The Crusades: A History from Beginning to End
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $3.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Jimmy Kieffer
-
By:
-
Henry Freeman
About this listen
Much has been written and much has been omitted when it comes to the Crusades, especially in modern parlance. Many talking heads in recent times have conjured up the specter of the Crusades as if it should be a source of great shame and disgust for Western civilization. And with even President Obama drawing odd parallels in light of the beheadings of ISIS, many are wondering once again what all of this "Crusades talk" is all about.
Inside you will hear about....
- "Backing Up Byzantium"
- "All-Out Holy War"
- "The Kingdom of Heaven"
- "The King’s Crusade"
- "The Self-Defeating Crusade"
- "The Final Crusades"
- "The Post-Crusade World"
The Crusades took place over 1,000 years ago, and yet we currently live in a modern-day world of unspeakable terror. Islamic extremists are disrupting the entire planet, murdering, raping, and enslaving everyone they encounter. Committing brutalities on a scale that rivals some of the worst abuses of the dark ages, and yet people still point to the Crusades as if it is supposed to mean something. Ok, that’s fine. If detractors wish to point their finger and call out history, let’s find the truth, and let’s find out what really happened.
©2016 Henry Freeman (P)2018 Henry FreemanListeners also enjoyed...
-
Vikings: A Concise History of the Vikings
- By: Hourly History
- Narrated by: Stephen Paul Aulridge Jr.
- Length: 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The saga of the Vikings rises and falls on the banks of history, ebbing and flowing with popular opinion and whimsical anecdotes. The Vikings are routinely typecast and labeled anywhere from bloodthirsty tyrants to valiant heroes. They have been condemned as pirates and praised as explorers. We have all heard the stories of the fierce warriors with long ships and horned helmets storming onto the shores of medieval Europe - but who were these men really?
-
-
Short and Concise
- By P. C. on 04-02-21
By: Hourly History
-
Alexander the Great: A Life from Beginning to End
- By: Hourly History
- Narrated by: Jimmy Kieffer
- Length: 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander the Great. A boy, groomed for greatness from the earliest age, who would put his stamp on the world for generations to come. A man who sought immortality and achieved it in just 10 years. A soldier whose genius for strategy and tactics is still studied in the modern world. A ruler who understood how to win the hearts and minds of his subjects. This is the story of a Titan of the ancient world, a man who rose but, though he died, never truly fell.
By: Hourly History
-
The Crusades
- The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land
- By: Thomas Asbridge
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Crusades is an authoritative, accessible single-volume history of the brutal struggle for the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. Thomas Asbridge - a renowned historian who writes with "maximum vividness" (Joan Acocella, The New Yorker) - covers the years 1095 to 1291 in this big, ambitious, listenable account of one of the most fascinating periods in history.
-
-
Comprehensive
- By Tad Davis on 10-04-16
By: Thomas Asbridge
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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?
-
-
Unexpected
- By Protogere on 10-30-17
By: Dan Jones
-
The Fall of Carthage
- The Punic Wars 265-146BC
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The struggle between Rome and Carthage in the Punic Wars was arguably the greatest and most desperate conflict of antiquity. The forces involved and the casualties suffered by both sides were far greater than in any wars fought before the modern era, while the eventual outcome had far-reaching consequences for the history of the Western World, namely the ascendancy of Rome. An epic of war and battle, this is also the story of famous generals and leaders: Hannibal, Fabius Maximus, Scipio Africanus, and his grandson Scipio Aemilianus, who would finally bring down the walls of Carthage.
-
-
Captivating
- By Jean on 03-25-19
-
God's Battalions
- The Case for the Crusades
- By: Rodney Stark
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In God's Battalions, award-winning author Rodney Stark takes on the long-held view that the Crusades were the first round of European colonialism, conducted for land, loot, and converts by barbarian Christians who victimized the cultivated Muslims. To the contrary, Stark argues that the Crusades were the first military response to unwarranted Muslim terrorist aggression.
