Around the World in 80 Words
A Journey Through the English Language
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
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Around the World in 80 Words
Buy for $17.19
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Matthew Lloyd Davies
About this listen
What makes a place so memorable that it survives forever in a word? In this captivating round-the-world tour, Paul Anthony Jones acts as your guide through the intriguing stories of how 80 places became immortalized in the English language. You'll discover why the origins of turkeys, limericks, Brazil nuts, and Panama hats aren't quite as straightforward as you might presume. If you've never heard of the tiny Czech mining town of Jáchymov - or Joachimsthal, as it was known until the late 1800s - you're not alone, which makes its claim to fame as the origin of the word "dollar" all the more extraordinary. The story of how the Great Dane isn't all that Danish makes the list, as does the Jordanian mountain whose name has become a byword for a tantalizing glimpse. We'll also find out what the Philippines has given to your office inbox, what Alaska has given to your liquor cabinet, and how a speech given by a bumbling North Carolinian gave us a word for impenetrable nonsense.
Surprising, entertaining, and illuminating, this is a must-listen for armchair travelers and word nerds. Our dictionaries are full of hidden histories, tales, and adventures from all over the world - if you know where to look.
©2018 Paul Anthony Jones (P)2020 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
-
Babel
- Around the World in Twenty Languages
- By: Gaston Dorren
- Narrated by: George Backman
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 26
English is the world language, except that most of the world doesn’t speak it - only one in five people does. Dorren calculates that to speak fluently with half of the world’s 7.4 billion people in their mother tongues, you would need to know no fewer than 20 languages. He sets out to explore these top 20 world languages, which range from the familiar (French, Spanish) to the surprising (Malay, Javanese, Bengali).
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Breezy
- By Bessie Mae on 11-01-23
By: Gaston Dorren
-
Shakespeare
- The World as Stage
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,857
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,284
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,272
William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Too Little, Too Short
- By Charles L. Burkins on 11-30-07
By: Bill Bryson
-
God's Jury
- The Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Cullen Murphy
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 111
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 94
The Inquisition conducted its last execution in 1826-the victim was a Spanish schoolmaster convicted of heresy. But as Cullen Murphy shows in this provocative new work, not only did its offices survive into the twentieth century, in the modern world its spirit is more influential than ever.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A balanced review based on new material
- By Sean on 05-15-12
By: Cullen Murphy
-
Speak Memory
- An Autobiography Revisited
- By: Vladimir Nabokov
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 485
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 412
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 412
Speak, Memory, first published in 1951 as Conclusive Evidence and then assiduously revised in 1966, is an elegant and rich evocation of Nabokov’s life and times, even as it offers incisive insights into his major works, including Lolita, Pnin, Despair, The Gift, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, and The Luhzin Defense.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Speak, Mnemosyne!
- By Darwin8u on 08-09-12
By: Vladimir Nabokov
-
English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable
- By: Lacey Baldwin Smith
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,401
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,123
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2,115
Here at last is a history of England that is designed to entertain as well as inform and that will delight the armchair traveler, the tourist, or just about anyone interested in history. No people have engendered quite so much acclaim or earned so much censure as the English: extolled as the Athenians of modern times, yet hammered for their self-satisfaction and hypocrisy. But their history has been a spectacular one.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Cartoons mentioned in Publisher's Summary omitted
- By Megan G. on 08-27-18
-
Histories
- By: Herodotus
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 27 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,039
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 893
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 888
In this, the first prose history in European civilization, Herodotus describes the growth of the Persian Empire with force, authority, and style. Perhaps most famously, the book tells the heroic tale of the Greeks' resistance to the vast invading force assembled by Xerxes, king of Persia. Here are not only the great battles - Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis - but also penetrating human insight and a powerful sense of epic destiny at work.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best of Audible's "The Histories" by Herodotus
- By Emily on 07-19-16
By: Herodotus
-
Babel
- Around the World in Twenty Languages
- By: Gaston Dorren
- Narrated by: George Backman
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 26
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 26
English is the world language, except that most of the world doesn’t speak it - only one in five people does. Dorren calculates that to speak fluently with half of the world’s 7.4 billion people in their mother tongues, you would need to know no fewer than 20 languages. He sets out to explore these top 20 world languages, which range from the familiar (French, Spanish) to the surprising (Malay, Javanese, Bengali).
