-
Understanding Iraq
- The Whole Sweep of Iraqi History, from Genghis Khan's Mongols to the Ottoman Turks to the British Mandate to the American Occupation
- Narrated by: Paul Heitsch
- Length: 8 hrs and 12 mins
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Publisher's summary
Iraq will continue to be a major issue and involvement for the United States into the foreseeable future says William R. Polk, former member of the State Department’s Policy Planning Council and professor of Middle Eastern history at the University of Chicago. Iraq sits on the world’s largest supply of oil, and with the world’s energy requirements continuously rising, Iraq will play an ongoing role in the global economy and the political environment throughout the Gulf region and the Middle East.
Polk’s concise, authoritative overview of Iraq’s history shows how the pattern of outside intervention was established first by the Ottoman Turks and the Persian Safavids and later by England, Russia, and Germany. After World War I came British rule, followed by a brief and uneasy period of independence that sparked Iraqi nationalism, leading Saddam Husain to power with American military and financial aid and covert CIA involvement. The Iraq-Iran War and the invasion of Kuwait was followed by the Gulf War, the sanctions period, and the Bush administration’s decision to invade. Finally, there is the American occupation and the challenges, opportunities, and options that Iraqis and Americans face now and in the future.
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- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 113
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 89
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 89
Korea was one of the last countries in Asia to be visited by Westerners, and its borders have remained largely unchanged since it was unified in the seventh century. Though it is one of the world's oldest and most ethnically homogeneous states, Korea was not born in a vacuum. Geographically isolated, the country was heavily influenced by powerful China and was often used as a bridge to the mainland by Japan. Calling themselves as "a shrimp among whales", Koreans borrowed elements of government, culture, and religion, all the while fiercely fighting to maintain independence.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Loved the historical context but ..
- By Kathy on 01-06-20
By: Michael J. Seth
-
History of Romania
- A Captivating Guide to Romanian History, Including Events Such as the First Roman-Dacian War, Raids of Vlad III Dracula Against the Ottoman Empire, the Great War, and World War 2
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Jason Zenobia
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 34
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
Romania lies on Europe’s eastern border, and as such, it is often neglected in history. Although it is a culturally very rich country, the world displayed little interest in its promotion. By listening to this captivating history of Romania, you will learn about the turbulent past of the region, the many wars it fought, and the people who led them. You will also learn the truth behind the character of Vlad the Impaler and decide for yourself if he was a ruthless, bloodthirsty ruler or a politician, tactician, and national hero.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Polished to the edge of propaganda
- By Anonymous User on 08-19-23
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Vietnam
- A New History
- By: Christopher Goscha
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 23 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 105
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 92
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 91
In Vietnam, Christopher Goscha tells the full history of Vietnam, from antiquity to the present day. Generations of emperors, rebels, priests, and colonizers left complicated legacies in this remarkable country. Periods of Chinese, French, and Japanese rule reshaped and modernized Vietnam, but so too did the colonial enterprises of the Vietnamese themselves as they extended their influence southward from the Red River Delta.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Not bad, but not great.
- By Kp on 08-06-18
-
Revolutionary Iran
- A History of the Islamic Republic
- By: Michael Axworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 19 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
The Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a defining moment of the modern era. Its success unleashed a wave of Islamist fervor across the Middle East and signaled a sharp decline in the appeal of Western ideologies in the Islamic world. Michael Axworthy takes listeners through the major periods in Iranian history over the last 30 years: the overthrow of the old regime and the creation of the new one; the Iran-Iraq war; the reconstruction era following the war; the reformist wave led by Mohammed Khatami; and the present day, in which reactionaries have re-established control.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Questionable Narration
- By Arya Pourtabatabaie on 07-17-21
By: Michael Axworthy
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Vision or Mirage
- Saudi Arabia at the Crossroads
- By: David Rundell
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 13 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 37
David Rundell - one of America's foremost experts on Saudi Arabia - explains how the country has been stable for so long, why it is less so today, and what is most likely to happen in the future. The book is based on the author's close contacts and intimate knowledge of the country where he spent 15 years living and working as a diplomat. Vision or Mirage demystifies one of the most powerful, but least understood, states in the Middle East and is essential for anyone interested in the power dynamics and politics of the Arab world.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Facts about 70% correct- but with a neocolonial voice
- By Iyla on 09-20-21
By: David Rundell
-
Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know
- By: Serhy Yekelchyk
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 186
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 165
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 164
Ukraine's sudden prominence in American politics has compounded an already-widespread misunderstanding of what is actually happening in the nation. In the American media, Ukraine has come to signify an inherently corrupt place, rather than a real country struggling in the face of great challenges. Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know addresses Ukraine's relations with the West, particularly the United States, from the perspective of Ukrainians.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Everyone Should Read This Book in 2022
- By Theo Horesh on 03-09-22
By: Serhy Yekelchyk
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Bully of Asia
- By: Steven W. Mosher
- Narrated by: Al Kessel
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 150
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 140
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 139
The signs are everywhere. China unilaterally claims the entire South China Sea as sovereign territory, then builds artificial islands to bolster its claim. It suddenly activates an air defense identification zone over the East China Sea, and threatens to down any aircraft that does not report its position. It builds roads into Indian territory, then redraws the maps to show that it is actually Chinese territory. The People's Republic under President Xi Jinping is quickly becoming The Bully of Asia.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Eye opening, up to date
