The Cage
The Fight for Sri Lanka and the Last Days of the Tamil Tigers
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Prime members: New to Audible?Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
The Cage
Buy for $24.95
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
James Adams
-
By:
-
Gordon Weiss
About this listen
In the closing days of the 30-year Sri Lankan civil war, tens of thousands of civilians were killed, according to UN estimates, as government forces hemmed in the last remaining Tamil Tiger rebels on a tiny sand spit, dubbed "The Cage". Gordon Weiss, a journalist and UN spokesperson in Sri Lanka during the final years of the war, pulls back the curtain of government misinformation to tell the full story for the first time. Tracing the role of foreign influence as it converged with a history of radical Buddhism and ethnic conflict, The Cage is a harrowing portrait of an island paradise torn apart by war and the root causes and catastrophic consequences of a revolutionary uprising caught in the crossfire of international power jockeying.
Gordon Weiss has lived in New York and worked in numerous conflict and natural disaster zones including Bosnia, Afghanistan, Darfur, Pakistan, Congo, and Haiti. Employed by the United Nations for over 12 years, Weiss is now a writer, speaker, and analyst of international affairs as well as a founding advisor to the International Crimes Evidence Project, currently investigating war crimes.
©2012 Gordon Weiss (P)2014 Audible, Inc.Listeners also enjoyed...
-
A Savage War of Peace
- Algeria 1954-1962
- By: Alistair Horne
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 29 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 413
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 296
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 292
The Algerian War lasted from 1954 to 1962. It caused the fall of six French governments, led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic, and came close to provoking a civil war on French soil. More than a million Muslim Algerians died in the conflict, and as many European settlers were driven into exile. From the perspective of half a century, it looks less like the last colonial war than the first postmodern one.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent history of France's Viet Nam
- By David on 04-10-16
By: Alistair Horne
-
Six Days of War
- June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East
- By: Michael B. Oren
- Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,210
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,643
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,640
In Israel and the West, it is called the Six Day War. In the Arab world, it is known as the June War or, simply, as "the Setback". Never has a conflict so short, unforeseen, and largely unwanted by both sides so transformed the world. The Yom Kippur War, the war in Lebanon, the Camp David accords, the controversy over Jerusalem and Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the intifada, and the rise of Palestinian terror are all part of the outcome of those six days.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great overview of Middle East troubles
- By Patrick Marstall on 07-23-06
By: Michael B. Oren
-
Legacy of Violence
- A History of the British Empire
- By: Caroline Elkins
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 31 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 106
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
From a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian: a searing study of the British Empire that probes the country's pervasive use of violence throughout the twentieth century and traces how these practices were exported, modified, and institutionalized in colonies around the globe.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Great ideas, but very disappointing execution
- By Luc Rey-Bellet on 09-05-22
By: Caroline Elkins
-
Running in the Family
- By: Michael Ondaatje
- Narrated by: Michael Ondaatje
- Length: 4 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 72
In the late 1970s Ondaatje returned to his native island of Sri Lanka. As he records his journey through the drug-like heat and intoxicating fragrances of that "pendant off the ear of India", Ondaatje simultaneously retraces the baroque mythology of his Dutch-Ceylonese family. An inspired travel narrative and family memoir by an exceptional writer.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A deep stream...