-
-
A lively and useful introduction
- By Tad Davis on 01-06-10
By: Rodney Stark
-
Vikings: A Concise History of the Vikings
- By: Hourly History
- Narrated by: Stephen Paul Aulridge Jr.
- Length: 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The saga of the Vikings rises and falls on the banks of history, ebbing and flowing with popular opinion and whimsical anecdotes. The Vikings are routinely typecast and labeled anywhere from bloodthirsty tyrants to valiant heroes. They have been condemned as pirates and praised as explorers. We have all heard the stories of the fierce warriors with long ships and horned helmets storming onto the shores of medieval Europe - but who were these men really?
-
-
Short and Concise
- By P. C. on 04-02-21
By: Hourly History
-
Alexander the Great: A Life from Beginning to End
- By: Hourly History
- Narrated by: Jimmy Kieffer
- Length: 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander the Great. A boy, groomed for greatness from the earliest age, who would put his stamp on the world for generations to come. A man who sought immortality and achieved it in just 10 years. A soldier whose genius for strategy and tactics is still studied in the modern world. A ruler who understood how to win the hearts and minds of his subjects. This is the story of a Titan of the ancient world, a man who rose but, though he died, never truly fell.
By: Hourly History
-
The Crusades
- The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land
- By: Thomas Asbridge
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Crusades is an authoritative, accessible single-volume history of the brutal struggle for the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. Thomas Asbridge - a renowned historian who writes with "maximum vividness" (Joan Acocella, The New Yorker) - covers the years 1095 to 1291 in this big, ambitious, listenable account of one of the most fascinating periods in history.
-
-
Comprehensive
- By Tad Davis on 10-04-16
By: Thomas Asbridge
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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?
-
-
Unexpected
- By Protogere on 10-30-17
By: Dan Jones
-
The Fall of Carthage
- The Punic Wars 265-146BC
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The struggle between Rome and Carthage in the Punic Wars was arguably the greatest and most desperate conflict of antiquity. The forces involved and the casualties suffered by both sides were far greater than in any wars fought before the modern era, while the eventual outcome had far-reaching consequences for the history of the Western World, namely the ascendancy of Rome. An epic of war and battle, this is also the story of famous generals and leaders: Hannibal, Fabius Maximus, Scipio Africanus, and his grandson Scipio Aemilianus, who would finally bring down the walls of Carthage.
-
-
Captivating
- By Jean on 03-25-19
-
God's Battalions
- The Case for the Crusades
- By: Rodney Stark
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In God's Battalions, award-winning author Rodney Stark takes on the long-held view that the Crusades were the first round of European colonialism, conducted for land, loot, and converts by barbarian Christians who victimized the cultivated Muslims. To the contrary, Stark argues that the Crusades were the first military response to unwarranted Muslim terrorist aggression.
-
-
A lively and useful introduction
- By Tad Davis on 01-06-10
By: Rodney Stark
-
Crime and Punishment
- CliffsNotes
- By: James L. Roberts Ph.D.
- Narrated by: Tim Wheeler
- Length: 4 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The CliffsNotes study guide on Fyodor Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment supplements the original literary work, giving you background information about the author, an introduction to the work, a graphical character map, critical commentaries, expanded glossaries, and a comprehensive index, all for you to use as an educational tool that will allow you to better understand the work. This study guide was written with the assumption that you have read Crime and Punishment.
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
A great look into the life of a great crusader
- By Jon on 02-28-19
By: Jeffrey Lee
-
Defenders of the West
- The Christian Heroes Who Stood Against Islam
- By: Raymond Ibrahim
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 13 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In Defenders of the West, the author of Sword and Scimitar follows up with vivid and dramatic profiles of eight extraordinary warriors—some saints, some sinners—who defended the Christian West against Islamic invasions. Discover the real Count Dracula, Spain’s El Cid, England’s Richard Lionheart, and many other historical figures whose true and original claim to fame revolved around their defiant stance against jihadist aggression.
-
-
Inconvenient truth regarding Islam and historical fact
- By Michael on 12-11-23
By: Raymond Ibrahim
-
Lost to the West
- The Forgotten Byzantine Empire That Rescued Western Civilization
- By: Lars Brownworth
- Narrated by: Lars Brownworth
- Length: 10 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
Just a delight for anyone interested in history !
