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The Thirty Years War
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 19 hrs and 45 mins
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Publisher's summary
Initially, the Thirty Years War was precipitated in 1618 by religious conflicts between Protestants and Catholics in the Holy Roman Empire. But the conflict soon spread beyond religion to encompass the internal politics and balance of power within the Empire, and then later to the other European powers. By the end, it became simply a dynastic struggle between Bourbon France and Habsburg Spain. And almost all of it was fought out in Germany. After 30 years of conflict, entire regions of Germany and Bohemia were depopulated and destroyed by marching armies, fire, famine, and disease. It bankrupted most of the participants while leaving thousands of German villages, towns, and even cities in smoldering ruin.
Because of the political and geographical complexity of the early 17th century, an understanding of The Thirty Years War can be difficult to grasp in the beginning. Listeners will be rewarded by patience. As an aid to comprehension, we recommend the online Wikipedia article "The Thirty Years War" for maps and overviews of the geography, principle leaders, and major battles.
Total running time: 19 hours and 48 minutes. Narrator: Charlton Griffin.
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The story of the Roman Republic is the greatest epic in human history. Seen in the long perspective of time, it seems too fantastic to be real. From her modest beginnings as a convenient fording place on the Tiber to her eventual destiny as the mistress of the Mediterranean, Rome offers a strange tale of fate, sacrifice, and indomitable willpower. The stern realities of war shaped Rome's policies from the very beginning.
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Excellent overview
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Tracing the extraordinary trajectory of Julius Caesar's life, Adrian Goldsworthy covers not only the great Roman emperor's accomplishments as charismatic orator, conquering general, and powerful dictator but also lesser-known chapters. Ultimately, Goldsworthy realizes the full complexity of Caesar's character and shows why his political and military leadership continues to resonate some 2,000 years later.
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Caesar and his times
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Chief minister to King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu was the architect of a new France in the 17th century, and the force behind the nation's rise as a European power. Among the first statesmen to clearly understand the necessity of a balance of powers, he was one of the early realist politicians, practicing in the wake of Niccol Machiavelli. Truly larger than life, he has captured the imagination of generations, both through his own story and through his portrayal as a ruthless political mastermind in Alexandre Dumas's classic The Three Musketeers.
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Great story boringly told
- By pete k on 09-19-16
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The terrible conflict that dominated the mid-19th century, the Crimean War, killed at least 800,000 men and pitted Russia against a formidable coalition of Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire. It was a war for territory, provoked by fear that if the Ottoman Empire were to collapse then Russia could control a huge swathe of land from the Balkans to the Persian Gulf. But it was also a war of religion, driven by a fervent, populist and ever more ferocious belief by the Tsar and his ministers that it was Russia's task to rule all Orthodox Christians and control the Holy Land.
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Outstanding History of the Crimean War
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As editor of the award-winning Library of America collection of George Washington's writings and a curator of the great man's original papers, John Rhodehamel has established himself as an authority of our nation's preeminent founding father. Rhodehamel examines George Washington as a public figure, arguing that the man - who first achieved fame in his early twenties - is inextricably bound to his mythic status.
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Not what I expected for an unabridged book
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Good account of interesting period of history
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Edward I is familiar to millions as "Longshanks", conqueror of Scotland and nemesis of Sir William Wallace (in Braveheart). Yet this story forms only the final chapter of the king's action-packed life. Earlier, Edward had defeated and killed the famous Simon de Montfort, traveled to the Holy Land, and conquered Wales. He raised the greatest armies of the Middle Ages and summoned the largest parliaments. Notoriously, he expelled all the Jews from his kingdom.
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Fascinating book
- By Mary Elizabeth Reynolds on 04-13-15
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What listeners say about The Thirty Years War
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ann
- 09-28-12
Hard work
A cast of 1,000's, the 30 year's war is a hard slog. Probably a better read the second time round. Not for the faint hearted
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15 people found this helpful
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- James von Stanthis
- 03-09-17
One of the best
The best history of the Thirty Years War I have read or heard. It is amazingly understandable and I am thrilled to have found it.
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7 people found this helpful
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- James
- 04-04-21
I love this narrator
Great story, I will read it again one day. Since listening to it 2 years ago I can’t not see the words BRANDENBURG, MAGDEBURG, TILLY, and WALLENSTEIN and not pronounce it like this guy.
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- Scott Harding
- 01-25-23
Excellent Historical Treatise
The detail with which the author covers the subject is incredible, and, even though the book is very long, it could have been expanded to include greater coverage of the horrors inflicted on the peoples of the HRE at the time.
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- Noah Smith
- 05-11-14
A bit dated but a masterful classic nonetheless
Where does The Thirty Years War rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?
It's a bit dated compared to more recently written war histories. The sweeping one-line characterizations of personalities and moods would be rare in a modern history, for example. But the book is clearly an incredibly thoroughly-researched masterpiece, and really transports you into the strange, chaotic era of the 30 Years' War.
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- Douglas
- 08-21-14
Thorough and Well Written
I only rated this 3-stars despite giving the performance 5 and the story 4. The reason for this--and I've had this problem several times with exhaustive military histories--is that I probably only managed to get 75% of this book. It was just really difficult to keep up with all the unfamiliar names and titles and countries and territories. And you're learning about the complex foreign policies of all of these different entities. I think if you're familiar with the Thirty Years War this book would have to be a 5-star. But if, like me, you have no previous knowledge of the Thirty Years War, it may be a bit overwhelming at times. However, it was very well written and entertaining. Extremely informative. And the narrator absolutely crushes this thing. At first he may seem a touch over-dramatic but you'll soon get used to it and appreciate it. Griffin's style of narration is absolutely perfect for this book.
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14 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 12-18-18
wow
I love history, but I've never done much with the 30 yr war. This was an amazing introduction. not for the faint hearted, this is a sweeping summary of the war, it's origins, and it's results. The fact that this was written in the years after WW2 just make the book that much more interesting.
Written in the best of the British historical tradition, with all of the commentary and incisive wit one could hope for.
This is not light reading or light history. The names fly by and so do the years. But you'll close the book remembering the right names and ready to keep digging and learning more.
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- Kindle Customer
- 06-10-21
Yes It's Complicated.
I mean thirty years of war and political intrigue will complicate matters. However, 17th Century in Europe set the stage for what was to come for the next three centuries that still echoes to today. History is important to understand today and this history is very well told and an excellent narration. Overall, very enjoyable.
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- Lavinia
- 11-04-22
References
Too advanced for me. Needed maps for reference. I felt as though I’d walked into a graduate level course.
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- W. F. Rucker
- 08-24-12
Not for the Weak of Heart
The title of my review refers to the content of the book and the effort involved to take in the material in the book.
The Thirty Years War was incredibly destructive. Somewhere I read that it set back civilization and development 200 years in Germany. Death came during the battles, from disease and the rampaging of the armies through the countryside. For thirty years armies marched up and down Germany and when they camped they destroyed the area they lived in. In one episode the peasants attacked the soldiers, knowing they would get killed, because they refused to be passive victims of circumstances. The war began with a revolt in Prague and it seemed like at one time or another every country, duchy and city got into the fight.
It was a period of great social and political change. At the beginning of the war everyone was fighting about religion. At the end it was nations fighting each other. Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden and Ferdinand III of Austria were just two of the fascinating characters among the leadership.
It was a well written book, good literature. It was also long, complex and full of all kinds of different people. It takes a commitment to develop a good understanding of the people and events. The narrator helped. His voice had a nice tone and pace which helped make the listening enjoyable. I am glad I read it and I recommend it. Now I want to learn more about this era.
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15 people found this helpful