John A. Manke
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The Restoration of Rome
- Barbarian Popes and Imperial Pretenders
- De: Peter Heather
- Narrado por: Allan Robertson
- Duración: 18 h y 46 m
- Versión completa
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In AD 476, the last of Rome's emperors, known as "Augustulus", was deposed by a barbarian general, the son of one of Attila the Hun's henchmen. With the imperial vestments dispatched to Constantinople, the curtain fell on the Roman empire in Western Europe, its territories divided among successor kingdoms constructed around barbarian military manpower. But, if the Roman Empire was dead, Romans across much of the old empire still lived, holding on to their lands, their values, and their institutions.
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Byzantine Empire Stands Tall!
- De Placeholder en 05-22-14
- The Restoration of Rome
- Barbarian Popes and Imperial Pretenders
- De: Peter Heather
- Narrado por: Allan Robertson
Excellent book
Revisado: 09-13-20
Very good work, perhaps not as good as Fall of Rome by the same author. The narrator is also good. He does not stumble over too many foreign words, which is the danger of audiobooks in ancient topics.
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Warriors, Queens, and Intellectuals: 36 Great Women Before 1400
- De: Joyce E. Salisbury, The Great Courses
- Narrado por: Joyce E. Salisbury
- Duración: 17 h y 53 m
- Grabación Original
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Throughout history, women have played integral roles in family, society, religion, government, war - in short, in all aspects of human civilization. Powerful women have shaped laws, led rebellions, and played key roles in dynastic struggles. Some were caught up in forces beyond their control, while others manipulated and murdered their way to the top. However, unearthing their stories from the historical record has been a challenge, with the ordinary difficulties of preserving information across the generations increased by centuries of historical bias and gendered expectations.
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Subpar Course
- De Hennypenny en 07-23-19
Too scattershot
Revisado: 07-15-20
I love many of the great courses, and I was excited about this one, but I fear the structure led to rather shallow biographies of figures who deserve lengthier treatment. Additionally, there was very little to connect these figures besides the fact that they're all women. If you know absolutely nothing about these figures, it's not a bad intro, and maybe you'll be inspired to follow these introductions down the rabbit hole. But if you know something about many of these figures, maybe this entry is less than worthwhile. For example, many of the figures are from the Western Christian tradition. I did a PhD in medieval history and studied the history of the Church extensively, and I found myself not really learning anything.
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The Fall of the Roman Empire
- A New History of Rome and the Barbarians
- De: Peter Heather
- Narrado por: Allan Robertson
- Duración: 21 h y 43 m
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The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Peter Heather proposes a stunning new solution: Centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors Rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling an Empire that had dominated their lives for so long. A leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians, Heather relates the extraordinary story of how Europe's barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled the empire apart.
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A New HIstory but not a better history
- De Mario en 03-28-14
- The Fall of the Roman Empire
- A New History of Rome and the Barbarians
- De: Peter Heather
- Narrado por: Allan Robertson
Well argued book with able narration
Revisado: 07-15-20
I loved this book. The synopsis above gives a fairly succinct summary of the argument. If the basic line drawn in the historical debate of the fall of the Roman empire is internal causes/increased regionalization vs. external causes, this is a full-throated argument for the latter. This position seems to have fallen out of favor of late (see, for example, Chris Wickham). Heather provides what he sees as a much-needed corrective. I'd have to delve into some of his citations to say whether or not I buy it completely, but the man clearly knows his stuff, and I think the work is required reading for anyone looking to understand the period.
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Through the Eye of a Needle: Wealth, the Fall of Rome, and the Making of Christianity in the West, 350-550 AD
- De: Peter Brown
- Narrado por: Fleet Cooper
- Duración: 31 h y 15 m
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Jesus taught his followers that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter heaven. Yet by the fall of Rome, the church was becoming rich beyond measure. Through the Eye of a Needle is a sweeping intellectual and social history of the vexing problem of wealth in Christianity in the waning days of the Roman Empire, written by the world's foremost scholar of late antiquity.
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A learned, well-balanced postmodern history
- De Jacobus en 11-21-12
Wonderful book, godawful reading
Revisado: 07-15-20
The book is fantastic. I was so excited when I saw that audible had this title. I am not yet finished, but I find the argument persuasive, and it truly is a worthy magnum opus from the leader of the field. That said, the reader is a terrible fit--frustratingly so. He's a fine reader, don't get me wrong, but he simply cannot pronounce any of the words in foreign languages in this book--and the book is full of quotes in French, Italian, Latin, etc. For example, he pronounced the French word, même, may-may. He pronounces Italian plural definite object "i", as in "i ragazzi", as one would pronounce the english first-person pronoun, "I" (i.e., "I am an audible customer). The concept of "good giving/good works" in classical society--a very common idea used throughout the book--referred to as euergetism is pronounced euerjetism. Ambrose is pronounced amBROSE. And there are many others. I haven't finished the book, but I plan on doing so as the content is truly magnificent, but the reader leaves so much to be desired.
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Fault Lines
- A History of the United States Since 1974
- De: Kevin M. Kruse, Julian E. Zelizer
- Narrado por: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Duración: 14 h y 47 m
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If you were asked when America became polarized, your answer would likely depend on your age: You might say during Barack Obama’s presidency, or with the post-9/11 war on terror, or the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s, or the “Reagan Revolution” and the the rise of the New Right. How did the US become so divided? Fault Lines offers a richly told, wide-angle history view toward an answer.
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Good overview of the past 45 years
- De Adam Shields en 02-26-19
- Fault Lines
- A History of the United States Since 1974
- De: Kevin M. Kruse, Julian E. Zelizer
- Narrado por: Fajer Al-Kaisi
Light on analysis
Revisado: 01-07-20
I was hoping for deeper analysis, but perhaps the problem is that the chronology is too near the present. Pointing out when the Colbert Report started is not really a novel piece of evidence. There were some good bits though that I appreciated, so I can’t give it less than 3.
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Hyperion
- De: Dan Simmons
- Narrado por: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, y otros
- Duración: 20 h y 44 m
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On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.
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The Shrike Awaits. Enter The Time Tombs...
- De Michael en 10-13-12
- Hyperion
- De: Dan Simmons
- Narrado por: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, Jay Snyder, Victor Bevine
New favorite sci-fi novel
Revisado: 10-29-19
I love Dune, and I can say that that was my favorite Sci Fi novel for a long time. But I loved this book. Intriguing structure that puts itself in conversations about the nature of art and narrative in ways that transcend the story and the world. In particular, the Bard's Tale is excellent and the John Keats references are surprisingly well done. I plan on listening to the rest of the series. The cast recording is a good way to enjoy the story.
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The Story of Human Language
- De: John McWhorter, The Great Courses
- Narrado por: John McWhorter
- Duración: 18 h y 15 m
- Grabación Original
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Language defines us as a species, placing humans head and shoulders above even the most proficient animal communicators. But it also beguiles us with its endless mysteries, allowing us to ponder why different languages emerged, why there isn't simply a single language, how languages change over time and whether that's good or bad, and how languages die out and become extinct.
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You'll Never Look at Languages the Same Way Again
- De SAMA en 03-11-14
- The Story of Human Language
- De: John McWhorter, The Great Courses
- Narrado por: John McWhorter
Very strong great courses entry
Revisado: 10-29-19
I really loved this particular entry. McWhorter has a particular sense of humor. Not a good thing or a bad thing, but it is a thing. It worked for me.
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The Leopard
- De: Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
- Narrado por: David Horovitch
- Duración: 9 h y 2 m
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Elegiac, bittersweet and profoundly moving, The Leopard chronicles the turbulent transformation of the Risorgimento, in the period of Italian Unification. The waning feudal authority of the elegant and stately Prince of Salina is pitted against the materialistic cunning of Don Calogero, in Tomasi's magnificently descriptive memorial to a dying age.
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"one of the great lonely books"
- De beatrice en 06-18-10
- The Leopard
- De: Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa
- Narrado por: David Horovitch
Wonderful novel.
Revisado: 10-29-19
Came here as an absolute fan of the film and was very pleased that there is an audio version. The film and novel seem to be that rare example of such a pair wherein each half works as a piece of art on its own and can stand in contrast to the other. If you experience one, I'd strongly recommend the other.
The story centers around a prince of the Bourbon empire in Sicily on the eve of unification. Though the omniscient narrator admires the Leopard (or, more accurately the "pard" admires the protagonist, he does not lament the fall of his order. Rather, Lampedusa uses his hero as a subtle critique of the modern, national order, The leopard is not allowed a tragic fate, and I think his acceptance of gradual obsolecesne. Readers have found wide-ranging meanings in this tale of transition and modernity, and I would it to anybody who wants an engaging portrait of an age.
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Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945
- De: Tony Judt
- Narrado por: Ralph Cosham
- Duración: 43 h y 1 m
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Almost a decade in the making, this much-anticipated grand history of postwar Europe from one of the world’s most esteemed historians and intellectuals is a singular achievement. Postwar is the first modern history that covers all of Europe, both east and west, drawing on research in six languages to sweep readers through 34 nations and 60 years of political and cultural change—all in one integrated, enthralling narrative.
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Great book, but not terrific listening
- De History en 10-18-11
- Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945
- De: Tony Judt
- Narrado por: Ralph Cosham
Excellent, best work of history on Audible
Revisado: 09-01-19
This is the best work of history on Audible. I got Audible because of the range of non-fiction books not really carried by my local library. This is by far the best that I have listened to. It's a wonderful book and in an age of rising nationalism in Europe today, it is no less relevant than ever.
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The Goblin Emperor
- De: Katherine Addison
- Narrado por: Kyle McCarley
- Duración: 16 h y 25 m
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The youngest, half-goblin son of the Emperor has lived his entire life in exile, distant from the Imperial Court and the deadly intrigue that suffuses it. But when his father and three sons in line for the throne are killed in an "accident," he has no choice but to take his place as the only surviving rightful heir. Entirely unschooled in the art of court politics, he has no friends, no advisors, and the sure knowledge that whoever assassinated his father and brothers could make an attempt on his life at any moment.
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Not bad, but not what I expected
- De Skipper en 08-16-14
- The Goblin Emperor
- De: Katherine Addison
- Narrado por: Kyle McCarley
FANTASTIC
Revisado: 08-17-19
I truly enjoyed listening to this. It's almost as if the world and setting is the main character. That said, the actual protagonist is a fairly likable guy—if a bit idealized. That said, I thought the whole palace structure and government was really interesting. FInally, I like that it's a standalone. Addison is apparently going to write another one, but I found this single book to be a story arc. I understand the benefits of milking a concept, but I love a satisfying standalone fantasy novel.
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