Justinian's Flea
Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe
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
Justinian's Flea
Buy for $17.62
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Barrett Whitener
-
By:
-
William Rosen
About this listen
In Justinian's Flea, William Rosen tells the story of history's first pandemic - a plague seven centuries before the Black Death that killed tens of millions, devastated the empires of Persia and Rome, left a path of victims from Ireland to Iraq, and opened the way for the armies of Islam. Weaving together evolutionary microbiology, economics, military strategy, ecology, and ancient and modern medicine, Rosen offers a sweeping narrative of one of the great hinge moments in history, one that will appeal to readers of John Kelly's The Great Mortality, John Barry's The Great Influenza, and Jared Diamond's Collapse.
©2007 William Rosen (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
Byzantium
- The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire
- By: Judith Herrin
- Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
- Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16
Byzantium. The name evokes grandeur and exoticism—gold, cunning, and complexity. In this unique book, Judith Herrin unveils the riches of a quite different civilization. Avoiding a standard chronological account of the Byzantine Empire's millennium-long history, she identifies the fundamental questions about Byzantium—what it was, and what special significance it holds for us today.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not a comprehensible history
- By Anonymous User on 10-07-23
By: Judith Herrin
-
The Third Horseman
- Climate Change and the Great Famine of the 14th Century
- By: William Rosen
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 390
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 344
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 343
In May 1315 it started to rain. It didn't stop anywhere in north Europe until August. Next came the four coldest winters in a millennium. Two separate animal epidemics killed nearly 80 percent of northern Europe's livestock. Wars between Scotland and England, France and Flanders, and two rival claimants to the Holy Roman Empire destroyed all remaining farmland. After seven years, the combination of lost harvests, warfare, and pestilence would claim six million lives - one eighth of Europe's total population.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not About Famine or Climate
- By Anonymous User on 05-24-14
By: William Rosen
-
The Anglo-Saxons
- A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 - 1066
- By: Marc Morris
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 922
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 812
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 808
Sixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Grand cities and luxurious villas were deserted and left to crumble, and civil society collapsed into chaos. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea, and established themselves as its new masters. The Anglo-Saxons traces the turbulent history of these people across the next six centuries. It explains how their earliest rulers fought relentlessly against each other for glory and supremacy, and then were almost destroyed by the onslaught of the vikings.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
"Pretty Good"
- By Anonymous User on 05-30-21
By: Marc Morris
-
Ravenna
- Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe
- By: Judith Herrin
- Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 73
At the end of the fourth century, as the power of Rome faded and Constantinople became the seat of empire, a new capital city was rising in the West. Here, in Ravenna on the coast of Italy, Arian Goths and Catholic Romans competed to produce an unrivaled concentration of buildings and astonishing mosaics. For three centuries, the city attracted scholars, lawyers, craftsmen, and religious luminaries, becoming a true cultural and political capital.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Worthy book, stingy production.
- By Anonymous User on 12-13-20
By: Judith Herrin
-
Pax
- War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Tom Holland
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 196
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 187
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 187
The Pax Romana has long been shorthand for the empire’s golden age. Stretching from Caledonia to Arabia, Rome ruled over a quarter of the world’s population. It was the wealthiest and most formidable state in the history of humankind. Pax is a captivating narrative history of Rome at the height of its power. From the gilded capital to realms beyond the frontier, historian Tom Holland shows ancient Rome in all its glory
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book!
