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Mastering the West
- Rome and Carthage at War
- Narrated by: Tom McElroy
- Length: 10 hrs and 43 mins
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Publisher's summary
To say the Punic Wars (264-146 BC) were a turning point in world history is a vast understatement. This bloody and protracted conflict pitted two flourishing Mediterranean powers against one another, leaving one an unrivalled giant and the other a literal pile of ash. To later observers, a collision between these civilizations seemed inevitable and yet to the Romans and Carthaginians at the time hostilities first erupted seemingly out of nowhere, with what were expected to be inconsequential results.
Mastering the West offers a thoroughly engrossing narrative of this century of battle in the western Mediterranean, while treating a full range of themes: the antagonists' military, naval, economic, and demographic resources; the political structures of both republics; and the postwar impact of the conflicts on the participants and victims. The narrative also investigates questions of leadership and the contributions and mistakes of leaders like Hannibal, Fabius the Delayer, Scipio Africanus, Masinissa, and Scipio Aemilianus.
Dexter Hoyos, a leading expert of the period, treats the two great powers evenly, without neglecting the important roles played by Syracuse, Macedon, and especially Numidia. Written with verve in a clear, accessible style, Mastering the West will be the most reliable and engaging narrative of this pivotal era in ancient history.
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- By Jeff Lacy on 05-22-20
By: Patrick N. Hunt
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By the Spear
- Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire
- By: Ian Worthington
- Narrated by: Phil Holland
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
For the first time, By the Spear offers an exhilarating military narrative of the reigns of these two larger-than-life figures in one volume. Ian Worthington gives full breadth to the careers of father and son, showing how Philip was the architect of the Macedonian empire, which reached its zenith under Alexander, only to disintegrate upon his death.
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Bueller..... Bueller...... Bueller...... Monotone
- By Jonathan Allen Beard on 02-15-15
By: Ian Worthington
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The War of the Three Gods
- Romans, Persians, and the Rise of Islam
- By: Peter Crawford
- Narrated by: James Lurie
- Length: 11 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The War of the Three Gods is a military history of the Near and Middle East in the seventh century - with its chief focus on the reign of the Eastern Roman Emperor Heraclius (AD 610-641) - a pivotal and dramatic time in world history. The Eastern Roman Empire was brought to the very brink of extinction by the Sassanid Persians before Heraclius managed to inflict a crushing defeat on the Sassanids with a desperate, final gambit.
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Filled in some blanks
- By Cory on 10-19-15
By: Peter Crawford
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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
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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.
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A heady piece of history and a romp.
- By Meeno on 05-28-15
By: Paul M. Cobb
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The War That Made the Roman Empire
- Antony, Cleopatra, and Octavian at Actium
- By: Barry Strauss
- Narrated by: Jacques Roy
- Length: 9 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Following Caesar’s assassination and Mark Antony’s defeat of the conspirators who killed Caesar, two powerful men remained in Rome—Antony and Caesar’s chosen heir, young Octavian, the future Augustus. When Antony fell in love with the most powerful woman in the world, Egypt’s ruler Cleopatra, and thwarted Octavian’s ambition to rule the empire, another civil war broke out. In 31 BC one of the largest naval battles in the ancient world took place—more than 600 ships, almost 200,000 men, and one woman—the Battle of Actium.
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Highly detailed accounts
- By LEE on 03-28-22
By: Barry Strauss
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Cleopatra's Kidnappers
- How Caesar's Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar
- By: Stephen Dando-Collins
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Julius Caesar was nothing if not bold. When, in the wake of his defeat of Pompey at Pharsalus his victorious legions refused to march another step under his command, he pursued his fleeing rival into Egypt with an impossibly small force of Gallic and German cavalry, raw Italian recruits, and nine hundred Spanish prisoners of war - tough veterans of Pompey's Sixth Legion. Cleopatra's Kidnappers tells the epic saga of Caesar's adventures in Egypt through the eyes of these captured, but never defeated, legionaries.
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Should be titled: The 6th Legion: Cleopatra's...
- By jv on 01-03-13
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Marathon
- The Battle That Changed Western Civilization
- By: Richard A. Billows
- Narrated by: Jeremy Gage
- Length: 8 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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.
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Effectively evokes the world of ancient greece
- By Aaron on 11-02-10
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Carthage Must Be Destroyed
- The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization
- By: Richard Miles
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
An epic history of a doomed civilization and a lost empire. The devastating struggle to the death between the Carthaginians and the Romans was one of the defining dramas of the ancient world. In an epic series of land and sea battles, both sides came close to victory before the Carthaginians finally succumbed and their capital city, history, and culture were almost utterly erased.
