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Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350-550 AD
- Narrated by: Fleet Cooper
- Length: 31 hrs and 15 mins
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Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350-550 AD
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Publisher's summary
Jesus taught his followers that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. Yet by the fall of Rome, the church was becoming rich beyond measure. Through the Eye of a Needle is a sweeping intellectual and social history of the vexing problem of wealth in Christianity in the waning days of the Roman Empire, written by the world's foremost scholar of late antiquity.
Peter Brown examines the rise of the church through the lens of money and the challenges it posed to an institution that espoused the virtue of poverty and called avarice the root of all evil. Drawing on the writings of major Christian thinkers such as Augustine, Ambrose, and Jerome, Brown examines the controversies and changing attitudes toward money caused by the influx of new wealth into church coffers, and describes the spectacular acts of divestment by rich donors and their growing influence in an empire beset with crisis. He shows how the use of wealth for the care of the poor competed with older forms of philanthropy deeply rooted in the Roman world, and sheds light on the ordinary people who gave away their money in hopes of treasure in heaven.
Through the Eye of a Needle challenges the widely held notion that Christianity's growing wealth sapped Rome of its ability to resist the barbarian invasions, and offers a fresh perspective on the social history of the church in late antiquity.
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- By: Johannes Fried, Peter Lewis
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 30 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 247
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 215
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Story4 out of 5 stars 212
When the legendary Frankish king and emperor Charlemagne died in 814 he left behind a dominion and a legacy unlike anything seen in Western Europe since the fall of Rome. Johannes Fried paints a compelling portrait of a devout ruler, a violent time, and a unified kingdom that deepens our understanding of the man often called the father of Europe.
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1 out of 5 stars
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I really wanted to enjoy this -
- By Doris on 01-19-18
By: Johannes Fried, and others
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Yiddish Civilisation: The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Nation
- By: Paul Kriwaczek
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
Tracing Yiddish civilization from its roots in the Diaspora to the present, Paul Kriwaczek combines intimate family anecdote, travelogue, historical research, and interviews with scholars to give us a rich portrait of a nearly extinguished culture as it survived across the centuries. He begins his chronicle in Jerusalem, with the destruction of the Jewish temple at the hands of the Romans in the year 70. We see the burgeoning exile population disperse, moving outward and northward throughout the following centuries, making their mark in more far flung cities under Roman rule.
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3 out of 5 stars
-
Disorganized, inconclusive and disappointing
- By Alex on 12-15-20
By: Paul Kriwaczek
-
The Reformation
- A History
- By: Diarmaid MacCulloch
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 36 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 270
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 239
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 235
At a time when men and women were prepared to kill - and be killed - for their faith, the Protestant Reformation tore the Western world apart. Acclaimed as the definitive account of these epochal events, Diarmaid MacCulloch's award-winning history brilliantly recreates the religious battles of priests, monarchs, scholars, and politicians - from the zealous Martin Luther and his 95 Theses to the polemical John Calvin to the radical Igantius Loyola, from the tortured Thomas Cranmer to the ambitious Philip II.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent
- By Eli Shem Tov on 05-15-17
-
Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea
- Why the Greeks Matter
- By: Thomas Cahill
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 335
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 152
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 152
Best selling history writer Thomas Cahill continues his series on the roots of Western civilization with this volume about the contributions of ancient Greece to the development of contemporary culture. Tracing the origin of Greek culture in the migrations of armed Indo-European horsemen into Attica and the Peloponnesian peninsula, he follows their progress into the creation of the Greek city-states, the refinement of their machinery of war, and the flowering of intellectual and artistic culture.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Super super
- By Richard on 12-28-03
By: Thomas Cahill
-
The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1, Revised and Updated
- The Early Church to the Dawn of the Reformation
- By: Justo L. González
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 18 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 588
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 515
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 515
In The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1, Justo L. González, author of the highly praised three-volume History of Christian Thought, presents a narrative history of Christianity from the early church to the dawn of the Protestant reformation. From Jesus' faithful apostles to the early reformist John Wycliffe, González skillfully traces core theological issues and developments within the various traditions of the church, including major events outside of Europe, such as the Spanish and Portuguese conquest of the New World.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Throughly engaging
- By Scott Pursley on 12-15-16
-
The Bright Ages
- A New History of Medieval Europe
- By: Matthew Gabriele, David M. Perry
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 221
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 184
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 185
The word medieval conjures images of the “Dark Ages”. But the myth of darkness obscures the truth; this was a remarkable period in human history. The Bright Ages recasts the European Middle Ages for what it was, capturing this 1,000-year era in all its complexity and fundamental humanity, bringing to light both its beauty and its horrors. The Bright Ages takes us through 10 centuries and crisscrosses Europe and the Mediterranean, Asia, and Africa, revisiting familiar people and events with new light cast upon them.