- By Anonymous User on 09-27-23
By: Tom Holland
-
The Thirty Years War
- Europe's Tragedy
- By: Peter H. Wilson
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 33 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 142
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 118
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 118
The Thirty Years War devastated seventeenth-century Europe, killing nearly a quarter of all Germans and laying waste to towns and countryside alike. Peter Wilson offers the first new history in a generation of a horrifying conflict that transformed the map of the modern world.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Less caffeine, narrator
- By Anonymous User on 02-12-24
By: Peter H. Wilson
-
Byzantium
- The Surprising Life of a Medieval Empire
- By: Judith Herrin
- Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
- Length: 16 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 22
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16
Byzantium. The name evokes grandeur and exoticism—gold, cunning, and complexity. In this unique book, Judith Herrin unveils the riches of a quite different civilization. Avoiding a standard chronological account of the Byzantine Empire's millennium-long history, she identifies the fundamental questions about Byzantium—what it was, and what special significance it holds for us today.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Not a comprehensible history
- By Anonymous User on 10-07-23
By: Judith Herrin
-
The Third Horseman
- Climate Change and the Great Famine of the 14th Century
- By: William Rosen
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 390
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 344
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 343
In May 1315 it started to rain. It didn't stop anywhere in north Europe until August. Next came the four coldest winters in a millennium. Two separate animal epidemics killed nearly 80 percent of northern Europe's livestock. Wars between Scotland and England, France and Flanders, and two rival claimants to the Holy Roman Empire destroyed all remaining farmland. After seven years, the combination of lost harvests, warfare, and pestilence would claim six million lives - one eighth of Europe's total population.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not About Famine or Climate
- By Anonymous User on 05-24-14
By: William Rosen
-
The Anglo-Saxons
- A History of the Beginnings of England: 400 - 1066
- By: Marc Morris
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 13 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 922
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 812
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 808
Sixteen hundred years ago Britain left the Roman Empire and swiftly fell into ruin. Grand cities and luxurious villas were deserted and left to crumble, and civil society collapsed into chaos. Into this violent and unstable world came foreign invaders from across the sea, and established themselves as its new masters. The Anglo-Saxons traces the turbulent history of these people across the next six centuries. It explains how their earliest rulers fought relentlessly against each other for glory and supremacy, and then were almost destroyed by the onslaught of the vikings.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
"Pretty Good"
- By Anonymous User on 05-30-21
By: Marc Morris
-
Ravenna
- Capital of Empire, Crucible of Europe
- By: Judith Herrin
- Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
- Length: 19 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 93
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 73
At the end of the fourth century, as the power of Rome faded and Constantinople became the seat of empire, a new capital city was rising in the West. Here, in Ravenna on the coast of Italy, Arian Goths and Catholic Romans competed to produce an unrivaled concentration of buildings and astonishing mosaics. For three centuries, the city attracted scholars, lawyers, craftsmen, and religious luminaries, becoming a true cultural and political capital.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Worthy book, stingy production.
- By Anonymous User on 12-13-20
By: Judith Herrin
-
Pax
- War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Tom Holland
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 196
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 187
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 187
The Pax Romana has long been shorthand for the empire’s golden age. Stretching from Caledonia to Arabia, Rome ruled over a quarter of the world’s population. It was the wealthiest and most formidable state in the history of humankind. Pax is a captivating narrative history of Rome at the height of its power. From the gilded capital to realms beyond the frontier, historian Tom Holland shows ancient Rome in all its glory
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great book!
- By Anonymous User on 09-27-23
By: Tom Holland
-
The Thirty Years War
- Europe's Tragedy
- By: Peter H. Wilson
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 33 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 142
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 118
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 118
The Thirty Years War devastated seventeenth-century Europe, killing nearly a quarter of all Germans and laying waste to towns and countryside alike. Peter Wilson offers the first new history in a generation of a horrifying conflict that transformed the map of the modern world.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Less caffeine, narrator
- By Anonymous User on 02-12-24
By: Peter H. Wilson
-
Hyperion
- By: Dan Simmons
- Narrated by: Marc Vietor, Allyson Johnson, Kevin Pariseau, and others
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 24,732
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 21,038
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 21,078
On the world called Hyperion, beyond the law of the Hegemony of Man, there waits the creature called the Shrike. There are those who worship it. There are those who fear it. And there are those who have vowed to destroy it. In the Valley of the Time Tombs, where huge, brooding structures move backward through time, the Shrike waits for them all.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The Shrike Awaits. Enter The Time Tombs...
- By Anonymous User on 10-13-12
By: Dan Simmons
-
1177 B.C. (Revised and Updated)
- The Year Civilization Collapsed
- By: Eric H. Cline
- Narrated by: Eric H. Cline
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 614
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 533
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 532
This audiobook narrated by acclaimed archaeologist and best-selling author Eric Cline offers a breathtaking account of how the collapse of an ancient civilized world ushered in the first Dark Ages.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Look past the one-star reviews: this is an enlightening and engaging read.