- By Anonymous User on 08-07-18
By: Michael Ondaatje
-
Number Go Up
- Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall
- By: Zeke Faux
- Narrated by: Dan Bittner
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 536
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 460
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 460
In 2021 cryptocurrency went mainstream. Giant investment funds were buying it, celebrities like Tom Brady endorsed it, and TV ads hailed it as the future of money. Hardly anyone knew how it worked—but why bother with the particulars when everyone was making a fortune from Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, or some other bizarrely named “digital asset”? As he observed this frenzy, investigative reporter Zeke Faux had a nagging question: Was it all just a confidence game of epic proportions? What started as curiosity—with a dash of FOMO—would morph into a two-year globe-spanning quest.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Phenomenal story
- By Michael on 10-05-23
By: Zeke Faux
-
Assyria
- The Rise and Fall of the World's First Empire
- By: Eckart Frahm
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 15 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
At its height in 660 BCE, the kingdom of Assyria stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It was the first empire the world had ever seen. Here, historian Eckart Frahm tells the epic story of Assyria and its formative role in global history. Assyria’s wide-ranging conquests have long been known from the Hebrew Bible and later Greek accounts. But nearly two centuries of research now permit a rich picture of the Assyrians and their empire beyond the battlefield.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding Historical Book
- By Okahead on 05-15-23
By: Eckart Frahm
-
A Savage War of Peace
- Algeria 1954-1962
- By: Alistair Horne
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 29 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 413
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 296
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 292
The Algerian War lasted from 1954 to 1962. It caused the fall of six French governments, led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic, and came close to provoking a civil war on French soil. More than a million Muslim Algerians died in the conflict, and as many European settlers were driven into exile. From the perspective of half a century, it looks less like the last colonial war than the first postmodern one.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent history of France's Viet Nam
- By David on 04-10-16
By: Alistair Horne
-
Six Days of War
- June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East
- By: Michael B. Oren
- Narrated by: Robert Whitfield
- Length: 17 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,210
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,643
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,640
In Israel and the West, it is called the Six Day War. In the Arab world, it is known as the June War or, simply, as "the Setback". Never has a conflict so short, unforeseen, and largely unwanted by both sides so transformed the world. The Yom Kippur War, the war in Lebanon, the Camp David accords, the controversy over Jerusalem and Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the intifada, and the rise of Palestinian terror are all part of the outcome of those six days.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great overview of Middle East troubles
- By Patrick Marstall on 07-23-06
By: Michael B. Oren
-
Legacy of Violence
- A History of the British Empire
- By: Caroline Elkins
- Narrated by: Adam Barr
- Length: 31 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 106
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 86
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
From a Pulitzer Prize–winning historian: a searing study of the British Empire that probes the country's pervasive use of violence throughout the twentieth century and traces how these practices were exported, modified, and institutionalized in colonies around the globe.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Great ideas, but very disappointing execution
- By Luc Rey-Bellet on 09-05-22
By: Caroline Elkins
-
Running in the Family
- By: Michael Ondaatje
- Narrated by: Michael Ondaatje
- Length: 4 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 87
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 73
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 72
In the late 1970s Ondaatje returned to his native island of Sri Lanka. As he records his journey through the drug-like heat and intoxicating fragrances of that "pendant off the ear of India", Ondaatje simultaneously retraces the baroque mythology of his Dutch-Ceylonese family. An inspired travel narrative and family memoir by an exceptional writer.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A deep stream...
- By Anonymous User on 08-07-18
By: Michael Ondaatje
-
Number Go Up
- Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall
- By: Zeke Faux
- Narrated by: Dan Bittner
- Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 536
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 460
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 460
In 2021 cryptocurrency went mainstream. Giant investment funds were buying it, celebrities like Tom Brady endorsed it, and TV ads hailed it as the future of money. Hardly anyone knew how it worked—but why bother with the particulars when everyone was making a fortune from Dogecoin, Shiba Inu, or some other bizarrely named “digital asset”? As he observed this frenzy, investigative reporter Zeke Faux had a nagging question: Was it all just a confidence game of epic proportions? What started as curiosity—with a dash of FOMO—would morph into a two-year globe-spanning quest.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Phenomenal story
- By Michael on 10-05-23
By: Zeke Faux
-
Assyria
- The Rise and Fall of the World's First Empire
- By: Eckart Frahm
- Narrated by: Matthew Lloyd Davies
- Length: 15 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 98
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 87
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
At its height in 660 BCE, the kingdom of Assyria stretched from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. It was the first empire the world had ever seen. Here, historian Eckart Frahm tells the epic story of Assyria and its formative role in global history. Assyria’s wide-ranging conquests have long been known from the Hebrew Bible and later Greek accounts. But nearly two centuries of research now permit a rich picture of the Assyrians and their empire beyond the battlefield.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Outstanding Historical Book
- By Okahead on 05-15-23
By: Eckart Frahm
-
The Great Game
- The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia
- By: Peter Hopkirk
- Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 719
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 622
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 617
The Great Game between Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia was fought across desolate terrain from the Caucasus to China, over the lonely passes of the Parmirs and Karakorams, in the blazing Kerman and Helmund deserts, and through the caravan towns of the old Silk Road - both powers scrambling to control access to the riches of India and the East. When play first began, the frontiers of Russia and British India lay 2000 miles apart; by the end, this distance had shrunk to 20 miles at some points.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Desperately Needs a PDF Map of Region at the Time
- By Ann on 12-22-17
By: Peter Hopkirk
-
Rise and Kill First
- The Secret History of Israel's Targeted Assassinations
- By: Ronen Bergman
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 25 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2,567
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 2,272
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2,265
The Talmud says: “If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first.” This instinct to take every measure, even the most aggressive, to defend the Jewish people is hardwired into Israel’s DNA. From the very beginning of its statehood in 1948, protecting the nation from harm has been the responsibility of its intelligence community and armed services, and there is one weapon in their vast arsenal that they have relied upon to thwart the most serious threats: Targeted assassinations have been used countless times, on enemies large and small....
