The History of Japan in a Nutshell
From the Prehistoric Period to Modern Day (History in a Nutshell)
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The History of Japan in a Nutshell
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Narrated by:
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Paul Richard Yarborough
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By:
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Willowby Huxley
About this listen
Without Japan, you probably wouldn't have your car...but how much do you really know about this fascinating country's rich and colorful history?
For a country that’s brought us household names as diverse as Nintendo, Toyota, and Sony, shockingly little is known about Japan’s rich and complex history.
Like many westerners, you may have a love of Japanese culture and cuisine.
Perhaps you wait longingly for the latest tech developments to flood out of the country...but how much do you really know about how Japan got to be where it is today?
In The History of Japan in a Nutshell, you’ll be guided through the most important timelines in Japan’s history - from 35,000 BC right through to the present day. You’ll discover:
- The complete story of the emergence of one of the world’s most resilient nations
- A deeper understanding of the Samurai and their place within the class structure
- The wars that shaped Japan
- How Buddhism arrived in Japan (and how it spread after a shaky start)
- A closer look at feudal Japan
- The most influential families in Japanese history
- The real story behind the ninja
- A comprehensive look at how Japan rose to economic power in Asia
- The devastating effects of World War II - and how Japan clawed its way back to strength
- Fun facts about Japan - from earthquakes to fake food, and everything in between
- Key cultural details you’ll definitely want to know if you plan to visit Japan
- And much more.
Whether you’re a self-confessed Japanophile, or you simply want to enrich your knowledge, The History of Japan in a Nutshell will open your eyes to one of the most complex national histories in the world.
Everything we love about Japan was born out of a rich and nuanced past - and it’s all here, just waiting to be soaked up.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2021 Tonquin Publishing (P)2021 Tonquin PublishingListeners also enjoyed...
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- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 37
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4 out of 5 stars 35
The Japanese progressed throughout the eras because of the emperor, but they also progressed despite him. These are people who never let go of their sacred history, and their story is told and retold in art, film, literature, and even graphic novels across the entire world. Terms such as shoguns, samurai, haiku, anime, and manga are familiar to many in the Western world today. Westerners also learn flower arranging, martial arts, meditation, and enjoy a variety of visual and digital art forms because of the unique culture of Japan.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Pronunciation problems
- By Derek on 06-22-21
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A Brief History of Korea
- Isolation, War, Despotism and Revival: The Fascinating Story of a Resilient But Divided People
- By: Michael J. Seth
- Narrated by: Sean Runnette
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 130
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 104
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 104
Korea was one of the last countries in Asia to be visited by Westerners, and its borders have remained largely unchanged since it was unified in the seventh century. Though it is one of the world's oldest and most ethnically homogeneous states, Korea was not born in a vacuum. Geographically isolated, the country was heavily influenced by powerful China and was often used as a bridge to the mainland by Japan. Calling themselves as "a shrimp among whales", Koreans borrowed elements of government, culture, and religion, all the while fiercely fighting to maintain independence.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Loved the historical context but ..
- By Kathy on 01-06-20
By: Michael J. Seth
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China: A History of China and East Asia 3rd Edition
- By: Adam Brown
- Narrated by: Sarah Moore
- Length: 4 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 60
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 58
Have you ever wondered how China became the most populous and one of the most industrially active nations today? This audiobook will take you from Ancient China and imperial dynasties to communism and capitalism. Discover the rich history of this superpower. Subjects include: agriculture, capitalism, ancient Chinese culture, language, spirituality and religion, literature, music, arts, architecture, history of martial arts, old-world medicine, military history, and the Sun Tzu dynasties.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Amazing!