- By Anonymous User on 03-07-22
By: Eric H. Cline
-
War and Peace
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 61 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 4,843
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 3,873
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,812
Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy's genius is clearly seen in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle, all of them fully realized and equally memorable.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Glad I finally decided to read it
- By Anonymous User on 09-25-05
By: Leo Tolstoy
-
SPQR
- A History of Ancient Rome
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Phyllida Nash
- Length: 18 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 4,876
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,285
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,250
In SPQR, world-renowned classicist Mary Beard narrates the unprecedented rise of a civilization that even 2,000 years later still shapes many of our most fundamental assumptions about power, citizenship, responsibility, political violence, empire, luxury, and beauty.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Shallow and unsatisfying
- By Anonymous User on 02-19-17
By: Mary Beard
-
The Fabric of the Cosmos
- Space, Time, and the Texture of Reality
- By: Brian Greene
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 22 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,056
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,112
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,104
Space and time form the very fabric of the cosmos. Yet they remain among the most mysterious of concepts. Is space an entity? Why does time have a direction? Could the universe exist without space and time? Can we travel to the past?
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Lucid, Revealing, Thorough
- By Anonymous User on 02-23-04
By: Brian Greene
-
Dynasty
- The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,600
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,439
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,426
Author and historian Tom Holland returns to his roots in Roman history and the audience he cultivated with Rubicon—his masterful, witty, brilliantly researched popular history of the fall of the Roman republic—with Dynasty, a luridly fascinating history of the reign of the first five Roman emperors. Dynasty continues Rubicon's story, opening where that book ended: with the murder of Julius Caesar. This is the period of the first and perhaps greatest Roman emperors. It's a colorful story of rule and ruination, from the rise of Augustus to the death of Nero.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Accessible, enjoyable history
- By Anonymous User on 01-28-16
By: Tom Holland
-
The Last Days of the Dinosaurs
- An Asteroid, Extinction, and the Beginning of Our World
- By: Riley Black
- Narrated by: Christina Delaine
- Length: 7 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 201
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 175
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 176
Picture yourself in the Cretaceous period. It’s a sunny afternoon in the Hell Creek of ancient Montana 66 million years ago. A Triceratops horridus ambles along the edge of the forest. In a matter of hours, everything here will be wiped away. Lush verdure will be replaced with fire. Tyrannosaurus rex will be toppled from their throne, along with every other species of non-avian dinosaur no matter their size, diet, or disposition. They just don’t know it yet.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
One of the best
- By Anonymous User on 05-02-22
By: Riley Black
-
The History of the Ancient World
- From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome
- By: Susan Wise Bauer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,595
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,893
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,866
This is the first volume in a bold new series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from Europe to the Middle East to the far coast of China, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. Susan Wise Bauer provides both sweeping scope and vivid attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. This narrative history employs the methods of "history from beneath" - literature, epic traditions, private letters, and accounts - to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An Historic Achievement
- By Anonymous User on 04-25-14
By: Susan Wise Bauer
-
Rome and Persia
- The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Mark Elstob
- Length: 20 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 66
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 58
The Roman empire was like no other. Stretching from the north of Britain to the Sahara, and from the Atlantic coast to the Euphrates, it imposed peace and prosperity on an unprecedented scale. Its only true rival lay in the east, where the Parthian and then Persian empires ruled over great cities and the trade routes to mysterious lands beyond. Tracing seven centuries of conflict between Rome and Persia, historian Adrian Goldsworthy shows how these two great powers evolved together
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
MAPS NEEDED
- By Anonymous User on 12-29-23
-
The Wars of the Roses
- The Fall of the Plantagenets and the Rise of the Tudors
- By: Dan Jones
- Narrated by: John Curless
- Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3,459
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 3,042
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3,025
The 15th century saw the longest and bloodiest series of civil wars in British history. The crown of England changed hands five times as two branches of the Plantagenet dynasty fought to the death for the right to rule. Now, celebrated historian Dan Jones describes how the longest reigning British royal family tore itself apart until it was finally replaced by the Tudors. Some of the greatest heroes and villains in history were thrown together in these turbulent times.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
No Need for a Score Card
- By Anonymous User on 01-16-15
By: Dan Jones
-
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
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,877
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,524
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,525
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Just a delight for anyone interested in history !
