-
Making a Masterpiece
- Studies in World Art, Book 45
- Narrated by: Jason Zenobia
- Length: 9 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Making a Masterpiece
Buy for $3.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Body Art and Abjection
- Studies in World Art, Book 1
- By: Edward Lucie-Smith
- Narrated by: Rick Paradis
- Length: 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
The first body art performer, as well as the first professional bodybuilder, was the showman Eugene Sandow (1867-1925). Though Sandow’s heyday occurred before the birth of the Modern Movement, there are compelling reasons for giving the primacy to him. Sandow, born Friedrich Wilhelm Müller in Prussia in 1867, left his native country in 1885 in order to avoid military service and first appeared on the London stage in 1885. His real celebrity began when the American impresario Florenz Ziegfield hired him to appear at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago.
-
A Secular Age
- By: Charles Taylor
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 42 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 257
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 216
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 212
What does it mean to say that we live in a secular age? Almost everyone would agree that we - in the West, at least - largely do. And clearly the place of religion in our societies has changed profoundly in the last few centuries. In what will be a defining book for our time, Charles Taylor takes up the question of what these changes mean - of what, precisely, happens when a society in which it is virtually impossible not to believe in God becomes one in which faith, even for the staunchest believer, is only one human possibility among others.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Needs Guest Narrators for French and German
- By Norman on 06-13-15
By: Charles Taylor
-
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization
- By: Thomas E. Woods Jr.
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,264
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,011
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,008
Western civilization has given us modern science, the wealth of free-market economics, the security of law, a sense of human rights and freedom, charity as a virtue, splendid art and music, philosophy grounded in reason, and innumerable other gifts we take for granted.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating and informative
- By Michael Kellogg on 09-29-05
-
Drawing Down the Moon
- Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America
- By: Margot Adler
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 20 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 425
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 371
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 365
Almost 40 years since its original publication, Drawing Down the Moon continues to be the only detailed history of the burgeoning but still widely misunderstood Neo-Pagan subculture. Margot Adler attended ritual gatherings and interviewed a diverse, colorful gallery of people across the United States, people who find inspiration in ancient deities, nature, myth, even science fiction. In this revised edition, Adler takes a fascinating and honest look at the religious experiences, beliefs, and lifestyles of modern America's Pagan groups.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Important history lesson but missing elements
- By Waterfall on 09-12-20
By: Margot Adler
-
Art & Fear
- Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
- By: David Bayles, Ted Orland
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,987
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,637
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,609
Art & Fear explores the way art gets made, the reasons it often doesn't get made, and the nature of the difficulties that cause so many artists to give up along the way. This is a book about what it feels like to sit in your studio or classroom, at your wheel or keyboard, easel or camera, trying to do the work you need to do. It is about committing your future to your own hands, placing free will above predestination, choice above chance. It is about finding your own work.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing!
- By zozobraswife on 05-10-12
By: David Bayles, and others
-
Lost Enlightenment
- Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane
- By: S. Frederick Starr
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 25 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 497
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 429
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 427
Lost Enlightenment recounts how, between the years 800 and 1200, Central Asia led the world in trade and economic development, the size and sophistication of its cities, the refinement of its arts, and, above all, in the advancement of knowledge in many fields. Central Asians achieved signal breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics, geology, medicine, chemistry, music, social science, philosophy, and theology, among other subjects.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Subject worthwhile but repetative narrative
- By F-M on 04-10-14
-
Body Art and Abjection
- Studies in World Art, Book 1
- By: Edward Lucie-Smith
- Narrated by: Rick Paradis
- Length: 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
The first body art performer, as well as the first professional bodybuilder, was the showman Eugene Sandow (1867-1925). Though Sandow’s heyday occurred before the birth of the Modern Movement, there are compelling reasons for giving the primacy to him. Sandow, born Friedrich Wilhelm Müller in Prussia in 1867, left his native country in 1885 in order to avoid military service and first appeared on the London stage in 1885. His real celebrity began when the American impresario Florenz Ziegfield hired him to appear at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago.
