1177 B.C.

The Year Civilization Collapsed

By: Eric H. Cline

Narrated by: Andy Caploe

Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

In 1177 B.C., marauding groups known only as the "Sea Peoples" invaded Egypt. The pharaoh’s army and navy managed to defeat them, but the victory so weakened Egypt that it soon slid into decline, as did most of the surrounding civilizations. After centuries of brilliance, the civilized world of the Bronze Age came to an abrupt and cataclysmic end. Kingdoms fell like dominoes over the course of just a few decades. No more Minoans or Mycenaeans. No more Trojans, Hittites, or Babylonians. The thriving economy and cultures of the late second millennium B.C., which had stretched from Greece to Egypt and Mesopotamia, suddenly ceased to exist, along with writing systems, technology, and monumental architecture. But the Sea Peoples alone could not have caused such widespread breakdown. How did it happen?

In this major new account of the causes of this "First Dark Ages", Eric Cline tells the gripping story of how the end was brought about by multiple interconnected failures, ranging from invasion and revolt to earthquakes, drought, and the cutting of international trade routes. Bringing to life the vibrant multicultural world of these great civilizations, he draws a sweeping panorama of the empires and globalized peoples of the Late Bronze Age and shows that it was their very interdependence that hastened their dramatic collapse and ushered in a dark age that lasted centuries.

A compelling combination of narrative and the latest scholarship, 1177 B.C. sheds new light on the complex ties that gave rise to, and ultimately destroyed, the flourishing civilizations of the Late Bronze Age - and that set the stage for the emergence of classical Greece.

©2014 Eric H. Cline. Published by Princeton University Press. (P)2014 Audible, Inc.

No More Year Dated Books On Audio For Me

After listening to multiple dated books (that describe the world changes as of a certain year in history) I'll pass in the future. A nonfiction quasi-textbook needs to be read, not just listened to. This is mot a criticism of this book in particular, but all complex nonfiction books in an audio format.

The lack of diagrams, maps and quick refresh of past chapter topics/places/names make the audio format little more than a "Drive-by" introduction to the historical issues of the book... assuming The reader can keep track of all the neighborhoods driven through.

This insightful book was well researched and written. The narration was excellent. It's simply the inability to work with the details I have a problem with.

Great Book, Average Narration

I just completed a related Modern Scholar course led by Eric Cline before listening to 1177 B.C. I wish he had narrated his book as well.

Interesting Subject, Annoying Narrator

Really fascinating take on the fall of major empires at the end of the Bronze Age with great evidence and documentation of a wide range of cause and effect. I appreciated how the author weaved in comparisons to more modern or well known examples in history for context. In the end, it was summarized nicely with complex system theory which I found equally interesting. The narrator was rather annoying at times in how he gave accents or pitches and tones to certain individuals being quoted. Unnecessarily distracting.

Review contains spoilers

If you are into history and study it, you find this a 5 star read, but as a someone with a casual interest, I found this overly long, and just a lot of specualtion. Even the very end did not really answer the question about WHY civilization collapsed at this time.

Interesting Book

Prior to reading this book I had no idea that the Bronze Age seemingly ended so suddenly. The author presents a number of potential causes, although a strong case for an exact cause is still lacking. Only issue I had was I had hoped to learn more about the "sea peoples" that were referenced by he Egyptians and several other Mediterranean cultures. It is still uncertain who they were or where they came from. It was amazing to see not only the amount of trade that was taking place across the Mediterranean in the 13th Century BC, but also some of the correspondence between rulers and empires.

The Narration was decent, but not great.

If you like ancient history, you will love this.

This book is a plausible theory of "why" the Bronze Age melted down at this point in history. Enjoy a tale of historic intrigue.

Okay

I think the PowerPoint presentation by Dr. Cline was better. It dragged on in some cases

So so history Good narrator

Cline says he has a big thesis about 1177 and then proceeds to show that's it is all rather ambiguous. The conceptual parts are often repeated and often repeated and .....
He does have lots of knowledge and interesting historical tidbits but they do not always come together

Roundabout but still a great perspective

The pronunciation just about killed me. Seriously, the guy should have gone to "Pronounce" on YouTube for dozens of words from the Bronze Age. Right there. Painful. But, if you don't care about that and are instead interested in how the end of a global civilization might actually happen (and in light of the demise of the global world we live in today seems under so much pressure) this is a worthwhile listen.

Publishers sold it well.

I read the publishers summary and I was taken in. This sounded amazing. In truth, it was interesting, but I say that with a flat affect. I think it may be a hard book to do through audio unless you're familiar with the kingdoms, cities, and their placement near one another.

Don't get me wrong. Facinating topic and it seemed delivered in a level headed and evidenced based way. Perhaps that drew from some of the sensationalism the publisher promised but it was appreciated all the same.

The one real, and undisputed victory to this audio book is the realization that there was in fact a king by the name of Suppiluliuma II. Furthermore you get to hear a dignified sounding narrator say this name several times. Quite entertaining.

If you're the kind to look at a review of this book, you'll probably enjoy it. Don't set your expectations too high and you might even love it.