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By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean
- The Birth of Eurasia
- Narrated by: Jennifer M. Dixon
- Length: 18 hrs and 18 mins
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Publisher's summary
By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean is nothing less than the story of how humans first started building the globalized world we know today. Set on a huge continental stage, from Europe to China, it is a tale covering more than 10,000 years, from the origins of farming around 9000 BC to the expansion of the Mongols in the 13th century AD.
An unashamedly "big history", it charts the development of European, Near Eastern, and Chinese civilizations and the growing links between them by way of the Indian Ocean, the Silk Roads, and the great steppe corridor (which crucially allowed horse riders to travel from Mongolia to the Great Hungarian Plain within a year). Along the way, it is also the story of the rise and fall of empires, the development of maritime trade, and the shattering impact of predatory nomads on their urban neighbors.
Above all, as this immense historical panorama unfolds, we begin to see in clearer focus those basic underlying factors - the acquisitive nature of humanity, the differing environments in which people live, and the dislocating effect of even slight climatic variation - that have driven change throughout the ages and that help us better understand our world today.
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Story
Towards the middle of the third century BC, the Hellenistic kingdoms were near their peak. In terms of population, economy, and military power, each was vastly superior to Rome, not to mention in fields such as medicine, architecture, science, philosophy, and literature. But over the next two and a half centuries, Rome would eventually conquer these kingdoms while adopting so much of Hellenistic culture that the resultant hybrid is known as "Graeco-Roman." In Greece Against Rome, Philip Matyszak relates this epic tale from the Hellenistic perspective.
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Really enjoyed the book and snark
- By Chris Smith on 05-27-23
By: Philip Matyszak
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The Last Great War of Antiquity
- By: James Howard-Johnston
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 20 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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The last and longest war of classical antiquity was fought in the early seventh century. It was ideologically charged and fought along the full length of the Persian-Roman frontier, drawing in all the available resources and great powers of the steppe world. The conflict raged on an unprecedented scale, and its end brought the classical phase of history to a close. Despite all this, it has left a conspicuous gap in the history of warfare. This book aims to finally fill that gap.
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Perfect book for getting in the weeds.
- By Miles Simpson on 09-24-23
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The Makers of Scotland
- Picts, Romans, Gaels and Vikings
- By: Tim Clarkson
- Narrated by: David Vickery
- Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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During the first millennium AD the most northerly part of Britain evolved into the country known today as Scotland. The transition was a long process of social and political change driven by the ambitions of powerful warlords. At first these men were tribal chiefs, Roman generals, or rulers of small kingdoms.
By: Tim Clarkson
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The End of Empire
- Attila the Hun & the Fall of Rome
- By: Christopher Kelly
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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History remembers Attila, the leader of the Huns, as the Romans perceived him: a savage barbarian brutally inflicting terror on whoever crossed his path. Following Attila and the Huns from the steppes of Kazakhstan to the court of Constantinople, Christopher Kelly portrays Attila in a compelling new light, uncovering an unlikely marriage proposal, a long-standing relationship with a treacherous Roman general, and a thwarted assassination plot.
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LISTEN TO THE SAMPLE
- By Chelsea on 03-23-21
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Vanished Kingdoms
- The Rise and Fall of States and Nations
- By: Norman Davies
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 30 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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There is something profoundly romantic about lost civilizations. Davies peers through the cracks in the mainstream accounts of modern-day states to dazzle us with extraordinary stories of barely remembered pasts, and of the traces they left behind. This is Norman Davies at his best: sweeping narrative history packed with unexpected insights. Vanished Kingdoms will appeal to all fans of unconventional and thought-provoking history, from listeners of Niall Ferguson to Jared Diamond.
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needs a good editor.
- By Ryan Anderson on 09-25-21
By: Norman Davies
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The Scythian Empire
- Central Eurasia and the Birth of the Classical Age from Persia to China
- By: Christopher I. Beckwith
- Narrated by: Jim Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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This audiobook narrated by Jim Lee provides a rich, discovery-filled account of how a forgotten empire transformed the ancient world.
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Demystifying the mysteries of the Ancient Worlds through a common source
- By cpdb on 02-10-23
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24 Hours in Ancient Athens
- A Day in the Life of the People Who Lived There
- By: Philip Matyszak
- Narrated by: Gareth Richards
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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During the course of a day we meet twenty-four Athenians from all strata of society—from the slave-girl to the councilman, the vase painter to the naval commander, the housewife to the hoplite—and get to know what the real Athens was like by spending an hour in their company. We encounter a different one of these characters every chapter, with each chapter forming an hour in the life of the ancient city.