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Outstanding! This is THE book on Carthage.
- By Haakon B. Dahl on 01-21-13
By: Richard Miles
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The Rise of Rome
- The Making of the World's Greatest Empire
- By: Anthony Everitt
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 14 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Emerging as a market town from a cluster of hill villages in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., Rome grew to become the ancient world's preeminent power. Everitt fashions the story of Rome's rise to glory into an erudite book filled with lasting lessons for our time. He chronicles the clash between patricians and plebeians that defined the politics of the Republic. He shows how Rome's shrewd strategy of offering citizenship to her defeated subjects was instrumental in expanding the reach of her burgeoning empire.
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Rome from the fall of Troy through Julius Caesar
- By Mike From Mesa on 12-11-12
By: Anthony Everitt
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God's Battalions
- The Case for the Crusades
- By: Rodney Stark
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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.
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A lively and useful introduction
- By Tad Davis on 01-06-10
By: Rodney Stark
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Genghis Khan
- His Conquests, His Empire, His Legacy
- By: Frank McLynn
- Narrated by: Tim Andres Pabon
- Length: 24 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Mongol leader Genghis Khan was by far the greatest conqueror the world has ever known. His empire stretched from the Pacific Ocean to Central Europe, including all of China, the Middle East, and Russia. So how did an illiterate nomad rise to such colossal power and subdue most of the known world, eclipsing Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Napoleon?
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Well Researched but Poorly Written
- By Sean V. Werner on 08-10-16
By: Frank McLynn
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By the Spear
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Overall
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For the first time, By the Spear offers an exhilarating military narrative of the reigns of these two larger-than-life figures in one volume. Ian Worthington gives full breadth to the careers of father and son, showing how Philip was the architect of the Macedonian empire, which reached its zenith under Alexander, only to disintegrate upon his death.
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Bueller..... Bueller...... Bueller...... Monotone
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Rome
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The Roman Empire lasted a solid 500 years—an impressive number by any standard. The decline and final collapse of the Roman Empire took longer than most other empires even existed. Any historian trying to unearth the grand strategy of the Roman Empire must, therefore, always remain cognizant of the time scale. Over the centuries, the Empire's underlying economy, political arrangements, military affairs, and the myriad of external threats it faced were in constant flux, making adaptability to changing circumstances as important to Roman strategists as it is to strategists of the modern era.
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More detailed information on Rome.
- By George Bettasso on 01-03-24
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Praetorian
- The Rise and Fall of Rome's Imperial Bodyguard
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Founded by Augustus around 27 BC, the elite Praetorian Guard was tasked with the protection of the emperor and his family. As the centuries unfolded, however, Praetorian soldiers served not only as protectors and enforcers but also as powerful political players. Fiercely loyal to some emperors, they vied with others and ruthlessly toppled those who displeased them, including Caligula, Nero, Pertinax, and many more. Guy de la Bédoyère provides a compelling first full narrative history of the Praetorians.
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Buy it
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The Battle of Salamis
- The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece -- and Western Civilization
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On a late September day in 480 BC, Greek warships faced an invading Persian armada in the narrow Salamis Straits in the most important naval battle of the ancient world. Overwhelmingly outnumbered by the enemy, the Greeks triumphed through a combination of strategy and deception. More than two millennia after it occurred, the clash between the Greeks and Persians at Salamis remains one of the most tactically brilliant battles ever fought.
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Barry Strauss delivers an epic clash…
- By rzlbrk on 10-20-23
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The Fall of Carthage
- The Punic Wars 265-146BC
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The struggle between Rome and Carthage in the Punic Wars was arguably the greatest and most desperate conflict of antiquity. The forces involved and the casualties suffered by both sides were far greater than in any wars fought before the modern era, while the eventual outcome had far-reaching consequences for the history of the Western World, namely the ascendancy of Rome. An epic of war and battle, this is also the story of famous generals and leaders: Hannibal, Fabius Maximus, Scipio Africanus, and his grandson Scipio Aemilianus, who would finally bring down the walls of Carthage.
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Captivating
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The War That Made the Roman Empire
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Following Caesar’s assassination and Mark Antony’s defeat of the conspirators who killed Caesar, two powerful men remained in Rome—Antony and Caesar’s chosen heir, young Octavian, the future Augustus. When Antony fell in love with the most powerful woman in the world, Egypt’s ruler Cleopatra, and thwarted Octavian’s ambition to rule the empire, another civil war broke out. In 31 BC one of the largest naval battles in the ancient world took place—more than 600 ships, almost 200,000 men, and one woman—the Battle of Actium.