-
A Secular Age
- By: Charles Taylor
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 42 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 257
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 216
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 212
What does it mean to say that we live in a secular age? Almost everyone would agree that we - in the West, at least - largely do. And clearly the place of religion in our societies has changed profoundly in the last few centuries. In what will be a defining book for our time, Charles Taylor takes up the question of what these changes mean - of what, precisely, happens when a society in which it is virtually impossible not to believe in God becomes one in which faith, even for the staunchest believer, is only one human possibility among others.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Needs Guest Narrators for French and German
- By Norman on 06-13-15
By: Charles Taylor
-
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization
- By: Thomas E. Woods Jr.
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,264
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,011
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,008
Western civilization has given us modern science, the wealth of free-market economics, the security of law, a sense of human rights and freedom, charity as a virtue, splendid art and music, philosophy grounded in reason, and innumerable other gifts we take for granted.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating and informative
- By Michael Kellogg on 09-29-05
-
Drawing Down the Moon
- Witches, Druids, Goddess-Worshippers, and Other Pagans in America
- By: Margot Adler
- Narrated by: Pam Ward
- Length: 20 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 425
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 371
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 365
Almost 40 years since its original publication, Drawing Down the Moon continues to be the only detailed history of the burgeoning but still widely misunderstood Neo-Pagan subculture. Margot Adler attended ritual gatherings and interviewed a diverse, colorful gallery of people across the United States, people who find inspiration in ancient deities, nature, myth, even science fiction. In this revised edition, Adler takes a fascinating and honest look at the religious experiences, beliefs, and lifestyles of modern America's Pagan groups.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Important history lesson but missing elements
- By Waterfall on 09-12-20
By: Margot Adler
-
Art & Fear
- Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking
- By: David Bayles, Ted Orland
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 3 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,987
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,637
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,609
Art & Fear explores the way art gets made, the reasons it often doesn't get made, and the nature of the difficulties that cause so many artists to give up along the way. This is a book about what it feels like to sit in your studio or classroom, at your wheel or keyboard, easel or camera, trying to do the work you need to do. It is about committing your future to your own hands, placing free will above predestination, choice above chance. It is about finding your own work.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Amazing!
- By zozobraswife on 05-10-12
By: David Bayles, and others
-
Lost Enlightenment
- Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane
- By: S. Frederick Starr
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 25 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 497
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 429
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 427
Lost Enlightenment recounts how, between the years 800 and 1200, Central Asia led the world in trade and economic development, the size and sophistication of its cities, the refinement of its arts, and, above all, in the advancement of knowledge in many fields. Central Asians achieved signal breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics, geology, medicine, chemistry, music, social science, philosophy, and theology, among other subjects.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Subject worthwhile but repetative narrative
- By F-M on 04-10-14
-
Kobold Guide to Roleplaying
- Kobold Guides
- By: Keith Ammann, Ginny Di, Clint McElroy, and others
- Narrated by: Ray Greenley
- Length: 4 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 4
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4
There’s a reason it’s called a tabletop roleplaying game. Taking on the personae of different characters in the story brings a richness and depth to the experience and can make your game sessions exciting and memorable. But how can the poor, harried Game Master wrangle a whole slew of unique personalities on top of all the other work that goes into preparing each week? The Kobold Guide to Roleplaying has the answers you seek.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Ugh.
- By Michael on 04-17-24
By: Keith Ammann, and others
-
Culture and Imperialism
- By: Edward Said
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 19 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 189
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 150
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 153
A landmark work from the intellectually auspicious author of Orientalism, this book explores the long-overlooked connections between the Western imperial endeavor and the culture that both reflected and reinforced it. This classic study, the direct successor to Said's main work, is read by Peter Ganim ( Orientalism).
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
BRAVO, AUDIBLE!! WE NEED MORE SAID!! REAL BOOKS!!
- By AnthonyStevens on 02-27-11
By: Edward Said
-
Shinto: The Way Home
- Dimensions of Asian Spirituality
- By: Thomas P. Kasulis
- Narrated by: Dean Sluyter
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 182
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 160
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 159
Nine out of ten Japanese claim some affiliation with Shinto, but in the West the religion remains the least studied of the major Asian spiritual traditions. It is so interlaced with Japanese cultural values and practices that scholarly studies usually focus on only one of its dimensions: Shinto as a "nature religion", an "imperial state religion", a "primal religion", or a "folk amalgam of practices and beliefs". Thomas Kasulis' fresh approach to Shinto explains with clarity and economy how these different aspects interrelate.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Limited information on actual Shinto practice.
- By John O'Neill on 05-03-17
-
Hitler Homer Bible Christ
- The Historical Papers of Richard Carrier 1995-2013
- By: Richard Carrier
- Narrated by: Richard Carrier
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 142
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 130
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 130
Richard Carrier, Ph.D., philosopher, historian, blogger, has published a number of papers in the field of ancient history and biblical studies. He has also written several books and chapters on diverse subjects, and has been blogging and speaking since 2006. He is known the world over for all the above. But here, together for the first time, are all of Dr. Carrier's peer reviewed academic journal articles in history through the year 2013, collected with his best magazine articles, research papers, and blog posts on the same subjects.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
"Call Me Underwhelmed"
- By Ray M on 09-12-16
By: Richard Carrier
-
The Templar Revelation
- By: Lynn Pickett, Clive Prince
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 20 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 112
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 99
In the course of their investigation into Leonardo da Vinci, Lynn Pickett and Clive Prince found clues about his strangely passionate belief in the importance of John the Baptist. Here, along with a reassessment of the significance of Mary Magdalene and the sacred feminine, the authors reveal that Da Vinci’s apparently peculiar religion was shared by the Knights Templar. And their profoundly heretical belief that the Baptist was superior to Jesus himself still has the power to pose a threat to the very foundations of the Christian Church….
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Must Read For Western Esoteric Students
- By C-FREE on 06-28-16
By: Lynn Pickett, and others
-
Art as Experience
- By: John Dewey
- Narrated by: Tim Lundeen
- Length: 17 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 48
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
In his Introduction, Abraham Kaplan places Dewey's philosophy of art within the context of his pragmatism. Kaplan demonstrates in Dewey's esthetic theory his traditional "movement from a dualism to a monism" and discusses whether Dewey's viewpoint is that of the artist, the respondent, or the critic.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Dense, but enlightening!
- By Elaine Beth Williams on 10-03-15
By: John Dewey
-
The House of Wisdom
- How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization
- By: Jonathan Lyons
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 106
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 69
Here is the remarkable story of how medieval Arab scholars made dazzling advances in science and philosophy, and of the itinerant Europeans who brought this knowledge back to the West. For centuries following the fall of Rome, Western Europe was a benighted backwater, a world of subsistence farming, minimal literacy, and violent conflict. Meanwhile, Arab culture was thriving, dazzling those Europeans fortunate enough to catch even a glimpse.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Missing history
- By Robert on 11-26-11
By: Jonathan Lyons
-
On Photography
- By: Susan Sontag
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 259
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 218
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 213
First published in 1973, this is a study of the force of photographic images, which are continually inserted between experience and reality. When anything can be photographed, and photography has destroyed the boundaries and definitions of art, a viewer can approach a photograph freely, with no expectations of discovering what it means. This collection of six lucid and invigorating essays, with the most famous being "In Plato's Cave", make up a deep exploration of how the image has affected society.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
I'm Glad I Bought, Despite Some Negative Reviews
- By DEF on 10-18-13
By: Susan Sontag
-
Zakhor: Jewish History and Jewish Memory (The Samuel and Althea Stroum Lectures in Jewish Studies)
- By: Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi
- Narrated by: Aze Fellner
- Length: 4 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 29
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 28
Winner of the National Jewish Book Award for History. This book discusses the troubling and possibly irreconcilable split between Jewish memory and Jewish historiography.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Best book of history of Judaism written in centuries
- By Bicigodo on 07-19-15
-
Modern Social Imaginaries (Public Planet)
- By: Charles Taylor
- Narrated by: Tim Lundeen
- Length: 6 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
