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Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, & Scorpion Bombs
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
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Publisher's summary
Flamethrowers, poison gases, incendiary bombs, the large-scale spreading of disease...are these terrifying agents and implements of warfare modern inventions? Not by a long shot.
Weapons of biological and chemical warfare have been in use for thousands of years, and Greek Fire, Poison Arrows & Scorpion Bombs, Adrienne Mayor's fascinating exploration of the origins of biological and unethical warfare, draws extraordinary connections between the mythical worlds of Hercules and the Trojan War, the accounts of Herodotus and Thucydides, and modern methods of war and terrorism.
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- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Original Recording
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In The Pagan World: Ancient Religions Before Christianity, you will meet the fascinating, ancient polytheistic peoples of the Mediterranean and beyond, their many gods and goddesses, and their public and private worship practices, as you come to appreciate the foundational role religion played in their lives. Professor Hans-Friedrich Mueller, of Union College in Schenectady, New York, makes this ancient world come alive in 24 lectures with captivating stories of intrigue, artifacts, illustrations, and detailed descriptions from primary sources of intriguing personalities.
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The Pagan World
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By: Hans-Friedrich Mueller, and others
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Helter Skelter
- The True Story of the Manson Murders
- By: Vincent Bugliosi, Curt Gentry
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 26 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Prosecuting attorney in the Manson trial Vincent Bugliosi held a unique insider's position in one of the most baffling and horrifying cases of the 20th century: the cold-blooded Tate-LaBianca murders carried out by Charles Manson and four of his followers. What motivated Manson in his seemingly mindless selection of victims, and what was his hold over the young women who obeyed his orders? Now available for the first time in unabridged audio, the gripping story of this famous and haunting crime is brought to life by acclaimed narrator Scott Brick.
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Everything I remembered about the case was wrong..
- By karen on 06-22-12
By: Vincent Bugliosi, and others
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Made in America
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land, explaining how a dusty hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up, as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question, and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.
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Bryson Not Reading Makes For a Rare Fail
- By John on 02-28-14
By: Bill Bryson
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The Hidden History of the Boston Tea Party
- By: Adam Jortner, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Adam Jortner
- Length: 2 hrs and 56 mins
- Original Recording
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The history of the Boston Tea Party is a hidden one. Why? Since it was a clandestine operation, all sorts of rumors and legends grew up around the event—many collected decades after the American Revolution had ended. At its core, however, the night of December 16, 1773, when colonials dumped tea from British ships into Boston Harbor, was more than a fight over tea and taxes. It was a struggle over the very nature of democracy and self-governance.
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How nuanced this event actually was
- By Cody T. on 12-17-23
By: Adam Jortner, and others
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The Roman Republic was the most remarkable state in history. What began as a small community of peasants camped among marshes and hills ended up ruling the known world. Rubicon paints a vivid portrait of the Republic at the climax of its greatness - the same greatness which would herald the catastrophe of its fall. It is a story of incomparable drama.
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1177 B.C. (Revised and Updated)
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Look past the one-star reviews: this is an enlightening and engaging read.
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Children of Ash and Elm
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The Viking Age - from 750 to 1050 saw an unprecedented expansion of the Scandinavian peoples into the wider world. As traders and raiders, explorers and colonists, they ranged from eastern North America to the Asian steppe. But for centuries, the Vikings have been seen through the eyes of others, distorted to suit the tastes of medieval clerics and Elizabethan playwrights, Victorian imperialists, Nazis, and more. None of these appropriations capture the real Vikings, or the richness and sophistication of their culture.
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Outstanding
- By Than on 10-06-20
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SPQR
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Performance
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In SPQR, world-renowned classicist Mary Beard narrates the unprecedented rise of a civilization that even 2,000 years later still shapes many of our most fundamental assumptions about power, citizenship, responsibility, political violence, empire, luxury, and beauty.
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Shallow and unsatisfying
- By Joe on 02-19-17
By: Mary Beard
What listeners say about Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, & Scorpion Bombs
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- andrew
- 11-25-11
Awesome
I have been bragging about this book to everyone. Excellent. Superb entertainment, plus its all true. The Scythian arrow poison sounded revolting and frightening. You will learn of vipers, water witches, neuro-toxin honey- there is no weakness in this book. Every single word feels vital. You get no filler, no slow spots, no long editorials. Every chapter is fascinating and enlightening. Flaming pigs! War elephants. Its the ultimate brainy MAN book, but I think anyone would enjoy it. A great war history, that may even appeal to those who don't normally like non-fiction. The narration is good. Lively and far from the monotone you often get in "heady" books.
