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Empires of the Weak
- The Real Story of European Expansion and the Creation of the New World
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 6 hrs and 26 mins
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Publisher's summary
What accounts for the rise of the state, the creation of the first global system, and the dominance of the West? The conventional answer asserts that superior technology, tactics, and institutions forged by Darwinian military competition gave Europeans a decisive advantage in war over other civilizations from 1500 onward. In contrast, Empires of the Weak argues that Europeans actually had no general military superiority in the early modern era. J. C. Sharman shows instead that European expansion is better explained by deference to strong Asian and African polities, disease in the Americas, and maritime supremacy earned by default because local land-oriented polities were largely indifferent to war and trade at sea.
Europeans were overawed by the mighty Eastern empires of the day, which pioneered key military innovations and were the greatest early modern conquerors. Against the view that the Europeans won for all time, Sharman contends that the imperialism of the late19th and early 20th centuries was a relatively transient and anomalous development in world politics that concluded with Western losses in various insurgencies. If the 21st century is to be dominated by non-Western powers like China, this represents a return to the norm for the modern era.
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A decade after the cold war ended, policy makers and academics foresaw a new era of peace and prosperity, an era in which democracy and open trade would herald the "end of history." The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, sadly shattered these idyllic illusions, and John Mearsheimer's masterful new book explains why these harmonious visions remain utopian.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Exceptional
- By Logical Paradox on 08-19-14
-
The Fall of Rome
- And the End of Civilization
- By: Bryan Ward-Perkins
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
In The Fall of Rome, eminent historian Bryan Ward-Perkins argues that the "peaceful" theory of Rome's "transformation" is badly in error. Indeed, he sees the fall of Rome as a time of horror and dislocation that destroyed a great civilization, throwing the inhabitants of the West back to a standard of living typical of prehistoric times. Attacking contemporary theories with relish and making use of modern archaeological evidence, he looks at both the wider explanations for the disintegration of the Roman world and also the consequences for the lives of everyday Romans.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
best book ever on Fall of Rome
- By james m. on 01-30-22
-
Carthage
- A Captivating Guide to the Carthaginian Empire and Its Conflicts with the Ancient Greek City-States and the Roman Republic in the Sicilian Wars and Punic Wars
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Richard L. Walton
- Length: 3 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 24
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 24
Very few of the ancient empires and nations were able to challenge the Romans, who were famous for their military might. Even fewer were able to make them shiver just by mentioning their name. In fact, only one enemy of Rome managed to engrave such fear into their bones. That was Carthage, sometimes called the Carthaginian Empire. It was a formidable state that stretched across northern Africa, from Algeria and Tunisia to the shores of Morocco and southern Spain.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
the beautiful sister, Juliet
- By Fannie Marshall on 06-20-20
-
The Revenge of Geography
- What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate
- By: Robert D. Kaplan
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 734
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 638
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 637
In The Revenge of Geography, Robert D. Kaplan builds on the insights, discoveries, and theories of great geographers and geopolitical thinkers of the near and distant past to look back at critical pivots in history and then to look forward at the evolving global scene. Kaplan traces the history of the world's hot spots by examining their climates, topographies, and proximities to other embattled lands.
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2 out of 5 stars
-
Painful to listen to
- By Bookworm on 12-27-13
By: Robert D. Kaplan
-
Reconsidering the American Way of War
- US Military Practice from the Revolution to Afghanistan
- By: Antulio Joseph Echevarria
- Narrated by: James Killavey
- Length: 8 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 89
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 82
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 82
This audiobook challenges several longstanding notions about the American way of war. It examines US military practice (strategic and operational) from the War of Independence to the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan to determine what patterns, if any, existed in the way Americans have used military force. Echevarria surveys all major US wars and most every small conflict in the country's military history.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent overview of complex subject
- By Joe on 11-25-14
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How the West Won
- The Neglected Story of the Triumph of Modernity
- By: Rodney Stark
- Narrated by: Kevin Foley
- Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 534
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 470
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 467
Modernity developed only in the West - in Europe and North America. Nowhere else did science and democracy arise; nowhere else was slavery outlawed. Only Westerners invented chimneys, musical scores, telescopes, eyeglasses, pianos, electric lights, aspirin, and soap. The question is, why? Unfortunately, that question has become so politically incorrect that most scholars avoid it. But acclaimed author Rodney Stark provides the answers in this sweeping new look at Western civilization.
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4 out of 5 stars
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We all have a bias
- By Adam Shields on 04-21-15
By: Rodney Stark
-
The Napoleonic Wars
- By: Alexander Mikaberidze
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 35 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 358
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 291
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 288
The Napoleonic Wars saw fighting on an unprecedented scale in Europe and the Americas. It took the wealth of the British Empire, combined with the might of the continental armies, almost two decades to bring down one of the world's greatest military leaders and the empire that he had created. Napoleon's ultimate defeat was to determine the history of Europe for almost 100 years. From the frozen wastelands of Russia, through the brutal fighting in the Peninsula to the blood-soaked battlefield of Waterloo, this book tells the story of the dramatic rise and fall of the Napoleonic Empire.
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2 out of 5 stars
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No description of battles
- By John Gaston on 01-15-21
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Carnage and Culture
- Landmark Battles in the Rise to Western Power
- By: Victor Davis Hanson
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 20 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 296
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 264
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 263
Examining nine landmark battles from ancient to modern times - from Salamis, where outnumbered Greeks devastated the slave army of Xerxes, to Cortes' conquest of Mexico to the Tet offensive - Victor Davis Hanson explains why the armies of the West have been the most lethal and effective of any fighting forces in the world. Looking beyond popular explanations such as geography or superior technology, Hanson argues that it is in fact Western culture and values which have consistently produced superior arms and soldiers.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow! This truly is a great book. A rarity!
- By GEJ on 11-12-19
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The Decline and Rise of Democracy
- A Global History from Antiquity to Today
- By: David Stastavage
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 11 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
Historical accounts of democracy's rise tend to focus on ancient Greece and pre-Renaissance Europe. The Decline and Rise of Democracy draws from global evidence to show that the story is much richer - democratic practices were present in many places at many other times. David Stasavage makes the case that understanding how and where these democracies flourished - and when and why they declined - can provide crucial information not just about the history of governance, but about the ways modern democracies work and where they could manifest in the future.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Informative
- By Frank on 12-22-20
By: David Stastavage
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The Peloponnesian War
- A Captivating Guide to the Ancient Greek War Between the Two Leading City-States in Ancient Greece: Athens and Sparta
- By: Captivating Captivating History
- Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
- Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 27
If you want to discover the captivating history of the Peloponnesian War, then pay attention. The Peloponnesian War enveloped the entire Greek world, from Syracuse on the island of Sicily to the shores of western Turkey. It ravaged the Greek population and produced great hardships, and it led to the eventual downfall of the Athenian Empire and the rise of the Spartan Empire.
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1 out of 5 stars
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factually incorrect
- By Maarten-Jan on 12-24-22
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The Cambridge History of Warfare
- By: Geoffrey Parker
- Narrated by: Andrew Cullum
- Length: 21 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 56
The new edition of The Cambridge History of Warfare, written and updated by a team of eight distinguished military historians, examines how war was waged by Western powers across a sweeping timeframe beginning with classical Greece and Rome, moving through the Middle Ages and the early modern period, down to the wars of the 21st century in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.
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3 out of 5 stars
-
Too anglocentric
- By A. Siegel on 10-27-22
By: Geoffrey Parker
-
The Greco-Persian Wars
- A Captivating Guide to the Conflicts Between the Achaemenid Empire and the Greek City-States, Including the Battle of Marathon, Thermopylae, Salamis, Plataea, and More
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Richard L. Walton
- Length: 3 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 18
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 18
The Greco-Persian Wars are often portrayed as a battle between good and evil. This is simultaneously an exaggeration and an oversimplification, but there is no doubt that this war, or series of wars, fought between some of the most powerful civilizations of the ancient era helped to plot the course of human history that we have been following up until this very day.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful book on Ancient Greek history
- By Day-2-Day (Melissa) on 10-12-19
-
Unfinished Empire
- The Global Expansion of Britain
- By: John Darwin
- Narrated by: Alex Hyde-White
- Length: 18 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 63
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
In Unfinished Empire, he marshals his gifts to deliver a monumental one-volume history of Britain's imperium - a work that is sure to stand as the most authoritative, most compelling treatment of the subject for a generation.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Perfect
- By gogojimmy on 01-27-15
By: John Darwin
-
Asia's Cauldron
- The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific
- By: Robert D. Kaplan
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 441
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 377
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 374
Over the last decade, the center of world power has been quietly shifting from Europe to Asia. With oil reserves of several billion barrels, an estimated 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and several centuries' worth of competing territorial claims, the South China Sea in particular is a simmering pot of potential conflict. The underreported military buildup in the area where the Western Pacific meets the Indian Ocean means that it will likely be a hinge point for global war and peace for the foreseeable future.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Pending problems
- By Jean on 08-19-14
By: Robert D. Kaplan
-
Pandora’s Box
- A History of the First World War
- By: Jorn Leonhard, Patrick Camiller - translator
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 39 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 207
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 185
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 182
In this monumental history of the First World War, Germany's leading historian of the 20th century's first great catastrophe explains the war's origins, course, and consequences. With an unrivaled combination of depth and global reach, Pandora's Box reveals how profoundly the war shaped the world to come. Jörn Leonhard treats the clash of arms with a sure feel for grand strategy, the everyday tactics of dynamic movement and slow attrition, the race for ever more destructive technologies, and the grim experiences of frontline soldiers.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent reading of a complex book
- By chris on 02-26-19
By: Jorn Leonhard, and others
-
Another Bloody Century
- By: Colin Gray
- Narrated by: David Shaw-Parker
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
Many nations, peoples and special interest groups believe that violence will advance their cause. Warfare has changed greatly since the Second World War; it continued to change during the late 20th century, and this process is still accelerating. Political, technological, social and religious forces are shaping the future of warfare, but most Western armed forces have yet to evolve significantly from the Cold War era when they trained to resist a conventional invasion by the Warsaw Pact.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
a must read for those who study warfare
- By Austin on 01-21-24
By: Colin Gray
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What listeners say about Empires of the Weak
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 12-07-23
A reassessment of European and western world expansion
I very much liked the non-traditional interpretations of Western versus Eastern cultures conflicts and outcomes. The viewpoint that Western culture and military technology is the reason for dominance is shown to be doubtful as Western colonial dominance has been in retreat since end of the 19th century.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- José de Ribera
- 02-02-23
a great read
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. While I disagree with some of the author's thesis, the argument presented is well-structured and the information is presented succinctly. The author's writing style is excellent and the narration is engaging. Overall, a great read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- angelaz
- 05-09-23
Excellent, and super clear
I rarely listen to non-fiction since I find it harder to follow and remember 1000 details often unrelated by a plot. However, this book was different, no diubt aided my the lovely-voiced John Lee. Sharman’s brilliant thesis is proven very persuasively. I am very knowledgeable about China so that was my touchstone and his scholarship there was impeccable! Highly rec’d
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