In Modern Social Imaginaries, Taylor continues his recent reflections on the theme of multiple modernities. To account for the differences among modernities, Taylor sets out his idea of the social imaginary, a broad understanding of the way a given people imagine their collective social life. Retelling the history of Western modernity, Taylor traces the development of a distinct social imaginary.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
important Info
- By Jeremy Glave on 02-26-23
By: Charles Taylor
-
Battling the Gods
- Atheism in the Ancient World
- By: Tim Whitmarsh
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 90
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
Long before the European Enlightenment and the Darwinian revolution, which we often take to mark the birth of the modern revolt against religious explanations of the world, brave people doubted the power of the gods. Religion provoked skepticism in ancient Greece, and heretics argued that history must be understood as a result of human action rather than divine intervention. They devised theories of the cosmos based on matter and notions of matter based on atoms.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
We have a history as long and as rich as any relig
- By Glencannnon on 08-13-19
By: Tim Whitmarsh
-
Classical vs. Modern Education
- A Vision from C.S. Lewis
- By: Dr. Steve Turley
- Narrated by: Stephen R. Turley
- Length: 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 79
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 68
With all the education options available today, choosing the right school or curriculum for your child can be daunting. But what if you knew what the ideal education looked like? Now you will! C.S. Lewis, the beloved author of the Chronicles of Narnia series, guides us on a journey that contrasts classical and contemporary education approaches. Lewis explains that while the cultivation of virtue was central to classical education, modern education stifles such moral formation by teaching a scientifically-inspired mechanistic vision of the world.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent Summary and Critique
- By Sarah Engle on 05-29-19
By: Dr. Steve Turley
Publisher's summary
The creation of a masterpiece needs more than simply determination on the part of a single individual - though this, of course, is a myth that has continuously gained in strength since the time of Michelangelo. As Michelangelo himself well knew, masterpieces grow from a will to see them made on the part of patrons, who often play nearly as important a part in the process as the man who holds the brush or wields the chisel. The Sistine ceiling would never have come into existence had it not been for Pope Julius II, who in this case forced the artist to undertake a task he would willingly have put to one side, in favor of his real love, which was always sculpture.
Related to this topic
-
Da Vinci's Ghost
- Genius, Obsession, and How Leonardo Created the World in His Own Image
- By: Toby Lester
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 185
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 152
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 151
Toby Lester, author of the award-winning The Fourth Part of the World, masterfully crafts yet another century-spanning saga of people and ideas in this epic story of Vitruvian Man, Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic drawing of a man inscribed in a circle and a square. Over time, the nearly 550-year-old ink-on-paper sketch has transformed into a collective symbol of the nature of genius, the beauty of the human form, and the universality of the human spirit.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Haunting Expierience
- By Paul on 02-10-12
By: Toby Lester
-
Orientalism
- By: Edward Said
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 19 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 583
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 470
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 471
This landmark book, first published in 1978, remains one of the most influential books in the Social Sciences, particularly Ethnic Studies and Postcolonialism. Said is best known for describing and critiquing "Orientalism", which he perceived as a constellation of false assumptions underlying Western attitudes toward the East. In Orientalism Said claimed a "subtle and persistent Eurocentric prejudice against Arabo-Islamic peoples and their culture."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
We're lucky to have this on audio
- By Delano on 02-27-13
By: Edward Said
-
The History of Western Art
- By: Peter Whitfield
- Narrated by: Sebastian Comberti
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 253
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 221
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 216
What is art? Why do we value images of saints, kings, goddesses, battles, landscapes or cities from eras of history utterly remote from ourselves? This history of art shows how painters, sculptors and architects have expressed the belief systems of their age: religious, political and aesthetic. From the ancient civilisations of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece, to the revolutionary years of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the artist has acted as a mirror to the ideals and conflicts of the human mind.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A whirlwind tour of Western art
- By Adeliese Baumann on 11-18-12
By: Peter Whitfield
-
Culture and Imperialism
- By: Edward Said
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 19 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 189
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 150
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 153
A landmark work from the intellectually auspicious author of Orientalism, this book explores the long-overlooked connections between the Western imperial endeavor and the culture that both reflected and reinforced it. This classic study, the direct successor to Said's main work, is read by Peter Ganim ( Orientalism).
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
BRAVO, AUDIBLE!! WE NEED MORE SAID!! REAL BOOKS!!
- By AnthonyStevens on 02-27-11
By: Edward Said
-
The Art Instinct
- Beauty, Pleasure, and Human Evolution
- By: Denis Dutton
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 51
The Art Instinct combines two of the most fascinating and contentious disciplines, art and evolutionary science, in a provocative new work that will revolutionize the way art itself is perceived. Aesthetic taste, argues Denis Dutton, is an evolutionary trait, and is shaped by natural selection. It's not, as almost all contemporary art criticism and academic theory would have it, "socially constructed".
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A breath of fresh air!
- By Michael on 02-19-14
By: Denis Dutton
-
Prehistory
- Making of the Human Mind
- By: Colin Renfrew
- Narrated by: Robert Ian MacKenzie
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 207
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 142
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 141
A giant of archaeology, Colin Renfrew has immeasurably improved our understanding of human history. In this passionately argued work, he offers a concise summary of prehistory - human existence that predates the development of written records - while challenging the very definition of prehistory itself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
not for the intellectually challenged
- By Anthony on 07-14-10
By: Colin Renfrew
-
Da Vinci's Ghost
- Genius, Obsession, and How Leonardo Created the World in His Own Image
- By: Toby Lester
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 6 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall3.5 out of 5 stars 185
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 152
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 151
Toby Lester, author of the award-winning The Fourth Part of the World, masterfully crafts yet another century-spanning saga of people and ideas in this epic story of Vitruvian Man, Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic drawing of a man inscribed in a circle and a square. Over time, the nearly 550-year-old ink-on-paper sketch has transformed into a collective symbol of the nature of genius, the beauty of the human form, and the universality of the human spirit.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Haunting Expierience
- By Paul on 02-10-12
By: Toby Lester
-
Orientalism
- By: Edward Said
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 19 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 583
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 470
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 471
This landmark book, first published in 1978, remains one of the most influential books in the Social Sciences, particularly Ethnic Studies and Postcolonialism. Said is best known for describing and critiquing "Orientalism", which he perceived as a constellation of false assumptions underlying Western attitudes toward the East. In Orientalism Said claimed a "subtle and persistent Eurocentric prejudice against Arabo-Islamic peoples and their culture."
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
We're lucky to have this on audio
- By Delano on 02-27-13
By: Edward Said
-
The History of Western Art
- By: Peter Whitfield
- Narrated by: Sebastian Comberti
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 253
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 221
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 216
What is art? Why do we value images of saints, kings, goddesses, battles, landscapes or cities from eras of history utterly remote from ourselves? This history of art shows how painters, sculptors and architects have expressed the belief systems of their age: religious, political and aesthetic. From the ancient civilisations of Egypt, Mesopotamia and Greece, to the revolutionary years of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, the artist has acted as a mirror to the ideals and conflicts of the human mind.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A whirlwind tour of Western art
- By Adeliese Baumann on 11-18-12
By: Peter Whitfield
-
Culture and Imperialism
- By: Edward Said
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 19 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 189
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 150
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 153
A landmark work from the intellectually auspicious author of Orientalism, this book explores the long-overlooked connections between the Western imperial endeavor and the culture that both reflected and reinforced it. This classic study, the direct successor to Said's main work, is read by Peter Ganim ( Orientalism).
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
BRAVO, AUDIBLE!! WE NEED MORE SAID!! REAL BOOKS!!
- By AnthonyStevens on 02-27-11
By: Edward Said
-
The Art Instinct
- Beauty, Pleasure, and Human Evolution
- By: Denis Dutton
- Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 50
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 51
The Art Instinct combines two of the most fascinating and contentious disciplines, art and evolutionary science, in a provocative new work that will revolutionize the way art itself is perceived. Aesthetic taste, argues Denis Dutton, is an evolutionary trait, and is shaped by natural selection. It's not, as almost all contemporary art criticism and academic theory would have it, "socially constructed".
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A breath of fresh air!
- By Michael on 02-19-14
By: Denis Dutton
-
Prehistory
- Making of the Human Mind
- By: Colin Renfrew
- Narrated by: Robert Ian MacKenzie
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 207
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 142
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 141
A giant of archaeology, Colin Renfrew has immeasurably improved our understanding of human history. In this passionately argued work, he offers a concise summary of prehistory - human existence that predates the development of written records - while challenging the very definition of prehistory itself.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
not for the intellectually challenged
- By Anthony on 07-14-10
By: Colin Renfrew
-
Descartes' Bones
- A Skeletal History of the Conflict between Faith and Reason
- By: Russell Shorto
- Narrated by: Paul Hecht
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 243
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 105
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 103
On a brutal winter's day in 1650 in Stockholm, Frenchman Rene Descartes, the most influential and controversial thinker of his time, was buried after a cold and lonely deathfar from home. Sixteen years later, the pious French Ambassador Hugues de Terlon secretly unearthed Descartes' bones and transported them to France. Why would this devoutly Catholic official care so much about the remains of a philosopher who washounded from country after country on charges of atheism?
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Philosophy of Modernity
- By Roger on 06-17-09
By: Russell Shorto
-
A Secular Age
- By: Charles Taylor
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 42 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 257
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 216
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 212
What does it mean to say that we live in a secular age? Almost everyone would agree that we - in the West, at least - largely do. And clearly the place of religion in our societies has changed profoundly in the last few centuries. In what will be a defining book for our time, Charles Taylor takes up the question of what these changes mean - of what, precisely, happens when a society in which it is virtually impossible not to believe in God becomes one in which faith, even for the staunchest believer, is only one human possibility among others.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Needs Guest Narrators for French and German
- By Norman on 06-13-15
By: Charles Taylor
-
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization
- By: Thomas E. Woods Jr.
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 7 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,264
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,011
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,008
Western civilization has given us modern science, the wealth of free-market economics, the security of law, a sense of human rights and freedom, charity as a virtue, splendid art and music, philosophy grounded in reason, and innumerable other gifts we take for granted.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Fascinating and informative
- By Michael Kellogg on 09-29-05
-
The Lost World of Adam and Eve
- Genesis 2-3 and the Human Origins Debate
- By: John H. Walton, N.T. Wright
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 323
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 285
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 279
For centuries, the story of Adam and Eve has resonated richly through the corridors of art, literature, and theology. But for most moderns, taking it at face value is incongruous. Author John Walton explores the ancient Near Eastern context of Genesis 2-3, creating space for a faithful reading of Scripture along with full engagement with science for a new way forward in the human origins debate.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Not For Me
- By Ax on 09-20-18
By: John H. Walton, and others
-
Lost Enlightenment
- Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane
- By: S. Frederick Starr
- Narrated by: Kevin Stillwell
- Length: 25 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 497
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 429
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 427
Lost Enlightenment recounts how, between the years 800 and 1200, Central Asia led the world in trade and economic development, the size and sophistication of its cities, the refinement of its arts, and, above all, in the advancement of knowledge in many fields. Central Asians achieved signal breakthroughs in astronomy, mathematics, geology, medicine, chemistry, music, social science, philosophy, and theology, among other subjects.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Subject worthwhile but repetative narrative