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Breezy
- By Bessie Mae on 11-01-23
By: Gaston Dorren
-
Shakespeare
- The World as Stage
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Bill Bryson
- Length: 5 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,857
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,284
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,272
William Shakespeare, the most celebrated poet in the English language, left behind nearly a million words of text, but his biography has long been a thicket of wild supposition arranged around scant facts. With a steady hand and his trademark wit, Bill Bryson sorts through this colorful muddle to reveal the man himself.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Too Little, Too Short
- By Charles L. Burkins on 11-30-07
By: Bill Bryson
-
God's Jury
- The Inquisition and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Cullen Murphy
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 9 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 111
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 94
The Inquisition conducted its last execution in 1826-the victim was a Spanish schoolmaster convicted of heresy. But as Cullen Murphy shows in this provocative new work, not only did its offices survive into the twentieth century, in the modern world its spirit is more influential than ever.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A balanced review based on new material
- By Sean on 05-15-12
By: Cullen Murphy
-
Speak Memory
- An Autobiography Revisited
- By: Vladimir Nabokov
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 485
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 412
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 412
Speak, Memory, first published in 1951 as Conclusive Evidence and then assiduously revised in 1966, is an elegant and rich evocation of Nabokov’s life and times, even as it offers incisive insights into his major works, including Lolita, Pnin, Despair, The Gift, The Real Life of Sebastian Knight, and The Luhzin Defense.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Speak, Mnemosyne!
- By Darwin8u on 08-09-12
By: Vladimir Nabokov
-
English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable
- By: Lacey Baldwin Smith
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,401
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,123
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 2,115
Here at last is a history of England that is designed to entertain as well as inform and that will delight the armchair traveler, the tourist, or just about anyone interested in history. No people have engendered quite so much acclaim or earned so much censure as the English: extolled as the Athenians of modern times, yet hammered for their self-satisfaction and hypocrisy. But their history has been a spectacular one.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Cartoons mentioned in Publisher's Summary omitted
- By Megan G. on 08-27-18
-
Histories
- By: Herodotus
- Narrated by: David Timson
- Length: 27 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,039
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 893
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 888
In this, the first prose history in European civilization, Herodotus describes the growth of the Persian Empire with force, authority, and style. Perhaps most famously, the book tells the heroic tale of the Greeks' resistance to the vast invading force assembled by Xerxes, king of Persia. Here are not only the great battles - Marathon, Thermopylae, and Salamis - but also penetrating human insight and a powerful sense of epic destiny at work.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best of Audible's "The Histories" by Herodotus
- By Emily on 07-19-16
By: Herodotus
-
Here on Earth
- By: Tim Flannery
- Narrated by: Tim Flannery
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 82
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 68
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 65
Tim Flannery’s first major book since The Weather Makers charts the history of life on our planet. Here on Earth, which draws its points of departure from Darwin and Wallace, Lovelock and Dawkins, is an extraordinary exploration of evolution and sustainability. Our success as a species has had disastrous effects on many of the Earth’s ecosystems and could lead to our downfall. But equally, Flannery argues, we are now equipped as never before to explore our true relationship with the planet on which our biological, economic and cultural futures depend.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Next Jared Diamond
- By Michael Dowd on 08-19-11
By: Tim Flannery
-
A History of Christianity
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 28 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 101
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 90
First published in 1976, Paul Johnson's exceptional study of Christianity has been loved and widely hailed for its intensive research, writing, and magnitude. Weaving a great range of material, the scholar and author Johnson creates an ambitious panoramic overview of the evolution of the Western world since the founding of a little-known "Jesus sect".
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Read Brant Pitre's the case for Jesus instead.
