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An Unlikely Prince
- The Life and Times of Machiavelli
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 12 hrs and 12 mins
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An Unlikely Prince
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Publisher's summary
In this compelling new biography, historian Niccol Capponi frees Machiavelli (1469-1527) from centuries of misinterpretation. Exploring the Renaissance city of Florence, where Machiavelli lived, Capponi reveals the man behind the legend. A complex portrait of Machiavelli emerges - at once a brilliantly skillful diplomat and a woefully inept liar; a sharp thinker and an impractical dreamer; a hard-nosed powerbroker and a risk-taking gambler; a calculating propagandist and an imprudent jokester.
Capponi’s intimate portrait of Machiavelli reveals his behavior as utterly un-Machiavellian, his vision of the world as limited by his very provincial outlook. In the end, Machiavelli was frustrated by his own political failures and utterly baffled by the success of his book The Prince.
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- Da Vinci, Machiavelli, and Borgia and the World They Shaped
- By: Paul Strathern
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 15 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 90
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 82
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 82
Leonardo da Vinci, Niccolò Machiavelli, and Cesare Borgia - three iconic figures whose intersecting lives provide the basis for this astonishing work of narrative history. They could not have been more different, and they would meet only for a short time in 1502, but the events that transpired when they did would significantly alter each man's perceptions - and the course of Western history.
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4 out of 5 stars
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A Very Good Book (Just Not As Good As Others)
- By George Monnat Jr on 02-18-19
By: Paul Strathern
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Eminence
- Cardinal Richelieu and the Rise of France
- By: Jean-Vincent Blanchard
- Narrated by: Mary Kane
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 51
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 44
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Story4 out of 5 stars 44
Chief minister to King Louis XIII, Cardinal Richelieu was the architect of a new France in the 17th century, and the force behind the nation's rise as a European power. Among the first statesmen to clearly understand the necessity of a balance of powers, he was one of the early realist politicians, practicing in the wake of Niccol Machiavelli. Truly larger than life, he has captured the imagination of generations, both through his own story and through his portrayal as a ruthless political mastermind in Alexandre Dumas's classic The Three Musketeers.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Great story boringly told
- By pete k on 09-19-16
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Napoleon
- A Life
- By: Adam Zamoyski
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 27 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 526
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 471
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 469
The story of Napoleon has been written many times. In some versions, he is a military genius, in others a war-obsessed tyrant. Here, historian Adam Zamoyski cuts through the mythology and explains Napoleon against the background of the European Enlightenment and what he was himself seeking to achieve. This most famous of men is also the most hidden of men, and Zamoyski dives deeper than any previous biographer to find him. Beautifully written, Napoleon brilliantly sets the man in his European context.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating
- By Jean on 04-01-19
By: Adam Zamoyski
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The Tudors
- The Complete Story of England's Most Notorious Dynasty
- By: G. J. Meyer
- Narrated by: Robin Sachs
- Length: 24 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 805
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 662
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 665
For the first time in decades, here, in a single volume, is a fresh look at the fabled Tudor dynasty, comprising some of the most enigmatic figures ever to rule a country. Acclaimed historian G. J. Meyer reveals the flesh-and-bone reality in all its wild excess.
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5 out of 5 stars
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OUTSTANDING!
- By The Louligan on 03-15-10
By: G. J. Meyer
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For Liberty and Glory
- Washington, Lafayette, and Their Revolutions
- By: James R. Gaines
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 21 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 75
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 47
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
On April 18, 1775, a riot over the price of flour broke out in the French city of Dijon. That night, across the Atlantic, Paul Revere mounted the fastest horse he could find and kicked it into a gallop. So began what have been called the "sister revolutions" of France and America. In a single, thrilling narrative, this audiobook tells the story of those revolutions and shows just how deeply intertwined they actually were.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Excellent presentation
- By Hal on 08-20-12
By: James R. Gaines
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The Rival Queens
- Catherine de' Medici, Her Daughter Marguerite de Valois, and the Betrayal That Ignited a Kingdom
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 802
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 723
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 720
Catherine de' Medici was a ruthless pragmatist and powerbroker who dominated the throne for 30 years. Her youngest daughter, Marguerite, the glamorous "Queen Margot," was a passionate free spirit, the only adversary whom her mother could neither intimidate nor control.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Definitely not a dull bio!
- By Nella on 07-04-15
By: Nancy Goldstone
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Queen Anne
- The Politics of Passion
- By: Anne Somerset
- Narrated by: Hannah Curtis
- Length: 28 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 119
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 106
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Story4 out of 5 stars 104
Queen Anne ascended the thrones of England, Scotland, and Ireland in 1702. By the end of her comparatively short 12-year reign, Britain had emerged as a great power. But while the queen's military was performing dazzling exploits on the continent, her own attention rested on a more intimate conflict: the female friendship on which her happiness had for decades depended and which became, for her, a source of utter torment.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Spoilt by a poorly edited, inadequate narration
- By Lesley on 04-01-17
By: Anne Somerset
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Absolute Monarchs
- A History of the Papacy
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 18 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 298
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 262
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Story4 out of 5 stars 265
With the papacy embattled in recent years, it is essential to have the perspective of one of the world's most accomplished historians. In Absolute Monarchs, John Julius Norwich captures nearly 2,000 years of inspiration and devotion, intrigue and scandal. The men (and maybe one woman) who have held this position of infallible power over millions have ranged from heroes to rogues, admirably wise to utterly decadent.
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3 out of 5 stars
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A relentless succession of very old men
- By Nassir on 11-01-11
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Caesar
- Life of a Colossus
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,906
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,472
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,466
Tracing the extraordinary trajectory of Julius Caesar's life, Adrian Goldsworthy covers not only the great Roman emperor's accomplishments as charismatic orator, conquering general, and powerful dictator but also lesser-known chapters. Ultimately, Goldsworthy realizes the full complexity of Caesar's character and shows why his political and military leadership continues to resonate some 2,000 years later.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Caesar and his times
- By Mike From Mesa on 08-31-15
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Four Queens
- The Provencal Sisters Who Ruled Europe
- By: Nancy Goldstone
- Narrated by: Josephine Bailey
- Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 267
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 148
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Story4 out of 5 stars 149
Set against the backdrop of the turbulent 13th century, a time of chivalry and crusades, poetry, knights, and monarchs, comes the story of the four beautiful daughters of the count of Provence, whose brilliant marriages made them the queens of France, England, Germany, and Sicily.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Interesting, informative
- By Eunice on 12-06-07
By: Nancy Goldstone
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Francis I
- The Maker of Modern France
- By: Leonie Frieda
- Narrated by: Carole Boyd
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 129
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 114
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 113
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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5 out of 5 stars
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Rekindling salamandrine fires...
- By Adeliese Baumann on 09-29-18
By: Leonie Frieda
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Sicily
- An Island at the Crossroads of History
- By: John Julius Norwich
- Narrated by: Michael Healy
- Length: 14 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 184
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 165
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Story4 out of 5 stars 163
"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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3 out of 5 stars
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DISAPPOINTING
- By SRdto on 11-22-16
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The March of Folly
- From Troy to Vietnam
- By: Barbara W. Tuchman
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 702
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 527
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 523
In The March of Folly, two-time Pulitzer Prize winning historian Barbara Tuchman tackles the pervasive presence of folly in governments through the ages. Defining folly as the pursuit by governments of policies contrary to their own interests, despite the availability of feasible alternatives, Tuchman details four decisive turning points in history that illustrate the very heights of folly in government.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Tuchman surprises me...
- By Plimtuna on 09-24-09
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The Innocence of Kaiser Wilhelm II
- And the First World War
- By: Christina Croft
- Narrated by: Jack Wynters
- Length: 9 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 62
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 54
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 54
Almost a century after the signing of the Treaty of Versailles, Kaiser Wilhelm II is still viewed as either a warmonger or a madman, as the hundred-year-old propaganda posters remain fixed in the general consciousness. Was he, though, truly responsible for the catastrophe of the First World War, or was he in fact a convenient scapegoat, blamed for a conflict which he desperately tried to avoid?
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5 out of 5 stars
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Really make you re-think what your were told
- By Andrew Marsh on 11-09-18
By: Christina Croft
What listeners say about An Unlikely Prince
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- KP
- 08-19-18
Worst. Narrator. EVER.
I couldn’t get past the prologue. This guy reads with the drone and unrealistic cadence of a news reporter, oddly dragging out the last word of every sentence. He sounds like a robot imitating a human. After 4 or 5 minutes I was so distracted by the ridiculous narration, I skipped to chapter one in the hopes that someone else would narrate the body of the book. But no. Deleted the book from my library and came straight here to save you from such a bad experience. Who thought this guy should be a narrator? Terrible. I’ll order a hard copy of the book and read it for myself. I had to give the story a rating to submit this review, but I have not read it.
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-26-21
Unbearable reading
Only got past the introduction. The exaggerated that's-one-a-spicy-meat-a-ball-eh "Italian" prosody was just too goddamned annoying to listen to.
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