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Pope Joan
- The Indestructible Legend of the Catholic Church's First and Only Female Pontiff
- Narrated by: Scott Clem
- Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
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Pope Joan
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Publisher's summary
"I do not wish women to have power over men; but over themselves." - Mary Shelley
The Middle Ages in Europe were some of the most precarious centuries in recorded history, bristling with war, excitement, and chaos. The Western Roman Empire had crumbled, territories were rapidly expanding, and heavy ploughs, hourglasses, spectacles, tidal mills, and more pioneering inventions were popping up across the continent. It was also a time of extreme prejudice, when women were treated as second-class citizens. Their only purpose in life was to procreate by the dozen. They were confined to their kitchens and barns at home. They could not vote, and most definitely were not allowed to be involved in anything with the word "office" in its title. What was worse, only a handful of these women would succeed in hauling themselves out of the trenches, as females were not allowed an education.
Given this context, there have always been stories about women who broke the mold somehow, and of all the mysterious stories passed down over the centuries and chronicled by history's storytellers, one of the most fascinating and hotly contested subjects is Pope Joan, a young woman who was so desperate to squeeze herself out of the status quo that she had done the unthinkable. For decades, she disguised herself as a man, living amongst her oppressors as she paved her way to the papal throne. She would keep up this pretense for more than two years until that one fateful day, when it all came unraveling.
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-
Story4 out of 5 stars 768
From tales of chivalrous knights to the barbarity of trial by ordeal, no era has been a greater source of awe, horror, and wonder than the Middle Ages. In handsomely crafted prose and with the grace and authority of his extraordinary gift for narrative history, William Manchester leads us from a civilization tottering on the brink of collapse to the grandeur of its rebirth, the Renaissance.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Ruined by the narrator
- By Wallen on 02-28-09
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Yiddish Civilisation: The Rise and Fall of a Forgotten Nation
- By: Paul Kriwaczek
- Narrated by: Robert Blumenfeld
- Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
Tracing Yiddish civilization from its roots in the Diaspora to the present, Paul Kriwaczek combines intimate family anecdote, travelogue, historical research, and interviews with scholars to give us a rich portrait of a nearly extinguished culture as it survived across the centuries. He begins his chronicle in Jerusalem, with the destruction of the Jewish temple at the hands of the Romans in the year 70. We see the burgeoning exile population disperse, moving outward and northward throughout the following centuries, making their mark in more far flung cities under Roman rule.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Disorganized, inconclusive and disappointing
- By Alex on 12-15-20
By: Paul Kriwaczek
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Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms
- Journeys into the Disappearing Religions of the Middle East
- By: Gerard Russell
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 11 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 96
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 85
In Heirs to Forgotten Kingdoms, former diplomat Gerard Russell ventures to the distant, nearly impassable regions where these mysterious religions still cling to survival. He lives alongside the Mandaeans and Ezidis of Iraq, the Zoroastrians of Iran, the Copts of Egypt, and others. He learns their histories, participates in their rituals, and comes to understand the threats to their communities.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Increase your understanding of the Middle East
- By Shaun on 03-17-15
By: Gerard Russell
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Pagans
- The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity
- By: James J. O'Donnell
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 98
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 78
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Story4 out of 5 stars 78
Pagans explores the rise of Christianity from a surprising and unique viewpoint: that of the people who witnessed their ways of life destroyed by what seemed then a powerful religious cult. These "pagans" were actually pious Greeks, Romans, Syrians, and Gauls, who observed the traditions of their ancestors. To these devout polytheists, Christians who worshiped only one deity were immoral atheists who believed that a splash of water on the deathbed could erase a lifetime of sin.
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1 out of 5 stars
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19th Century Scholarship
- By Marianne on 10-16-18
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The Buried Book
- The Loss and Rediscovery of the Great Epic of Gilgamesh
- By: David Damrosch
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 7 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 350
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 270
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Story4 out of 5 stars 266
One day in 1872, self-taught Assyriologist George Smith was sifting through a pile of clay tablets when he realized he was reading about "a flood, storm, a ship caught on a mountain, and a bird sent out in search of dry land". This is the riveting story of the discovery of the world's first literary epic, the "Epic of Gilgamesh".