- By Cinders on 05-28-13
By: Lars Brownworth
-
Empires of the Sea
- The Contest for the Center of the World
- By: Roger Crowley
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Empires of the Sea tells the story of the 50-year world war between Islam and Christianity for the Mediterranean: one of the fiercest and most influential contests in European history. It traces events from the appearance on the world stage of Suleiman the Magnificent through "the years of devastation" when it seemed possible that Islam might master the whole sea, to the final brief flourishing of a united Christendom in 1571.
-
-
Brilliant detail, exciting story
- By Tad Davis on 08-17-08
By: Roger Crowley
-
The Sea Wolves
- A History of the Vikings
- By: Lars Brownworth
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In AD 793 Norse warriors struck the English isle of Lindisfarne and laid waste to it. Wave after wave of Norse "sea wolves" followed in search of plunder, land, or a glorious death in battle. Much of the British Isles fell before their swords, and the continental capitals of Paris and Aachen were sacked in turn. Turning east, they swept down the uncharted rivers of central Europe, captured Kiev, and clashed with mighty Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
-
-
A little dry but very interesting
- By Angela on 08-30-15
By: Lars Brownworth
-
1453
- The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West
- By: Roger Crowley
- Narrated by: Simon Prebble
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The fall of Constantinople in 1453 signaled a shift in history and the end of the Byzantium Empire. Roger Crowley's listenable and comprehensive account of the battle between Mehmed II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Constantine XI, the 57th emperor of Byzantium, illuminates the period in history that was a precursor to the current jihad between the West and the Middle East.
-
-
A well written narrative with bizarre and biased commentary
- By Patrick D. Flynn on 08-17-17
By: Roger Crowley
-
The Fall of Constantinople
- A Captivating Guide to the Conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks That Marked the End of the Byzantine Empire
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Duke Holm
- Length: 1 hr and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Explore a major turning point in the history of Europe and the Middle East. The fall of Constantinople was an event that had great repercussions across both East and West. Why did it happen? How did it happen? And what was the aftermath?
-
-
Awesome history!
- By Ranger Rick MN on 11-16-23
-
In Distant Lands
- A Short History of the Crusades
- By: Lars Brownworth
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the late fall of 1095, Pope Urban II gave a speech in Clermont, France, and set all of Europe into motion. As many as 150,000 people eventually responded to the call, leaving everything they knew behind to undertake what appeared to be a fool's mission: marching several thousand miles into enemy territory to reconquer Jerusalem for Christendom.
-
-
Pretty Good
- By Chris Russell on 05-15-19
By: Lars Brownworth
-
By the Spear
- Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire
- By: Ian Worthington
- Narrated by: Phil Holland
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the first time, By the Spear offers an exhilarating military narrative of the reigns of these two larger-than-life figures in one volume. Ian Worthington gives full breadth to the careers of father and son, showing how Philip was the architect of the Macedonian empire, which reached its zenith under Alexander, only to disintegrate upon his death.
-
-
Bueller..... Bueller...... Bueller...... Monotone
- By Jonathan Allen Beard on 02-15-15
By: Ian Worthington
-
The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta
- The Persian Challenge
- By: Paul A. Rahe
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than 2,500 years ago, a confederation of small Greek city-states defeated the invading armies of Persia, the most powerful empire in the world. In this meticulously researched study, historian Paul Rahe argues that Sparta was responsible for the initial establishment of the Hellenic defensive coalition and was, in fact, the most essential player in its ultimate victory.
-
-
Excellent Investigation Undermined by Bad Editing
- By Richard on 02-12-16
By: Paul A. Rahe
-
Masters of Command
- Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, and the Genius of Leadership
- By: Barry Strauss
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar: Each was a master of war. Each had to look beyond the battlefield to decide whom to fight and why; to know what victory was and when to end the war; to determine how to bring stability to the lands he conquered. Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar had to be not only generals but statesmen. And yet each was a battlefield commander, a strategist, a leader of men - in short, a warrior.