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Highly detailed accounts
- By LEE on 03-28-22
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By the Spear
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- By: Ian Worthington
- Narrated by: Phil Holland
- Length: 11 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
For the first time, By the Spear offers an exhilarating military narrative of the reigns of these two larger-than-life figures in one volume. Ian Worthington gives full breadth to the careers of father and son, showing how Philip was the architect of the Macedonian empire, which reached its zenith under Alexander, only to disintegrate upon his death.
-
-
Bueller..... Bueller...... Bueller...... Monotone
- By Jonathan Allen Beard on 02-15-15
By: Ian Worthington
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Rome
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- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 18 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The Roman Empire lasted a solid 500 years—an impressive number by any standard. The decline and final collapse of the Roman Empire took longer than most other empires even existed. Any historian trying to unearth the grand strategy of the Roman Empire must, therefore, always remain cognizant of the time scale. Over the centuries, the Empire's underlying economy, political arrangements, military affairs, and the myriad of external threats it faced were in constant flux, making adaptability to changing circumstances as important to Roman strategists as it is to strategists of the modern era.
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-
More detailed information on Rome.
- By George Bettasso on 01-03-24
By: James Lacey
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Praetorian
- The Rise and Fall of Rome's Imperial Bodyguard
- By: Guy de la Bédoyère
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Founded by Augustus around 27 BC, the elite Praetorian Guard was tasked with the protection of the emperor and his family. As the centuries unfolded, however, Praetorian soldiers served not only as protectors and enforcers but also as powerful political players. Fiercely loyal to some emperors, they vied with others and ruthlessly toppled those who displeased them, including Caligula, Nero, Pertinax, and many more. Guy de la Bédoyère provides a compelling first full narrative history of the Praetorians.
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Buy it
- By Charles on 08-07-17
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The Battle of Salamis
- The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece -- and Western Civilization
- By: Barry Strauss
- Narrated by: Tom Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
On a late September day in 480 BC, Greek warships faced an invading Persian armada in the narrow Salamis Straits in the most important naval battle of the ancient world. Overwhelmingly outnumbered by the enemy, the Greeks triumphed through a combination of strategy and deception. More than two millennia after it occurred, the clash between the Greeks and Persians at Salamis remains one of the most tactically brilliant battles ever fought.
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-
Barry Strauss delivers an epic clash…
- By rzlbrk on 10-20-23
By: Barry Strauss
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The Fall of Carthage
- The Punic Wars 265-146BC
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 26 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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The struggle between Rome and Carthage in the Punic Wars was arguably the greatest and most desperate conflict of antiquity. The forces involved and the casualties suffered by both sides were far greater than in any wars fought before the modern era, while the eventual outcome had far-reaching consequences for the history of the Western World, namely the ascendancy of Rome. An epic of war and battle, this is also the story of famous generals and leaders: Hannibal, Fabius Maximus, Scipio Africanus, and his grandson Scipio Aemilianus, who would finally bring down the walls of Carthage.
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Captivating
- By Jean on 03-25-19
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The War That Made the Roman Empire
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Following Caesar’s assassination and Mark Antony’s defeat of the conspirators who killed Caesar, two powerful men remained in Rome—Antony and Caesar’s chosen heir, young Octavian, the future Augustus. When Antony fell in love with the most powerful woman in the world, Egypt’s ruler Cleopatra, and thwarted Octavian’s ambition to rule the empire, another civil war broke out. In 31 BC one of the largest naval battles in the ancient world took place—more than 600 ships, almost 200,000 men, and one woman—the Battle of Actium.
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Highly detailed accounts
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The Roman Emperor Aurelian
- Restorer of the World: New Revised Edition
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The ancient Sibylline prophecies had foretold that the Roman Empire would last for 1000 years. As the time for the expected dissolution approached in the middle of the third century AD, the empire was lapsing into chaos, with seemingly interminable civil wars over the imperial succession. The western empire had seceded under a rebel emperor and the eastern empire was controlled by another usurper. Barbarians took advantage of the anarchy to kill and plunder all over the provinces.