- By Catherine BFT on 05-08-17
By: Paul Johnson
-
Paris to the Past
- Traveling Through French History by Train
- By: Ina Caro
- Narrated by: Christa Lewis
- Length: 14 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 85
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 77
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 77
In one of the most inventive travel books in years, Ina Caro invites listeners on 25 one-day train trips that depart from Paris and transport us back through 700 years of French history. Whether taking us to Orléans to evoke the visions of Joan of Arc or to the Place de la Concorde to witness the beheading of Marie Antoinette, Caro animates history with her lush descriptions of architectural splendors and tales of court intrigue. "[An] enchanting travelogue" (Publishers Weekly), Paris to the Past has become one of the classic guidebooks of our time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Day Trip From Paris?... Look No Further!
- By Simone on 11-19-13
By: Ina Caro
-
Yours Truly
- An Obituary Writer's Guide to Telling Your Story
- By: James R. Hagerty
- Narrated by: James R. Hagerty
- Length: 6 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 2
Someday, your life story is likely to be boiled down to a few lines. If you leave things to chance, your obituary is almost sure to be solemn, formulaic, and full of errors—an obligatory final chapter written in haste by others. James R. Hagerty, longtime obit writer for The Wall Street Journal, knows how to get the job done right: Do it yourself, starting now, while you still can.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Wow. This chronicler of lives gives practical & pro tips in this laugh out loud book
- By Satisfield Customer on 07-21-23
By: James R. Hagerty
-
Children of Ash and Elm
- A History of the Vikings
- By: Neil Price
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,469
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,266
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,261
The Viking Age - from 750 to 1050 saw an unprecedented expansion of the Scandinavian peoples into the wider world. As traders and raiders, explorers and colonists, they ranged from eastern North America to the Asian steppe. But for centuries, the Vikings have been seen through the eyes of others, distorted to suit the tastes of medieval clerics and Elizabethan playwrights, Victorian imperialists, Nazis, and more. None of these appropriations capture the real Vikings, or the richness and sophistication of their culture.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding
- By Than on 10-06-20
By: Neil Price
-
The Etymologicon
- A Circular Stroll Through the Hidden Connections of the English Language
- By: Mark Forsyth
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,387
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 2,159
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,131
The Etymologicon is a completely unauthorized guide to the strange underpinnings of the English language. It explains: How you get from “gruntled” to “disgruntled”; why you are absolutely right to believe that your meager salary barely covers “money for salt”; how the biggest chain of coffee shops in the world (hint: Seattle) connects to whaling in Nantucket; and what precisely the Rolling Stones have to do with gardening.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Maddening! Does not work as an audiobook!
- By James on 01-05-16
By: Mark Forsyth
-
The Mother Tongue
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: Stephen McLaughlin
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,278
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,106
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,100
With dazzling wit and astonishing insight, Bill Bryson - the acclaimed author of The Lost Continent - brilliantly explores the remarkable history, eccentricities, resilience, and sheer fun of the English language. From the first descent of the larynx into the throat (why you can talk but your dog can't) to the fine lost art of swearing, Bryson tells the fascinating, often uproarious story of an inadequate, second-rate tongue of peasants that developed into one of the world's largest growth industries.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
More satire than history
- By Barbara Kindle Customer on 12-18-15
By: Bill Bryson
-
Made in America
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,542
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,275
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,274
In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land, explaining how a dusty hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up, as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question, and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Bryson Not Reading Makes For a Rare Fail
- By John on 02-28-14
By: Bill Bryson
-
The Adventure of English
- The Biography of a Language
- By: Melvyn Bragg
- Narrated by: Robert Powell
- Length: 12 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,924
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,630
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 1,634
This is the remarkable story of the English language; from its beginnings as a minor guttural Germanic dialect to its position today as a truly established global language. The Adventure of English is not only an enthralling story of power, religion, and trade, but also the story of people, and how their lives continue to change the extraordinary language that is English.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Many Of Course monments
- By Leigh A on 10-21-05
By: Melvyn Bragg
-
Babylon
- Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization
- By: Paul Kriwaczek
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 729
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 623
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 619
Civilization was born 8,000 years ago, between the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, when migrants from the surrounding mountains and deserts began to create increasingly sophisticated urban societies. In the cities that they built, half of human history took place. In Babylon, Paul Kriwaczek tells the story of Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements seven thousand years ago to the eclipse of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. Bringing the people of this land to life in vibrant detail, the author chronicles the rise and fall of power during this period.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Solid overview 3000 years of history
- By Alsor2000 on 07-19-20
By: Paul Kriwaczek
-
Mythology of the British Isles
- The Geoffrey Ashe Histories
- By: Geoffrey Ashe
- Narrated by: Jeremy Nichols
- Length: 10 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 7
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 5
From the dark centuries of British prehistory to the ninth century AD, comes tales of giants and fairy-folk of druids and saints. From King Lear and King Arthur, to Fingal, Beowulf, Gwendolen, and Guinevere legendary characters have shaped the making of the nation. But who were they? In Mythology of the British Isles, Geoffrey Ashe explores how each of these stories are inter-connected, and how they have taken on fresh significance and meaning as historical and archaeological research has uncovered the truth behind each legend.
By: Geoffrey Ashe
-
The Story of English in 100 Words
- By: David Crystal
- Narrated by: David Crystal
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 272
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 233
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 233
In this unique new history of the world's most ubiquitous language, linguistics expert David Crystal draws on words that best illustrate the huge variety of sources, influences, and events that have helped to shape our vernacular since the first definitively English word was written down in the fifth century ("roe", in case you are wondering). Featuring Latinate and Celtic words, weasel words and nonce-words, ancient words ("loaf") to cutting edge ("twittersphere") and spanning the indispensable words that shape our tongue ("and", "what") to the more fanciful ("fopdoodle"), Crystal takes us along the winding byways of language.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Random but entertaining
- By Sean on 04-01-13
By: David Crystal
Related to this topic
-
The Travels of Marco Polo
- By: Marco Polo
- Narrated by: Walter Covell
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 237
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 139
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 137
Marco Polo (1254-1324), is probably the most famous Westerner who traveled on the "Silk Road." His journey through Asia lasted 24 years. He traveled the whole of China and returned to tell the tale, which became one of the world's greatest travelogues.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
An educational experience.
- By Doug on 06-23-03
By: Marco Polo
-
The Germans and Europe
- A Personal Frontline History
- By: Peter Millar
- Narrated by: Damian Lynch
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 37
Based on a lifetime living in and reporting on Germany and Central Europe, award-winning journalist and author Peter Millar tackles the fascinating and complex story of the people at the heart of our continent. Focussing on nine cities (only six of which are in the Germany of today), he takes us on a zigzag ride back through time via the fall of the Berlin Wall through the horrors of two world wars and the patchwork states of the Middle Ages to the splendour of Charlemagne and the fall of Rome.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
One of the best books I have listened to on here
- By Shaun on 05-17-18
By: Peter Millar
-
F*ck You, I'm Irish
- Why We Irish Are Awesome
- By: Rasher Tierney
- Narrated by: Gary Furlong
- Length: 2 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
From battling oppression and famine in Ireland to overcoming poverty and discrimination in America, we Irish gained our fightin' moniker by standing up for our rights and earning the respect we deserve. Now, the amazing feats, astounding people and incredible facts in this fascinating book of Irish trivia will make you proudly say, “F*ck you, I'm Irish”.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good Short Listen
- By YtowntoCleveland on 03-23-24
By: Rasher Tierney
-
The Travels of Marco Polo
- By: Marco Polo, Rustichello da Pisa
- Narrated by: Peter Wickham
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 62
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 52
The Travels of Marco Polo is the classic account of Marco Polo's journey to China from Venice, and his discoveries as an emissary to the great Kublai Khan. Polo explores everywhere from Baghdad, Armenia and Russia to the Caspian Sea, the Gobi Desert and the small fishing villages of China, describing the geography, architecture and customs of these exotic places.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By Laura Harley on 05-22-20
By: Marco Polo, and others
-
Ireland - Culture Smart!
- The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture
- By: John Scotney
- Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
- Length: 3 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
The island of Ireland is famous for its timeless beauty, the variety of its landscape, its quiet towns and lively cities, the poetic and literary genius of so many of its citizens, its music and folklore, and its colorful and bloody history. Businesspeople and visitors who don't know Ireland will find this book an invaluable introduction to the people, the country, and the economic opportunities it offers, while if you think you know Ireland and the Irish, you will find plenty here to broaden and deepen that knowledge, and plenty that will surprise you.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good baseline for a trip to Ireland.
- By Vincent Collins on 07-24-17
By: John Scotney
-
Made in America
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,542
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,275
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,274
In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land, explaining how a dusty hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up, as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question, and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Bryson Not Reading Makes For a Rare Fail
- By John on 02-28-14
By: Bill Bryson
-
The Travels of Marco Polo
- By: Marco Polo
- Narrated by: Walter Covell
- Length: 11 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 237
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 139
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 137
Marco Polo (1254-1324), is probably the most famous Westerner who traveled on the "Silk Road." His journey through Asia lasted 24 years. He traveled the whole of China and returned to tell the tale, which became one of the world's greatest travelogues.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
An educational experience.
- By Doug on 06-23-03
By: Marco Polo
-
The Germans and Europe
- A Personal Frontline History
- By: Peter Millar
- Narrated by: Damian Lynch
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 43
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 37
Based on a lifetime living in and reporting on Germany and Central Europe, award-winning journalist and author Peter Millar tackles the fascinating and complex story of the people at the heart of our continent. Focussing on nine cities (only six of which are in the Germany of today), he takes us on a zigzag ride back through time via the fall of the Berlin Wall through the horrors of two world wars and the patchwork states of the Middle Ages to the splendour of Charlemagne and the fall of Rome.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
One of the best books I have listened to on here
- By Shaun on 05-17-18
By: Peter Millar
-
F*ck You, I'm Irish
- Why We Irish Are Awesome
- By: Rasher Tierney
- Narrated by: Gary Furlong
- Length: 2 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
From battling oppression and famine in Ireland to overcoming poverty and discrimination in America, we Irish gained our fightin' moniker by standing up for our rights and earning the respect we deserve. Now, the amazing feats, astounding people and incredible facts in this fascinating book of Irish trivia will make you proudly say, “F*ck you, I'm Irish”.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good Short Listen
- By YtowntoCleveland on 03-23-24
By: Rasher Tierney
-
The Travels of Marco Polo
- By: Marco Polo, Rustichello da Pisa
- Narrated by: Peter Wickham
- Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 62
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 54
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 52
The Travels of Marco Polo is the classic account of Marco Polo's journey to China from Venice, and his discoveries as an emissary to the great Kublai Khan. Polo explores everywhere from Baghdad, Armenia and Russia to the Caspian Sea, the Gobi Desert and the small fishing villages of China, describing the geography, architecture and customs of these exotic places.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Disappointing
- By Laura Harley on 05-22-20
By: Marco Polo, and others
-
Ireland - Culture Smart!
- The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture
- By: John Scotney
- Narrated by: Anna Bentinck
- Length: 3 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 48
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
The island of Ireland is famous for its timeless beauty, the variety of its landscape, its quiet towns and lively cities, the poetic and literary genius of so many of its citizens, its music and folklore, and its colorful and bloody history. Businesspeople and visitors who don't know Ireland will find this book an invaluable introduction to the people, the country, and the economic opportunities it offers, while if you think you know Ireland and the Irish, you will find plenty here to broaden and deepen that knowledge, and plenty that will surprise you.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Good baseline for a trip to Ireland.
- By Vincent Collins on 07-24-17
By: John Scotney
-
Made in America
- By: Bill Bryson
- Narrated by: William Roberts
- Length: 18 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,542
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,275
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,274
In Made in America, Bryson de-mythologizes his native land, explaining how a dusty hamlet with neither woods nor holly became Hollywood, how the Wild West wasn't won, why Americans say 'lootenant' and 'Toosday', how Americans were eating junk food long before the word itself was cooked up, as well as exposing the true origins of the G-string, the original $64,000 question, and Dr Kellogg of cornflakes fame.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Bryson Not Reading Makes For a Rare Fail
- By John on 02-28-14
By: Bill Bryson
-
A Brief History of Indonesia
- Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis: The Incredible Story of Southeast Asia's Largest Nation
- By: Tim Hannigan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 147
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 126
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 126
Indonesia is by far the largest nation in Southeast Asia and has the fourth-largest population in the world after the United States. Indonesian history and culture are especially relevant today as the island nation is an emerging power in the region with a dynamic new leader. It is a land of incredible diversity and unending paradoxes that has a long and rich history stretching back a thousand years and more.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
More Indonesian history please Audible
- By Damien on 08-20-19
By: Tim Hannigan
-
The Greeks
- A Global History
- By: Roderick Beaton
- Narrated by: Anna Crowe
- Length: 16 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 109
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 90
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
More than 2,000 years ago, the Greek city-states, led by Athens and Sparta, laid the foundation for much of modern science, the arts, politics, and law. But the influence of the Greeks did not end with the rise and fall of this classical civilization. As historian Roderick Beaton illustrates, over three millennia Greek speakers produced a series of civilizations that were rooted in southeastern Europe but again and again ranged widely across the globe.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
An Ethnography of the Greeks
- By gmurphy92 on 03-27-22
By: Roderick Beaton
-
The Discovery of France
- A Historical Geography
- By: Graham Robb
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
A narrative of exploration - full of strange landscapes and even stranger inhabitants - that explains the enduring fascination of France. While Gustave Eiffel was changing the skyline of Paris, large parts of France were still terra incognita. Even in the age of railways and newspapers, France was a land of ancient tribal divisions, prehistoric communication networks, and pre-Christian beliefs. French itself was a minority language.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great history of the cultural formation of France
- By Scotty on 07-31-21
By: Graham Robb
-
The Vikings
- A New History
- By: Neil Oliver
- Narrated by: James A. Gillies
- Length: 11 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 431
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 376
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 374
Drawing on the latest discoveries that have only recently come to light, Scottish archaeologist Neil Oliver goes on the trail of the real Vikings. Where did they emerge from? How did they really live? And just what drove them to embark on such extraordinary voyages of discovery over 1,000 years ago? The Vikings: A New History explores many of those questions for the first time in an epic story of one of the world's great empires of conquest.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Intriguing for a broad audience.
- By Grant on 08-07-18
By: Neil Oliver
-
The Year 1000
- When Explorers Connected the World - and Globalization Began
- By: Valerie Hansen
- Narrated by: Cynthia Farrell
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 572
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 477
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 472
People often believe that the years immediately prior to AD 1000 were, with just a few exceptions, lacking in any major cultural developments or geopolitical encounters, that the Europeans hadn’t yet reached North America, and that the farthest feat of sea travel was the Vikings’ invasion of Britain. But how, then, to explain the presence of blond-haired people in Maya temple murals at Chichén Itzá, Mexico? Could it be possible that the Vikings had found their way to the Americas during the height of the Maya empire?