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1 out of 5 stars
-
Does exactly what it claims to clarify
- By Aaron Rapozo on 12-13-21
By: Matthew Gabriele, and others
-
A History of the Jews
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 28 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 486
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 369
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 371
This historical magnum opus covers 4,000 years of the extraordinary history of the Jews as a people, a culture, and a nation. It shows the impact of Jewish character on the world: their genius, imagination, and, most of all, their ability to persevere despite severe persecutions. Compelling insights into events and individuals are chronologically detailed, from Moses and Jesus to Spinoza, Marx, Freud, the Rothschilds, and Golda Meir.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent History
- By Rilezmom on 06-06-09
By: Paul Johnson
-
Constantine the Emperor
- By: David Potter
- Narrated by: Phil Holland
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 85
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 77
This year Christians worldwide will celebrate the 1700th anniversary of Constantine's conversion and victory at the Battle of the Milvian Bridge. No Roman emperor had a greater impact on the modern world than did Constantine. The reason is not simply that he converted to Christianity but that he did so in a way that brought his subjects along after him. Indeed, this major new biography argues that Constantine's conversion is but one feature of a unique administrative style that enabled him to take control of an empire beset by internal rebellions and external threats by Persians and Goths.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
In this sign thou shalt conquer!
- By Darwin8u on 06-11-18
By: David Potter
-
Our Oriental Heritage
- The Story of Civilization, Volume 1
- By: Will Durant
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 50 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,282
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,141
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,133
The first volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume I chronicles the early history of Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Wonderful
- By Michael on 11-30-13
By: Will Durant
-
Medieval Christianity
- A New History
- By: Kevin Madigan
- Narrated by: Pete Larkin
- Length: 21 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 115
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 96
For many, the medieval world seems dark and foreign - a miraculous, brutal, and irrational time of superstition and strange relics. The pursuit of heretics, the Inquisition, the Crusades, and the domination of the "Holy Land" come to mind.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
New Standard Text for This Period
- By Bill Martin on 10-22-16
By: Kevin Madigan
-
Reformations
- The Early Modern World, 1450-1650
- By: Carlos M. N. Eire
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 39 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 153
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 118
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 117
Carlos Eire, popular professor and gifted writer, chronicles the 200-year era of the Renaissance and Reformation with particular attention to issues that persist as concerns in the present day. Eire connects the Protestant and Catholic Reformations in new and profound ways, and he demonstrates convincingly that this crucial turning point in history not only affected people long gone but continues to shape our world and define who we are today.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Catholics don’t believe in “Works Righteousness”
- By Liam Cruz Kelly on 02-23-19
-
A History of Christianity
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 28 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 89
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
First published in 1976, Paul Johnson's exceptional study of Christianity has been loved and widely hailed for its intensive research, writing, and magnitude. Weaving a great range of material, the scholar and author Johnson creates an ambitious panoramic overview of the evolution of the Western world since the founding of a little-known "Jesus sect".
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Read Brant Pitre's the case for Jesus instead.