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Fantastic deep dive, for those of us looking for more than encyclopedia entry
- By Ryan Anderson on 04-29-24
By: John F. White
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Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood
- The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. to the First Crusade
- By: Anthony Kaldellis
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins
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Overall
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Story
In the second half of the tenth century, Byzantium embarked on a series of spectacular conquests. By the early eleventh century, the empire was the most powerful state in the Mediterranean. Yet this imperial project came to a crashing collapse fifty years later, when political disunity, fiscal mismanagement, and defeat at the hands of the Seljuks and the Normans brought an end to Byzantine hegemony. By 1081, Byzantium's very existence was threatened.
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Well researched, well written
- By 19levans on 03-06-24
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In the Name of Rome
- The Men Who Won the Roman Empire
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 17 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Adrian Goldsworthy has received wide acclaim for his exceptional writing on the Roman Empire - including high praise from the acclaimed military historian and author John Keegan - and here he offers a new perspective on the empire by focusing on its greatest generals, including Scipio Africanus, Marius, Pompey, Caesar, and Titus.
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This pie was all crust, no filling
- By JLB on 04-11-17
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Theoderic the Great
- King of Goths, Ruler of Romans
- By: Hans-Ulrich Wiemer, John Noel Dillon - translator
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 23 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In the year 493, the leader of a vast confederation of Gothic warriors, their wives, and children personally cut down Odoacer, the man famous for deposing the last Roman emperor in 476. That leader became Theoderic the Great (454-526). This engaging history of his life and reign immerses listeners in the world of the warrior-king who ushered in decades of peace and stability in Italy as king of Goths and Romans.
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More for historians than general readers
- By Bill Staley on 10-29-23
By: Hans-Ulrich Wiemer, and others
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The Roman Triumph
- By: Mary Beard
- Narrated by: Lucy Rayner
- Length: 13 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
It followed every major military victory in ancient Rome: the successful general drove through the streets to the temple of Jupiter on the Capitoline Hill; behind him streamed his raucous soldiers; in front were his prisoners, as well as the booty he'd captured, from enemy ships and precious statues to plants and animals from the conquered territory. Occasionally there was so much on display that the show lasted two or three days. A radical reexamination of this most extraordinary of ancient ceremonies, this book explores the magnificence of the Roman triumph, but also its darker side.
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Did Mary Beard really write this book?
- By daryl on 03-03-23
By: Mary Beard
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The Last Kings of Macedonia and the Triumph of Rome
- By: Ian Worthington
- Narrated by: Gareth Richards
- Length: 9 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
In the history of ancient Macedonia, the last three Antigonid kings—Philip V, his son Perseus, and the pretender Andriscus or Philip VI—are commonly overlooked in favor of their predecessors Philip II and his son Alexander the Great, who established a Macedonian empire.
By: Ian Worthington
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Caesar's Civil War
- 49–44 BC
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrated by: John Telfer
- Length: 3 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great were two of the greatest generals Rome had ever produced. Together they had brought vast stretches of territory under Roman dominion. In 49 BC they turned against each other and plunged Rome into civil war. In this audiobook, Adrian Goldsworthy relates the gripping story of this desperate power struggle. Drawing on original accounts of the war, he examines how legion was pitched against legion in a vicious battle for political domination of the vast Roman world.
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Great Overview
- By Cody Rankin on 01-19-23
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The Last Great War of Antiquity
- By: James Howard-Johnston
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 20 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
The last and longest war of classical antiquity was fought in the early seventh century. It was ideologically charged and fought along the full length of the Persian-Roman frontier, drawing in all the available resources and great powers of the steppe world. The conflict raged on an unprecedented scale, and its end brought the classical phase of history to a close. Despite all this, it has left a conspicuous gap in the history of warfare. This book aims to finally fill that gap.
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Perfect book for getting in the weeds.
- By Miles Simpson on 09-24-23
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Trajan
- Rome's Last Conqueror
- By: Nicholas Jackson
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Until the publication of this captivating biography, no such volume on Trajan's life has been tailored to the general listener. The unique book illuminates a neglected period of ancient Roman history. Trajan rose from fairly obscure beginnings to become the emperor of Rome. He was born in Italica, an Italic settlement close to modern Seville in present-day Spain, and is the first Roman Emperor to be born outside of Rome. His remarkable rise from officer to general and then to emperor in just over twenty years reveals a shrewd politician who maintained absolute power.
