Democratic Ideals and Reality
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Democratic Ideals and Reality
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Narrated by:
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Jonathan Keeble
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By:
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H.J. Mackinder
About this listen
Democratic Ideals and Reality, which was first published in 1919, represents a post-World War I worldview that would become the template for future geopolitical movements. As well as the UK, USA, and Europe, there is a focus on Russia, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.
Some of Mackinder's predictions would come to pass later in the century with the outbreak of World War II and the political consequences this would bring in the aftermath.
Democratic Ideals and Reality offers the chance to take a look into the collective political psyche of the West after the First World War, and it is one of the few works that can be considered a true page of history.
This audio edition is unabridged and narrated expertly by Jonathan Keeble, giving it the gravitas a work like this deserves.
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-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 380
Over the last decade, the center of world power has been quietly shifting from Europe to Asia. With oil reserves of several billion barrels, an estimated 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and several centuries' worth of competing territorial claims, the South China Sea in particular is a simmering pot of potential conflict. The underreported military buildup in the area where the Western Pacific meets the Indian Ocean means that it will likely be a hinge point for global war and peace for the foreseeable future.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Pending problems
- By Jean on 08-19-14
By: Robert D. Kaplan
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The Fall of Rome
- And the End of Civilization
- By: Bryan Ward-Perkins
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 91
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 72
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 72
In The Fall of Rome, eminent historian Bryan Ward-Perkins argues that the "peaceful" theory of Rome's "transformation" is badly in error. Indeed, he sees the fall of Rome as a time of horror and dislocation that destroyed a great civilization, throwing the inhabitants of the West back to a standard of living typical of prehistoric times. Attacking contemporary theories with relish and making use of modern archaeological evidence, he looks at both the wider explanations for the disintegration of the Roman world and also the consequences for the lives of everyday Romans.
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5 out of 5 stars
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best book ever on Fall of Rome
- By james m. on 01-30-22
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The Nutmeg's Curse
- Parables for a Planet in Crisis
- By: Amitav Ghosh
- Narrated by: Sam Dastor
- Length: 10 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 65
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 57
A powerful work of history, essay, testimony, and polemic, The Nutmeg’s Curse argues that the dynamics of climate change today are rooted in a centuries-old geopolitical order constructed by Western colonialism. At the center of Ghosh’s narrative is the now-ubiquitous spice nutmeg. The history of the nutmeg is one of conquest and exploitation—of both human life and the natural environment. In Ghosh’s hands, the story of the nutmeg becomes a parable for our environmental crisis.
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5 out of 5 stars
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performance....
- By Bonnie on 11-15-22
By: Amitav Ghosh
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The Birth of Classical Europe
- A History from Troy to Augustine
- By: Simon Price, Peter Thonemann
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 145
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 119
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Story4 out of 5 stars 118
To an extraordinary extent we continue to live in the shadow of the classical world. At every level, from languages to calendars to political systems, we are the descendants of a “classical Europe,” using frames of reference created by ancient Mediterranean cultures. As this consistently fresh and surprising new audio book makes clear, however, this was no less true for the inhabitants of those classical civilizations themselves, whose myths, history, and buildings were an elaborate engagement with an already old and revered past - one filled with great leaders and writers....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent overview of the Classical World
- By David I. Williams on 01-12-14
By: Simon Price, and others
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The Future of Geography
- How the Competition in Space Will Change Our World (Politics of Place)
- By: Tim Marshall
- Narrated by: Tim Marshall
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 50
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 50
Humans are venturing up and out, and we’re taking our competitive spirit with us. Soon, what happens in space will shape human history as much the mountains, rivers, and seas have impacted civilizations around the world. It’s no coincidence that Russia, China, and the USA are leading the way. The next fifty years will change the face of global politics and the world order as we know it. In this must-listen work, bestselling author Tim Marshall navigates the new astropolitical reality to show how we got here and where we’re heading.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Good Overview of Astro Politics
- By Gary on 04-18-24
By: Tim Marshall
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Civilization
- The West and the Rest
- By: Niall Ferguson
- Narrated by: Niall Ferguson
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 2,325
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,983
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,965
The rise to global predominance of Western civilization is the single most important historical phenomenon of the past five hundred years. All over the world, an astonishing proportion of people now work for Western-style companies, study at Western-style universities, vote for Western-style governments, take Western medicines, wear Western clothes, and even work Western hours. Yet six hundred years ago the petty kingdoms of Western Europe seemed unlikely to achieve much more than perpetual internecine warfare. It was Ming China or Ottoman Turkey that had the look of world civilizations.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Thoughtful analysis of the ascendancy of the West.
- By Patrick on 05-25-13
By: Niall Ferguson
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The Wealth and Poverty of Nations
- Why Some Are So Rich and Some So Poor
- By: David S. Landes
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 21 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 54
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 46
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 46
The Wealth and Poverty of Nations is David S. Landes' acclaimed, best-selling exploration of one of the most contentious and hotly debated questions of our time: Why do some nations achieve economic success while others remain mired in poverty? The answer, as Landes definitively illustrates, is a complex interplay of cultural mores and historical circumstance.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A detailed explanation
- By Kaarlis on 12-07-21
By: David S. Landes
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How the West Won
- The Neglected Story of the Triumph of Modernity
- By: Rodney Stark
- Narrated by: Kevin Foley
- Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 547
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 481
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 478
Modernity developed only in the West - in Europe and North America. Nowhere else did science and democracy arise; nowhere else was slavery outlawed. Only Westerners invented chimneys, musical scores, telescopes, eyeglasses, pianos, electric lights, aspirin, and soap. The question is, why? Unfortunately, that question has become so politically incorrect that most scholars avoid it. But acclaimed author Rodney Stark provides the answers in this sweeping new look at Western civilization.