- By Catherine BFT on 05-08-17
By: Paul Johnson
-
The Ornament of the World
- How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain
- By: Maria Rosa Menocal, Harold Bloom - foreword
- Narrated by: Tanya Eby
- Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 90
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 78
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 76
Widely hailed as a revelation of a "lost" golden age, this history brings to vivid life the rich and thriving culture of medieval Spain, where, for more than seven centuries, Muslims, Jews, and Christians lived together in an atmosphere of tolerance, and literature, science, and the arts flourished.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Book
- By Zahid Ahmad on 08-14-18
By: Maria Rosa Menocal, and others
-
Sailing from Byzantium
- How a Lost Empire Shaped the World
- By: Colin Wells
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 9 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 156
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 83
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 81
A gripping intellectual adventure story, Sailing from Byzantium sweeps you from the deserts of Arabia to the dark forests of northern Russia, from the colorful towns of Renaissance Italy to the final moments of a millennial city under siege.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Missing Years
- By Nikoli Gogol on 12-29-07
By: Colin Wells
-
Tried by Fire
- The Story of Christianity's First Thousand Years
- By: William J. Bennett
- Narrated by: Wayne Campbell
- Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
Full of larger-than-life characters, stunning acts of bravery, and heart-rending sacrifice, Tried by Fire narrates the rise and expansion of Christianity from an obscure regional sect to the established faith of the world's greatest empire with influence extending from India to Ireland, Scandinavia to Ethiopia, and all points in between.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best history of Christianity I've read
- By JOHN F KANARY on 05-05-16
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Empires and Barbarians presents a fresh, provocative look at how a recognizable Europe came into being in the first millennium AD. With sharp analytic insight, Peter Heather explores the dynamics of migration and social and economic interaction that changed two vastly different worlds--the undeveloped barbarian world and the sophisticated Roman Empire--into remarkably similar societies and states.
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The Holy Roman Empire lasted 1,000 years, far longer than ancient Rome. Yet this formidable dominion never inspired the awe of its predecessor. Voltaire quipped that it was neither holy, Roman, nor an empire. Yet as Peter H. Wilson shows, the Holy Roman Empire tells a millennial story of Europe better than the histories of individual nation-states.
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Mixed feelings on this one.
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In the year 493, the leader of a vast confederation of Gothic warriors, their wives, and children personally cut down Odoacer, the man famous for deposing the last Roman emperor in 476. That leader became Theoderic the Great (454-526). This engaging history of his life and reign immerses listeners in the world of the warrior-king who ushered in decades of peace and stability in Italy as king of Goths and Romans.
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More for historians than general readers
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To an extraordinary extent we continue to live in the shadow of the classical world. At every level, from languages to calendars to political systems, we are the descendants of a “classical Europe,” using frames of reference created by ancient Mediterranean cultures. As this consistently fresh and surprising new audio book makes clear, however, this was no less true for the inhabitants of those classical civilizations themselves, whose myths, history, and buildings were an elaborate engagement with an already old and revered past - one filled with great leaders and writers....
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5 out of 5 stars
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A History of Christianity
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3 out of 5 stars
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Read Brant Pitre's the case for Jesus instead.
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The Greatest Philosopher Who Ever Lived
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 13
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 13
In 2019, Peter Kreeft published Socrates' Children, a four-volume series on the 100 greatest philosophers of all time, spanning from ancient Greece to contemporary Germany. But he made a terrible mistake: He somehow left out women, and with this, he overlooked the greatest mind of them all. This book is a one-of-a-kind study on Mary of Nazareth, the mother of Jesus. If Jesus Christ is wisdom incarnate, and if Mary loved Him more than anyone else ever did, then it holds that Mary is the greatest philosopher, the greatest wisdom-lover.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Surprising and Fascinating
- By Rob Squires on 05-23-22
By: Peter Kreeft
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Ravenna
- Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe
- By: Judith Herrin
- Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 72
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 72
At the end of the fourth century, as the power of Rome faded and Constantinople became the seat of empire, a new capital city was rising in the West. Here, in Ravenna on the coast of Italy, Arian Goths and Catholic Romans competed to produce an unrivaled concentration of buildings and astonishing mosaics. For three centuries, the city attracted scholars, lawyers, craftsmen, and religious luminaries, becoming a true cultural and political capital.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Worthy book, stingy production.
- By Stephen Chakwin on 12-13-20
By: Judith Herrin
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The History of the Franks
- By: Gregory of Tours
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 19 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 24
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Story4 out of 5 stars 25
Gregory of Tours was a Gallo-Roman aristocrat and Catholic prelate born in 538. He died 56 years later, in 591, a period in which the brutal Merovingian rulers of the Frankish nation consolidated their power over most of Gaul. Gregory experienced the transition from the dying world of Roman antiquity to the new culture of early medieval Europe. He lived on the border between the Frankish culture of the Merovingians to the north and the Gallo-Roman culture of the south of Gaul. He struggled through personal relations with four Frankish kings.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Perfect for a Medieval Historian, although -
- By Doris on 03-21-18
By: Gregory of Tours