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Eye Opening
- By Ari Safari on 02-09-18
By: Ronen Bergman
-
Arabs
- A 3,000-Year History of Peoples, Tribes, and Empires
- By: Tim Mackintosh-Smith
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 25 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 288
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 253
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 253
This kaleidoscopic book covers almost 3,000 years of Arab history and shines a light on the footloose Arab peoples and tribes who conquered lands and disseminated their language and culture over vast distances. Tracing this process to the origins of the Arabic language, rather than the advent of Islam, Tim Mackintosh-Smith begins his narrative more than a thousand years before Muhammad and focuses on how Arabic, both spoken and written, has functioned as a vital source of shared cultural identity over the millennia.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Good book bad narration
- By Anonymous User on 09-18-19
-
Bolivar
- American Liberator
- By: Marie Arana
- Narrated by: David Crommett
- Length: 20 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,403
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,220
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,215
It is astonishing that Simón Bolívar, the great Liberator of South America, is not better known in the United States. He freed six countries from Spanish rule, traveled more than 75,000 miles on horseback to do so, and became the greatest figure in Latin American history. His life is epic, heroic, straight out of Hollywood: he fought battle after battle in punishing terrain, forged uncertain coalitions of competing forces and races, lost his beautiful wife soon after they married and died relatively young, uncertain whether his achievements would endure.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
There will be blood.
- By Joselo on 08-02-13
By: Marie Arana
-
The Hundred Years' War on Palestine
- A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917--2017
- By: Rashid Khalidi
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi, Rashid Khalidi - introduction
- Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,141
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1,034
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,030
Drawing on a wealth of untapped archival materials and the reports of generations of family members - mayors, judges, scholars, diplomats, and journalists - The Hundred Years' War on Palestine upends accepted interpretations of the conflict, which tend, at best, to describe a tragic clash between two peoples with claims to the same territory. Instead, Khalidi traces a hundred years of colonial war on the Palestinians, waged first by the Zionist movement and then Israel, but backed by Britain and the United States, the great powers of the age.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Thoroughly Researched and Evidence-Based, but...
- By K on 05-24-21
By: Rashid Khalidi
-
The Company
- The Rise and Fall of the Hudson’s Bay Empire
- By: Stephen R. Bown
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 16 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 107
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 84
The Hudson’s Bay Company started out small in 1670, trading practical manufactured goods for furs with the indigenous inhabitants of inland subarctic Canada. Controlled by a handful of English aristocrats, it expanded into a powerful political force that ruled the lives of many thousands of people - from the lowlands south and west of Hudson Bay, to the tundra, the great plains, the Rocky Mountains, and the Pacific Northwest.