- By Silomi on 01-01-19
By: Steven W. Mosher
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The Gates of Europe
- A History of Ukraine
- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 82
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 81
Ukraine is currently embroiled in a tense fight with Russia to preserve its territorial integrity and political independence. But today's conflict is only the latest in a long history of battles over Ukraine's territory and its existence as a sovereign nation. As the award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy argues in The Gates of Europe, we must examine Ukraine's past in order to understand its present and future.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An extraordinarily good book
- By Specs2789 on 03-01-23
By: Serhii Plokhy
-
The Shadow Commander
- Soleimani, the US, and Iran’s Global Ambitions
- By: Arash Azizi
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 10 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 92
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 78
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 77
Until his assassination by US drone strike in January 2020, commander Qassem Soleimani was one of the most powerful men in Iran and the military spearhead for Iranian foreign policy, enacting the wishes of the country's Supreme Leader in the region. A widely popular but also feared maverick operator, he helped to establish the Islamic Republic as a major force in the Middle East, with interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. This was a long way from where he began as a youth, living on the margins in a country ruled by a monarch supported by the United States.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Rather disappointing
- By Aliz on 01-19-21
By: Arash Azizi
-
Can We Talk About Israel?
- A Guide for the Curious, Confused, and Conflicted
- By: Daniel Sokatch
- Narrated by: Daniel Sokatch
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
'Can’t you just explain the Israel situation to me? In, like, 10 minutes or less?' This is the question Daniel Sokatch is used to answering on an almost daily basis as the head of the New Israel Fund, an organization dedicated to equality and democracy for all Israelis, not just Jews. Can We Talk About Israel? is the story of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, grappling with a century-long struggle between two peoples that both perceive themselves as (and indeed are) victims.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not completely sincere in its promise
- By Buretto on 10-30-21
By: Daniel Sokatch
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The Hundred Years' War on Palestine
- A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917--2017
- By: Rashid Khalidi
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi, Rashid Khalidi - introduction
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 905
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 818
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 814
Drawing on a wealth of untapped archival materials and the reports of generations of family members - mayors, judges, scholars, diplomats, and journalists - The Hundred Years' War on Palestine upends accepted interpretations of the conflict, which tend, at best, to describe a tragic clash between two peoples with claims to the same territory. Instead, Khalidi traces a hundred years of colonial war on the Palestinians, waged first by the Zionist movement and then Israel, but backed by Britain and the United States, the great powers of the age.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Thoroughly Researched and Evidence-Based, but...
- By K on 05-24-21
By: Rashid Khalidi
-
Modern Times
- The World from the Twenties to the Nineties
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 37 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 426
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 300
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 298
Beginning with May 29, 1919, when photographs of the solar eclipse confirmed the truth of Einstein's theory of relativity, Johnson goes on to describe Freudianism, the establishment of the first Marxist state, the chaos of "Old Europe", the Arcadian 20s, and the new forces in China and Japan. Also discussed are Karl Marx, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Roosevelt, Gandhi, Castro, Kennedy, Nixon, the '29 crash, the Great Depression, Roosevelt's New Deal, and the massive conflict of World War II.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Anti-Howard Zinn
- By Pork C. Fish on 05-22-12
By: Paul Johnson
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A Short History of Russia
- How the World's Largest Country Invented Itself, from the Pagans to Putin
- By: Mark Galeotti
- Narrated by: Mark Galeotti
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 176
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 150
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 147
Russia is a country with no natural borders, no single ethnic group, no true central identity. At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, it has been subject to invasion by outsiders, from Vikings to Mongols, from Napoleon’s French to Hitler’s Germans. In order to forge an identity, it has mythologized its past to unite its people and to signal strength to outsiders. In A Short History of Russia, Mark Galeotti explores the history of this fascinating, glorious, desperate, and exasperating country.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful short history
- By Tad Davis on 01-19-21
By: Mark Galeotti
-
China and Japan
- Facing History
- By: Ezra F. Vogel
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 22 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
China and Japan have cultural and political connections that stretch back 1,500 years. But today, their relationship is strained. China's military buildup deeply worries Japan, while Japan's brutal occupation of China in World War II remains an open wound. In recent years, less than 10 percent of each population had positive feelings toward the other, and both countries insist that the other side must deal openly with its history before relations can improve. Ezra Vogel's China and Japan examines key turning points in Sino-Japanese history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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China & Japan is first rate by a top scholar
- By Louise Stone on 06-17-20
By: Ezra F. Vogel
-
Iran
- A Modern History
- By: Abbas Amanat
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 41 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 266
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 228
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 228
This history of modern Iran is not a survey in the conventional sense but an ambitious exploration of the story of a nation. It offers a revealing look at how events, people, and institutions are shaped by currents that sometimes reach back hundreds of years. The book covers the complex history of the diverse societies and economies of Iran against the background of dynastic changes, revolutions, civil wars, foreign occupation, and the rise of the Islamic Republic.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Extremely Opinionated.