- By Amber Levine on 09-10-19
By: Adam Brown
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Superpower Interrupted
- The Chinese History of the World
- By: Michael Schuman
- Narrated by: Shawn Compton
- Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 98
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 88
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
This global history as the Chinese would write it gives brilliant and unconventional insights for understanding China's role in the world, especially the drive to "Make China Great Again." In this colorful, informative story filled with fascinating characters, epic battles, influential thinkers, and decisive moments, we come to understand how the Chinese view their own history and how its narrative is distinctly different from that of Western civilization.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Nice overview
- By Matthew G. Towner on 08-12-20
By: Michael Schuman
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The Invention of Sicily
- A Mediterranean History
- By: Jamie Mackay
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 48
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 41
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 41
Sicily has always acted as a gateway between Europe and the rest of the world. Fought over by the Phoenicians and Greeks, the Romans, Goths and Byzantines, Arabs and Normans, Germans, and the Spanish and the French for thousands of years, Sicily became a unique melting pot where diverse traditions merged, producing a unique heritage and singular culture. In this fascinating account of the island from the earliest times to the present day, author and journalist Jamie Mackay leads us through this most elusive of places.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful overview of Sicily
- By jay lazier on 01-28-24
By: Jamie Mackay
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A History of Japan
- Revised Edition
- By: R. H. P. Mason, J. G. Caiger
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 265
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 235
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Story4 out of 5 stars 232
A classic of Japanese history, this audiobook is the preeminent work on the history of Japan. Newly revised and updated, A History of Japan is a single-volume complete history of the nation of Japan. Starting in ancient Japan during its early pre-history period, A History of Japan covers every important aspect of history and culture through feudal Japan to the post-Cold War period and collapse of the bubble economy in the early 1990s. Recent findings shed additional light on the origins of Japanese civilization and the birth of Japanese culture.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Content great - pronunciation not so much
- By A. Weber on 03-08-19
By: R. H. P. Mason, and others
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Central Asia
- A New History from the Imperial Conquests to the Present
- By: Adeeb Khalid
- Narrated by: Aaqil Ahmed
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 71
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 66
Central Asia is often seen as a remote and inaccessible land on the peripheries of modern history. Encompassing Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and the Xinjiang province of China, it in fact stands at the crossroads of world events. Adeeb Khalid provides the first comprehensive history of Central Asia from the mid-18th century to today, shedding light on the historical forces that have shaped the region under imperial and Communist rule.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great History of a Forgotten Region
- By Than on 07-07-21
By: Adeeb Khalid
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Lost Islamic History
- Reclaiming Muslim Civilisation from the Past
- By: Firas Alkhateeb
- Narrated by: Neil Shah
- Length: 9 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 132
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 117
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 117
Islam has been one of the most powerful religious, social, and political forces in history. Over the last 1,400 years, from origins in Arabia, a succession of Muslim polities, and later empires expanded to control territories and peoples that ultimately stretched from southern France to East Africa and South East Asia. Yet many of the contributions of Muslim thinkers, scientists, and theologians, not to mention rulers, statesmen, and soldiers, have been occluded. This book rescues from oblivion and neglect some of these personalities and institutions.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent narration
- By Jamal on 06-19-22
By: Firas Alkhateeb
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China and Japan
- Facing History
- By: Ezra F. Vogel
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 22 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 77
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 77
China and Japan have cultural and political connections that stretch back 1,500 years. But today, their relationship is strained. China's military buildup deeply worries Japan, while Japan's brutal occupation of China in World War II remains an open wound. In recent years, less than 10 percent of each population had positive feelings toward the other, and both countries insist that the other side must deal openly with its history before relations can improve. Ezra Vogel's China and Japan examines key turning points in Sino-Japanese history.
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5 out of 5 stars
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China & Japan is first rate by a top scholar
- By Louise Stone on 06-17-20
By: Ezra F. Vogel
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A Short History of the World
- By: Christopher Lascelles
- Narrated by: Guy Bethell
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 35
While this book explores world history from the big bang to the present day, it principally covers key people, events, and empires since the dawn of the first civilizations in and around 3500 BC. Epic in scope but refreshingly concise, A Short History of the World is an excellent place to start to bring your historical knowledge up to scratch.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Apt introduction to World's History
- By rpluss on 12-22-16
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A Brief History of Japan
- Samurai, Shogun and Zen: The Extraordinary Story of the Land of the Rising Sun
- By: Jonathan Clements
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 291
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 249
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 249
With intelligence and wit, author Jonathan Clements blends documentary and storytelling styles to connect the past, present, and future of Japan, and in broad yet detailed strokes reveals a country of paradoxes: a modern nation steeped in ancient traditions; a democracy with an emperor as head of state; a famously safe society built on 108 volcanoes resting on the world's most active earthquake zone; a fast-paced urban and technologically advanced country whose land consists predominantly of mountains and forests.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A Brief Review of the Book
- By Than on 12-07-19
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The Revenge of Geography
- What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate
- By: Robert D. Kaplan
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 13 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 748
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 649
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Story4 out of 5 stars 648
In The Revenge of Geography, Robert D. Kaplan builds on the insights, discoveries, and theories of great geographers and geopolitical thinkers of the near and distant past to look back at critical pivots in history and then to look forward at the evolving global scene. Kaplan traces the history of the world's hot spots by examining their climates, topographies, and proximities to other embattled lands.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Painful to listen to
- By Bookworm on 12-27-13
By: Robert D. Kaplan
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A History of Iran
- Empire of the Mind
- By: Michael Axworthy
- Narrated by: Peter Ganim
- Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 157
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 138
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Story4 out of 5 stars 138
Although frequently vilified, Iran is a nation of great intellectual variety and depth, and one of the oldest continuing civilizations in the world. Its political impact has been tremendous, not only on its neighbors in the Middle East but also throughout the world. From the time of the prophet Zoroaster, to the powerful ancient Persian Empires, to the revolution of 1979, the hostage crisis, and the current standoff over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Michael Axworthy vividly depicts the nation’s rich history.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Lazy Narration
- By Arya Pourtabatabaie on 11-05-16
By: Michael Axworthy
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The Fall of Rome
- And the End of Civilization
- By: Bryan Ward-Perkins
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 7 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 91
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 72
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 72
In The Fall of Rome, eminent historian Bryan Ward-Perkins argues that the "peaceful" theory of Rome's "transformation" is badly in error. Indeed, he sees the fall of Rome as a time of horror and dislocation that destroyed a great civilization, throwing the inhabitants of the West back to a standard of living typical of prehistoric times. Attacking contemporary theories with relish and making use of modern archaeological evidence, he looks at both the wider explanations for the disintegration of the Roman world and also the consequences for the lives of everyday Romans.