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
Distracting and Annoying racist tropes
- By Eric on 10-28-22
By: Stephen R. Bown
-
The Story of Russia
- By: Orlando Figes
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 191
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 168
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 168
The Story of Russia is about how the Russians defined themselves―and repeatedly reinvented such definitions along the way. Moving from Russia’s agrarian beginnings in the first millennium to subsequent periods of monarchy, totalitarianism, and perestroika, all the way up to Vladimir Putin and his use of myths of Russian history to bolster his regime, celebrated historian Orlando Figes examines the ideas that have guided the country’s actions.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Almost perfect…
- By Samantha Dispenzieri on 02-21-23
By: Orlando Figes
-
A Peace to End All Peace
- The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East
- By: David Fromkin
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 23 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 472
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 404
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 405
The Middle East has long been a region of rival religions, ideologies, nationalisms, and ambitions. All of these conflicts are rooted in the region's political inheritance: the arrangements, unities, and divisions imposed by the Allies after the First World War. Author David Fromkin reveals how and why the Allies drew lines on an empty map that remade the geography and politics of the Middle East. Focusing on the formative years of 1914 to 1922, when all seemed possible, he delivers in this sweeping and magisterial book the definitive account of this defining time.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Still A Great Book On The Topic
- By Nostromo on 02-03-19
By: David Fromkin
-
Israel
- A Concise History of a Nation Reborn
- By: Daniel Gordis
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,334
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,179
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,170
Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world's attention, aroused its imagination, and, lately, been the object of its opprobrium. Why does such a small country speak to so many global concerns? More pressingly: Why does Israel make the decisions it does? And what lies in its future? We cannot answer these questions until we understand Israel's people and the questions and conflicts, the hopes and desires, that have animated their conversations and actions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent, mildly but honestly biased, terrible narration
- By Schaq on 04-01-17
By: Daniel Gordis
-
A New World Begins
- The History of the French Revolution
- By: Jeremy D. Popkin
- Narrated by: Pete Cross, Jeremy D. Popkin
- Length: 21 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 302
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 258
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 257
The principles of the French Revolution remain the only possible basis for a just society - even if, after more than 200 years, they are more contested than ever before. In A New World Begins, Jeremy D. Popkin offers a riveting account of the revolution that puts the listener in the thick of the debates and the violence that led to the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a new society.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Narration
- By Kindle Customer on 04-26-22
By: Jeremy D. Popkin
-
Enemies and Neighbors
- Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel, 1917-2017
- By: Ian Black
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 94
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 74
In Enemies and Neighbors, Ian Black, who has spent over three decades covering events in the Middle East and is currently a fellow at the London School of Economics, offers a major new history of the Arab-Zionist conflict from 1917 to today. Laying the historical groundwork in the final decades of the Ottoman Era, when the first Zionist settlers arrived in the Holy Land, Black draws on a wide range of sources - from declassified documents to oral histories to his own vivid on-the-ground reporting - to recreate the major milestones in the most polarizing conflict of the modern age from both sides.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Decent historical compilation, poor framing
- By Dan Harris on 07-08-20
By: Ian Black
-
Cuba Libre!
- Che, Fidel, and the Improbable Revolution That Changed World History
- By: Tony Perrottet
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 12 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 171
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 150
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 150
Historian and journalist Tony Perrottet chronicles the events of the Cuban Revolution and the figures at the center of the guerrilla uprising: Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, and the scrappy band of rebel men and women who followed them.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
HUGE anti-commie here...
- By Don C. on 10-22-21
By: Tony Perrottet
Related to this topic
-
Enemies and Neighbors
- Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel, 1917-2017
- By: Ian Black
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 94
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 74
In Enemies and Neighbors, Ian Black, who has spent over three decades covering events in the Middle East and is currently a fellow at the London School of Economics, offers a major new history of the Arab-Zionist conflict from 1917 to today. Laying the historical groundwork in the final decades of the Ottoman Era, when the first Zionist settlers arrived in the Holy Land, Black draws on a wide range of sources - from declassified documents to oral histories to his own vivid on-the-ground reporting - to recreate the major milestones in the most polarizing conflict of the modern age from both sides.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Decent historical compilation, poor framing
- By Dan Harris on 07-08-20
By: Ian Black
-
The Korean War
- A History
- By: Bruce Cumings
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 74
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
In sobering detail, The Korean War chronicles a US home front agitated by Joseph McCarthy, where absolutist conformity discouraged open inquiry and citizen dissent. Cumings incisively ties our current foreign policy back to Korea: an America with hundreds of permanent military bases abroad, a large standing army, and a permanent national security state at home, the ultimate result of a judicious and limited policy of containment evolving into an ongoing and seemingly endless global crusade.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A real eye-opener
- By Bookworm on 10-09-19
By: Bruce Cumings
-
Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War
- By: Robin Yassin-Kassab, Leila Al-Shami
- Narrated by: Fergus Nicoll
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Burning Country explores the complicated reality of life in present-day Syria with unprecedented detail and sophistication, drawing on new first-hand testimonies from opposition fighters, exiles lost in an archipelago of refugee camps, and courageous human rights activists. Yassin-Kassab and Al-Shami expertly interweave these stories with an incisive analysis of the militarization of the uprising, the rise of the Islamists and sectarian warfare, and the role of Syria’s government in exacerbating the brutalization of the conflict.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Definitive Account of the Syrian Revolution
- By Theo Horesh on 06-07-18
By: Robin Yassin-Kassab, and others
-
Cambodia
- Report From a Stricken Land
- By: Henry Kamm
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 203
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 189
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 187
Based on his observations over three decades, Henry Kamm, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times Southeast Asia correspondent, unravels the complexities of Cambodia. Kamm's invaluable document - a factual and personal account of its troubled history - gives the Western listener the first clear understanding of this magic land's past and present.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Solid Introduction, but Somewhat Dated
- By Christopher on 04-21-15
By: Henry Kamm
-
Muqtada
- Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq
- By: Patrick Cockburn
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
Whatever else the United States intended when it invaded Iraq in the spring of 2003, it was not to hand the country over to a 32-year-old militant cleric who fought against the U.S. presence from the start and was described by former Iraqi administrator L. Paul Bremer III as a "Bolshevik Islamist".