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Abe
- 02-11-16
Entertainment at it's finest
loved using this amazing app easy to enjoy and makes it easier to get into books.
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- Fellipe
- 03-15-20
Great book for those o like history
If you like me enjoys history, this is a great book, he talk about some things about chemical warfare in ancient times that i never hear in other books. So go for it
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- Ariel Rosetti
- 10-24-15
Poisoned Arrows
What made the experience of listening to Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, & Scorpion Bombs the most enjoyable?
The book was fantastic as it was full of actual and mythological history in relationship to lethal weapons.It was fascinating to learn that Greece was one of the areas where the concept of lethal weaponry was first instilled into the imagination of its people through fable and myth, and how armies and individuals grasps these deadly ideas in order to deploy their enemies. The book explained in explicit detail the dreadful physical responses, often fatal to lethal weapons created throughout history.
What other book might you compare Greek Fire, Poison Arrows, & Scorpion Bombs to and why?
This is my first experience.
What about Suzanne Toren’s performance did you like?
She was wonderful
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
No
Any additional comments?
This book is also very interesting from a medical point of view.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Christopher Kinney
- 08-17-22
interesting detailed and historically backed
great details and description, provides background info for each topic and covers a wide range all without the book becoming overly long as I find alot of historical books tend to. narrator has a decent voice as well
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Overall
- Christopher
- 07-08-10
A great read for those interested in Antiquity
The books flows quickly and is very interesting. If it were in print, I'd call it a page-turner. There's a lot of material about Greek gods and Greek mythology, but it seems necessary to put the actual history into context (or in fact, the reverse - the actual use of these weapons puts the mythology into perspective for the modern reader). It is amazing how brutal and unmerciful human beings can be to each other. And how much pain and suffering must have been endured in ancient times. I am surprised that none of the other histories of antiquity I've read mention these weapons. For that reason, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in the period. It also provides a perspective from which to consider modern nasty weapons.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Dennis Jameson
- 05-18-19
One of those oh shit non-fiction books
I wish I had access to the bibliography to dig deeper. Book was one of those that whet the appetite for more .
. .
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Overall
- Muggie
- 01-29-11
Fantastic read but not always for weak stomachs
I first discovered Adrienne's writing with First Fossil Hunters and when I saw this one available I was excited. She did not disappoint one bit. Her research is flawless and she ties it together very well.
My only sorrow is that the rest of her books are not available from Audible. Though I did discover today that The Poison King is now and downloaded as fast as I could. I hope they will go back and get her other 2 books on folk-lore and natural history.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Michelle
- 09-12-13
Informative but Repetitive
This book is fascinating! It's entertaining and may teach you a thing or two, but I would recommend having at least a basic understanding of ancient history before stepping into this book. The author tends to jump around, following only a semblance of chronological order that often left me scratching my head to etch out the timeline. My only other issue was the repetitiveness of some anecdotes. As much as I love Heracles and his unfortunate life, I did not need to be reminded of the Hydra's poison again and again and again.
I would recommend this book to a friend who already has a good grip on history, or possibly one who really enjoys learning about the numerous ways humans have devised to horrible maim/ kill other humans. We are creative beings in our self destruction, like fireworks. Or decorative wedding cakes.
Delicious.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Troy
- 03-29-13
Terrifyingly Creative
It never ceases to amaze me just how creative the human race can be when it comes to killing ourselves. A book like this expands on any level of historical understanding of the ancient world, and as a well-written history book should do, it opens our eyes to those terrors of the past that we should not (but invariably do) repeat.
I think we've all heard of Greek fire and poison arrows. This book goes into great detail as to the effects of these things. But there are other weapons that I could not have expected. For example, one of many, how do you defeat war elephants? Apparently the answer is battlefield bacon: you light pigs on fire and let them loose in the hopes they actually run in the general direction of the elephants instead of into your own soldiers. This book outlines everything from how these varying arsenals worked to the dangers of self-inflicted blowback and beyond.
Anyone who loves history needs the experience of this book, as it will completely change the way you see ancient warfare. Anyone who enjoys historical fiction or fantasy, this book will probably add a particular edge to those tales as well. It's a grisly topic, fascinating from a scholarly perspective, and delivered in full reviling detail by the narrator in a way that sells it as effectively as a BBC News anchor.
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3 people found this helpful