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Long on Speculation, Short on Evidence
- By Phyllis on 10-10-20
By: Valerie Hansen
-
The Story of English in 100 Words
- By: David Crystal
- Narrated by: David Crystal
- Length: 7 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 272
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 233
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 233
In this unique new history of the world's most ubiquitous language, linguistics expert David Crystal draws on words that best illustrate the huge variety of sources, influences, and events that have helped to shape our vernacular since the first definitively English word was written down in the fifth century ("roe", in case you are wondering). Featuring Latinate and Celtic words, weasel words and nonce-words, ancient words ("loaf") to cutting edge ("twittersphere") and spanning the indispensable words that shape our tongue ("and", "what") to the more fanciful ("fopdoodle"), Crystal takes us along the winding byways of language.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Random but entertaining
- By Sean on 04-01-13
By: David Crystal
-
Making Haste from Babylon
- The Mayflower Pilgrims and Their World: A New History
- By: Nick Bunker
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 18 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 87
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 70
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 69
At the end of 1618, a blazing green star soared across the night sky over the northern hemisphere. From the Philippines to the Arctic, the comet became a sensation and a symbol, a warning of doom or a promise of salvation. Two years later, as the Pilgrims prepared to sail across the Atlantic on board the Mayflower, the atmosphere remained charged with fear and expectation. Men and women readied themselves for war, pestilence, or divine retribution. Against this background, and amid deep economic depression, the Pilgrims conceived their enterprise of exile.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent, detailed and eye-opening
- By David on 09-20-15
By: Nick Bunker
-
The Boundless Sea
- A Human History of the Oceans
- By: David Abulafia
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 41 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 36
From the author of the acclaimed The Great Sea, David Abulafia's new book guides listeners along the world's greatest bodies of water to reveal their primary role in human history. The main protagonists are the three major oceans - the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Indian - which together comprise the majority of the earth's water and cover over half of its surface. These waterways carried goods, plants, livestock, and, of course, people across vast expanses, transforming and ultimately linking irrevocably the economies and cultures of Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Like Reading a Dictionary.
- By aaron on 01-10-21
By: David Abulafia
-
Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia
- By: David Graeber
- Narrated by: Roger Davis
- Length: 5 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 53
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 44
Pirates have long lived in the realm of romance and fantasy, symbolizing risk, lawlessness, and radical visions of freedom. But at the root of this mythology is a rich history of pirate societies—vibrant, imaginative experiments in self-governance and alternative social formations at the edges of the European empire.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A fun historical analysis of Pirate political systems
- By Ian Turner on 01-30-23
By: David Graeber
-
Ask a Historian
- 50 Surprising Answers to Things You Always Wanted to Know
- By: Greg Jenner
- Narrated by: Dan Schreiber, Greg Jenner, Janina Ramirez, and others
- Length: 11 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 49
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
Responding to fifty genuine questions from the public, Greg Jenner takes you on an entertaining tour through history from the Stone Age to the Swinging Sixties, revealing the best and most surprising stories, facts and historical characters from the past. From ancient joke books, African empires and the invention of meringues, to mummies, mirrors and menstrual pads—Ask A Historian is a deliciously amusing and informative smorgasbord of historical curiosities.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
best bonus content ever!
- By Matthew K Wendelken on 03-24-22
By: Greg Jenner
-
Children of Ash and Elm
- A History of the Vikings
- By: Neil Price
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,469
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,266
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,261
The Viking Age - from 750 to 1050 saw an unprecedented expansion of the Scandinavian peoples into the wider world. As traders and raiders, explorers and colonists, they ranged from eastern North America to the Asian steppe. But for centuries, the Vikings have been seen through the eyes of others, distorted to suit the tastes of medieval clerics and Elizabethan playwrights, Victorian imperialists, Nazis, and more. None of these appropriations capture the real Vikings, or the richness and sophistication of their culture.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding
- By Than on 10-06-20
By: Neil Price
-
Babylon
- Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization
- By: Paul Kriwaczek
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 12 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 729
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 623
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 619
Civilization was born 8,000 years ago, between the floodplains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, when migrants from the surrounding mountains and deserts began to create increasingly sophisticated urban societies. In the cities that they built, half of human history took place. In Babylon, Paul Kriwaczek tells the story of Mesopotamia from the earliest settlements seven thousand years ago to the eclipse of Babylon in the sixth century BCE. Bringing the people of this land to life in vibrant detail, the author chronicles the rise and fall of power during this period.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Solid overview 3000 years of history
- By Alsor2000 on 07-19-20
By: Paul Kriwaczek
What listeners say about Around the World in 80 Words
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Tim K.
- 01-12-24
Fascinating!
This was such a fun and interesting story. Makes me want to travel and learn more. Very well put together. Witty.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!