- By Anonymous User on 05-28-13
By: Lars Brownworth
-
The Earth Transformed
- An Untold History
- By: Peter Frankopan
- Narrated by: Peter Frankopan
- Length: 29 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 42
Global warming is one of the greatest dangers mankind faces today. Even as temperatures increase, sea levels rise, and natural disasters escalate, our current environmental crisis feels difficult to predict and understand. But climate change and its effects on us are not new. In a bold narrative that spans centuries and continents, Peter Frankopan argues that nature has always played a fundamental role in the writing of history.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A Thoughtful History of A Complex Phenomenon
- By Anonymous User on 04-21-23
By: Peter Frankopan
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
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 584
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 454
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 455
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.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A lively and useful introduction
- By Anonymous User on 01-06-10
By: Rodney Stark
-
Istanbul
- City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World
- By: Thomas F. Madden
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 284
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 249
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 249
For more than two millennia, Istanbul has stood at the crossroads of the world, perched at the very tip of Europe, gazing across the shores of Asia. The history of this city - known as Byzantium, then Constantinople, now Istanbul - is at once glorious, outsized, and astounding. Founded by the Greeks, its location blessed it as a center for trade but also made it a target of every empire in history, from Alexander the Great and his Macedonian Empire, to the Romans and later the Ottomans.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
A History Without People
- By Anonymous User on 04-02-19
By: Thomas F. Madden
-
China
- A History
- By: John Keay
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 25 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 220
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 185
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 182
Many nations define themselves in terms of territory or people; China defines itself in terms of history. Taking into account the country's unrivaled, voluminous tradition of history writing, John Keay has composed a vital and illuminating overview of the nation's complex and vivid past. Keay's authoritative history examines 5,000 years in China, from the time of the Three Dynasties through Chairman Mao and the current economic transformation of the country.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Needs new narrator
- By Anonymous User on 10-16-16
By: John Keay
-
The Fall of the Roman Empire
- A New History of Rome and the Barbarians
- By: Peter Heather
- Narrated by: Allan Robertson
- Length: 21 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 484
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 433
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 431
The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Peter Heather proposes a stunning new solution: Centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors Rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling an Empire that had dominated their lives for so long. A leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians, Heather relates the extraordinary story of how Europe's barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled the empire apart.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
A New HIstory but not a better history
- By Anonymous User on 03-28-14
By: Peter Heather
-
The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt
- By: Toby Wilkinson
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,093
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 952
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 947
In this landmark work, one of the world's most renowned Egyptologists tells the epic story of this great civilization, from its birth as the first nation-state to its final absorption into the Roman Empire - 3,000 years of wild drama, bold spectacle, and unforgettable characters. Award-winning scholar Toby Wilkinson captures not only the lavish pomp and artistic grandeur of this land of pyramids and pharaohs but for the first time reveals the constant propaganda and repression that were its foundations.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well Written and Detailed
- By Anonymous User on 01-26-18
By: Toby Wilkinson
-
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Jack Weatherford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19,940
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16,489
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16,485
The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Golden Horde/Platinum Listen
- By Anonymous User on 12-11-13
By: Jack Weatherford
-
God's Battalions
- The Case for the Crusades
- By: Rodney Stark
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 584
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 454
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 455
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.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A lively and useful introduction
- By Anonymous User on 01-06-10
By: Rodney Stark
-
Istanbul
- City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World
- By: Thomas F. Madden
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 14 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 284
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 249
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 249
For more than two millennia, Istanbul has stood at the crossroads of the world, perched at the very tip of Europe, gazing across the shores of Asia. The history of this city - known as Byzantium, then Constantinople, now Istanbul - is at once glorious, outsized, and astounding. Founded by the Greeks, its location blessed it as a center for trade but also made it a target of every empire in history, from Alexander the Great and his Macedonian Empire, to the Romans and later the Ottomans.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
A History Without People
- By Anonymous User on 04-02-19
By: Thomas F. Madden
-
China
- A History
- By: John Keay
- Narrated by: Anne Flosnik
- Length: 25 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 220
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 185
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 182
Many nations define themselves in terms of territory or people; China defines itself in terms of history. Taking into account the country's unrivaled, voluminous tradition of history writing, John Keay has composed a vital and illuminating overview of the nation's complex and vivid past. Keay's authoritative history examines 5,000 years in China, from the time of the Three Dynasties through Chairman Mao and the current economic transformation of the country.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Needs new narrator
- By Anonymous User on 10-16-16
By: John Keay
-
The Fall of the Roman Empire
- A New History of Rome and the Barbarians
- By: Peter Heather
- Narrated by: Allan Robertson
- Length: 21 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 484
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 433
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 431
