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The Forge of Christendom
- The End of Days and the Epic Rise of the West
- Narrated by: James A. Gillies
- Length: 15 hrs and 57 mins
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The Forge of Christendom
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Publisher's summary
At the approach of the first millennium, the Christians of Europe did not seem likely candidates for future greatness. Weak, fractured, and hemmed in by hostile nations, they saw no future beyond the widely anticipated Second Coming of Christ.
But when the world did not end, the peoples of Western Europe suddenly found themselves with no choice but to begin the heroic task of building a Jerusalem on Earth.
In The Forge of Christendom, Tom Holland masterfully describes this remarkable new age, a time of caliphs and Viking sea kings, the spread of castles, and the invention of knighthood. It was one of the most significant departure points in history: the emergence of Western Europe as a distinctive and expansionist power.
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The evolution of the Arab empire is one of the supreme narratives of ancient history, a story dazzlingly rich in drama, character, and achievement. In this exciting and sweeping history - the third in his trilogy of books on the ancient world - Tom Holland describes how the Arabs emerged to carve out a stupefyingly vast dominion in a matter of decades, overcoming seemingly insuperable odds to create an imperial civilization.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Misleading title
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- Penguin Monarchs, Book 2
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Lost to the West
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,874
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,522
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Filled with unforgettable stories of emperors, generals, and religious patriarchs, as well as fascinating glimpses into the life of the ordinary citizen, Lost to the West reveals how much we owe to the Byzantine Empire that was the equal of any in its achievements, appetites, and enduring legacy. For more than a millennium, Byzantium reigned as the glittering seat of Christian civilization.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Just a delight for anyone interested in history !
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Defenders of the Faith
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 67
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In the best-selling Warriors of God and Dogs of God, James Reston Jr. limned two epochal conflicts between Islam and Christendom. Here he examines the ultimate battle in that centuries-long war, which found Europe at its most vulnerable and Islam on the attack. This drama was propelled by two astonishing young sovereigns: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Turkish sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Though they represented two colliding worlds, they were remarkably similar.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good account of interesting period of history
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God's Wolf
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 47
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
In a 2010 terrorist plot, Al-Qaeda hid a bomb in a FedEx shipment addressed to Reynald de Chatillon, a knight who had died centuries ago in the Crusades. A reviled figure in Islamic history, often portrayed as the very epitome of brutality, Reynald remains as controversial - and as vividly present in the minds of many in the Middle East - as the story of the Crusades themselves.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A great look into the life of a great crusader
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Joan of Arc
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 108
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 92
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Story4 out of 5 stars 91
Helen Castor tells afresh the gripping story of the peasant girl from Domremy who hears voices from God, leads the French army to victory, is burned at the stake for heresy, and eventually becomes a saint. But unlike the traditional narrative, a story already shaped by the knowledge of what Joan would become and told in hindsight, Castor's Joan of Arc: A History takes us back to 15th century France and tells the story forwards.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Maid of Orleans
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The evolution of the Arab empire is one of the supreme narratives of ancient history, a story dazzlingly rich in drama, character, and achievement. In this exciting and sweeping history - the third in his trilogy of books on the ancient world - Tom Holland describes how the Arabs emerged to carve out a stupefyingly vast dominion in a matter of decades, overcoming seemingly insuperable odds to create an imperial civilization.
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Lost to the West
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,874
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,522
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,523
Filled with unforgettable stories of emperors, generals, and religious patriarchs, as well as fascinating glimpses into the life of the ordinary citizen, Lost to the West reveals how much we owe to the Byzantine Empire that was the equal of any in its achievements, appetites, and enduring legacy. For more than a millennium, Byzantium reigned as the glittering seat of Christian civilization.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Just a delight for anyone interested in history !
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By: Lars Brownworth
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Defenders of the Faith
- Charles V, Suleyman the Magnificent, and the Battle for Europe, 1520-1536
- By: James Reston Jr.
- Narrated by: Jim Meskimen
- Length: 14 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 78
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 67
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 67
In the best-selling Warriors of God and Dogs of God, James Reston Jr. limned two epochal conflicts between Islam and Christendom. Here he examines the ultimate battle in that centuries-long war, which found Europe at its most vulnerable and Islam on the attack. This drama was propelled by two astonishing young sovereigns: Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Turkish sultan Suleyman the Magnificent. Though they represented two colliding worlds, they were remarkably similar.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Good account of interesting period of history
- By ItalCali on 03-11-22
By: James Reston Jr.
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God's Wolf
- The Life of the Most Notorious of All Crusaders, Scourge of Saladin
- By: Jeffrey Lee
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 47
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
In a 2010 terrorist plot, Al-Qaeda hid a bomb in a FedEx shipment addressed to Reynald de Chatillon, a knight who had died centuries ago in the Crusades. A reviled figure in Islamic history, often portrayed as the very epitome of brutality, Reynald remains as controversial - and as vividly present in the minds of many in the Middle East - as the story of the Crusades themselves.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A great look into the life of a great crusader
- By Jon on 02-28-19
By: Jeffrey Lee
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Joan of Arc
- A History
- By: Helen Castor
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 8 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 108
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 92
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Story4 out of 5 stars 91
Helen Castor tells afresh the gripping story of the peasant girl from Domremy who hears voices from God, leads the French army to victory, is burned at the stake for heresy, and eventually becomes a saint. But unlike the traditional narrative, a story already shaped by the knowledge of what Joan would become and told in hindsight, Castor's Joan of Arc: A History takes us back to 15th century France and tells the story forwards.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Maid of Orleans
- By Tad Davis on 06-08-15
By: Helen Castor
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The Templars
- The Rise and Spectacular Fall of God's Holy Warriors
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: Dan Jones
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,841
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,472
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,455
In 1307, as they struggled to secure their last strongholds in the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Templars fell afoul of the vindictive and impulsive king of France. On Friday, October 13, hundreds of brothers were arrested en masse, imprisoned, tortured, and disbanded amid accusations of lurid sexual misconduct and heresy. They were tried by the Vatican in secret proceedings. But were they heretics or victims of a ruthlessly repressive state?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Unexpected
- By Protogere on 10-30-17
By: Dan Jones
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The Birth of Britain
- A History of the English Speaking Peoples, Volume I
- By: Sir Winston Churchill
- Narrated by: Christian Rodska
- Length: 17 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,333
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 956
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 953
The English-speaking peoples comprise perhaps the greatest number of human beings sharing a common language in the world today. These people also share a common heritage. For his four-volume work, Sir Winston Churchill took as his subject these great elements in world history. Volume 1 commences in 55BC, when Julius Caesar famously "turned his gaze upon Britain" and concludes with the Battle of Bosworth in 1485.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Birth of Britain
- By Terryl Pettengill on 02-11-07
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Armies of Heaven
- The First Crusade and the Quest for Apocalypse
- By: Jay Rubenstein
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 84
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 74
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Story4 out of 5 stars 73
Beginning in 1095 and culminating four bloody years later, the First Crusade represented a new kind of warfare: holy, unrestrained, and apocalyptic. In Armies of Heaven, medieval historian Jay Rubenstein tells the story of this cataclysmic event through the eyes of those who witnessed it, emphasizing the fundamental role that apocalyptic thought played in motivating the Crusaders.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Long, too much moment-to-moment detail, dull
- By Christopher on 07-02-12
By: Jay Rubenstein
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Foundation
- The History of England from Its Earliest Beginnings to the Tudors: The History of England, Book 1
- By: Peter Ackroyd
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 18 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 840
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 763
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 758
In Foundation the chronicler of London and of its river, the Thames, takes us from the primeval forests of England's prehistory to the death of the first Tudor king, Henry VII, in 1509. He guides us from the building of Stonehenge to the founding of the two great glories of medieval England: common law and the cathedrals. He shows us glimpses of the country's most distant past - a Neolithic stirrup found in a grave, a Roman fort, a Saxon tomb, a medieval manor house.
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4 out of 5 stars
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The Most Annoying Narrator EVER
- By JudieBee on 12-25-15
By: Peter Ackroyd
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A Distant Mirror
- The Calamitous Fourteenth Century
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 28 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,352
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,685
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,698
The 14th century reflects two contradictory images: on the one hand, a glittering time of crusades and castles, cathedrals and chivalry, and the exquisitely decorated Books of Hours; and on the other, a time of ferocity and spiritual agony, a world of chaos and the plague.
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5 out of 5 stars
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And you thought the twentieth century was rough...
- By Rob on 03-23-06
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A World Lit Only by Fire
- The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age
- By: William Manchester
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,052
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 781
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Story4 out of 5 stars 776
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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The Greatest Knight
- The Remarkable Life of William Marshal, the Power Behind Five English Thrones
- By: Thomas Asbridge
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 883
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 794
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 786
In The Greatest Knight, renowned historian Thomas Asbridge draws upon the thirteenth-century biography and an array of other contemporary evidence to present a compelling account of William Marshal's life and times. Asbridge charts the unparalleled rise to prominence of a man bound to a code of honor yet driven by unquenchable ambition.
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5 out of 5 stars
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The Biography of a Legend
- By Troy on 04-02-15
By: Thomas Asbridge
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Sword and Scimitar
- Fourteen Centuries of War between Islam and the West
- By: Raymond Ibrahim, Victor Davis Hanson - foreword
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 508
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 452
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Story5 out of 5 stars 449
The West and Islam - the sword and scimitar - have clashed since the 17th century, when, according to Muslim tradition, the Roman emperor rejected Prophet Muhammad's order to abandon Christianity and convert to Islam, unleashing a centuries-long jihad on Christendom. Sword and Scimitar chronicles the decisive battles that arose from this ages-old Islamic jihad, beginning with the first major Islamic attack on Christian land in 636.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent read
- By Susan Stone on 01-25-19
By: Raymond Ibrahim, and others
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Lords of the Horizons
- A History of the Ottoman Empire
- By: Jason Goodwin
- Narrated by: Grahame Edwards
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 57
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Story4 out of 5 stars 56
The Ottoman Empire has long exerted a strong pull on Western minds and hearts. For over 600 years the empire swelled and declined, rising from a dusty fiefdom in the foothills of Anatolia to a power which ruled over the Danube and the Euphrates with the richest court in Europe. But its decline was prodigious, protracted and total.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good introduction to the Ottomans, bad narration
- By Skeptical on 06-06-18
By: Jason Goodwin
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The Dark Ages: 476-918
- By: Charles Oman
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 19 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 285
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 248
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 245
The Dark Ages is the story of the birth of Western civilization. It was a harrowing crucible of war, destruction, and faith. For over 100 years, Charles Oman's famous history has remained one of the finest sources for the study of this period. Covering a period of 500 years and an area stretching from Northern Germany to Egypt, this is the definitive history that will alter your conceptions of a period of history that gave birth to the civilization we live in today.
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5 out of 5 stars
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An Excellent Production
- By Ken on 08-11-17
By: Charles Oman
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Warlords of Ancient Mexico
- How the Mayans and Aztecs Ruled for More Than a Thousand Years
- By: Peter G. Tsouras
- Narrated by: Paul Christy
- Length: 11 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 567
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 510
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 507
Learn the unbelievable true history of the great warrior tribes of Mexico. More than 13 centuries of incredible spellbinding history are detailed in this intriguing study of the rulers and warriors of Mexico. Dozens of these charismatic leaders of nations and armies are brought to life by the deep research and entertaining storytelling of Peter Tsouras. Tsouras introduces the reader to the colossal personalities of the period.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Written in 1996. Narration disrespectful
- By Amazon Customer on 04-30-20
By: Peter G. Tsouras
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The Conquering Family
- By: Thomas B. Costain
- Narrated by: David Case
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 217
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 156
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 149
Thomas B. Costain's four-volume history of the Plantagenets begins with The Conquering Family and the conquest of England by William the Conqueror in 1066, closing with the reign of John in 1216. The troubled period after the Norman Conquest, when the foundations of government were hammered out between monarch and people, comes to life through Costain's storytelling skill and historical imagination.
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4 out of 5 stars
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An Entrancing History of the Early Plantegenets
- By Peter on 01-20-09
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Persian Fire
- The First World Empire and the Battle for the West
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 14 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,381
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,208
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,202
In the fifth century BC, a global superpower was determined to bring truth and order to what it regarded as two terrorist states. The superpower was Persia, incomparably rich in ambition, gold, and men. The terrorist states were Athens and Sparta, eccentric cities in a poor and mountainous backwater: Greece. The story of how their citizens took on the Great King of Persia, and thereby saved not only themselves, but Western civilization as well, is as heart-stopping and fateful as any episode in history.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Engaging
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In the Shadow of the Sword
- The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 667
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 584
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Story4 out of 5 stars 577
The evolution of the Arab empire is one of the supreme narratives of ancient history, a story dazzlingly rich in drama, character, and achievement. In this exciting and sweeping history - the third in his trilogy of books on the ancient world - Tom Holland describes how the Arabs emerged to carve out a stupefyingly vast dominion in a matter of decades, overcoming seemingly insuperable odds to create an imperial civilization.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Misleading title
- By Edd Huetteman on 04-08-16
By: Tom Holland
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Dynasty
- The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,576
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,418
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