The Rise and Fall of Alexandria

Birthplace of the Modern Mind

By: Justin Pollard, Howard Reid

Narrated by: Simon Vance

Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

Founded by Alexander the Great and built by self-styled Greek pharaohs, the city of Alexandria at its height dwarfed both Athens and Rome. It was the marvel of its age, legendary for its vast palaces, safe harbors, and magnificent lighthouse. But it was most famous for the astonishing intellectual efflorescence it fostered and the library it produced. If the European Renaissance was the "rebirth" of Western culture, then Alexandria, Egypt, was its birthplace.

It was here mankind first discovered that the earth was not flat, originated atomic theory, invented geometry, systematized grammar, translated the Old Testament into Greek, built the steam engine, and passed their discoveries on to future generations via the written word. Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Cleopatra, Jewish scholars, Greek philosophers, and devout early Christians all play a part in the rise and fall of the city that stood "at the conjunction of the whole world". Sparkling with fresh insights into science, philosophy, culture, and invention, this is an irresistible, edifying delight.

©2006 Justin Pollard and Howard Reid (P)2006 Tantor Media, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A nourishing account." (Publishers Weekly)
"Classical history buffs will savor this survey." (Booklist)

Excellent book!!!!!!

I really enjoyed the book, very good and complete, excellent narration, highly recomended, this is a must read for anyone that loves history, Egypt or if you want to have a very good time.

The true birthplace of modern society.

This document is a startling account of a profound history of an idea that was made manifest by a single man, (Alexander the Great) and moved forward by the genius of the individuals who held his beliefs in their hearts and minds. The research of this book, by the authors is mind boggelng and fascinating. The narration by Simon Vance is superb.

Written and read the way history should be

I enjoyed this book immensely. Written and read the way history should be; like a story. This book offers a very broad and scholarly view of Alexandria without becoming boring or seeming like just a download of information. An excellent journey through the formation and pivotal role of Alexandria in the ancient world.

Very Interesting Glimpse into a Forgotten Past

How smart were people over 2000 years ago? Pretty effing smart. I found this to be a super interesting audiobook with a great narrator who helped bring the ancient world to life. We had all this knowledge that was lost and rediscovered hundreds of years later.
It gets a bit dull towards the end, dealing with Christian mystical philosophy, but that is part of the story. I loved the stories about measuring the earth with a sundial and ancient computers!

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simply the best book of great antiquity. fascinating bold honesty and human . a great book.

An absolute Gem.

Everyone can learn something from this. History is done right here, especially if you are interested in the Religion of Christianity and the Jews.

A must read

This book gives an excellent description of the Greek, Egyptian and Roman history for about 500 years (400 BC to 100 AD) around the Mediterranean Sea and Middle East. It deals with philosophy, medicine, astronomy, physics, alchemy, geography, religion, war tacticts and more.... Such a wealth of knowledge. Not to mention the perfect narration.

This is History done right!

Can you call an audiobook a "page turner?" Well, maybe not, but the authors are such masters of their subject and display such eloquence and insight that I found myself saying, "Wow, that was interesting! What's next?" This is not your average dry and dusty history book, that much is for sure.

Well, to be fair, history did give them a wonderful cast to work with. Alexander the Great, Ptolemy Soter, Pythagoras, Archimedes, Aristarchus, Eratosthenes, Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Mark Anthony, Claudius Ptolemy, Philo, Caligula, Caracala, Hypatia of Alexandria and many, many more. From the story of Alexander himself laying out the streets ca 300 BCE to the final dousing of the candle of knowledge before plunging in to the dark ages ca 600 CE, this is the story of a city like no other before or since. It was born from a vision, lived and flourished, and then like all good things, it died, the victim of its own brash nature and (in my opinion) the ultimately destructive forces of greed and revealed religions. But along the way, Alexandria taught us how to think.

This is a great read. The reader doesn't get in the way of the text, which is the third best thing you can say about a narrator.

Edifying

I learned so much from this book about not only Alexandria but of Egypt and the Mediterranean. The book covered the economy, history and existing knowledge of the ancient era. I guess if you think of the library and museum of Alexandria in modern day terms, it would be called a university, a think tank as well as a library. I did note that Alexandrea was a diverse city of Egyptians, Jews, Greeks, Romans and people from neighboring countries. It is amazing to realize the city was designed to have a sewer system, running water, as well as the city was laid out with streets and buildings.

The book was well written and meticulously researched. I found the section about Hypatia (350-370-415 A.D.) to be most interesting. The way the author told the story has triggered me to want to learn more about Hypatia. She was a mathematician and philosopher in the later days of Alexandria and was considered a great teacher. I enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.

It is eleven and a half hours. Simon Vance does an excellent job narrating the book. Vance is a well known award-winning audiobook narrator.

superior every thing about this was great. I

I wish the author had continued with the story into modern times. It is still a fascinating city.