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Made in Florence
- A Travel Guide to Fabrics, Frames, Jewelry, Leather Goods, Maiolica, Paper, Woodcrafts & More
- Narrated by: Laura Morelli
- Length: 2 hrs and 29 mins
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Publisher's Summary
If you're traveling to Florence, Italy, you want to go home with a special souvenir: a leather bag, a gold bracelet, or a beautiful set of stationery. But selecting which wallet or jacket to buy can be an intimidating experience. How do you know if you're buying something authentic, made locally and in a traditional way? How do you determine if you've fallen prey to one of the city's many tourist traps?
Florence is full of tourist traps and knockoffs passed off as authentic. Do you know how to tell the treasures from the trash? In Florence, it's not easy to tell the treasures from the trash. This is true now more than ever before, as increasing numbers of souvenirs flood into Florence, imported from overseas and passed off as authentic. There is no substitute for an educated buyer. Laura Morelli leads you to the city's most authentic arts - the centuries-old trades of leather working, wood turning, silk spinning, and other traditions. Wouldn't you rather support authentic Florentine master artisans than importers looking to turn a quick profit without any connection to Florence at all?
Florence boasts some of the most famous artistic traditions in the world. Here's what you need to know about them. Laura Morelli leads you beyond the souvenir shops for an immersive cultural experience that you won't find in any other guidebook. This indispensable guide includes practical tips for locating the most authentic goods in one of the busiest tourist destinations in the world. Packed with useful information on pricing, quality, and value, and with a comprehensive resource guide, this audiobook is the perfect guide for anyone wanting to bring home the unique traditions of the birthplace of the Renaissance.
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How Paris Became Paris
- The Invention of the Modern City
- By: Joan DeJean
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 112
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 96
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 95
At the start of the 17th century, Paris was known for a few monuments, but it had not yet put its brand on urban space. Like many European cities, it was still emerging from its medieval past. But within a century, Paris would be transformed into the modern and mythic city we now know. Most people associate the signature characteristics of Paris with the 19th century. Joan DeJean demonstrates that the Parisian model for urban space was in fact invented two centuries earlier, when the first full design for the French capital was implemented.
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1 out of 5 stars
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The text refers to illustrations
- By Mary on 06-29-14
By: Joan DeJean
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Paper
- Paging Through History
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 347
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 302
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 294
Paper is one of the simplest and most essential pieces of human technology. For the past two millennia, the ability to produce it in ever more efficient ways has supported the proliferation of literacy, media, religion, education, commerce, and art; it has formed the foundation of civilizations, promoting revolutions and restoring stability.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Very enjoyable
- By Vicki on 02-16-17
By: Mark Kurlansky
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The Fabric of Civilization
- How Textiles Made the World
- By: Virginia I. Postrel
- Narrated by: Caroline Cole
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 157
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 132
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 132
The story of humanity is the story of textiles - as old as civilization itself. Since the first thread was spun, the need for textiles has driven technology, business, politics, and culture. In The Fabric of Civilization, Virginia Postrel synthesizes groundbreaking research from archaeology, economics, and science to reveal a surprising history. From Minoans exporting wool colored with precious purple dye to Egypt, to Romans arrayed in costly Chinese silk, the cloth trade paved the crossroads of the ancient world.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Pop journalism article lengthened into a book
- By Anonymous User on 02-05-22
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Worn
- A People's History of Clothing
- By: Sofi Thanhauser
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 55
Sofi Thanhauser brilliantly tells five stories—Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, Wool—about the clothes we wear and where they come from, illuminating our world in unexpected ways. She takes us from the opulent court of Louis XIV to the labor camps in modern-day Chinese-occupied Xinjiang. We see how textiles were once dyed with lichen, shells, bark, saffron, and beetles, displaying distinctive regional weaves and knits, and how the modern Western garment industry has refashioned our attire into the homogenous and disposable uniforms popularized by fast-fashion brands.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Horrors of the industrial revolution Continued
- By Susan on 01-28-22
By: Sofi Thanhauser
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The Lost Gutenberg
- The Astounding Story of One Book's Five-Hundred-Year Odyssey
- By: Margaret Leslie Davis
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 56
For rare-book collectors, an original copy of the Gutenberg Bible - of which there are fewer than 50 in existence - represents the ultimate prize. Here, Margaret Leslie Davis recounts five centuries in the life of one copy, from its creation by Johannes Gutenberg, through the hands of monks, an earl, the Worcestershire sauce king, and a nuclear physicist to its ultimate resting place, in a steel vault in Tokyo.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Spare me
- By Dr. Small on 05-04-20
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Eye of the Beholder
- Johannes Vermeer, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, and the Reinvention of Seeing
- By: Laura Snyder
- Narrated by: Tamara Marston
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 42