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
truth in an era of lies
- By NF ironman on 11-29-17
By: Patrick Cockburn
-
The Cold War's Killing Fields
- Rethinking the Long Peace
- By: Paul Thomas Chamberlin
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 115
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 105
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 105
In this sweeping, deeply researched book, Paul Thomas Chamberlin boldly argues that the Cold War, long viewed as a mostly peaceful, if tense, diplomatic standoff between democracy and communism, was actually a part of a vast, deadly conflict that killed millions on battlegrounds across the postcolonial world. For half a century, as an uneasy peace hung over Europe, ferocious proxy wars raged in the Cold War’s killing fields, resulting in more than 14 million dead - victims who remain largely forgotten and all but lost to history.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting but Biased
- By Jonathan W Schneider on 08-13-18
-
Enemies and Neighbors
- Arabs and Jews in Palestine and Israel, 1917-2017
- By: Ian Black
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 20 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 94
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 75
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 74
In Enemies and Neighbors, Ian Black, who has spent over three decades covering events in the Middle East and is currently a fellow at the London School of Economics, offers a major new history of the Arab-Zionist conflict from 1917 to today. Laying the historical groundwork in the final decades of the Ottoman Era, when the first Zionist settlers arrived in the Holy Land, Black draws on a wide range of sources - from declassified documents to oral histories to his own vivid on-the-ground reporting - to recreate the major milestones in the most polarizing conflict of the modern age from both sides.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Decent historical compilation, poor framing
- By Dan Harris on 07-08-20
By: Ian Black
-
The Korean War
- A History
- By: Bruce Cumings
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 8 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 74
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 61
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 59
In sobering detail, The Korean War chronicles a US home front agitated by Joseph McCarthy, where absolutist conformity discouraged open inquiry and citizen dissent. Cumings incisively ties our current foreign policy back to Korea: an America with hundreds of permanent military bases abroad, a large standing army, and a permanent national security state at home, the ultimate result of a judicious and limited policy of containment evolving into an ongoing and seemingly endless global crusade.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A real eye-opener
- By Bookworm on 10-09-19
By: Bruce Cumings
-
Burning Country: Syrians in Revolution and War
- By: Robin Yassin-Kassab, Leila Al-Shami
- Narrated by: Fergus Nicoll
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 39
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Burning Country explores the complicated reality of life in present-day Syria with unprecedented detail and sophistication, drawing on new first-hand testimonies from opposition fighters, exiles lost in an archipelago of refugee camps, and courageous human rights activists. Yassin-Kassab and Al-Shami expertly interweave these stories with an incisive analysis of the militarization of the uprising, the rise of the Islamists and sectarian warfare, and the role of Syria’s government in exacerbating the brutalization of the conflict.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Definitive Account of the Syrian Revolution
- By Theo Horesh on 06-07-18
By: Robin Yassin-Kassab, and others
-
Cambodia
- Report From a Stricken Land
- By: Henry Kamm
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 8 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 203
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 189
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 187
Based on his observations over three decades, Henry Kamm, Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times Southeast Asia correspondent, unravels the complexities of Cambodia. Kamm's invaluable document - a factual and personal account of its troubled history - gives the Western listener the first clear understanding of this magic land's past and present.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
A Solid Introduction, but Somewhat Dated
- By Christopher on 04-21-15
By: Henry Kamm
-
Muqtada
- Muqtada al-Sadr, the Shia Revival, and the Struggle for Iraq
- By: Patrick Cockburn
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
Whatever else the United States intended when it invaded Iraq in the spring of 2003, it was not to hand the country over to a 32-year-old militant cleric who fought against the U.S. presence from the start and was described by former Iraqi administrator L. Paul Bremer III as a "Bolshevik Islamist".
