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The Medici
- Power, Money, and Ambition in the Italian Renaissance
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 21 mins
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Publisher's summary
A dazzling history of the modest family that rose to become one of the most powerful in Europe, The Medici is a remarkably modern story of power, money, and ambition.
Against the background of an age that saw the rebirth of ancient and classical learning, Paul Strathern explores the intensely dramatic rise and fall of the Medici family in Florence as well as the Italian Renaissance, which they did so much to sponsor and encourage. Interwoven into the narrative are the lives of many of the great Renaissance artists with whom the Medici had dealings, including Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello as well as scientists like Galileo and Pico della Mirandola.
In his enthralling study, Strathern also follows the fortunes of those members of the Medici family who achieved success away from Florence, including the two Medici popes and Catherine de' Medici, who became queen of France and played a major role in that country through three turbulent reigns.
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The startling truth behind one of the most notorious dynasties in history is revealed in a remarkable new account by the acclaimed author of The Tudors and A World Undone. Sweeping aside the gossip, slander, and distortion that have shrouded the Borgias for centuries, G. J. Meyer offers an unprecedented portrait of the infamous Renaissance family and their storied milieu.
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Marvelous !
- By Cinders on 08-02-13
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Augustus
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- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
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- Unabridged
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Caesar Augustus's story, one of the most riveting in western history, is filled with drama and contradiction, risky gambles and unexpected success. He began as a teenage warlord, whose only claim to power was as the heir of the murdered Julius Caesar. Mark Antony dubbed him "a boy who owes everything to a name," but in the years to come the youth outmaneuvered all the older and more experienced politicians and was the last man standing in 30 BC.
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You know my name...say it.
- By Steven on 12-10-14
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Foundation
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- By: Peter Ackroyd
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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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The Most Annoying Narrator EVER
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Francis I
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Catherine de Medici's father-in-law, King Francis of France, was the perfect Renaissance knight, the movement's exemplar and its Gallic interpreter. An aesthete, diplomat par excellence, and contemporary of Machiavelli, Francis was the founder of modern France, whose sheer force of will and personality molded his kingdom into the first European superpower. Arguably the man who introduced the Renaissance to France, Francis was also the prototype Frenchman - a national identity was modeled on his character.
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Rekindling salamandrine fires...
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The Ugly Renaissance
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Author falls into the pit he digs for others
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Best-selling classical historian Barry Strauss tells the story of three-and-a-half centuries of the Roman Empire through the lives of 10 of the most important emperors, from Augustus to Constantine.
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Good for beginners
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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
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The Conquering Family
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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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An Entrancing History of the Early Plantegenets
- By Peter on 01-20-09
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Lancaster and York
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Lancater and York is a riveting account of the Wars of the Roses, from beloved historian Alison Weir. The war between the houses of Lancaster and York was characterised by treachery, deceit, and bloody battles. Alison Weir's lucid and gripping account focuses on the human side of history. At the centre of the book stands Henry VI, the pious king whose mental instability led to political chaos, and his wife Margaret of Anjou, who took up her arms in her husband's cause and battled in a violent man's world.
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Dense, fascinating history...questionable delivery
- By kbreezy on 10-04-17
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Edward III
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Holding power for over 50 years starting in 1327, Edward III was one of England's most influential kings and one who shaped the course of English history. Revered as one of the country's most illustrious leaders for centuries, he was also a usurper and a warmonger who ordered his uncle beheaded. A brutal man, to be sure, but also a brilliant one.
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Great book about Edward III
- By Kiesha on 07-05-16
By: Ian Mortimer
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In How the Medici Shaped the Renaissance, you’ll study the remarkable trajectory of the Medici from the late 14th century to 1737, when the Medici dynasty ended. Across that span of time, you’ll witness the birth of the Italian Renaissance, and the rise of the Medici as an economic powerhouse under founder Giovanni de’ Medici. You’ll learn how the Medici came to dominate Florence and how they played diverse roles in politics, religion, and culture.
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The Renaissance in Florence conjures images of beautiful frescoes and elegant buildings - the dazzling handiwork of the city's skilled artists and architects. But equally important for the centuries to follow were geniuses of a different sort: Florence's manuscript hunters, scribes, scholars, and booksellers, who blew the dust off a thousand years of history and, through the discovery and diffusion of ancient knowledge, imagined a new and enlightened world.
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You know my name...say it.
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What listeners say about The Medici
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tricia Ashe
- 01-19-23
Excellent history!!
I became obsessed with listening to this excellent read about the Medici! If you’ve watched the Medici tv series, you can easily put faces with names and it makes the listen more real! I will listen again! It gives an excellent family lineage outline as well as that of artists and scientists that helped shape the world!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Morten
- 04-14-23
I couldn’t stop listening….
Fantastic insightful review of the Medici history. Been to Firenze several times but, now I really want to go back and experience everything again and with a revised perspective. Superbly written and delivered exquisitely.
Thank you.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lorelei Sowa
- 01-15-19
Fantastic!
Elegantly written with clear connections of the rise and transfer of power within the Medici family both in commerce, politics and religion.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Ivason
- 01-07-20
Nothing short of splendid
Well written, and gives a good historical, financial and social account the lives of the Medici family
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1 person found this helpful
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- L. Brown
- 06-11-23
I loved this book
The quality of the writing, the understanding of what makes history interesting, the in-depth look at the personalities of the Medici families, make this a fabulous book, beautifully done. And the reader gets six stars. I couldn’t put it down. Not since Barbara Tuchman have I read such good history.
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- C. Brown Leinberger
- 01-03-24
The intimate view of 250 years of the family
Brings history alive is what I like most about this book………………have read all of this series.
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- Calliope
- 05-02-19
Very detailed, but worth it overall
This is a really interesting look at the Medici and that time in "Italian" history; it has an overly detailed start, but got better as it went along. It did take me a long time to finish, though. Time well spent, though, and gave me some good understanding about Italian history before my trip there later this year.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Jim Fuqua
- 02-02-17
Excellent!
This book covers about three hundred years of the Medici family, but in the process, you learn a lot about Italy, Europe, and human nature. You also see how good and bad dynastic dictatorships can be as well as how democracy will fail without the full commitment of the population. There are many other lessons to be learned from this book. A population defended by mercenaries is never safe. A population not willing to give their lives to defend their freedoms will be subjugated. There are a lot of lessons about life and government in this book.
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- Walter Glauser
- 11-15-21
A good overview of the Renaissance but...
The Medici were at the center of the Italian Renaissance. This good overview suffers from the author's obsession with humanism (scientific/athiesm) vs. medievalism (Catholic) philosophy and his lengthy discussions about everyone's homosexuality. Also ends rather abruptly with the death of the last of the Medici line.
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- Alexander
- 10-14-21
A powerful view of the Renaissance
It’s colorful historical characters are observed through a sweep of history where sparks fly and a new world emerges.
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