- By Glaudrung on 02-13-19
By: Abbas Amanat
-
The Story of Russia
- By: Orlando Figes
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 173
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 154
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 154
The Story of Russia is about how the Russians defined themselves―and repeatedly reinvented such definitions along the way. Moving from Russia’s agrarian beginnings in the first millennium to subsequent periods of monarchy, totalitarianism, and perestroika, all the way up to Vladimir Putin and his use of myths of Russian history to bolster his regime, celebrated historian Orlando Figes examines the ideas that have guided the country’s actions.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
A Good overview of Russia. History that Provides an Effective Premise for Greater Understanding of Current Events
- By James E Mclaughlin on 12-22-22
By: Orlando Figes
-
Fire in the Lake
- By: Frances FitzGerald
- Narrated by: Jeff Bottoms
- Length: 22 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
This magisterial work, based on Frances FitzGerald's many years of research and travels, takes us inside the history of Vietnam - the traditional, ancestor-worshiping villages, the conflicts between Communists and anti-Communists, Catholics and Buddhists, generals and monks, the disruption created by French colonialism, and America's ill-fated intervention - and reveals the country as seen through Vietnamese eyes. Originally published in 1972, Fire in the Lake was the first history of Vietnam written by an American, and subsequently won the Pulitzer Prize.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
American Hubris; Vietnamese Misery
- By gunnerThrax on 01-24-21
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A former member of the State Department's Policy Planning Council, Polk describes a country and a history misunderstood by many in the West. While Iranians chafe under the yolk of their current leaders, they also have bitter memories of generations of British, Russian, and American espionage, invasion, and dominance. There are important lessons to be learned from the past, and Polk teases them out of a long and rich history and shows that it is not just now, but for decades to come that an understanding of Iran will be essential to American safety and well-being.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book with clear narration
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Great Book About A Little Known Part of WWI
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Until his assassination by US drone strike in January 2020, commander Qassem Soleimani was one of the most powerful men in Iran and the military spearhead for Iranian foreign policy, enacting the wishes of the country's Supreme Leader in the region. A widely popular but also feared maverick operator, he helped to establish the Islamic Republic as a major force in the Middle East, with interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. This was a long way from where he began as a youth, living on the margins in a country ruled by a monarch supported by the United States.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Rather disappointing
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The Arabs
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In this definitive history of the modern Arab world, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan draws extensively on Arab sources and texts to place the Arab experience in its crucial historical context for the first time. Tracing five centuries of Arab history, Rogan reveals that there was an age when the Arabs set the rules for the rest of the world. Today, however, the Arab world's sense of subjection to external powers carries vast consequences for both the region and Westerners who attempt to control it.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Superb Book About the Arab World
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Iran
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 266
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 228
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 228
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3 out of 5 stars
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Extremely Opinionated.
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All the Shah's Men
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In a cloak-and-dagger story of spies, saboteurs, and secret agents, Kinzer reveals the involvement of Eisenhower, Churchill, Kermit Roosevelt, and the CIA in Operation Ajax, which restored Mohammad Reza Shah to power. Reza imposed a tyranny that ultimately sparked the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which, in turn, inspired fundamentalists throughout the Muslim world, including the Taliban and terrorists who thrived under its protection.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hard to please
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A former member of the State Department's Policy Planning Council, Polk describes a country and a history misunderstood by many in the West. While Iranians chafe under the yolk of their current leaders, they also have bitter memories of generations of British, Russian, and American espionage, invasion, and dominance. There are important lessons to be learned from the past, and Polk teases them out of a long and rich history and shows that it is not just now, but for decades to come that an understanding of Iran will be essential to American safety and well-being.
