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Praetorian
- The Rise and Fall of Rome's Imperial Bodyguard
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
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Publisher's Summary
A riveting account of ancient Rome's imperial bodyguard, the select band of soldiers who wielded the power to make - or destroy - the emperors they served.
Founded by Augustus around 27 BC, the elite Praetorian Guard was tasked with the protection of the emperor and his family. As the centuries unfolded, however, Praetorian soldiers served not only as protectors and enforcers but also as powerful political players. Fiercely loyal to some emperors, they vied with others and ruthlessly toppled those who displeased them, including Caligula, Nero, Pertinax, and many more. Guy de la Bédoyère provides a compelling first full narrative history of the Praetorians, whose dangerous ambitions ceased only when Constantine permanently disbanded them.
De la Bédoyère introduces Praetorians of all echelons, from prefects and messengers to artillery experts and executioners. He explores the delicate position of emperors for whom prestige and guile were the only defenses against bodyguards hungry for power. Folding fascinating details into a broad assessment of the Praetorian era, the author sheds new light on the wielding of power in the greatest of the ancient world's empires.
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What listeners say about Praetorian
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Charles
- 08-07-17
Buy it
When I read books about Rome I do not often learn anything. In this case I did. The author also does a great job of reminding me what might have happened, what we can't or at least don't know and why this matters.
I went ahead and gave it five stars despite mispronunciations. I've lost hope in this regard.
12 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 01-09-18
An Interesting Idea Lacking In Sources
The central thesis of this book is that the roman empire was from its outset a military dictatorship, and that the true seat of military power lay in the hands of the praetorian guard. Unfortunately the author is robbed of a lot of power to slam this belief home by the lack of sources at crucial points in the story of rome, particularly when the empire changed hands multiple times over the course of a few decades.
To sum up the story in total, when the empire's borders were secure, the praetorian guard held the most power, being a military force stationed within the city walls who had their own centralized leadership and fortified base of operations. When the borders came under threat however, and the limitations of a single ruler exposed the need for not only a warrior emperor constantly traveling but a fellow emperor based outside of rome, the praetorians lost their key leverage--proximity. They could no longer threaten the emperor's life. Because of their lack of power and potential for being swayed, they were eventually disbanded by Constantine.
Is this a story worth telling? Of course. Should it take so many words? Of course not.
Like many historical authors, Bedoyere uses excessive and long-winded phrasing--"In the extreme" rather than extremely, "not dumb" instead of smart, and "in the event," a phrase which has no recognizable impact on any sentence I've ever read other than to make the sentence three words longer. This makes the narrative a little hard to follow, but isn't as bad as his biggest failing: order of events.
Until now I'd never read a book where the author will spend an hour telling you about a thirty-year civil war between characters whose names are only slightly different, and then at the end start describing the behaviors of an unmentioned character back toward the beginning of said war. Bodeyere has become the first. Enjoy listening to, for a made up example, twenty minutes about how Gordian III gave up power to Philip the Arab, another 20 minutes of how he gave up power to Philippus, and then a random ten minute diversion into the life of a senator whose actions will be described in detail until the author calls out randomly that he served under emperor Gordian II. "Wait isn't the current emperor Philipus? Don't you mean Gordian III? Why are you giving me this information now!? I've moved on from all the Gordians!"
Aside from those issues, the book is good. Its little missteps are more annoying than deal-breaking. What may break the deal for you is your expectations. The Praetorians aren't nearly as cool as you might have imagined, and because of the lack of sources in the 2nd century, the author is forced to fill the time with fairly useless analyses of how exactly they dressed, what exactly they earned in salary, and what their particular marriage laws were, none of which is consequential to the overall story or his opening thesis besides in a minor way.
That said, even though it feels long, it's actually quite short. Worth checking out the audiobook for under $20. Would not buy a print copy in any format, as my eyes would glaze over after every sentence. But as an audiobook it's a good enough satisfier of any curiosity about the praetorians, and a reasonable summary of the first 300 years of the emperial era for anyone like me who specializes in the republican era.
5 people found this helpful
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- Jim
- 03-01-18
Enthralling History of the Praetorian Institution
To begin with, as the author states in the forward this is not a look at the Praetorian Guard at an individual level though a fair amount of this does take place in the guise of personal diplomas and tombstones but rather a broader look at the institution as a whole. From it's inception at the begining of the imperial age of Rome to it's downfall which coincidentally was brought on in part from the guard's own meddling in imperial affairs; this book follows the institution's course as it runs parallel to and often redirects the life of the Caesars they were meant to protect. The book is well written and spiced with allusions to other works both ancient and contemporary and may be more properly enjoyed if the listener has some previous knowledge of Imperial Rome. Exceedingly well read. 5 out of 5.
3 people found this helpful
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- Chris
- 05-18-18
Reads like a thesis paper.....
If you are interested in a reference book or to get about 3 hours of interesting stories and 8 hours of blah blah, then get this one. The narrator's delivery was bland and dry; although he did pronounce the names convincingly enough. After the first hour, I tried to return the book but Audible did not allow it so I slogged through it. It could have been much more interesting a story as the time and the institution was fascinating but it was SO BOGGED DOWN that it was hard to pull anything out of it to keep me interested. Sorry but I was very disappointed in the story as a whole. Like I said, if reading thesis papers are your thing, go for it!
1 person found this helpful
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- Maxwell
- 11-28-17
well rounded audiobook
insightful story. narrator was wonderful, the tempo of narratio a little fast for me. good background to the broader histories and bio's.
1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-13-20
Fantastic! Great representation of the history of the Praetorians
Very well written and has broadened my knowledge of the beginnings, machinations and death of the great Roman institution. Very good. Lots of linear knowledge and antics of the guard in dealing with the Imperators. Makes me need to reread a number of texts.
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- B. Coleman
- 05-08-20
Not for me.
I wanted to like this book, I really did. What a fascinating topic! But I just couldn’t get in to it. I’m not sure how much of this is because of the narration, and how much because of the text. Either way, it was just flat and dry.
The text feels like a dissertation, built from blocks of facts, one right after the other. There is no narrative thread, no deeper context. No framework that ties it together, makes it interesting, or memorable.
The narrator seems a bit excitable, but it doesn’t come across as engaging. It comes across as strange. If feels as though he has never encountered this topic before and isn’t familiar with the text. Just sentence after sentence spat out with, generally for no discernible reason, an eager intonation.
Not much else to say really. Maybe it’s for you. It’s regrettably not for me.
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- Customer
- 06-28-19
A great book
A vast detailed description of the praetorian guard, from its first stages, to officially formation under Octavian Augustus, to its total demise at the battle of the Milvian Bridge. Totally recommend it, if you are into politics, military history or roman history.
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- Amazon Customer
- 04-18-19
Great overview
Great telling of an important part of the history of Rome. Balanced overview of a complicated story spanning centuries.
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- Nathan Phipps
- 12-22-17
love it
throughout my studies I've always heard the praetorian guard in the narrative but this book shed light into exactly who they were, very entertaining
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- Steven
- 09-21-21
Tedious
An object lesson in how to make Roman history into a tedious flow of facts. At least up to the point I gave up.
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- Tom Baker
- 06-21-21
Good Overview of the Praetorians
if your looking for a good introduction to the history of the praetorians then this is a good and interesting book to listen to. Well worth it.
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- Helen
- 04-20-21
Good but read far too fast
About half way through I changed the speed and slowed the narrator down, after which I thoroughly enjoyed the book. Before this is was like having facts about Romans flung at you far to fast to absorb them.
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Story
Scipio Africanus (236-183 BC) was one of the most exciting and dynamic leaders in history. As commander, he never lost a battle. Yet it is his adversary, Hannibal, who has lived on in public memory. As B. H. Liddell Hart writes, "Scipio's battles are richer in stratagems and ruses - many still feasible today - than those of any other commander in history." Any military enthusiast or historian will find this to be an absorbing, gripping portrait.
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Excellent performance of a tough script.
- By A. Johnson on 12-23-19
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In the Name of Rome
- The Men Who Won the Roman Empire
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Adrian Goldsworthy has received wide acclaim for his exceptional writing on the Roman Empire - including high praise from the acclaimed military historian and author John Keegan - and here he offers a new perspective on the empire by focusing on its greatest generals, including Scipio Africanus, Marius, Pompey, Caesar, and Titus.
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This pie was all crust, no filling
- By JLB on 04-11-17
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The Ghosts of Cannae
- Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic
- By: Robert L. O'Connell
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
For fans of Victor Davis Hanson, Donald Kagan, and Barry Strauss comes a rich, sweeping account of the most imitated---and vicious---battle in history.
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Hannibal's Legacy
- By Douglas on 11-10-10
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Gladius: The World of the Roman Soldier
- By: Guy de la Bédoyère
- Narrated by: Piers Hampton
- Length: 15 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In Gladius, Guy de la Bedoyere takes us straight to the heart of what it meant to be a part of the Roman army. Rather than a history of the army itself, or a guide to military organization and fighting methods, this book is a ground-level recreation of what it was like to be a soldier in the army that made the empire. Surveying numerous aspects of life in the Roman army between 264 BCE and 337 CE, Gladius draws not only on the words of famed Roman historians, but also those of the soldiers themselves.
