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Peter the Great
- His Life and World
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 43 hrs and 38 mins
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This superbly told story brings to life one of the most remarkable rulers––and men––in all of history and conveys the drama of his life and world. The Russia of Peter's birth was very different from the Russia his energy, genius, and ruthlessness shaped. Crowned co-Tsar as a child of ten, after witnessing bloody uprisings in the streets of Moscow, he would grow up propelled by an unquenchable curiosity, everywhere looking, asking, tinkering, and learning, fired by Western ideas.
We see Peter in his 20s traveling "incognito" with his ambassadors to the courts of Europe; as the victorious soldier proclaimed Emperor; as the simple workman at his forge; and as the visionary statesman who single-handedly created a formidable world power. Impetuous and stubborn, bawdy and stern, relentless in his perseverance, he was capable of the greatest generosity and the greatest cruelty.
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Featured Article: The Best Biography Audiobooks to Educate, Fascinate, and Inspire
The best biographies are ranked not only by the scale and skill of their writing, but also by the strength of their subjects. In the audiobook world, these selections are also judged for the quality of their narrative performances, making those that rise to the top all the more excellent. From lighthearted entertainment to inspirational origin stories, these titles represent the best biography audiobooks now ready for your listening pleasure.
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The Black Count
- Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo
- By: Tom Reiss
- Narrated by: Paul Michael
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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General Alex Dumas is a man almost unknown today, yet his story is strikingly familiar—because his son, the novelist Alexandre Dumas, used his larger-than-life feats as inspiration for such classics as The Count of Monte Cristo and The Three Musketeers.
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The story behind the greatest novelist of all time
- By Melinda on 01-13-13
By: Tom Reiss
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The White King
- Charles I, Traitor, Murderer, Martyr
- By: Leanda de Lisle
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Less than 40 years after England's golden age under Elizabeth I, the country was at war with itself. Split between loyalty to the Crown or to Parliament, war raged on English soil. Its casualties were immense. At the head of the disintegrating kingdom was King Charles I. In this vivid portrait - informed by previously unseen manuscripts, including royal correspondence between the king and his queen - Leanda de Lisle depicts a man who was principled and brave but fatally blinkered.
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Enlightening Stuart history
- By Adeliese Baumann on 01-25-18
By: Leanda de Lisle
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Defenders of the Faith
- Charles V, Suleyman the Magnificent, and the Battle for Europe, 1520-1536
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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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Good account of interesting period of history
- By ItalCali on 03-11-22
By: James Reston Jr.
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The Black Prince
- England's Greatest Medieval Warrior
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As a child, he was given his own suit of armor; at the age of 16, he helped defeat the French at Crecy. At Poitiers, in 1356, his victory over King John II of France forced the French into a humiliating surrender that marked the zenith of England's dominance in the Hundred Years War. As lord of Aquitaine, he ruled a vast swathe of territory across the west and southwest of France, holding a magnificent court at Bordeaux that mesmerized the brave but unruly Gascon nobility. He was Edward of Woodstock, eldest son of Edward III, and better known to posterity as "the Black Prince".
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Outstanding history
- By Scott on 02-17-19
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Isabella of Castile
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In 1474, a 23-year-old woman ascended the throne of Castile, the largest and strongest kingdom in Spain. Ahead of her lay the considerable challenge not only of being a young female ruler in an overwhelmingly male-dominated world but also of reforming a major European kingdom that was riddled with crime, corruption, and violent political factionism. Her pivotal reign was long and transformative, uniting Spain and setting the stage for its golden era of global dominance.
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Enlightening
- By Jean on 03-07-17
By: Giles Tremlett
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América
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At the conclusion of the American Revolution, half the modern United States was part of the vast Spanish Empire. The year after Columbus' great voyage of discovery, in 1492, he claimed Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for Spain. For the next 300 years, thousands of proud Spanish conquistadors and their largely forgotten Mexican allies went in search of glory and riches from Florida to California. Many died; few triumphed. Some were cruel; some were curious; some were kind. Missionaries and priests yearned to harvest Indian souls for God through baptism and Christian teaching.
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A Narration That is Difficult to Follow
- By Amazon Customer on 05-24-19
By: Robert Goodwin
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Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom
- China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War
- By: Stephen R. Platt
- Narrated by: Angela Lin
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Stephen R. Platt is widely respected for his incisive nonfiction, particularly in regard to his knowledge and understanding of China. With Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom, Platt details the absorbing narrative of the Taiping Rebellion, which resulted in the loss of 20 million lives. Occurring in the 1850s, this is the story of a cultural movement characterized by intriguing personages such as influential military strategist Zeng Guofan and brilliant Taiping leader Hong Rengan.
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InTOLerable Reader
- By Adam on 07-07-12
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Sicily
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"Sicily," said Goethe, "is the key to everything." It is the largest island in the Mediterranean, the stepping-stone between Europe and Africa, the link between the Latin West and the Greek East. Sicily's strategic location has tempted Roman emperors, French princes, and Spanish kings. The subsequent struggles to conquer and keep it have played crucial roles in the rise and fall of the world's most powerful dynasties.
