Lost to the West

The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization

By: Lars Brownworth

Narrated by: Lars Brownworth

Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Filled with unforgettable stories of emperors, generals, and religious patriarchs, as well as fascinating glimpses into the life of the ordinary citizen, Lost to the West reveals how much we owe to the Byzantine Empire that was the equal of any in its achievements, appetites, and enduring legacy. For more than a millennium, Byzantium reigned as the glittering seat of Christian civilization.

When Europe fell into the Dark Ages, Byzantium held fast against Muslim expansion, keeping Christianity alive. Streams of wealth flowed into Constantinople, making possible unprecedented wonders of art and architecture. And the emperors who ruled Byzantium enacted a saga of political intrigue and conquest as astonishing as anything in recorded history. Lost to the West is replete with stories of assassination, mass mutilation and execution, sexual scheming, ruthless grasping for power, and clashing armies that soaked battlefields with the blood of slain warriors numbering in the tens of thousands.

©2009 Lars Brownworth (P)2009 Random House

Critic reviews

"Captivating…In Lost to the West Lars Brownworth shows a novelist’s eye for character, bringing to life some of the most fascinating — and yet little known -- figures of the Byzantine era. But it is as a researcher into the obscurities of palace intrigue, treachery, and battlefield carnage that Lars really shines. With dry humor and a palette of vivid images, he recounts the dizzying game of musical chairs that placed one usurper after another on the Byzantine throne, only to be pitched off in a gaudily macabre way. In the end, one is left agog by the irony that the upshot of this centuries-long scrum was the preservation of nearly all that the Greeks have bequeathed to us.”—Steven Pressfield, author of Gates of Fire

“Rome never fell -- it simply moved five hundred miles East -- to Byzantium. For over a thousand years the Byzantines commanded one of the most visceral and vivid empires the world has ever known. And yet their achievements are consistently underplayed; written out of history. Lars Brownworth is a rare talent. His contagious passion brings murderous empresses, conniving eunuchs, lost Greek texts and Byzantine treasures of fairy-tale proportions blinking back into the light. Confidently striding through time and across the mountains and plains of the Eastern Mediterranean, Brownworth puts this theocratic superstate slap-bang in the center of mankind's global story; back where it should be. The Byzantines made our world what it is today. Lars Brownworth matches their verve and brio in his seductive and gripping account.”—Bettany Hughes, PBS host and author of Helen of Troy

“This is history as it used to be, history as story-telling. In this fascinating account of the Byzantine empire, Lars Brownworth covers a thousand years of blood-letting, outrageous luxury, bitter religious disputes and vaulting ambition without giving the slightest impression of being rushed or crowded. The page turns unaided.”—Anthony Everitt, bestselling author of Augustus, Cicero and The First Emperor

Excellent introduction

This is a very good, flowing narrative introduction to a vast field of scholarship that will require years of study. Undoubtedly many things are glossed over and inadequately covered, but there’ll be time enough for further study after this great start.

An epic story well told

I’m in awe of his ability to keep all this straight, and also make it very entertaining. Well done.

Second read

Still an amazing read. The similarities to our current day society is pretty astounding. But how could we not continue to make the same mistakes over and over again. There’s always going to be someone somewhere who thinks their way is better and force it by some means upon others or just take what they want by force. In our lifetime it’s done over years, in the slowly boiling pot that is a full boil now. Choices choices choices have consequences good and terribly bad. May God preserve us!!

So much more

I wanted a history of Byzantium and I got a wonderful story that felt like George RR Martin got some of his inspiration when writing a song of ice and fire.

fantastic narrative

This book offers great insight into the lost world of the eastern Roman Empire and is worth reading. Brownworths depiction of their history is nothing less than superb.

absolutely phenomenal

a phenomenal recount of an Empire that I had never learned much about. It's clear that the author has passion for his story, and it came through with every word. I can't recommend this highly enough.

An otherwise dry subject brought to life well done

The rise and fall of the Eastern Roman Empire and Constantinople (the Byzantine Empire) is extremely well written and wonderfully well narrated. Presents the essence of the subject without becoming bogged down in meticulous detail and minutia. A thousand year saga of the beacon of light for the West. Curtain com and the West are what we are today only through the great strength of Constantinople in stemming the relentless tide of Islam. This audio book is a Tour Dr Force on the subject!

Fantastic Overview of Byzantine History

The author does a fantastic job at providing readers with a clear and concise history of the Eastern Roman Empire from beginning to end. The author is the narrator and does a great job. Very easy to understand and follow.

Fantastic

Say what you may, for those who take offense.

One thing this book reinforces is to take pride in the history of the Byzantines.
The accomplishments are many and the west left the East hanging…. The Eastern Empire stood alone for the most part yet was the gateway into Europe from the Middle East. The emperors played their roles creating the history we learn, whether good or bad. It’s another reminder, to never forget.

A wonderful introduction…

This book serves as an all-too-brief introduction to a time period, geographical area, & culture that has been too often ignored by U.S. historical offerings. I wish it was 10 times as long, but that’s more a testament to its quality than due to any textual defect. This book ignited my love affair with the Byzantine world that I intend to feed with the more in-depth books on the topic. It’s a great gateway to a world I’ll explore for decades to come, & perhaps if it was much longer I would have been too daunted to take a look in the first place.

Lost to the West is told in the narrative style which I found immensely intriguing & engaging. I found myself actually caring for the historical figures covered, mourning for the shortcomings of the Eastern Empire, & even rooting for its triumph despite knowing its ultimately tragic end.

I found the author’s narration soothing & personable, even if I thought some of his pronunciations were off from time-to-time. As someone with the misfortune of constantly accidentally saying two different words at once, I suppose I found these instances more endearing than off-putting.

Chances are, if you came across this book it’s because you’re familiar with Mr Brownworth’s podcast, “12 Byzantine Rulers.” I loved that podcast. The bad news is that, if there’s more content in this book than the podcast, there’s not *much* more. That’s my main complaint; having access to the podcast for free, I didn’t get much more when I spent the equivalent of $16 on this audiobook.

Despite that, this book is absolutely worth the purchase/read, if just to act as encouragement for this sort of narrative historical gem-finding. Good on you, Lars.