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
truth in an era of lies
- By NF ironman on 11-29-17
By: Patrick Cockburn
-
The Cold War's Killing Fields
- Rethinking the Long Peace
- By: Paul Thomas Chamberlin
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 22 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 115
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 105
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 105
In this sweeping, deeply researched book, Paul Thomas Chamberlin boldly argues that the Cold War, long viewed as a mostly peaceful, if tense, diplomatic standoff between democracy and communism, was actually a part of a vast, deadly conflict that killed millions on battlegrounds across the postcolonial world. For half a century, as an uneasy peace hung over Europe, ferocious proxy wars raged in the Cold War’s killing fields, resulting in more than 14 million dead - victims who remain largely forgotten and all but lost to history.
-
3 out of 5 stars
-
Interesting but Biased
- By Jonathan W Schneider on 08-13-18
-
The Burning Shores
- Inside the Battle for the New Libya
- By: Frederic Wehrey
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 10 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
The death of Colonel Muammar Qadhafi freed Libya from 42 years of despotic rule, raising hopes for a new era. But in the aftermath, the country descended into bitter rivalries and civil war, paving the way for the Islamic State and a catastrophic migrant crisis. In a fast-paced narrative that blends frontline reporting, analysis, and history, Frederic Wehrey tells the story of what went wrong.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
amazing yet painful book
- By Ghassan Tranesh on 09-20-18
By: Frederic Wehrey
-
A Problem From Hell
- America and the Age of Genocide
- By: Samantha Power
- Narrated by: Joyce Bean
- Length: 22 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 359
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 324
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 322
In her award-winning interrogation of the last century of American history, Samantha Power - a former Balkan war correspondent and founding executive director of Harvard’s Carr Center for Human Rights Policy - asks the haunting question: Why do American leaders who vow “never again” repeatedly fail to stop genocide?
-
2 out of 5 stars
-
A dark lesson in dramatic irony
- By Andrew Palmer on 10-04-17
By: Samantha Power
-
Syria Burning
- ISIS and the Death of the Arab Spring
- By: Charles Glass
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 2 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 46
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 42
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 43
Glass has reported extensively from the Middle East and travelled frequently in Syria over several decades. Here he melds together reportage, analysis, and history to provide an accessible overview of the origins and permutations defining the conflict, situating it clearly in the overall crisis of the region. His voice, elegant and concise, humane and richly informed, is a vital antidote to the sloganizing that shapes so much commentary and policy concerning the civil war.
-
1 out of 5 stars
-
The authors bias is insufferable.
- By Dan on 01-02-16
By: Charles Glass
-
Israel
- A Concise History of a Nation Reborn
- By: Daniel Gordis
- Narrated by: Fred Sanders
- Length: 16 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,334
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,179
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,170
Israel is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world's attention, aroused its imagination, and, lately, been the object of its opprobrium. Why does such a small country speak to so many global concerns? More pressingly: Why does Israel make the decisions it does? And what lies in its future? We cannot answer these questions until we understand Israel's people and the questions and conflicts, the hopes and desires, that have animated their conversations and actions.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent, mildly but honestly biased, terrible narration
- By Schaq on 04-01-17
By: Daniel Gordis
-
ISIS
- Inside the Army of Terror
- By: Michael Weiss, Hassan Hassan
- Narrated by: Qarie Marshall
- Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 1,001
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 878
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 873
Initially dismissed by US President Barack Obama, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has shocked the world by conquering massive territories in both countries and promising to create a vast new Muslim caliphate that observes the strict dictates of Sharia law. In ISIS: Inside the Army of Terror, American journalist Michael Weiss and Syrian analyst Hassan Hassan explain how these violent extremists evolved from a nearly defeated Iraqi insurgent group into a jihadi army of international volunteers who have conquered territory equal to the size of Great Britain.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Dunce Hat, Please...
- By Mel on 02-16-16
By: Michael Weiss, and others
-
Anatomy of Terror
- From the Death of bin Laden to the Rise of the Islamic State
- By: Ali Soufan
- Narrated by: Aaron Abano
- Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 222
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 194
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 195
In Anatomy of Terror, former FBI special agent and New York Times best-selling author Ali Soufan dissects bin Laden's brand of jihadi terrorism and its major offshoots, revealing how these organizations were formed, how they operate, their strengths, and - crucially - their weaknesses.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
What every human on the planet needs to know!