The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Peter Heather proposes a stunning new solution: Centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors Rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling an Empire that had dominated their lives for so long. A leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians, Heather relates the extraordinary story of how Europe's barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled the empire apart.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
A New HIstory but not a better history
- By Anonymous User on 03-28-14
By: Peter Heather
-
The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt
- By: Toby Wilkinson
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 18 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,093
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 952
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 947
In this landmark work, one of the world's most renowned Egyptologists tells the epic story of this great civilization, from its birth as the first nation-state to its final absorption into the Roman Empire - 3,000 years of wild drama, bold spectacle, and unforgettable characters. Award-winning scholar Toby Wilkinson captures not only the lavish pomp and artistic grandeur of this land of pyramids and pharaohs but for the first time reveals the constant propaganda and repression that were its foundations.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Well Written and Detailed
- By Anonymous User on 01-26-18
By: Toby Wilkinson
-
Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Jack Weatherford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19,940
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16,489
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 16,485
The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Golden Horde/Platinum Listen
- By Anonymous User on 12-11-13
By: Jack Weatherford
-
Alexander the Great
- The Hunt for a New Past
- By: Paul Cartledge
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 455
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 395
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 395
Paul Cartledge, one of the world's foremost scholars of ancient Greece, illuminates the brief but iconic life of Alexander (356-323 B.C.), king of Macedon, conqueror of the Persian Empire, and founder of a new world order. Alexander's legacy has had a major impact on military tacticians, scholars, statesmen, adventurers, authors, and filmmakers.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
NOT a Chronology of Alexander’s Life
- By Anonymous User on 12-30-20
By: Paul Cartledge
-
The Third Horseman
- Climate Change and the Great Famine of the 14th Century
- By: William Rosen
- Narrated by: William Hughes
- Length: 10 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 390
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 344
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 343
In May 1315 it started to rain. It didn't stop anywhere in north Europe until August. Next came the four coldest winters in a millennium. Two separate animal epidemics killed nearly 80 percent of northern Europe's livestock. Wars between Scotland and England, France and Flanders, and two rival claimants to the Holy Roman Empire destroyed all remaining farmland. After seven years, the combination of lost harvests, warfare, and pestilence would claim six million lives - one eighth of Europe's total population.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Not About Famine or Climate
- By Anonymous User on 05-24-14
By: William Rosen
-
The History of the Ancient World
- From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome
- By: Susan Wise Bauer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5,595
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 4,893
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 4,866
This is the first volume in a bold new series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from Europe to the Middle East to the far coast of China, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. Susan Wise Bauer provides both sweeping scope and vivid attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. This narrative history employs the methods of "history from beneath" - literature, epic traditions, private letters, and accounts - to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
An Historic Achievement
- By Anonymous User on 04-25-14
By: Susan Wise Bauer
-
In God's Path
- The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire
- By: Robert G. Hoyland
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 233
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 203
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 205
In just over a hundred years - from the death of Muhammad in 632 to the beginning of the Abbasid Caliphate in 750 - the followers of the Prophet swept across the whole of the Middle East, North Africa, and Spain. Their armies threatened states as far flung as the Franks in Western Europe and the Tang Empire in China. The conquered territory was larger than the Roman Empire at its greatest expansion, and it was claimed for the Arabs in roughly half the time.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Islamic conquest history from the outside
- By Anonymous User on 01-22-15
-
The Templars
- The History and the Myth: From Solomon's Temple to the Freemasons
- By: Michael Haag
- Narrated by: Guy Bethell
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 265
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 229
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 226
Arguably one of the most provocative, puzzling, and misunderstood organizations of medieval times, the legendary Knights Templar have always been shrouded in a veil of mystery, while inspiring popular culture from Indiana Jones to Dan Brown. In The Templars, author Michael Haag offers a definitive history of these loyal Christian soldiers of the Crusades - sworn to defend the Holy Land and Jerusalem, but ultimately damned and destroyed by the Pope and his church.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Narrator ruined it
- By Anonymous User on 10-19-17
By: Michael Haag
-
Marathon
- The Battle That Changed Western Civilization
- By: Richard A. Billows
- Narrated by: Jeremy Gage
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 113
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 91
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 89
Published to coincide with Marathon's 2500th anniversary, a riveting history of the historic battle. The Battle of Marathon in 490 B.C. is not only understood as the most decisive event in the struggle between the Greeks and the Persians, but can also be seen as perhaps the most significant moment in our collective history. 10,000 Athenian citizens faced a Persian military force of more than 25,000.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Effectively evokes the world of ancient greece
- By Anonymous User on 11-02-10
-
The Mental Floss History of the World
- An Irreverent Romp Through Civilization's Best Bits
- By: Steve Wiegand, Erik Sass
- Narrated by: Johny Heller
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 569
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 373
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 371
About 60,000 years ago, the first Homo sapiens were just beginning their move across the grasslands and up the ladder of civilization. Everything since then, as they say, is history. Just in case you were sleeping in class that day, the geniuses at mental_floss magazine have put together a hilarious (and historically accurate) primer on everything you need to know---and that means the good stuff.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brilliant and Funny. What more could you want?