"See for yourself!" was the clarion call of the 1600s. Natural philosophers threw off the yoke of ancient authority, peered at nature with microscopes and telescopes, and ignited the scientific revolution. Artists investigated nature with lenses and created paintings filled with realistic effects of light and shadow. The hub of this optical innovation was the small Dutch city of Delft.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Historical book about the evolution of optics through the eyes of two geniuses
- By Memi on 04-12-17
By: Laura Snyder
-
How Paris Became Paris
- The Invention of the Modern City
- By: Joan DeJean
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 112
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 96
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 95
At the start of the 17th century, Paris was known for a few monuments, but it had not yet put its brand on urban space. Like many European cities, it was still emerging from its medieval past. But within a century, Paris would be transformed into the modern and mythic city we now know. Most people associate the signature characteristics of Paris with the 19th century. Joan DeJean demonstrates that the Parisian model for urban space was in fact invented two centuries earlier, when the first full design for the French capital was implemented.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
The text refers to illustrations
- By Mary on 06-29-14
By: Joan DeJean
-
Paper
- Paging Through History
- By: Mark Kurlansky
- Narrated by: Andrew Garman
- Length: 13 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 347
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 302
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 294
Paper is one of the simplest and most essential pieces of human technology. For the past two millennia, the ability to produce it in ever more efficient ways has supported the proliferation of literacy, media, religion, education, commerce, and art; it has formed the foundation of civilizations, promoting revolutions and restoring stability.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Very enjoyable
- By Vicki on 02-16-17
By: Mark Kurlansky
-
The Fabric of Civilization
- How Textiles Made the World
- By: Virginia I. Postrel
- Narrated by: Caroline Cole
- Length: 9 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 157
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 132
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 132
The story of humanity is the story of textiles - as old as civilization itself. Since the first thread was spun, the need for textiles has driven technology, business, politics, and culture. In The Fabric of Civilization, Virginia Postrel synthesizes groundbreaking research from archaeology, economics, and science to reveal a surprising history. From Minoans exporting wool colored with precious purple dye to Egypt, to Romans arrayed in costly Chinese silk, the cloth trade paved the crossroads of the ancient world.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Pop journalism article lengthened into a book
- By Anonymous User on 02-05-22
-
Worn
- A People's History of Clothing
- By: Sofi Thanhauser
- Narrated by: Rebecca Lowman
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 64
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 55
Sofi Thanhauser brilliantly tells five stories—Linen, Cotton, Silk, Synthetics, Wool—about the clothes we wear and where they come from, illuminating our world in unexpected ways. She takes us from the opulent court of Louis XIV to the labor camps in modern-day Chinese-occupied Xinjiang. We see how textiles were once dyed with lichen, shells, bark, saffron, and beetles, displaying distinctive regional weaves and knits, and how the modern Western garment industry has refashioned our attire into the homogenous and disposable uniforms popularized by fast-fashion brands.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Horrors of the industrial revolution Continued
- By Susan on 01-28-22
By: Sofi Thanhauser
-
The Lost Gutenberg
- The Astounding Story of One Book's Five-Hundred-Year Odyssey
- By: Margaret Leslie Davis
- Narrated by: Coleen Marlo
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 65
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 56
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 56
For rare-book collectors, an original copy of the Gutenberg Bible - of which there are fewer than 50 in existence - represents the ultimate prize. Here, Margaret Leslie Davis recounts five centuries in the life of one copy, from its creation by Johannes Gutenberg, through the hands of monks, an earl, the Worcestershire sauce king, and a nuclear physicist to its ultimate resting place, in a steel vault in Tokyo.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Spare me
- By Dr. Small on 05-04-20
-
Eye of the Beholder
- Johannes Vermeer, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, and the Reinvention of Seeing
- By: Laura Snyder
- Narrated by: Tamara Marston
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 42
"See for yourself!" was the clarion call of the 1600s. Natural philosophers threw off the yoke of ancient authority, peered at nature with microscopes and telescopes, and ignited the scientific revolution. Artists investigated nature with lenses and created paintings filled with realistic effects of light and shadow. The hub of this optical innovation was the small Dutch city of Delft.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Historical book about the evolution of optics through the eyes of two geniuses
- By Memi on 04-12-17
By: Laura Snyder
-
The Last Leonardo
- The Secret Lives of the World's Most Expensive Painting
- By: Ben Lewis
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 12 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 174
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 156
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 155
In 2017, Leonardo da Vinci’s small oil painting the Salvator Mundi was sold at auction. In the words of its discoverer, the image of Christ as savior of the world is “the rarest thing on the planet.” Its $450 million sale price also makes it the world’s most expensive painting. For two centuries, art dealers had searched in vain for the Holy Grail of art history: a portrait of Christ as the Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci. Many similar paintings of greatly varying quality had been executed by Leonardo’s assistants in the early 16th century.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Definitely makes you think.
- By John Galt on 04-20-21
By: Ben Lewis
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Women's Work
- The First 20,000 Years: Women, Cloth, and Society in Early Times
- By: Elizabeth Wayland Barber
- Narrated by: Donna Postel
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 152
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 130
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 129
Twenty thousand years ago, women were making and wearing the first clothing created from spun fibers. In fact, right up to the Industrial Revolution the fiber arts were an enormous economic force, belonging primarily to women. Despite the great toil required in making cloth and clothing, most books on ancient history and economics have no information on them. Much of this gap results from the extreme perishability of what women produced, but it seems clear that until now descriptions of prehistoric and early historic cultures have omitted virtually half the picture.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Respectful treatment of the archeological record.
- By fiberflair on 02-23-21
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Deluxe
- How Luxury Lost Its Luster
- By: Dana Thomas
- Narrated by: Dana Thomas
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 74
Once luxury was available only to the rarefied and aristocratic world of old money and royalty. It offered a history of tradition, superior quality, and a pampered buying experience. Today, however, luxury is simply a product packaged and sold by multibillion-dollar global corporations focused on growth, visibility, brand awareness, advertising, and, above all, profits. Award-winning journalist Dana Thomas digs deep into the dark side of the luxury industry to uncover all the secrets that Prada, Gucci, and Burberry don’t want us to know.
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5 out of 5 stars
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If buying luxury, go Richemont or Kering not LV MH
- By lorrrraaaaine on 01-23-22
By: Dana Thomas
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How to Be a Tudor
- A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Tudor Life
- By: Ruth Goodman
- Narrated by: Heather Wilds
- Length: 10 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 526
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 454
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 445
On the heels of her triumphant How to Be a Victorian, Ruth Goodman travels even further back in English history to the era closest to her heart, the dramatic period from the crowning of Henry VII to the death of Elizabeth I. Drawing on her own adventures living in re-created Tudor conditions, Goodman serves as our intrepid guide to 16th-century living. Proceeding from daybreak to bedtime, this charming, illustrative work celebrates the ordinary lives of those who labored through the era.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent book!
- By Kathi on 02-18-16
By: Ruth Goodman
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What Are You Looking At?
- The Surprising, Shocking, and Sometimes Strange Story of 150 Years of Modern Art
- By: Will Gompertz
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 13 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 121
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 104
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 103
What is modern art? Who started it? Why do we either love it or loathe it? And why is it such big money? Join BBC Arts Editor Will Gompertz on a dazzling tour that will change the way you look at modern art forever. From Monet's water lilies to Van Gogh's sunflowers, from Warhol's soup cans to Hirst's pickled shark, hear the stories behind the masterpieces, meet the artists as they really were, and discover the real point of modern art.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding History of Modern Art
- By Earth Lover on 07-24-20
By: Will Gompertz
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The Beginner’s Guide to Crypto Art and NFT
- What the New Rich Investor Teach Their Followers About Art and Contemporary Artists, an Unmissable Overview of the Revolution that Is Going On
- By: Mike Armstrong
- Narrated by: NFT Cryptocurrency Expert
- Length: 3 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
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Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
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Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Crypto art has exploded all over the world, and are you struggling to learn more? Many contemporary artists and big brands have been involved in an unprecedented speculative vortex, creating new horizons. Big investors in the art, finance, and cryptocurrency markets are following with strong interest the evolution of NFTs (non fungible tokens). The economic weight of crypto art is bound to grow, becoming a great new earning opportunity.
By: Mike Armstrong
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From Bauhaus to Our House
- By: Tom Wolfe
- Narrated by: Dennis McKee
- Length: 3 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 264
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 182