- By F-M on 04-10-14
-
Olmecs
- A Captivating Guide to the Earliest Known Major Ancient Civilization in Mexico
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Duke Holm
- Length: 2 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 53
Did you know the Olmecs might have been the first people to introduce writing? The first people who managed to elevate themselves to civilized life were the Olmecs. But they remain relatively unknown. In this new captivating history audiobook, you will discover the truth about the earliest known civilization in America.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Olmecs
- By Elle on 11-12-18
-
Battling the Gods
- Atheism in the Ancient World
- By: Tim Whitmarsh
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 90
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
Long before the European Enlightenment and the Darwinian revolution, which we often take to mark the birth of the modern revolt against religious explanations of the world, brave people doubted the power of the gods. Religion provoked skepticism in ancient Greece, and heretics argued that history must be understood as a result of human action rather than divine intervention. They devised theories of the cosmos based on matter and notions of matter based on atoms.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
We have a history as long and as rich as any relig
- By Glencannnon on 08-13-19
By: Tim Whitmarsh
-
Why Architecture Matters
- By: Paul Goldberger
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 100
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 76
The purpose of Why Architecture Matters is to "come to grips with how things feel to us when we stand before them, with how architecture affects us emotionally as well as intellectually" - with its impact on our lives. "Architecture begins to matter," writes Paul Goldberger, "when it brings delight and sadness and perplexity and awe along with a roof over our heads."
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Reading too mechanical
- By Petrie on 09-01-15
By: Paul Goldberger
-
The Dawn of Everything
- A New History of Humanity
- By: David Graeber, David Wengrow
- Narrated by: Mark Williams
- Length: 24 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,791
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,342
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,331
A trailblazing account of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution—from the development of agriculture and cities to the emergence of "the state", political violence, and social inequality—and revealing new possibilities for human emancipation.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
exactly what I've been looking for
- By DankTurtle on 11-10-21
By: David Graeber, and others
-
Hidden Wisdom
- A Guide to Western Inner Traditions
- By: Richard Smoley, Jay Kinney
- Narrated by: Ethan Sawyer
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 206
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 182
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 179
The co-editors of Gnosis magazine explore the many esoteric traditions that Western culture has to offer. While terms from Eastern spiritual practices such as Zen, mantra, and karma have become part of our daily lexicon, the traditions of Western spirituality have been largely unexplored by people searching for non-mainstream routes to spiritual experience. But for those who identify with Western culture, Western religious traditions have their own wisdom teachings that are more suitable to their needs and expectations.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting, enjoyable, not too deep
- By DBruno1987 on 03-03-15
By: Richard Smoley, and others
-
William Blake vs the World
- By: John Higgs
- Narrated by: John Higgs
- Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 89
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 76
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
A wild and unexpected journey through culture, science, philosophy, and religion to better understand the mercurial genius of William Blake.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best book ever
- By idamae on 11-04-22
By: John Higgs
-
The House of Wisdom
- How the Arabs Transformed Western Civilization
- By: Jonathan Lyons
- Narrated by: Jay Snyder
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 106
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 69
Here is the remarkable story of how medieval Arab scholars made dazzling advances in science and philosophy, and of the itinerant Europeans who brought this knowledge back to the West. For centuries following the fall of Rome, Western Europe was a benighted backwater, a world of subsistence farming, minimal literacy, and violent conflict. Meanwhile, Arab culture was thriving, dazzling those Europeans fortunate enough to catch even a glimpse.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Missing history
- By Robert on 11-26-11
By: Jonathan Lyons
Love Books? You'll Love Audible.
Transform your day
Replace endless scrolling with endless listening. Chores can be fun.
Listen everywhere
Download titles to listen offline, wherever you are in the world.
Carry your entire Library
Your stories go where you go. Audiobooks don’t weigh a thing.
Listen and learn
Discover stories that can change your mind, your well-being, and your life.
Reach your reading goals
You can’t turn pages while you drive—but you can press play.
Find your niche
WIth thousands of titles to explore, there’s something for everyone.