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5 out of 5 stars
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Book About A Little Known Part of WWI
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Until his assassination by US drone strike in January 2020, commander Qassem Soleimani was one of the most powerful men in Iran and the military spearhead for Iranian foreign policy, enacting the wishes of the country's Supreme Leader in the region. A widely popular but also feared maverick operator, he helped to establish the Islamic Republic as a major force in the Middle East, with interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Yemen. This was a long way from where he began as a youth, living on the margins in a country ruled by a monarch supported by the United States.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Rather disappointing
- By Aliz on 01-19-21
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Superb Book About the Arab World
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3 out of 5 stars
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Extremely Opinionated.
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All the Shah's Men
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In a cloak-and-dagger story of spies, saboteurs, and secret agents, Kinzer reveals the involvement of Eisenhower, Churchill, Kermit Roosevelt, and the CIA in Operation Ajax, which restored Mohammad Reza Shah to power. Reza imposed a tyranny that ultimately sparked the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which, in turn, inspired fundamentalists throughout the Muslim world, including the Taliban and terrorists who thrived under its protection.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Hard to please
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The Hundred-Year Walk
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 101
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 94
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In the heart of the Ottoman Empire as World War I rages, Stepan Miskjian's world becomes undone. He is separated from his family as they are swept up in the government's mass deportation of Armenians into internment camps. Gradually realizing the unthinkable - that they are all being driven to their deaths - he fights, through starvation and thirst, not to lose hope.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Everything a memoir should be. You will enjoy it!
- By Jakk on 02-19-18
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Making the Arab World
- Nasser, Qutb, and the Clash That Shaped the Middle East
- By: Fawaz A. Gerges
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 18 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 71
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 68
In 2013, just two years after the popular overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian military ousted the country's first democratically elected president - Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood - and subsequently led a brutal repression of the Islamist group. These bloody events echoed an older political rift: the splitting of nationalists and Islamists during the rule of Egyptian president and Arab nationalist leader Gamal Abdel Nasser. Fawaz Gerges, one of the world's leading authorities on the Middle East, tells how the clash between pan-Arab nationalism and pan-Islamism has shaped the history of the region.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Why didn’t anyone tell the narrator he was mispronouncing the name of the guy the book was about?
- By Amazon Customer on 05-03-23
By: Fawaz A. Gerges
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The Biggest Prison on Earth
- A History of the Occupied Territories
- By: Ilan Pappe
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 83
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 76
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 76
Published on the 15th anniversary of the Six-Day War that culminated in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Pappe offers a comprehensive exploration of one of the world's most prolonged and tragic conflicts. Using recently declassified archival material, Pappe analyses the motivations and strategies of the generals and politicians-and the decision-making process itself - that laid the foundation of the occupation. Pappe paints a picture of what is to all intents and purposes the world's largest "open prison".
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5 out of 5 stars
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crucial read on Palestine
- By Xjarn on 11-15-23
By: Ilan Pappe
-
Revolutionary Iran
- A History of the Islamic Republic
- By: Michael Axworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 19 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 33
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 33
The Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a defining moment of the modern era. Its success unleashed a wave of Islamist fervor across the Middle East and signaled a sharp decline in the appeal of Western ideologies in the Islamic world. Michael Axworthy takes listeners through the major periods in Iranian history over the last 30 years: the overthrow of the old regime and the creation of the new one; the Iran-Iraq war; the reconstruction era following the war; the reformist wave led by Mohammed Khatami; and the present day, in which reactionaries have re-established control.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Questionable Narration
- By Arya Pourtabatabaie on 07-17-21
By: Michael Axworthy
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The Palestinian Delusion
- The Catastrophic History of the Middle East Peace Process
- By: Robert Spencer
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 213
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 195
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 195
The Palestinian Delusion is unique in situating the Israeli/Palestinian conflict within the context of the global jihad that has found renewed impetus in the latter portion of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st. Briskly recounting the tumultuous history of the "peace process", Robert Spencer demonstrates that the determination of diplomats, policymakers, and negotiators to ignore this aspect of the conflict has led the Israelis, the Palestinians, and the world down numerous blind alleys. This has often only exacerbated, rather than healed, this conflict.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Real Facts
- By Canes580 on 01-25-20
By: Robert Spencer
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China and Japan
- Facing History
- By: Ezra F. Vogel
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 22 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 86
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 75
China and Japan have cultural and political connections that stretch back 1,500 years. But today, their relationship is strained. China's military buildup deeply worries Japan, while Japan's brutal occupation of China in World War II remains an open wound. In recent years, less than 10 percent of each population had positive feelings toward the other, and both countries insist that the other side must deal openly with its history before relations can improve. Ezra Vogel's China and Japan examines key turning points in Sino-Japanese history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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China & Japan is first rate by a top scholar
- By Louise Stone on 06-17-20
By: Ezra F. Vogel