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3 out of 5 stars
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interesting- but not for everyone
- By J Michael on 07-16-08
By: David Damrosch
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Castles, Customs, and Kings
- True Tales by English Historical Fiction Authors
- By: Debra Brown, M.M. Bennetts
- Narrated by: Ruth Golding
- Length: 25 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 70
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 62
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Story4 out of 5 stars 60
A compilation of essays from the English Historical Fiction Authors blog, this book provides a wealth of historical information from Roman Britain to early 20th-century England. Over 50 different authors share hundreds of real life stories and tantalizing tidbits discovered while doing research for their own historical novels.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Historical Tidbits
- By Troy on 08-03-15
By: Debra Brown, and others
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St. Patrick of Ireland
- A Biography
- By: Philip Freeman
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 106
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 59
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Story4 out of 5 stars 60
Ireland's patron saint has long been shrouded in legend: he drove the snakes out of Ireland; he triumphed over Druids and their super-natural powers; he used a shamrock to explain the Christian mystery of the Trinity. But his true story is more fascinating than the myths.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Wonderful Discription
- By L. Thibodeaux on 08-12-05
By: Philip Freeman
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The Rise and Fall of Alexandria
- Birthplace of the Modern Mind
- By: Justin Pollard, Howard Reid
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,016
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 684
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 682
Founded by Alexander the Great and built by self-styled Greek pharaohs, the city of Alexandria at its height dwarfed both Athens and Rome. It was the marvel of its age, legendary for its vast palaces, safe harbors, and magnificent lighthouse. But it was most famous for the astonishing intellectual efflorescence it fostered and the library it produced. If the European Renaissance was the "rebirth" of Western culture, then Alexandria, Egypt, was its birthplace.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A good listen
- By Jeffrey on 10-02-08
By: Justin Pollard, and others
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The Year of Lear
- Shakespeare in 1606
- By: James Shapiro
- Narrated by: Robert Fass
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 184
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 159
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 155
In the years leading up to 1606, since the death of Queen Elizabeth and the arrival in England of her successor, King James of Scotland, Shakespeare's great productivity had ebbed, and it may have seemed to some that his prolific genius was a thing of the past. But that year, at age 42, he found his footing again, finishing a play he had begun the previous autumn - King Lear - then writing two other great tragedies, Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Detailed and satisfying
- By Tad Davis on 02-24-16
By: James Shapiro
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The Hidden History of the Knights Templar
- The Church's Oldest Conspiracy
- By: Conrad Bauer
- Narrated by: Charles D. Baker
- Length: 2 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 137
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 119
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Story4 out of 5 stars 119
The Knights Templar existed officially for less than 200 years. Founded to protect pilgrims who were travelling through the Holy Lands, their rise to power was sudden. They became some of the most feared warriors in the region, they had a mandate from God, they controlled perhaps the world's first real banking system, and they waged war against anyone who tried to wrestle Christianity and seize holy grounds from the control of the Catholic Church.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Insightful
- By Tina on 09-11-16
By: Conrad Bauer
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Who Cooked the Last Supper?
- The Women's History of the World
- By: Rosalind Miles
- Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel
- Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 99
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 80
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Story4 out of 5 stars 80
Without politics or polemics, this brilliant and witty book overturns centuries of preconceptions to restore women to their rightful place at the center of culture, revolution, empire, war, and peace. Spiced with tales of individual women who have shaped civilization, celebrating the work and lives of women around the world, and distinguished by a wealth of research, Who Cooked the Last Supper? redefines our concept of historical reality.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Waste of Time
- By Chihuahua Mom on 11-18-19
By: Rosalind Miles
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Red
- A History of the Redhead
- By: Jacky Colliss Harvey
- Narrated by: Jacky Colliss Harvey
- Length: 6 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 162
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 146
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 148
Red is a brilliantly told, captivating history of red hair throughout the ages. An audiobook that breaks new ground, dispels myths, and reinforces the special nature of being a redhead, with a look at multiple disciplines, including science, religion, politics, feminism and sexuality, literature, and art. With an obsessive fascination that is as contagious as it is compelling, author Jacky Colliss Harvey (herself a redhead) begins her exploration of red hair in prehistory and traces the redhead gene as it made its way out of Africa with the early human diaspora.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Pushing Past Stereotypes
- By Troy on 06-09-15
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Cleopatra
- A Life
- By: Stacy Schiff
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 14 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,591
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,094
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Story4 out of 5 stars 1,105
Her palace shimmered with onyx, garnets, and gold, but was richer still in political and sexual intrigue. Above all else, Cleopatra was a shrewd strategist and an ingenious negotiator. Though her life spanned fewer than forty years, it reshaped the contours of the ancient world. She was married twice, each time to a brother. She waged a brutal civil war against the first when both were teenagers. She poisoned the second. In a masterly return to the classical sources, Stacy Schiff here boldly separates fact from fiction to rescue the magnetic queen whose death ushered in a new world order.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Approach this book with caution
- By GolfZilla on 12-02-10
By: Stacy Schiff
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The Written World
- The Power of Stories to Shape People, History, Civilization
- By: Martin Puchner
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 12 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 88
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 77
Martin Puchner leads us on a remarkable journey through time and around the globe to reveal the powerful role stories and literature have played in creating the world we have today. Puchner introduces us to numerous visionaries as he explores 16 foundational texts selected from more than 4,000 years of world literature and reveals how writing has inspired the rise and fall of empires and nations, the spark of philosophical and political ideas, and the birth of religious beliefs. Indeed, literature has touched generations and changed the course of history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Powerful and illuminating!
- By Gloria J. Petit-Clair on 12-04-17
By: Martin Puchner
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The Alphabet Versus the Goddess
- The Conflict Between Word and Image
- By: Leonard Shlain
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 24 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 106
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 89
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 89
Who changed the sex of God? This groundbreaking book proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy reconfigured the human brain and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth, and anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, images, and feminine values.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Can't Even Get Started
- By Marie on 02-08-19
By: Leonard Shlain