-
-
Too much jumping around
- By Nick on 03-12-17
By: Barry Strauss
Related to this topic
-
God's Battalions
- The Case for the Crusades
- By: Rodney Stark
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In God's Battalions, award-winning author Rodney Stark takes on the long-held view that the Crusades were the first round of European colonialism, conducted for land, loot, and converts by barbarian Christians who victimized the cultivated Muslims. To the contrary, Stark argues that the Crusades were the first military response to unwarranted Muslim terrorist aggression.
-
-
A lively and useful introduction
- By Tad Davis on 01-06-10
By: Rodney Stark
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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?
-
-
Unexpected
- By Protogere on 10-30-17
By: Dan Jones
-
The Fall of Constantinople
- A Captivating Guide to the Conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks That Marked the End of the Byzantine Empire
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Duke Holm
- Length: 1 hr and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Explore a major turning point in the history of Europe and the Middle East. The fall of Constantinople was an event that had great repercussions across both East and West. Why did it happen? How did it happen? And what was the aftermath?
-
-
Awesome history!
- By Ranger Rick MN on 11-16-23
-
In Distant Lands
- A Short History of the Crusades
- By: Lars Brownworth
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the late fall of 1095, Pope Urban II gave a speech in Clermont, France, and set all of Europe into motion. As many as 150,000 people eventually responded to the call, leaving everything they knew behind to undertake what appeared to be a fool's mission: marching several thousand miles into enemy territory to reconquer Jerusalem for Christendom.
-
-
Pretty Good
- By Chris Russell on 05-15-19
By: Lars Brownworth
-
Alexander the Great: A Life from Beginning to End
- By: Hourly History
- Narrated by: Jimmy Kieffer
- Length: 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander the Great. A boy, groomed for greatness from the earliest age, who would put his stamp on the world for generations to come. A man who sought immortality and achieved it in just 10 years. A soldier whose genius for strategy and tactics is still studied in the modern world. A ruler who understood how to win the hearts and minds of his subjects. This is the story of a Titan of the ancient world, a man who rose but, though he died, never truly fell.
By: Hourly History
-
By the Spear
- Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire
- By: Ian Worthington
- Narrated by: Phil Holland
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the first time, By the Spear offers an exhilarating military narrative of the reigns of these two larger-than-life figures in one volume. Ian Worthington gives full breadth to the careers of father and son, showing how Philip was the architect of the Macedonian empire, which reached its zenith under Alexander, only to disintegrate upon his death.
-
-
Bueller..... Bueller...... Bueller...... Monotone
- By Jonathan Allen Beard on 02-15-15
By: Ian Worthington
-
God's Battalions
- The Case for the Crusades
- By: Rodney Stark
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In God's Battalions, award-winning author Rodney Stark takes on the long-held view that the Crusades were the first round of European colonialism, conducted for land, loot, and converts by barbarian Christians who victimized the cultivated Muslims. To the contrary, Stark argues that the Crusades were the first military response to unwarranted Muslim terrorist aggression.
-
-
A lively and useful introduction
- By Tad Davis on 01-06-10
By: Rodney Stark
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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?
-
-
Unexpected
- By Protogere on 10-30-17
By: Dan Jones
-
The Fall of Constantinople
- A Captivating Guide to the Conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks That Marked the End of the Byzantine Empire
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Duke Holm
- Length: 1 hr and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Explore a major turning point in the history of Europe and the Middle East. The fall of Constantinople was an event that had great repercussions across both East and West. Why did it happen? How did it happen? And what was the aftermath?
-
-
Awesome history!
- By Ranger Rick MN on 11-16-23
-
In Distant Lands
- A Short History of the Crusades
- By: Lars Brownworth
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the late fall of 1095, Pope Urban II gave a speech in Clermont, France, and set all of Europe into motion. As many as 150,000 people eventually responded to the call, leaving everything they knew behind to undertake what appeared to be a fool's mission: marching several thousand miles into enemy territory to reconquer Jerusalem for Christendom.
-
-
Pretty Good
- By Chris Russell on 05-15-19
By: Lars Brownworth
-
Alexander the Great: A Life from Beginning to End
- By: Hourly History
- Narrated by: Jimmy Kieffer
- Length: 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander the Great. A boy, groomed for greatness from the earliest age, who would put his stamp on the world for generations to come. A man who sought immortality and achieved it in just 10 years. A soldier whose genius for strategy and tactics is still studied in the modern world. A ruler who understood how to win the hearts and minds of his subjects. This is the story of a Titan of the ancient world, a man who rose but, though he died, never truly fell.
By: Hourly History
-
By the Spear
- Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire
- By: Ian Worthington
- Narrated by: Phil Holland
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For the first time, By the Spear offers an exhilarating military narrative of the reigns of these two larger-than-life figures in one volume. Ian Worthington gives full breadth to the careers of father and son, showing how Philip was the architect of the Macedonian empire, which reached its zenith under Alexander, only to disintegrate upon his death.
-
-
Bueller..... Bueller...... Bueller...... Monotone
- By Jonathan Allen Beard on 02-15-15
By: Ian Worthington
-
The Grand Strategy of Classical Sparta
- The Persian Challenge
- By: Paul A. Rahe
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
More than 2,500 years ago, a confederation of small Greek city-states defeated the invading armies of Persia, the most powerful empire in the world. In this meticulously researched study, historian Paul Rahe argues that Sparta was responsible for the initial establishment of the Hellenic defensive coalition and was, in fact, the most essential player in its ultimate victory.
-
-
Excellent Investigation Undermined by Bad Editing
- By Richard on 02-12-16
By: Paul A. Rahe
-
Vikings: A Concise History of the Vikings
- By: Hourly History
- Narrated by: Stephen Paul Aulridge Jr.
- Length: 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The saga of the Vikings rises and falls on the banks of history, ebbing and flowing with popular opinion and whimsical anecdotes. The Vikings are routinely typecast and labeled anywhere from bloodthirsty tyrants to valiant heroes. They have been condemned as pirates and praised as explorers. We have all heard the stories of the fierce warriors with long ships and horned helmets storming onto the shores of medieval Europe - but who were these men really?
-
-
Short and Concise
- By P. C. on 04-02-21
By: Hourly History
-
Masters of Command
- Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, and the Genius of Leadership
- By: Barry Strauss
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 11 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar: Each was a master of war. Each had to look beyond the battlefield to decide whom to fight and why; to know what victory was and when to end the war; to determine how to bring stability to the lands he conquered. Alexander, Hannibal, and Caesar had to be not only generals but statesmen. And yet each was a battlefield commander, a strategist, a leader of men - in short, a warrior.
-
-
Too much jumping around
- By Nick on 03-12-17
By: Barry Strauss
-
The Hundred Years’ War
- A Captivating Guide to the Conflicts Between the English House of Plantagenet and the French House of Valois That Took Place During the Middle Ages
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Richard L Walton
- Length: 3 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Hundred Years' War changed language, national identity, weaponry, and even the way people think about war. It is part of the greater narrative of human history and gives a snapshot of how human nature can behave when pressed by the extremity of such a conflict - sometimes with unspeakable honor and courage and other times with cowardice, selfishness, and arrogance.
-
-
Interesting
- By Hammer on 04-09-19
-
The Race for Paradise
- An Islamic History of the Crusades
- By: Paul M. Cobb
- Narrated by: Paul M. Cobb
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Race for Paradise, Paul M. Cobb offers a new history of the confrontations between Muslims and Franks we now call the "Crusades", one that emphasizes the diversity of Muslim experiences of the European holy war. There is more to the story than Jerusalem, the Templars, Saladin, and the Assassins. Cobb considers the Arab perspective on all shores of the Muslim Mediterranean, from Spain to Syria.
-
-
A heady piece of history and a romp.