- By Anonymous User on 01-22-09
By: Steve Wiegand, and others
-
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
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 74
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 67
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A heady piece of history and a romp.
- By Anonymous User on 05-28-15
By: Paul M. Cobb
-
In Search of the Dark Ages
- By: Michael Wood
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 14 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 62
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 59
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 59
In Search of the Dark Ages is an unrivalled exploration of the origins of English identity, and the best-selling book that established Michael Wood as one of Britain's leading historians. Now, on the book's 40th anniversary, this fully revised and expanded edition illuminates further the fascinating and mysterious centuries between the Romans and the Norman Conquest.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Brilliant!
- By Anonymous User on 08-31-22
By: Michael Wood
-
When Montezuma Met Cortes
- The True Story of the Meeting That Changed History
- By: Matthew Restall
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 95
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 84
In 1519, the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortés first met Montezuma, the Aztec emperor, at the entrance to the capital city of Tenochtitlan. This introduction - the prelude to the Spanish seizure of Mexico City and to European colonization of the mainland of the Americas - has long been the symbol of Cortés' bold and brilliant military genius. Montezuma, on the other hand, is remembered as a coward who gave away a vast empire and touched off a wave of colonial invasions across the hemisphere. But is this really what happened?
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Flawed, but worth it for those interested.
- By Anonymous User on 02-16-18
By: Matthew Restall
-
Walls
- A History of Civilization in Blood and Brick
- By: David Frye
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 119
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 101
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 102
With Frye as our raconteur-guide, we journey back to a time before barriers of brick and stone even existed - to an era in which nomadic tribes vied for scarce resources, and each man was bred to a life of struggle. Ultimately, those same men would create edifices of mud, brick, and stone and with them effectively divide humanity: On one side were those the walls protected; on the other, those the walls kept out. The stars of this narrative are the walls themselves - rising up in places as ancient and exotic as Mesopotamia, Babylon, Greece, China, Rome, Mongolia, Afghanistan, the lower Mississippi, and even Central America....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A boom that will transform how you view all of history.
- By Anonymous User on 08-04-24
By: David Frye
-
The Sea Wolves
- A History of the Vikings
- By: Lars Brownworth
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 7 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,052
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 939
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 937
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.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A little dry but very interesting
- By Anonymous User on 08-30-15
By: Lars Brownworth
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
The Great Mortality
- An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time
- By: John Kelly
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 21
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 20
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 20
The plague that devastated Asia and Europe in the 14th century has been of never-ending interest to both scholars and the general public. Many books on the plague rely on statistics to tell the story. In The Great Mortality, author John Kelly lends an air of immediacy and intimacy to his telling of the journey of the plague as it traveled from the steppes of Russia, across Europe, and into England, killing 75 million people—one third of the known population—before it vanished.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
Endless Speculation and Contradiction
- By Anonymous User on 04-20-24
By: John Kelly
-
When Life Nearly Died
- The Greatest Mass Extinction of All Time
- By: Michael J. Benton
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 154
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 129
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars