• Legends of The Enlightenment: The Life and Legacy of Frederick the Great

  • By: Charles River Editors
  • Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
  • Length: 1 hr and 2 mins
  • 4.0 out of 5 stars (7 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
Legends of The Enlightenment: The Life and Legacy of Frederick the Great  By  cover art

Legends of The Enlightenment: The Life and Legacy of Frederick the Great

By: Charles River Editors
Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $6.95

Buy for $6.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

"A single Voltaire will do more honor to France than a thousand pedants, a thousand false wits, a thousand great men of inferior order." - King Frederick II of Prussia

Europe has had no shortage of military heroes, political geniuses, and towering intellects, but no ruler combined all those traits as successfully as King Frederick II of Prussia, whose feats in battle were matched only by his enlightened rule.

Growing up with an ear for music and an eye for art, the prince who would have eschewed the art of war, nevertheless became one of the most adept and brilliant military commanders of the 18th century, helping to expand his kingdom's borders, while modernizing the state within. When Frederick ascended to his throne, Prussia was a loosely scattered kingdom of provinces in modern Germany, culturally and technologically inferior to Enlightened France, and Great Britain to the west. In the process of expanding and consolidating his kingdom, Frederick would go about revolutionizing and modernizing the Prussian Army, ultimately making it a critical player during the Napoleonic Era, a generation later.

In the process of building and modernizing his kingdom, Frederick epitomized the essence of an enlightened ruler. Though he maintained absolute power during his reign, he wielded it for the benefit of the kingdom as a whole. Frederick was one of Europe's most notable patrons of the arts, and he became well acquainted with famous contemporaries like Goethe and Voltaire, while also establishing the world renowned Berlin Academy. In the same vein, the religious tolerance afforded to his subjects was nearly unequaled across Europe, something that philosophers like Immanuel Kant were able to take advantage of.

©2013 Charles River Editors (P)2017 Charles River Editors

What listeners say about Legends of The Enlightenment: The Life and Legacy of Frederick the Great

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    4
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    2
  • 4 Stars
    2
  • 3 Stars
    1
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1
  • 4 Stars
    3
  • 3 Stars
    0
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    0

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Superficial and Robotic

This was the most disappointing book I've listened to in years. The depth of the information was comparable to what you might find in a an older high school text book. I'm honestly suspicious that the narrator was not even human, but a synthetic voice created using artificial intelligence. The performance was far too robotic.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!