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5 out of 5 stars
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best book ever on Fall of Rome
- By james m. on 01-30-22
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Asia's Cauldron
- The South China Sea and the End of a Stable Pacific
- By: Robert D. Kaplan
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 450
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 383
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 380
Over the last decade, the center of world power has been quietly shifting from Europe to Asia. With oil reserves of several billion barrels, an estimated 900 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and several centuries' worth of competing territorial claims, the South China Sea in particular is a simmering pot of potential conflict. The underreported military buildup in the area where the Western Pacific meets the Indian Ocean means that it will likely be a hinge point for global war and peace for the foreseeable future.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Pending problems
- By Jean on 08-19-14
By: Robert D. Kaplan
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The Birth of Classical Europe
- A History from Troy to Augustine
- By: Simon Price, Peter Thonemann
- Narrated by: Don Hagen
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 145
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 119
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Story4 out of 5 stars 118
To an extraordinary extent we continue to live in the shadow of the classical world. At every level, from languages to calendars to political systems, we are the descendants of a “classical Europe,” using frames of reference created by ancient Mediterranean cultures. As this consistently fresh and surprising new audio book makes clear, however, this was no less true for the inhabitants of those classical civilizations themselves, whose myths, history, and buildings were an elaborate engagement with an already old and revered past - one filled with great leaders and writers....
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent overview of the Classical World
- By David I. Williams on 01-12-14
By: Simon Price, and others
-
Born in Blood and Fire: Fourth Edition
- A Concise History of Latin America
- By: John Charles Chasteen
- Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann
- Length: 12 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 104
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 89
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 88
The most highly regarded and affordable history of Latin America for our times. Born in Blood and Fire, Fourth Edition has been extensively revised to heighten emphasis on current cultural analyses of Latin American society and facilitate meaningful connections between the Encounter and the present.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent synopsis of a very broad history.
- By Carina Rahn on 01-11-21
What listeners say about The History of Japan in a Nutshell
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Sharon Best
- 07-22-23
A must-listen overview.
Willowby Huxley's The History of Japan in a Nutshell audiobook is an engaging and concise account that brilliantly captures the essence of Japan's captivating history, making it an enjoyable and enlightening listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Cary Pierce
- 07-19-23
Concise and informative.
Willowby Huxley's narration in The History of Japan in a Nutshell audiobook is captivating, making the historical account accessible and enjoyable for all.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Alexander S
- 08-05-21
Fantastic!
Japan is one of the top countries I would like to travel to. This book helps me understand our past relationship with the country and all of the important historical events, except organized in a way that isn't redundant and very easy to follow, a great book 10/10 highly recommend!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kimberly Nicole
- 07-16-21
Great information
Want to know more about Japan in a short span of time? This easy to listen to audio will deliver all the fun and interesting facts about the history of Japan.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ShineOn_444
- 07-18-21
Must listen to this before traveling to Japan!
I'm getting ready for my first trip to Japan and downloaded this little gem. This was the perfect book to learn about the history of Japan in a nutshell. As a martial arts practitioner it was cool to learn about the rise of the samurai and their role in society. This book also has random tidbits of information at the end of the book that I loved- I had no idea that Japan has the most vending machines in the world. Its getting me excited for my trip! I would highly recommend this to anyone getting ready to travel to Japan or anyone who wants to expand their mind and learn about Japan.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- LilLordFauntleroy
- 07-24-21
How all history should be taught!
I love how concise this historical overview was. I enjoy history without all the minute facts that make it interminable, and this audiobook was perfect for that. Really good writing, and I love having a broad overview of an entire country and what makes it Japan today. Highly recommended!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 07-27-21
Superb History Lessons! Great Narration!
I loved this title! Listening to history is something I always find interesting, to say the least! From hundreds of years ago to today, this audiobook covers a great span of knowledge and history! Get yours today to start learning more about Japan!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- F. Green
- 07-16-21
Excellent Audiobook!
I love learning about different cultures and Japan was one that I have been wanting to learn more about. This audiobook taught me so many things. The real story behind the ninja was my favorite part. This is a must purchase in my opinion.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kat
- 07-24-21
Incredibly Interesting!
I learned so much from this book. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone that would like to learn more about the vibrant history of Japan! Who knew, loved the fun facts!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Adrienne Sharma
- 07-21-23
Japan's rich history explored.
The History of Japan in a Nutshell audiobook provides a perfect blend of information and entertainment, making it an enjoyable and enlightening listening experience.
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