A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks

De: David Gibbins

Narrado por: Kent Klineman

The Viking warship of King Cnut the Great. Henry VIII's the Mary Rose. Captain John Franklin's doomed HMS Terror. The SS Gairsoppa, destroyed by a Nazi U-boat in the Atlantic during World War II.

Since we first set sail on the open sea, ships and their wrecks have been an inevitable part of human history. Archaeologists have made spectacular discoveries excavating these sunken ships, their protective underwater cocoon keeping evidence of past civilizations preserved. World renowned maritime archeologist David Gibbins ties together the stories of some of the most significant shipwrecks in time to form a single overarching narrative of world history.

A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks is not just the story of those ships, the people who sailed on them, and the cargo and treasure they carried, but also the story of the spread of people, religion, and ideas around the world; it is a story of colonialism, migration, and the indomitable human spirit that continues today.

Drawing on decades of experience, Gibbins reveals the riches beneath the waves and shows us how the treasures found there can be a porthole to the past that tell a new story about the world and its underwater secrets.

©2024 David Gibbins (P)2024 Tantor

Good content, disappointing narration

The narration sounds like AI generation. Did anyone supervise, direct, or even listen to it before publication?

Narration makes this tough to finish

I like stories of historic naval conquest and exploration. I was excited to hear stories told from the perspective of discovered wreckage. However the narrator is painful to listen to. Strange pauses and awkward pacing. I wonder if each sentence in the book has fourteen commas, because that’s how it’s read. I made it about 40% through and have to move on.

Narration

I am so interested in this subject-but the narration sound robotic! Disappointing for such a promising book.

Not recommend

Very difficult narrator to listen to. I had to speed up. Choppy and odd emphasis in sentences. The stories wondered from the boats to wider societal and historical descriptions.

Wish I could get a refund

The narrator was terrible. Gave up after 1 hour. The book had a good review in the Economist. Obviously, they read it rather than listened to it.

Can’t get through because of narration

Hate to pile on but the narration was very peculiar. Sounded like a plodding college professor deliberately attempting to enunciate each word so we could understand him. Anyway I couldn’t get past the third chapter which is a shame because the content seemed worthwhile.

Worst. Narrator. Ever.

This is one of the most engaging and thought-provoking books I have read in years. I say “read” because I abandoned the audio book and got a had copy. Listen to the sample, because it doesn’t get any better.

Worst narrator ever

I’ve got to believe the narrators first language is not English. The story was OK.

Difficulty following the reader.

Very difficult to follow because of innumerable digressions and quotations in foreign languages. The book is not worth spending one credit.

Interesting insights

I enjoyed some of the details regarding the time periods and history. You needed the hard copy to follow along better. The audio was difficult to listen to in my opinion due to the cadence and information. Very interesting.