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4 out of 5 stars
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We all have a bias
- By Adam Shields on 04-21-15
By: Rodney Stark
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Flashpoints
- The Emerging Crisis in Europe
- By: George Friedman
- Narrated by: Bruce Turk, George Friedman
- Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 754
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 651
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 657
George Friedman has forecasted the coming trends (politics, technology, population, and culture) of the next century in The Next 100 Years, and focused his predictions on the coming ten years in The Next Decade. Now, in Flashpoints, Friedman zooms in on the region that has, for 500 years, been the cultural hotbed of the world - Europe - and examines the most basic and fascinating building block of the region: culture.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Important Reading: Old Grievances Do Not Go Away
- By John on 02-21-15
By: George Friedman
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Unfinished Empire
- The Global Expansion of Britain
- By: John Darwin
- Narrated by: Alex Hyde-White
- Length: 18 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 63
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 63
In Unfinished Empire, he marshals his gifts to deliver a monumental one-volume history of Britain's imperium - a work that is sure to stand as the most authoritative, most compelling treatment of the subject for a generation.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Perfect
- By gogojimmy on 01-27-15
By: John Darwin
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Everything Under the Heavens
- How the Past Helps Shape China's Push for Global Power
- By: Howard W. French
- Narrated by: Nicholas Hormann
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 112
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 91
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 93
For many years after its reform and opening in 1978, China maintained an attitude of false modesty about its ambitions. That role, reports Howard French, has been set aside. China has asserted its place among the global heavyweights, revealing its plans for pan-Asian dominance by building its navy, increasing territorial claims to areas like the South China Sea, and diplomatically bullying smaller players.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Unique Concept
- By John on 02-24-20
By: Howard W. French
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Superpower Interrupted
- The Chinese History of the World
- By: Michael Schuman
- Narrated by: Shawn Compton
- Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 98
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 88
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
This global history as the Chinese would write it gives brilliant and unconventional insights for understanding China's role in the world, especially the drive to "Make China Great Again." In this colorful, informative story filled with fascinating characters, epic battles, influential thinkers, and decisive moments, we come to understand how the Chinese view their own history and how its narrative is distinctly different from that of Western civilization.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Nice overview
- By Matthew G. Towner on 08-12-20
By: Michael Schuman
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A History of Warfare
- By: John Keegan
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 19 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 343
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 216
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Story4 out of 5 stars 212
Starting with the premise that all civilizations owe their origins to warmaking, Keegan probes the meanings, motivations, and methods underlying war in different societies over the course of more than two thousand years. Following the progress of human aggression in its full historical sweep, from the strangely ritualistic combat of Stone Age peoples to the warfare of mass destruction in the present age, his illuminating and lively narrative gives us all the world's great warrior cultures.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Not what I expected
- By Mark on 12-05-06
By: John Keegan
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Born in Blackness
- Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War
- By: Howard W. French
- Narrated by: James Fouhey
- Length: 16 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 194
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 168
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Story5 out of 5 stars 169
Born in Blackness vitally reframes the story of medieval and emerging Africa, demonstrating how the economic ascendancy of Europe, the anchoring of democracy in the West, and the fulfillment of so-called Enlightenment ideals all grew out of Europe's dehumanizing engagement with the "dark" continent. In fact, French reveals, the first impetus for the Age of Discovery was not—as we are so often told, even today—Europe's yearning for ties with Asia, but rather its centuries-old desire to forge a trade in gold with legendarily rich Black societies in the heart of West Africa.
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5 out of 5 stars
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American History World History Our History
- By Bill on 06-13-22
By: Howard W. French
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Disunited Nations
- The Scramble for Power in an Ungoverned World
- By: Peter Zeihan
- Narrated by: Peter Zeihan, Roy Worley
- Length: 16 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1,958
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,644
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1,631
In Disunited Nations, geopolitical strategist Peter Zeihan presents a series of counterintuitive arguments about the future of a world where trade agreements are coming apart and international institutions are losing their power. Germany will decline as the most powerful country in Europe, with France taking its place. Every country should prepare for the collapse of China, not North Korea. We are already seeing, as Zeihan predicts, a shift in outlook on the Middle East: it is no longer Iran that is the region’s most dangerous threat, but Saudi Arabia.
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5 out of 5 stars
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brilliant geopolitical primer re the future
- By Howard on 04-11-20
By: Peter Zeihan
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Colonialism
- A Moral Reckoning
- By: Nigel Biggar
- Narrated by: Matt Bates
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 59
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
In the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet empire in 1989, many believed that we had arrived at the ‘End of History’—that the global dominance of liberal democracy had been secured forever. Now, however, with Russia rattling its sabre on the borders of Europe and China rising to challenge the post-1945 world order, the liberal West faces major threats. These threats are not only external. Especially in the Anglosphere, the ‘decolonisation’ movement corrodes the West’s self-confidence by retelling the history of European and American colonial dominance.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Outstanding Report on one of the greatest empires ever.
- By mcasteli on 02-22-23
By: Nigel Biggar