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Maybe the narrator for 24 hours in Rome spoiled me
- By Dan R. on 04-06-23
By: Philip Matyszak
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Poland
- The First Thousand Years
- By: Patrice M. Dabrowski
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Wiley
- Length: 25 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Since its beginnings, Poland has been a moving target, geographically as well as demographically, and the very definition of who is a Pole has been in flux. In the late medieval and early modern periods, the country grew to be the largest in continental Europe, only to be later wiped off the map for more than a century. Yet even under these constraints, Poles persisted in their desire to wrest from their oppressors a modicum of national dignity and, ultimately, managed to achieve much more than that.
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Easy listen.
- By Pieter Reyneke on 01-11-23
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Athens
- City of Wisdom
- By: Bruce Clark
- Narrated by: Mark Elstob
- Length: 19 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Athens presents one of the most recognizable and symbolically potent panoramas of any of the world's cities. It is hard not to feel the hand of history in such a place. The birthplace of democracy, Western philosophy and theatre, Athens' importance cannot be understated. From the reforms of the lawmaker Solon in the sixth century BCE to the travails of early twenty-first century Athens, as it struggles with the legacy of the economic crises of the 2000s, Clark brings the city's history to life, evoking its cultural richness and political resonance in this epic, kaleidoscopic history.
By: Bruce Clark
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The Anglo-Saxon World
- By: Nicholas J. Higham, Martin J. Ryan
- Narrated by: Mike Cooper
- Length: 17 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The Anglo-Saxon period, stretching from the fifth to the late eleventh century, begins with the Roman retreat from the Western world and ends with the Norman takeover of England. Between these epochal events, many of the contours and patterns of English life that would endure for the next millennium were shaped. In this authoritative work, N. J. Higham and M. J. Ryan reexamine Anglo-Saxon England in the light of new research in disciplines as wide ranging as historical genetics, paleobotany, archaeology, literary studies, art history, and numismatics.
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Reference, Not Narrative
- By Austin Howard on 01-03-24
By: Nicholas J. Higham, and others
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The Ghosts of Cannae
- Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic
- By: Robert L. O'Connell
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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For fans of Victor Davis Hanson, Donald Kagan, and Barry Strauss comes a rich, sweeping account of the most imitated---and vicious---battle in history.
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Hannibal's Legacy
- By Douglas on 11-10-10
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The Hundred Years War
- A People's History
- By: David Green
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 12 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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The Hundred Years War (1337-1453) dominated life in England and France for well over a century. It became the defining feature of existence for generations. This sweeping book is the first to tell the human story of the longest military conflict in history. Historian David Green focuses on the ways the war affected different groups, among them knights, clerics, women, peasants, soldiers, peacemakers, and kings.
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Instructive
- By Faycal Ikhouane on 09-10-23
By: David Green
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The Fall of Carthage
- The Punic Wars 265-146BC
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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The struggle between Rome and Carthage in the Punic Wars was arguably the greatest and most desperate conflict of antiquity. The forces involved and the casualties suffered by both sides were far greater than in any wars fought before the modern era, while the eventual outcome had far-reaching consequences for the history of the Western World, namely the ascendancy of Rome. An epic of war and battle, this is also the story of famous generals and leaders: Hannibal, Fabius Maximus, Scipio Africanus, and his grandson Scipio Aemilianus, who would finally bring down the walls of Carthage.
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Captivating
- By Jean on 03-25-19
What listeners say about By Steppe, Desert, and Ocean
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- John A.
- 01-12-23
A great book
A wonderful book that I found to be developmental and maturative for a young man coming of age such as myself. I found great relation with the author and I further highly recommend this book.
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- cpdb
- 10-18-22
The History book I’ve heard so far
Although this book is not completely linear, it most is which helps to keep context. Often history books seem to be hiding something the way they jump around mixing millennia, century and decades almost interchangeably.
This book also helps the listener to follow the directions of movement, migration and invasion although not pointing them out explicitly.
It’s also narrated very well without her interjecting her impression and emotions into the story.
My only disappointment is that he did not sufficiently cover the spread of technologies deep into Asia. I have been able to trace the bow, bronze, iron and steels progress to Japan.
As well as architecture, and written language. Instead it supposed that only in Asia did they all developed independently of the rest of the world but in the same exact pattern.
Where did the Sumerians go after Akkad defeated them? Where did the lost tribes of Israel go after they were exiled? These things are know but left out along with many important mile stones in early development of Korea, Japan, eastern China, Vietnam, Tibet, India and Indonesia which all have very clear connections to essence of this book. I can understand why Africa was left out for a list of reasons. Far East Asia has a direct connection to the Scythians, The Xion tribes from Israel and the Overthrown Sumerians on the steppe.
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- B. Dillon
- 07-21-22
Remarkable research!
This is the first time I've heard an account that goes back 20 millennium and I appreciate it so much. The history of people, of climate change, and people movement is fascinating.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Laszlo Locsei
- 11-09-22
Problematic Pronunciation
The narrator’s unconventional pronunciation of names and terms meant at times, I was only able to understand what she was referring to toward the end of the section.
Also, the monotonous tone and pace meant I had to be alert to notice a change in topic.
Overall, a disappointing listen.
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