- By drkraver on 05-24-17
By: Ali Soufan
-
Moral Combat
- Good and Evil in World War II
- By: Michael Burleigh
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 26 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 69
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 59
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 58
In this sweepingly ambitious overview of World War II, Michael Burleigh combines meticulous scholarship with a remarkable depth of knowledge and an astonishing scope. By exploring the moral sentiments of entire societies and their leaders and how such attitudes changed under the impact of total war, Burleigh presents listeners with a fresh and powerful perspective on a conflict that continues to shape world politics.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
terror
- By Ed on 02-12-12
By: Michael Burleigh
-
A Thousand Hills
- Rwanda's Rebirth and the Man Who Dreamed It
- By: Stephen Kinzer
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 144
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 120
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 119
Paul Kagame grew up as a wretched refugee. He and a group of comrades, determined to force their way back home after a generation of exile, designed one of the most audacious covert operations in the history of clandestine war. Then, after taking power, they amazed the world by stabilizing and reviving their devastated country.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Best Most Comprehensive Work on Rwanda
- By Greg on 07-30-10
By: Stephen Kinzer
-
Descent into Chaos
- The United States and the Failure of Nation Building in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Central Asia
- By: Ahmed Rashid
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 19 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 136
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 69
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 73
Rashid examines Central Asia, and the corridors of power in Washington and Europe, to see how the promised nation building in the region has progressed. His conclusions are devastating.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
Useful!
- By John Robert BEHRMAN on 02-24-09
By: Ahmed Rashid
-
A Savage War of Peace
- Algeria 1954-1962
- By: Alistair Horne
- Narrated by: James Adams
- Length: 29 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 413
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 296
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 292
The Algerian War lasted from 1954 to 1962. It caused the fall of six French governments, led to the collapse of the Fourth Republic, and came close to provoking a civil war on French soil. More than a million Muslim Algerians died in the conflict, and as many European settlers were driven into exile. From the perspective of half a century, it looks less like the last colonial war than the first postmodern one.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Excellent history of France's Viet Nam
- By David on 04-10-16
By: Alistair Horne
-
The American War in Afghanistan
- A History 1st Edition
- By: Carter Malkasian
- Narrated by: Jonathan Todd Ross
- Length: 27 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 51
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 44
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 44
The American war in Afghanistan, which began in 2001, is now the longest armed conflict in the nation's history. It is currently winding down, and American troops are likely to leave soon - but only after a stay of nearly two decades.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A superb summary of the Afghan war
- By Charles Olmsted on 06-18-22
By: Carter Malkasian
-
Jungle of Snakes
- A Century of Counterinsurgency Warfare from the Philippines to Iraq
- By: James R. Arnold
- Narrated by: Mark Ashby
- Length: 9 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 29
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 23
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 22
The end of the Cold War promised a new era of international peace. But instead, violence has proliferated across the globe, not in the form of a superpower arms race or a clash of armies, but in bitter local conflicts marked by terrorism, insurgency, and guerrilla warfare. Former Central Intelligence Agency director James Woolsey likened the post-Cold-War world to "a jungle full of snakes". The emergence of this new, potentially never-ending struggle has forced our military to reevaluate strategies or risk losing hearts, minds, and soldiers the world over.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Some Lessons
- By Amazon Customer on 10-02-16
By: James R. Arnold
What listeners say about The Cage
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Reader
- 12-15-19
Powerful.
A deeply disturbing history. This book is helped by two introductory chapters that give us Sri Lankan history from the beginning.
The author is a thoroughly familiar former insider. He provides both exhaustive facts and well-reasoned analysis.
And I quite enjoyed the narrator, in his very proper British style.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Tarindu
- 10-28-15
Tragic and sobering
This book is well written, controversial, but endeavours to provide a sobering picture on the 30 year civil war in Sri Lanka.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Tracy Nelson
- 07-28-22
A Forgotten Tragedy
This book was definitely worth the listen albeit at 1.2 speed. Throughout the years I had heard snippets of troubling news from Sri Lanka back to the 1980s. This book filled the holes and was well researched. However, as is true with many journalists who try to be historians, the author digresses into his left of center globalist potshots on occasion, especially at the closing chapters. Nonetheless, it’s worth your time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story4 out of 5 stars
- Sarah Merrill Mowat
- 01-05-17
Excellent overview of Sri Lanka's troubles
This is a well researched account of the Tamil conflict. It sets this in the context of post independence political development.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful