World Without End
Spain, Philip II, and the First Global Empire
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Narrated by:
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Shaun Grindell
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By:
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Hugh Thomas
About this listen
The legacy of imperial Spain was shaped by many hands. Chief among them was the towering figure of King Philip II, the cultivated Spanish monarch whom a contemporary once called "the arbiter of the world". Cheerful and pious, he inherited vast authority from his father but felt himself unworthy to wield it. His 42-year reign changed the face of the globe forever.
Alongside Philip we find the entitled descendants of New Spain's original explorers - men who, like their king, came into possession of land they never conquered and wielded supremacy they never sought. Here too are the Roman Catholic religious leaders of the Americas, whose internecine struggles created possibilities that the emerging Jesuit order was well positioned to fill. With the sublime stories of arms and armadas, kings and conquistadors come tales of the ridiculous: the opulent parties of New Spain's wealthy hedonists and the unexpected movement to encourage Philip II to conquer China.
Finally, Hugh Thomas unearths the first indictments of imperial Spain's labor rights abuses in the Americas - and the early attempts by its more enlightened rulers and planters to address them. Written in the brisk, flowing narrative style that has come to define Hugh Thomas' work, the final volume of this acclaimed trilogy stands alone as a history of an empire making the transition from conquest to inheritance - a history that Thomas reveals through the fascinating lives of the people who made it.
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Excellent Narration - Illuminating History
- By jmholmberg on 11-02-08
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Foundation
- The History of England from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors: The History of England, Book 1
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 18 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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In Foundation the chronicler of London and of its river, the Thames, takes us from the primeval forests of England's prehistory to the death of the first Tudor king, Henry VII, in 1509. He guides us from the building of Stonehenge to the founding of the two great glories of medieval England: common law and the cathedrals. He shows us glimpses of the country's most distant past - a Neolithic stirrup found in a grave, a Roman fort, a Saxon tomb, a medieval manor house.
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The Most Annoying Narrator EVER
- By JudieBee on 12-25-15
By: Peter Ackroyd
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A Brief History of the Knights Templar
- Brief Histories
- By: Helen Nicholson
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Much has been written about the Knights Templar in recent years. A leading specialist in the history of this legendary medieval order now writes a full account of the Knights of the Order of the Temple of Solomon, to give them their full title, bringing the latest findings to a general audience. Putting many of the myths finally to rest, Nicholson recounts a new history of these storm troopers of the papacy, founded during the crusades but who got so rich and influential
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Digs Deep for a Brief History
- By Troy on 01-29-15
By: Helen Nicholson
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The Sultan and the Queen
- The Untold Story of Elizabeth and Islam
- By: Jerry Brotton
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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When Queen Elizabeth was excommunicated by the Pope in 1570, she found herself in an awkward predicament. Now England's key markets would be closed to her Protestant merchants. To complicate matters, the staunchly Catholic king of Spain was determined to destroy her, bolstered by the gold pouring in from the New World. In a bold decision with far-reaching consequences, Elizabeth set her sights on the East.
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Essential for understanding our own era
- By marwalk on 07-21-19
By: Jerry Brotton
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The Island at the Center of the World
- The Epic Story of Dutch Manhattan and the Forgotten Colony That Shaped America
- By: Russell Shorto
- Narrated by: Russell Shorto
- Length: 14 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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In a landmark work of history, Russell Shorto presents astonishing information on the founding of our nation and reveals in riveting detail the crucial role of the Dutch in making America what it is today.
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Incomplete history, but fun. Performance is poor.
- By Matthew on 11-27-18
By: Russell Shorto
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Scandinavia
- 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 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
- Unabridged
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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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Venice
- A New History
- By: Professor Thomas F. Madden
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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An extraordinary chronicle of Venice, its people, and its grandeur Thomas Madden’s majestic, sprawling history of Venice is the first full portrait of the city in English in almost thirty years. Using long-buried archival material and a wealth of newly translated documents, Madden weaves a spellbinding story of a place and its people, tracing an arc from the city’s humble origins as a lagoon refuge to its apex as a vast maritime empire and Renaissance epicenter to its rebirth as a modern tourist hub.
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Omits slave trade
- By Rocky Stonebreaker on 08-21-16
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Edward III
- The Perfect King
- By: Ian Mortimer
- Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
- Length: 19 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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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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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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In Search of the Dark Ages
- By: Michael Wood
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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In Search of the Dark Ages is an unrivalled exploration of the origins of English identity, and the best-selling book that established Michael Wood as one of Britain's leading historians. Now, on the book's 40th anniversary, this fully revised and expanded edition illuminates further the fascinating and mysterious centuries between the Romans and the Norman Conquest.
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Brilliant!
- By Dee Goulet on 08-31-22
By: Michael Wood
What listeners say about World Without End
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- M. MCCASKEY
- 05-30-17
Too Much Namedropping
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
Though he is definitely an expert, it seems as if the author is writing out his notes without a lot of synthesis. Lots and lots of separate facts strung together. Better as a reference book, maybe. Better to pick out a smaller number of key characters and tell us enough to get to know them, rather than having an army of names with a few sentences about each. A good book to play over many times while doing chores or routine tasks, in hopes of picking out and retaining bits of interesting info here and there along the way. No danger of missing anything big or exciting while distracted.
What was most disappointing about Hugh Thomas’s story?
There are so many names of minor notables, like in society columns, all given in full and complex forms, with the well-meaning narrator having problems pronouncing so many of them. Someone editorial who knew the proper pronunciations should have gone over the material with him in advance.
How could the performance have been better?
Should have selected a narrator who knew Castilian or Latin American Spanish fairly well, since there are so very many Spanish names to pronounce, or someone should have coached him in advance. Don’t blame the piano player, he did the best he could on his own..
What character would you cut from World Without End?
Just focus on a limited number of key charcters and tell us more about each of them, in a more interesting way.
Any additional comments?
Mostly I don’t like abridged books, but this one might be better in an abridged edition.
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8 people found this helpful
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- manuel laborde
- 04-13-16
Great book from Hugh Thomas but excruciatingly poor narration.
I have read four books from Mr. Thomas. Conquest, Cuba, Rivers of Gold, Charles V , this is my first audiobook.
Any one who has read one of his books knows that there will be wealth of references to people and places and quotes, all in Spanish. Almost half the book is in Spanish as expected.
How is it possible then that Random/ Pinguin and Mr. Thomas would agree to launch an audiobook read by a narrator who doesn't speak a word of Spanish??
has no notion of how spanish letters are pronounced to be able to read them. Not even the right pronunciation of country names like Chile! Then slows down to a attempt to pronounce each word distracting rhe listener from the flow.
Not the narrrators fault if there was no evaluation by the author or publisher. He actually has a nice voice in english. But zero quality control from the author or the publisher! Have they listened to the book? Very disappointing! Not a good experience at all.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 02-28-16
Possibly the worst narration in Audible.com
A thorough and fair account of the Spanish conquest, although it never really comes alive. Ruined by a wooden narrative with mispronunciation of just about every word that can be mangled. How could Audible.com release a version this bad? I've never seen anything like it.
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6 people found this helpful
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- Andy
- 06-22-16
Worst narrator
By far the worst narrator on Audible. This narrator ruined an otherwise good story and should be avoided.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Richard
- 08-04-17
Such a disservice to the author!
Would you try another book from Hugh Thomas and/or Shaun Grindell?
Yes
How did the narrator detract from the book?
Absolutely CANNOT pronounce Spanish to save his life.
Any additional comments?
This is an excellent and engaging book, but the narrator was SO inappropriate. Utterly incapable of pronouncing the SIMPLEST of Spanish words without sounding illiterate. How did this even get released?
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3 people found this helpful
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- Charles W. Houck
- 04-20-19
Absolutely unlistenable
I’m not certain how you get a person to read a book on Spanish history who clearly has absolutely no knowledge of how to pronounce WORDS IN SPANISH. This is (allegedly) an excellent book, but it is absolutely unlistenable. Pronunciation errors were so pervasive an led distracting/annoying/horrifying that I couldn’t make it through the introduction. I have never posted a negative review of anything, ever, but there’s a first time for everything, I suppose. Very disappointing.
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4 people found this helpful