In the Shadow of the Sword

The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World

By: Tom Holland

Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble

Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins

Publisher's summary

In the 6th century AD, the Near East was divided between two venerable empires: the Persian and the Roman. A hundred years on and one had vanished forever, while the other seemed almost finished. Ruling in their place were the Arabs: an upheaval so profound that it spelt, in effect, the end of the ancient world. In The Shadow of the Sword, Tom Holland explores how this came about. Spanning from Constantinople to the Arabian dessert, and starring some of the most remarkable rulers who ever lived, he tells a story vivid with drama, horror, and startling achievement.

©2012 Tom Holland (P)2012 Hachette Digital

Critic reviews

"An unequivocal argument for the relevance of ancient history . . . Holland never strains for modern references; they are implicit in the stories he tells with such scholarship and flair.” (Geraldine Bedell, Observer)

“Brings this tumultuous, epoch-making period dazzlingly to life.” (William Napier, Independent on Sunday)

“Tom Holland has a rare eye for the detail, drama and the telling anecdote . . . A vibrant, bloodthirsty history, told with a rich sense of irony and irresistible narrative timing” (Dominic Sandbrook, Daily Telegraph)

Captivating and informative

The author and the narrator cooperate to tell the story of the march of religion and culture through the end of late antiquity in a way that often has the feel of a rollicking adventure.

Though the information content is dense, it comes at the reader with the pace of a good story, and the picture it paints is illuminating and satisfying.

Extremely Good, Informative and Eye Opening Read

An essential must read for anyone trying to truly understand today's geopolitics and social turmoil

Another great book from Tom Holland

What did you love best about In the Shadow of the Sword?

I've read and listened to four of Tom Holland's books, he has the ability to capture a lot of historical fact and put into a way of making it understandable.

Excellent overview of the ending of late antiquity

The narrator is great, and the amount of information in this book is staggering. That said, I found it far too long, especially compared to Rubicon. That's to be expected, as the topic is so much larger, but I still struggled to finish this book. The highlight for me was all the information on Sassanids and white huns etc. Recommended for history buffs.

out. of. control. prose, didactics, cheekyness

The Narrator is a stellar. The Author celestial. Must read for any anyone interested in history. Also, a triumph of scholarship. The thing good.

Great history

Yet another fantastic book from Tom Holland. Yet more history is made interesting and accessible. The performance is also great.

Encompassing, detailed, epic, but suffers from misguided attempts at revisionism and some questionable narratives.

This one is an epic history of the fall of the Sassanian and Roman Empires at the intersection of a rising Arab hegemony backgrounded by the nascent religion of Islam. While the arcs and narratives are interesting, riveting, and overall well-written, it started to lose steam in the last couple of chapters when it started to tackle the historicity of Muhammad, the rise of Islamic as a religious concept, and the nature of the movement itself that began in Arabia. I appreciate the attempt at the critical examination of the Islamic and Arabian chapters in history, just wish it was more well executed and backed up by more reputable sources. Maybe this book will benefit from an updated edition, who knows?

As for the narration, it was great. It made for some good listening during the 17 and so hours of this long book. Overall, the book left me disappointed and yearning for more orthodox historical books about this particular era.