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Distracting performance
- By Generic Reviewer on 06-22-24
By: Nicholas Jackson
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Carthage Must Be Destroyed
- The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Civilization
- By: Richard Miles
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 14 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An epic history of a doomed civilization and a lost empire. The devastating struggle to the death between the Carthaginians and the Romans was one of the defining dramas of the ancient world. In an epic series of land and sea battles, both sides came close to victory before the Carthaginians finally succumbed and their capital city, history, and culture were almost utterly erased.
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Outstanding! This is THE book on Carthage.
- By Haakon B. Dahl on 01-21-13
By: Richard Miles
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Pax
- War and Peace in Rome's Golden Age
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Tom Holland
- Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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
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Great book!
- By Mic on 09-27-23
By: Tom Holland
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The Thirty Years War
- Europe's Tragedy
- By: Peter H. Wilson
- Narrated by: Matthew Waterson
- Length: 33 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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.
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Best Single-Volume History of the 30 Years' War
- By Amazon Customer on 10-09-23
By: Peter H. Wilson
What listeners say about Mastering the West
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Michael S Healy
- 02-05-15
Great story -- coughing, breathy narrator.
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
Overall, I learned a lot from the author but laughed at the poor production.
What did you like best about this story?
The history is compelling and insightful.
How could the performance have been better?
The producer did not catch the cough at 5:27 in audio CHAPTER 5 nor the loud inhalations throughout the recording.
If this book were a movie would you go see it?
yes
Any additional comments?
AUDIBLE's quality is starting to drop.
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6 people found this helpful
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Performance
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Story
- Richard
- 03-17-15
Great Book, Not the Best Reader for It
Would you consider the audio edition of Mastering the West to be better than the print version?
No, because the reader struggled with the plethora of Latin names and such.
What did you like best about this story?
Very well written history, with a concise narrative drive.
What didn’t you like about Tom McElroy’s performance?
Just not equipped to read a book so full of classical names.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?
How the West Was Won
Any additional comments?
This is a recent title, so I am mystified why there wasn't more careful vetting of the reader for it. It is a bit specialized, so a good reader for classical history was in order. Is there none? I'm sure McElroy is quite competent as a reader for other things.
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- Mr Mock
- 09-29-17
Jarring narration ruins an otherwise great history
Did no one at the publisher think to give a proof read listen to this audiobook before letting it be submitted to the public?
I was soldiering my way through, forgiving the slightly mispronounced words at first such as instead of Hannibal, it was more like Han E. Ball, much like saying John F Kennedy.
But it got worse, and not steadily, but suddenly! As soon as we begin with the 2nd Punic War, the narrator suddenly forgets how to pronounce Latin names. And boy is it jarring! Fabius the Delayer becomes Fab A Uass. The narrator actually pronounces the same name about 4 different ways to the point that the listener isn't quite sure if he is talking about the same person anymore or not.
Had the narrator pronounced names like that from the start, I could have gotten over it and finished the book. It is the fact that half way through he forgets how to read Latin!
Geez.
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4 people found this helpful
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Story
- Mitch
- 02-01-19
interesting subject, poor quality narration
narration was not of the level professional quality one would expect of a commercial product.
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- Kevin R. Muir
- 07-15-18
Excellent
Great look at the Punic Wars and what was the birth of the Roman Empire. Highly recommended.
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- Bronwen
- 10-08-15
Interesting book, indifferent reader and editing
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
The pros: The book is great. I will probably buy a copy so I can finish the story. Well written and engaging. The narrator's voice has a lovely tone.
The cons: the narrator's flat vowels and indifferent Latin pronunciation is grating. It is also not well edited; there are a few instances where the narrator repeats a sentence and one point where he coughs.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Brian
- 06-17-18
Very informative
This book was very well researched. The only reason I gave four stars, rather than five stars, was that I was a bit overwhelmed by the geographic references and names that sound similar after a while. The narrator was quite good.
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- chris
- 04-22-15
An brief history of the Punic Wars
What did you like best about Mastering the West? What did you like least?
I liked the battle information but it seemed that the author could've added more I think. It's very concise, which isn't really a bad thing, I just hoped for more.
What didn’t you like about Tom McElroy’s performance?
The author had some trouble with pronunciation, but overall he did a good job. There was one part where he literally cleared his throat during the reading. Of course reading out loud for a long time will make any person need to do that, but the people who didn't edit that out or re record that bit really dropped the ball. (The 2 star rating is because of the editing. I'd give the author higher marks on his own, and higher still for pronunciation. He's probably very good in other books).
Any additional comments?
"Carthage Must Be Destroyed" was a better read I think. Other books on the Punic Wars were better as well. This wasn't poorly done by any means. Its just not my favorite.
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