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DISAPPOINTING
- By SRdto on 11-22-16
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The Borgias and Their Enemies
- 1431-1519
- By: Christopher Hibbert
- Narrated by: John Telfer
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The name Borgia is synonymous with the corruption, nepotism, and greed that were rife in Renaissance Italy. The powerful, voracious Rodrigo Borgia, better known to history as Pope Alexander VI, was the central figure of the dynasty. Two of his seven papal offspring also rose to power and fame. The Borgias were notorious for seizing power, wealth, land, and titles through bribery, marriage, and murder. The story of the family's dramatic rise from its Spanish roots to the highest position in Italian society is an absorbing tale.
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Covers the bases, but falls a little flat.
- By Chap Walker on 06-16-13
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What listeners say about Peter the Great
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Abbas
- 04-17-19
That was great.
This was quite an encyclopedia on Czar Peter. It is quite long and detailed, due to that it was hard to finish. However, the info in this book was clear and easy to digest. I wouldn't recommend it if you just want a rough idea on Peter the Great, because this will give you everything.
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- Matt
- 07-31-12
Remarkable Man....Fantastic Book!
Absolutely loved this book. I read it about 10 years ago and decided to give the audio book a try as well. It is easily one of the best biographies I have ever read. You don't have to be a Russian history enthusiast to enjoy this book. Anybody who enjoys European history, sailing or military history will take something away from this book. 5 big stars on this one!!
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- Gwen McRae
- 10-08-19
Engaging history
I was intimidated by the length but wanted a deeper understanding of this period of history. The material is beautifully written even and engaging. The performance is a little annoying but the reading and execution is at a high level even so. Worth the investment.
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- JJ
- 10-10-20
Excellant !
The story of this mans life is fantastic. The reader however tends to drop off the volume at the end of a word or sentence. After replaying 3 times you still can not understand all of his words. I recommend this book be revised. On some occasions things are mentioned that a modern day reader doesnt know of that item of war or invention. There is a real opportunity here to modernize some of the descriptions. The story is still amazing in its own right.
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- Stephen
- 02-05-18
Comprehensive, but oddly-accented narrator
Listen to the sample before buying this book. The narrator has an extremely unusual British accent, and this book is LONG, so make sure you can tolerate it. The performance isn't bad, but it's definitely different.
That said, this is a magnificent and comprehensive biography not only of Peter but also of the Europe that surrounded him. The author covers every inch of Peter's reign, from his diplomatic and military triumphs to his personal obsessions and relationships. Included for critical context of Peter's reign are deep summaries of other European rulers of the day including Louis the 14th and William of Orange, and the book essentially contains a sub-biography of Charles the 12th, Peter's archnemesis whose Swedish army nearly destroyed the Russian Empire before it started. If you are looking for not only a biography but a history of Northeastern Europe at the turn of the 18th century, it would be hard to do better.
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- Jeffrey
- 08-06-12
A full history.
The history starts before he was born. It gives a good solid history of each person that plays a meaningful role in the story of Peter. It keeps up the interest to the last minutes of the book.
My only criticism is the narrator has a lisp. It is not bad but it is noticeable.
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- Eve Howard
- 08-07-18
Superb textbook that reads like a novel
It's not just Peter's history, this fantastic book fills in the background of every important monarch in Europe in the early 18th Century. A must for Russian literature fans, it sets the stage for all the upheavals to come. If you want to know what is meant by that vague phrase, the Russian soul, Peter's life and struggles will explain that too. The book is crammed with major events, social trends, commercial enterprises, international diplomacy, embassies, inventions, institutions, characters, and above all, war, war, war. Monster or visionary? Both in abundance. You wouldn't want to be part of his family, but after experiencing all he went through, all he wrought and all he tried to do, you become almost emotionally attached to this unique individual. The perfect companion to a library filled with Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Pushin and Gogol.
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- Dan
- 10-19-21
Excellent but in desperate need of a remaster
The content is phenomenal - I've never had a 40 hour book go by so quickly. Massie did a tremendous job of painting the Russia and Europe that Peter lived in with vivid detail and anecdotes about small events that truly add color to the history. I also loved how he devoted some time to the back stories of the other important figures in the narrative, such as Charles XII, Louis XIV, and William of Orange, which added context for those like me who don't have an encyclopedic knowledge of European history. Truly one of the best biographies I've listened to.
It's not fair to knock off an entire star but this audio quality really needs work - you can tell it was recorded ages ago. I think my ears got used to it eventually, but it might have been at the cost of some of the cells in my cochleas. I don't believe the Audible app has an equalizer, which is unfortunate because I did most of my listening through headphones at work. For the few hours that I listened while in the car, I found the sound to be unbearably painful (at sufficient volume to hear the words over the sounds of the road) until I turned the treble down all the way - this made the recording much more tolerable, albeit still low quality by today's standards. I strongly recommend someone run the book through a filter - even if it doesn't become perfect, the next listeners could have a much better experience than I did, and this book deserves it.
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- Jon Olinger
- 05-07-22
Terrible presenter
The readers accent is ridiculous. It is distracting and cartoonish. Additionally he injects his own opinion into the inflection of his voice
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- Howard A. Woltermann
- 06-06-23
Great review of that era
This was a great review of that era. This includes France ,Dutch Swedish and English
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