cram
- Length: 15 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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A comprehensive history of Philadelphia from the region’s original Lenape inhabitants to the myriad of residents in the twenty-first century. In Philadelphia: A Narrative History, Paul Kahan presents a comprehensive portrait of the city, from the region’s original Lenape inhabitants to the myriad of residents in the twenty-first century. As any history of Philadelphia should, this book chronicles the people and places that make the city unique: from Independence Hall to Eastern State Penitentiary, Benjamin Franklin and Betsy Ross to Cecil B. Moore and Cherelle Parker.
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Very disappointing
- By Delamic on 03-24-25
By: Paul Kahan
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President McKinley
- Architect of the American Century
- By: Robert W. Merry
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Republican President William McKinley transformed America during his two terms as president. Although he does not register large in either public memory or in historians' rankings, in this revealing account, Robert W. Merry offers "a fresh twist on the old tale . . . a valuable education on where America has been and, possibly, where it is going" (The National Review).
By: Robert W. Merry
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The Village
- By: Bing West
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Few American battles have been so extended, savage, and personal. A handful of Americans volunteered to live among six thousand Vietnamese, training farmers to defend their village. Such "Combined Action Platoons" (CAPs) are not a lost footnote about how the war could have been fought; only the villagers remain to bear witness. This is the story of 15 resolute young Americans matched against two hundred Viet Cong; how a CAP lived, fought, and died; and why the villagers remember them to this day.
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It is like you were there!
- By Gina on 06-17-21
By: Bing West
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When Money Destroys Nations
- How Hyperinflation Ruined Zimbabwe, How Ordinary People Survived, and Warnings for Nations That Print Money
- By: Philip Haslam, Russell Lamberti
- Narrated by: Andrew Schär
- Length: 5 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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The collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar in 2009 after years of rampant money printing is an alarming example of what lies in store for countries that print money to pay national debts, bail out banks and enrich political elites. When Money Destroys Nations tells the gripping story of the disintegration of the once-thriving Zimbabwean economy and the inspiring and tragic accounts of how ordinary people survived in turbulent circumstances.
By: Philip Haslam, and others
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The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution
- By: Francis Fukuyama
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 22 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Virtually all human societies were once organized tribally, yet over time most developed new political institutions which included a central state that could keep the peace and uniform laws that applied to all citizens. Some went on to create governments that were accountable to their constituents. We take these institutions for granted, but they are absent or are unable to perform in many of today’s developing countries—with often disastrous consequences for the rest of the world.
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Few forests, but lots of trees
- By Steve Pagano on 10-05-15
By: Francis Fukuyama
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The Power and the Money
- The Epic Clashes Between Commanders in Chief and Titans of Industry
- By: Tevi Troy
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 12 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Acclaimed presidential historian Tevi Troy takes listeners on a riveting journey through the biggest battles between CEOs and the nation’s commander in chief. He unearths the untold stories—both political and personal—that have shaped America. The Power and the Money shows how some of the nation’s most important CEOs forged (and fumbled) relationships with the president, revealing an intricate web of power, where CEOs need presidents, and presidents need CEOs. Troy shows how each must step carefully—or risk unpredictable costs and collateral damage.
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Completely disappointing
- By Amazon Customer on 11-29-24
By: Tevi Troy
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Speculation Nation
- Land Mania in the Revolutionary American Republic (Early American Studies)
- By: Michael A. Blaakman
- Narrated by: Scot Wilcox
- Length: 16 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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During the first quarter-century after its founding, the United States was swept by a wave of land speculation so unprecedented in intensity and scale that contemporaries and historians alike have dubbed it a “mania.” In Speculation Nation, Michael A. Blaakman uncovers the revolutionary origins of this real-estate bonanza—a story of ambition, corruption, capitalism, and statecraft that stretched across millions of acres from Maine to the Mississippi and Georgia to the Great Lakes.
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George Hearst
- Silver King of the Gilded Age
- By: Matthew Bernstein
- Narrated by: Douglas R Pratt
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Rising from a Missouri boyhood and meager prospecting success to owning the most productive copper, silver, and gold mines in the world and being elected a United States senator, George Hearst (1820–91) spent decades veering between the heights of prosperity and the depths of financial ruin.