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Nothing new here
- By Charles on 08-06-22
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The Last Great War of Antiquity
- By: James Howard-Johnston
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 20 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The last and longest war of classical antiquity was fought in the early seventh century. It was ideologically charged and fought along the full length of the Persian-Roman frontier, drawing in all the available resources and great powers of the steppe world. The conflict raged on an unprecedented scale, and its end brought the classical phase of history to a close. Despite all this, it has left a conspicuous gap in the history of warfare. This book aims to finally fill that gap.
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Too advanced
- By Lavinia on 11-12-22
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Legion versus Phalanx
- The Epic Struggle for Infantry Supremacy in the Ancient World
- By: Myke Cole
- Narrated by: Alexander Cendese
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From the time of Ancient Sumeria, the heavy infantry phalanx dominated the battlefield. Armed with spears or pikes, standing shoulder to shoulder with shields interlocking, the men of the phalanx presented an impenetrable wall of wood and metal to the enemy. Until, that is, the Roman legion emerged to challenge them as masters of infantry battle.
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I might be a niche market for this but I loved it
- By Jonathan on 12-17-18
By: Myke Cole
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Scipio Africanus
- Greater Than Napoleon
- By: B.H. Liddell Hart
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Scipio Africanus (236-183 BC) was one of the most exciting and dynamic leaders in history. As commander, he never lost a battle. Yet it is his adversary, Hannibal, who has lived on in public memory. As B. H. Liddell Hart writes, "Scipio's battles are richer in stratagems and ruses - many still feasible today - than those of any other commander in history." Any military enthusiast or historian will find this to be an absorbing, gripping portrait.
-
-
Excellent performance of a tough script.
- By A. Johnson on 12-23-19
-
In the Name of Rome
- The Men Who Won the Roman Empire
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Adrian Goldsworthy has received wide acclaim for his exceptional writing on the Roman Empire - including high praise from the acclaimed military historian and author John Keegan - and here he offers a new perspective on the empire by focusing on its greatest generals, including Scipio Africanus, Marius, Pompey, Caesar, and Titus.
-
-
This pie was all crust, no filling
- By JLB on 04-11-17
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The Ghosts of Cannae
- Hannibal and the Darkest Hour of the Roman Republic
- By: Robert L. O'Connell
- Narrated by: Alan Sklar
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For fans of Victor Davis Hanson, Donald Kagan, and Barry Strauss comes a rich, sweeping account of the most imitated---and vicious---battle in history.
-
-
Hannibal's Legacy
- By Douglas on 11-10-10
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A War Like No Other
- How the Athenians and Spartans Fought the Peloponnesian War
- By: Victor Davis Hanson
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Hanson compellingly portrays the ways Athens and Sparta fought on land and sea, in city and countryside, and details their employment of the full scope of conventional and non-conventional tactics, from sieges to targeted assassinations, torture, and terrorism. He also assesses the crucial roles played by warriors such as Pericles and Lysander, artists, among them Aristophanes, and thinkers including Sophocles and Plato.
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"A War Like No Other" is a Book Like No Other
- By Chris on 02-06-20
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Capital and Ideology
- By: Thomas Piketty, Arthur Goldhammer - translator
- Narrated by: Rick Adamson
- Length: 48 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Thomas Piketty’s best-selling Capital in the Twenty-First Century galvanized global debate about inequality. In this audacious follow-up, Piketty challenges us to revolutionize how we think about politics, ideology, and history. He exposes the ideas that have sustained inequality for the past millennium, reveals why the shallow politics of right and left are failing us today, and outlines the structure of a fairer economic system.
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Big thinking at its finest
- By Amazon Customer on 03-20-20
By: Thomas Piketty, and others
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Marching with Caesar
- Birth of the 10th Legion
- By: R.W. Peake
- Narrated by: Simon Burdett
- Length: 16 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Titus Pullus, the hero of the 10th Legion and the Marching With Caesar series, tells his story from the very beginning of his life, starting with his relationship with his father, how his friendship with Vibius Domitius began, and how their burning ambition to join the Legions was helped by a veteran nicknamed Cyclops. Enlisting in the 10th Legion, raised in 61 B.C. by Gaius Julius Caesar, Birth of the 10th Legion recounts the first campaign ever conducted by Julius Caesar as a commander...
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Superb history and pulse pounding excitement.
- By William H. Harrington on 12-10-14
By: R.W. Peake
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Caesar's Legion
- The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: Stuart Langton
- Length: 12 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Stephen Dando-Collins paints a vivid and definitive portrait of daily life in the Tenth Legion as he follows Caesar and his men along the blood-soaked fringes of the Empire. This unprecedented regimental history reveals countless previously unknown details about Roman military practices, Caesar's conduct as a commander and his relationships with officers and legionnaires, and the daily routine and discipline of the Legion.
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You should really be interested in the topic first
- By A reader on 05-05-06