How the Irish Saved Civilization Audiobook By Thomas Cahill cover art

How the Irish Saved Civilization

The Untold Story of Ireland's Heroic Role from the Fall of Rome to the Rise of Medieval Europe

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for $0.00
Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 3 months. Cancel anytime.

How the Irish Saved Civilization

By: Thomas Cahill
Narrated by: Liam Neeson
Try for $0.00

$0.00/mo. after 3 months. Offer ends July 31, 2025 at 11:59PM PT. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $14.95

Buy for $14.95

Confirm purchase
Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use, License, and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.
Cancel

The perfect St. Patrick's Day gift, and a book in the best tradition of popular history - the untold story of Ireland's role in maintaining Western culture while the Dark Ages settled on Europe.

Every year millions of Americans celebrate St. Patrick's Day, but they may not be aware of how great an influence St. Patrick was on the subsequent history of civilization. Not only did he bring Christianity to Ireland, he instilled a sense of literacy and learning that would create the conditions that allowed Ireland to become "the isle of saints and scholars" - and thus preserve Western culture while Europe was being overrun by barbarians. In this entertaining and compelling narrative, Thomas Cahill tells the story of how Europe evolved from the classical age of Rome to the medieval era.

Without Ireland, the transition could not have taken place. Not only did Irish monks and scribes maintain the very record of Western civilization - copying manuscripts of Greek and Latin writers, both pagan and Christian, while libraries and learning on the continent were forever lost - they brought their uniquely Irish worldview to the task. As Cahill delightfully illustrates, so much of the liveliness we associate with medieval culture has its roots in Ireland. When the seeds of culture were replanted on the European continent, it was from Ireland that they were germinated.

In the tradition of Barbara Tuchman's A Distant Mirror, How the Irish Saved Civilization reconstructs an era that few know about but which is central to understanding our past and our cultural heritage. But it conveys its knowledge with a winking wit that aptly captures the sensibility of the unsung Irish who relaunched civilization.

©1997 Thomas Cahill (P)1997 Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing, a Division of Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc.
Christianity Civilization Europe History Ireland World Middle Ages Ireland History Ancient

Listeners also enjoyed...

Ireland’s Forgotten Past Audiobook By Turtle Bunbury cover art
Ireland’s Forgotten Past By: Turtle Bunbury
Desire of the Everlasting Hills Audiobook By Thomas Cahill cover art
Desire of the Everlasting Hills By: Thomas Cahill
Irish History for Dummies Audiobook By Mike Cronin cover art
Irish History for Dummies By: Mike Cronin
The American Civil War Audiobook By Gary W. Gallagher, The Great Courses cover art
The American Civil War By: Gary W. Gallagher, and others
The Troubles Audiobook By Dermot P. O'Hara cover art
The Troubles By: Dermot P. O'Hara
Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea Audiobook By Thomas Cahill cover art
Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea By: Thomas Cahill
Ireland Audiobook By Frank Delaney cover art
Ireland By: Frank Delaney
The Famine Plot Audiobook By Tim Pat Coogan cover art
The Famine Plot By: Tim Pat Coogan
We Don't Know Ourselves Audiobook By Fintan O'Toole cover art
We Don't Know Ourselves By: Fintan O'Toole
Irish History Audiobook By Captivating History cover art
Irish History By: Captivating History
The Immortal Irishman Audiobook By Timothy Egan cover art
The Immortal Irishman By: Timothy Egan
The Great Book of Ireland: Interesting Stories, Irish History & Random Facts About Ireland Audiobook By Bill O'Neill cover art
The Great Book of Ireland: Interesting Stories, Irish History & Random Facts About Ireland By: Bill O'Neill
Sinn Féin: The History and Legacy of the Irish Republican Political Party Audiobook By Charles River Editors cover art
Sinn Féin: The History and Legacy of the Irish Republican Political Party By: Charles River Editors
Fall of Giants Audiobook By Ken Follett cover art
Fall of Giants By: Ken Follett
The Wars of the Roses Audiobook By Dan Jones cover art
The Wars of the Roses By: Dan Jones
The Ancient Celts, Second Edition Audiobook By Barry Cunliffe cover art
The Ancient Celts, Second Edition By: Barry Cunliffe
The Adventure of English Audiobook By Melvyn Bragg cover art
The Adventure of English By: Melvyn Bragg
Beowulf Audiobook By Seamus Heaney cover art
Beowulf By: Seamus Heaney
People of the Book Audiobook By Geraldine Brooks cover art
People of the Book By: Geraldine Brooks
The Swerve Audiobook By Stephen Greenblatt cover art
The Swerve By: Stephen Greenblatt

Critic reviews

"Liam Neeson's rich, smooth voice delineates each element of political, religious, and cultural alliance." (AudioFile)

"Cahill's lovely prose breathes life into a 1,600-year-old history." (The Los Angeles Times)

People who viewed this also viewed...

Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea Audiobook By Thomas Cahill cover art
Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea By: Thomas Cahill
The Troubles Audiobook By Dermot P. O'Hara cover art
The Troubles By: Dermot P. O'Hara
The Story We Carry in Our Bones Audiobook By Juilene Osborne-McKnight cover art
The Story We Carry in Our Bones By: Juilene Osborne-McKnight
Irish History Audiobook By Captivating History cover art
Irish History By: Captivating History
Ireland Audiobook By Frank Delaney cover art
Ireland By: Frank Delaney
A Short History of Ireland, 1500-2000 Audiobook By John Gibney cover art
A Short History of Ireland, 1500-2000 By: John Gibney
Irish History for Dummies Audiobook By Mike Cronin cover art
Irish History for Dummies By: Mike Cronin
Ireland: A Short History Audiobook By Joseph Coohill cover art
Ireland: A Short History By: Joseph Coohill
We Don't Know Ourselves Audiobook By Fintan O'Toole cover art
We Don't Know Ourselves By: Fintan O'Toole
Ireland’s Forgotten Past Audiobook By Turtle Bunbury cover art
Ireland’s Forgotten Past By: Turtle Bunbury
Armed Struggle Audiobook By Richard English cover art
Armed Struggle By: Richard English
The Trouble with the Irish Audiobook By Leonard Wibberley cover art
The Trouble with the Irish By: Leonard Wibberley
The History of Ireland Audiobook By History Nerds cover art
The History of Ireland By: History Nerds
The American Civil War Audiobook By Gary W. Gallagher, The Great Courses cover art
The American Civil War By: Gary W. Gallagher, and others
Sinn Féin: The History and Legacy of the Irish Republican Political Party Audiobook By Charles River Editors cover art
Sinn Féin: The History and Legacy of the Irish Republican Political Party By: Charles River Editors
The Lost Girls of Ireland Audiobook By Susanne O'Leary cover art
The Lost Girls of Ireland By: Susanne O'Leary
Irish Audiobook By Brittanee Nicole cover art
Irish By: Brittanee Nicole
The Famine Plot Audiobook By Tim Pat Coogan cover art
The Famine Plot By: Tim Pat Coogan
Fascinating History • Illuminating Narrative • Scholarly Writing • Elegant Prose • Rich Information • Resonant Voice
Highly rated for:
Most relevant  
Written by an Irishman. Performed by an Irishman. Spoken word recorded by an Irishman. 'Tis Grand!

A Grand Account

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

History is full of niche stories like this. And I love hearing them. It reminds us that good and influential occurrences happen in unexpected ways and possibly from unexpected places. I heard of this book a long time ago and I’m so glad I finally read it. I enjoy so much of the history that leads up to it and after it.

Clear expression of History

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Powerful , I will retain so much more detail from listening to Neeson read than I would have if I had read it silently. A wonderful history masterfully brought to life for me

How the Irish Saved Civiliz,ation

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

If this were unabridged, I could whole-heartedly give it five stars. Liam Neeson is fantastic!

Wishing for more...

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Cahill manages to span an amazingly large span of history, not by condensing it, but by finding the thread that reveals the connections: the fall of Rome, St. Augustine, the Druids, Irish immigration, St. Patrick - and, of course, the fact that so much of the literature of the ancient world, especially Latin works, was available to lay the foundation for the Renaissance only because of the work of the Irish scribes. It is a tale little-known enough, but an important one, and Cahill writes it well. But it is Liam Neeson’s reading that truly brings it to life. He tells the tale with the passion that perhaps only an Irishman (and one with the dramatic skills of a Liam Neeson) could bring.

Excellent story - outstanding performance

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Have owned this book for years, and was very happy to find it available on Audible to listen to, now that my eyesight is poor. The reader brought to life all those well known passages with excellent timing and diction; the lack of which can render thoughts unknowable.
A great distillation of a very complex subject into enjoyable and thought provoking spirits.

A great read

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Thomas Cahill's classic is masterfully narrated by the actor Liam Neeson. A most important achievement. Sincerely, Wells+

A Masterful Telling

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Liam's voice is very distinctive and this is not him. This is just some random Irish person. if you listen to A Monster Calls which Liam actually did narrate you can hear the difference.

who narrated this book it's not Liam Neeson

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Wonderfully interesting history, with the encouragement to go good while you live you never know the consequence it will have into the future.

Great History

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Wonderful story telling. I'm Irish and this book is full of very interesting facts! Well worth the time.

Excellent!!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews