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Danubia
- A Personal History of Habsburg Europe
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 22 hrs and 11 mins
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Publisher's summary
From the end of the Middle Ages to the First World War, Europe was dominated by one family: the Habsburgs. Their unprecedented rule is the focus of Simon Winder's vivid third book, Danubia.
Winder's approach is friendly, witty, personal; this is a narrative that, while erudite and well researched, prefers to be discursive and anecdotal. In his survey of the centuries of often incompetent Habsburg rule which have continued to shape the fate of Central Europe, Winder does not shy away from the horrors, railing against the effects of nationalism, recounting the violence that was often part of life. But this is a history dominated above all by Winder's energy and curiosity. Thrillingly informative, Danubia is a treat that listeners will be eager to dip into.
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Story
The rise and fall of the Venetian empire stands unrivaled for drama, intrigue, and sheer opulent majesty. In City of Fortune, Roger Crowley, acclaimed historian and New York Times bestselling author of Empires of the Sea, applies his narrative skill to chronicling the astounding five-hundred-year voyage of Venice to the pinnacle of power.
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A Wonderful Listen
- By Scot on 06-12-14
By: Roger Crowley
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Vietnam
- A New History
- By: Christopher Goscha
- Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne
- Length: 23 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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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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Not bad, but not great.
- By Kp on 08-06-18
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The Third Reich in History and Memory
- By: Richard J. Evans
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 14 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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In the 70 years since the demise of the Third Reich, there has been a significant transformation in the ways in which the modern world understands Nazism. In this brilliant and eye-opening collection, Richard J. Evans offers a critical commentary on that transformation, exploring how major changes in perspective have informed research and writing on the Third Reich in recent years. Drawing on his most notable writings, Evans reveals the shifting perspectives on Nazism's rise to political power, its economic intricacies, and its subterranean extension into postwar Germany.
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Sweeping historiography
- By Kevin Bishop on 03-03-24
By: Richard J. Evans
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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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Emperor of Japan
- Meiji and His World, 1852-1912
- By: Donald Keene
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 38 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Little has been written about the strangely obscured figure of Meiji himself, the first Japanese emperor ever to meet a European. But now, Donald Keene sifts the available evidence to present a rich portrait not only of Meiji but also of rapid and sometimes violent change during this pivotal period in Japan's history. Emperor of Japan conveys in sparkling prose the complexity of the man and offers an unrivaled portrait of Japan in a period of unique interest.
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Great book. Terrible narration.
- By Ken Snyder on 07-05-23
By: Donald Keene
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Eight Days in May
- The Final Collapse of the Third Reich
- By: Volker Ullrich, Jefferson Chase - translator
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 9 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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On April 30, 1945, in a bunker deep beneath the Old Reich Chancellery, Adolf Hitler and his newly wedded wife, Eva Braun, killed themselves. But Nazi Germany lived on, however briefly. The subsequent eight days were among the most turbulent in history, witnessing not only the final battles of World War II and the collapse of the Wehrmacht, but the near-total disintegration of the once-mighty Third Reich.
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Gripping. Just Don't Listen To It
- By Lou on 02-03-22
By: Volker Ullrich, and others
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Four Princes
- Henry VIII, Francis I, Charles V, Suleiman the Magnificent and the Obsessions that Forged Modern Europe
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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John Julius Norwich - whom the Wall Street Journal called "the very model of a popular historian" - has crafted a big, bold tapestry of the early 16th century, when Europe and the Middle East were overshadowed by a quartet of legendary rulers, all born within a 10-year period. Against the vibrant background of the Renaissance, these four men laid the foundations for modern Europe and the Middle East, as they collectively impacted the culture, religion, and politics of their respective domains.
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For the most part, very informative.
- By Paula on 02-05-18
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The Black Prince
- England's Greatest Medieval Warrior
- By: Michael Jones
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 16 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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As a child, he was given his own suit of armor; at the age of 16, he helped defeat the French at Crecy. At Poitiers, in 1356, his victory over King John II of France forced the French into a humiliating surrender that marked the zenith of England's dominance in the Hundred Years War. As lord of Aquitaine, he ruled a vast swathe of territory across the west and southwest of France, holding a magnificent court at Bordeaux that mesmerized the brave but unruly Gascon nobility. He was Edward of Woodstock, eldest son of Edward III, and better known to posterity as "the Black Prince".
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Outstanding history
- By Scott on 02-17-19
By: Michael Jones
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The Age of Insight
- The Quest to Understand the Unconscious in Art, Mind, and Brain, from Vienna 1900 to the Present
- By: Eric R. Kandel
- Narrated by: James Anderson Foster
- Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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A brilliant book by Nobel Prize winner Eric R. Kandel, The Age of Insight takes us to Vienna 1900, where leaders in science, medicine, and art began a revolution that changed forever how we think about the human mind - our conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions - and how mind and brain relate to art.
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Worth the listen
- By Amazon Customer on 01-28-19
By: Eric R. Kandel
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A Concise History of Spain
- By: William Phillips Jr., Carla Rahn Phillips
- Narrated by: Luis Soto
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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This audiobook traces Spain's development from prehistoric times to the present, focusing particularly on culture, society, politics, and personalities. It introduces listeners to key themes that have shaped Spain's history and culture, including its varied landscapes and climates; the impact of waves of diverse human migrations; the importance of its location as a bridge between the Atlantic and the Mediterranean and Europe and Africa; and religion, particularly militant Catholic Christianity and its centuries of conflict with Islam and Protestantism.
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Underwhelmed
- By Anonymous User on 02-20-20
By: William Phillips Jr., and others
What listeners say about Danubia
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- Andrew Towbin
- 01-17-22
Lovely narration, brilliant book
Lovely narration, brilliant book with the serious material leavened by dry humor that reminds me of Terry Pratchett, author of the Discworld series. I should take some time to digest Danubia now that I’ve completed it, and I will reread it in e-book format, but now I want to go ahead and read Winder’s Germania.
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- Olha
- 09-11-21
Interesting subject for sure
I was fascinated by all the facts I didn't know about Central Europe, and am very grateful to the author for putting them all into words and sequence.
But for me personally it was hard to listen because of the unusual ( to me) manner of reading. And also it felt boring to be repetitively told about some personal experiences of the author . But this is me.
I just love facts and fluent narration.
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- Tara K. Morrison
- 08-31-20
full of detail and personality
Really enjoyed this and will read more by the author. He weaves in his personal travel and opinions, which adds to the narrative. He's also charmingly snarky, as only the British can be. Only challenge was the 'pause' style of the narrator, meaning a somewhat choppy cadence. If you want to know something about Eastern/central Europe and the Habsburg empire, I recommend this.
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- theRobinson
- 07-06-23
Narrator ruins it
I want to like this book, I suspect it is interesting, but for me, the narrator ruins it. His voice is so monotone, it's difficult to keep attention on what he's saying, and I have to keep backing up the book because I realize I had tuned out.
Worse, though, is the fact that the narrator can't make it through a sentence without having to stop and inhale at least twice. While I feel bad for him with his apparent dyspnea, it's distracting.
I'm giving up on the audio version and will read the Kindle version instead.
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- Moonlight
- 10-17-23
Too scattered for me
Not finishing a book grates on me, but I abandoned ship on this one after 11 hours. It felt so scattered. Meandering history can be really wonderful, strolling off on interesting tangents and avoiding the most direct route from A to B, but I guess my sensibilities don't match the author's in this instance. You get a lot of Winder's artistic and musical preferences and musings, to the point that it felt as if a digression on putti in Habsburgs art got as much space as the Thirty Years' War. Again, I could even see that balance working in some books. It just didn't for me here. It's neither enough of a travelogue to feel immersed in a place nor enough of a history to gain a sense of the times (it's laid out in a nominally linear timeline ... but very nominally). Still, I do think it's well written, pleasantly not self-serious and obviously comes from a deep love of the subject matter. Other listeners might connect with more of the digressions.
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- A Reader
- 09-13-19
Superb narration
Winder’s erudition and droll humor find their perfect expression in Stewart’s understated delivery. Highly entertaining.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Skeptical
- 10-25-18
Magnificent history of the Habsburg Empire
First of all, I want to say that the narrator is terrific, as is this book. I had been looking for a history of Austria for some time, and Simon Winder's spellbinding history of the Habsburgs is perfect. Before reading it, I had some reservations as I thought it was a mix between a travel book and a history book, but the reality is that Danubia is a history book in which the author happens to travel to some of the most significant places of the former Empire and see history for himself in person. The travel part always support and reinforces the main narratives.
Additionally, Winder is a witty, sarcastically and erudite narrator, who provides some ironic comments now and then, but his voice never overwhelms the history being told, which is nothing less than fascinating. The Habsburgs were at the heart of Europe for centuries, in the middle of the religious wars, preventing the Ottomans from overwhelming the Continent, decisively tied to the history of Spain, fighting the Napoleonic Wars. As Winder points out, most of them were bores, but the history of the Empire was never boring, as from the beginning the Habsburg King was also the King of the Holy Roman Empire (until Napoleon and then Bismarck ended that). Winder not only recounts the history and the politics, but he is also immensely knowledgeable on the culture of the Empire, from the operas and the music created during the reign of Marie Therese and her son Joseph, through the novelists (like Zweig and Joseph Roth) and composers (Janacek) who witnessed the catastrophic end of the Empire.
Winder covers the immensity of the Empire, making stops in Hungary, the Balkans, Galizia, Bohemia, all places which were part of the Habsburg empire and which to this day are heirs to its greatness and haunted by its collapse.
I can't recommend this highly enough. Although I recently listened to Iron Kingdom, a history of Prussia, I can`t wait to listen to Germania. And then again, pay no attention to the guy who said the narrator is terrible, James Cameron Stewart does a great job, he is authoritative but sarcastic and witty when the narration calls for it. Perfect book.
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21 people found this helpful
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- Ben A Rast
- 07-21-23
Read, and Read Again
A remarkably beautiful, sympathetic, at times funny, and always emotional book. Part travel, part history, part memoir, I read it while traveling in Eastern Europe and found it essential to putting the place in some kind of intelligible context. I have since re-read it, and have highlighted something on nearly every other page. Sometimes for the writing, sometimes for the humor, sometimes for the shock value.
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- Dolly S.
- 10-31-23
Hilarious and informative
This is the third book in Winder's series and it's as great at the other two. His historical approach and insights are first-rate while still being very funny. I can't recommend it enough. Narration is fantastic as well.
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- Anonymous User
- 06-19-20
Informative and Entertaining
I throughly enjoyed this book both for it’s level of detail and it’s entertaining presentation. I found the author’s personal interjections and observations quite humorous and providing a dry wit that I very much appreciated. I had to refer to maps several times in order to remain situationally aware of the story and would highly recommend having a map handy as a reference while listening to this book. I am looking forward to listening to the author’s other works.
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1 person found this helpful