- By Meeno on 05-28-15
By: Paul M. Cobb
-
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
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
InTOLerable Reader
- By Adam on 07-07-12
By: Stephen R. Platt
-
The Crusades
- The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land
- By: Thomas Asbridge
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Crusades is an authoritative, accessible single-volume history of the brutal struggle for the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. Thomas Asbridge - a renowned historian who writes with "maximum vividness" (Joan Acocella, The New Yorker) - covers the years 1095 to 1291 in this big, ambitious, listenable account of one of the most fascinating periods in history.
-
-
Comprehensive
- By Tad Davis on 10-04-16
By: Thomas Asbridge
-
Hannibal
- By: Ernle Bradford
- Narrated by: Peter Jones
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the bloody battle of Cannae, he trounced a Roman army twice the size of his own. With his brothers, he subdued nearly all of Italy, Spain and Northern Africa. A cunning tactician, he secured victory for Bithynia at sea by catapulting poisonous snakes onto the decks of his enemy’s ships. Biographer Ernle Bradford draws on the historical writings of Livy, Polybius, Plutarch and others in re-creating the fantastic story of the greatest general since Alexander the Great.
-
-
Perfect Balance of Narrative and Analysis
- By John on 11-28-23
By: Ernle Bradford
-
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
-
The Sea Wolves
- A History of the Vikings
- By: Lars Brownworth
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In AD 793 Norse warriors struck the English isle of Lindisfarne and laid waste to it. Wave after wave of Norse "sea wolves" followed in search of plunder, land, or a glorious death in battle. Much of the British Isles fell before their swords, and the continental capitals of Paris and Aachen were sacked in turn. Turning east, they swept down the uncharted rivers of central Europe, captured Kiev, and clashed with mighty Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire.
-
-
A little dry but very interesting
- By Angela on 08-30-15
By: Lars Brownworth
-
A Brief History of the Samurai
- Brief Histories
- By: Jonathan Clements
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From a leading expert in Japanese history, this is one of the first full histories of the art and culture of the Samurai warrior. The Samurai emerged as a warrior caste in Medieval Japan and would have a powerful influence on the history and culture of the country from the next 500 years. Clements also looks at the Samurai wars that tore Japan apart in the 17th and 18th centuries and how the caste was finally demolished in the advent of the mechanized world.
-
-
An Excellent History of the Samurai
- By Michael on 08-08-14
-
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
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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.
-
-
A great look into the life of a great crusader
- By Jon on 02-28-19
By: Jeffrey Lee
What listeners say about The Crusades: A History from Beginning to End
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ktina
- 01-15-18
Not up to Audible's usual standards
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
More of a professional historical approach, less overt anti-Muslim bias. The introductory rant about Isis was unnecessary.
What do you think your next listen will be?
Something in the history category.
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
The narrator is a good reader, but as Horace said in Ars Poetica: "The workmanship exceeds the material."
If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Crusades: A History from Beginning to End?
I am wondering if anyone at Audible read this book !!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- 54mm Napoleonics
- 03-13-21
Courageous
A very concise history of not only the actual Crusades but of the Turkish activities and jihad against Europe, giving brief accounts of The Holy League's defense of Europe by Christians in all desperation to prevent the fall of Europe to the onslaught of Turkish Moslems.
Unfortunatrly, it is poorly written, poorly worded, vague, rushed and almost dismissive of Christian faith. It hits the highlights, but misses some obvious opportunities to include necesssry and informative detail.
The take aways:
Christians = Goodies
Moslems = Baddies
Crusades = justified
So, get over it, learn History, stop whining and apologizing.
All in all, a concise intense, interesting listen. Recommended if you want the abridged Cliff's Notes version of the Crusades.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Susan Frasier
- 04-20-18
Great for a general overview,
Great general overview. I guess I was looking for more details, like the actual preaching of the crusades, and the reasons why so many were willing to go (feudalism ending, the church granting dispensations, etc.). Left out too much. Might be a good jr. High school book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 10-21-19
superficial apologetics
an agenda driven overview which omits inconvenient facts and ignores the real complexity and historical view and understandings of the period in favour of cheap propaganda
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!