The Pursuit of Power

Europe: 1815-1914

By: Richard J. Evans

Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan

Richard J. Evans's gripping narrative ranges across a century of social and national conflicts, from the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 to the unification of both Germany and Italy, from the Russo-Turkish wars to the Balkan upheavals that brought this era of relative peace and growing prosperity to an end. Among the great themes it discusses are the decline of religious belief and the rise of secular science and medicine, the journey of art, music, and literature from Romanticism to Modernism, the replacement of old-regime punishments by the modern prison, and the dramatic struggle of feminists for women's equality and emancipation. Uniting the era's broad-ranging transformations was the pursuit of power in all segments of life, from the banker striving for economic power to the serf seeking to escape the power of his landlord, from the engineer asserting society's power over the environment to the psychiatrist attempting to exert science's power over human nature itself.

The first single-volume history of the century, this comprehensive and sweeping account gives the listener a magnificently human picture of Europe in the age when it dominated the rest of the globe.

©2016 Richard J. Evans (P)2016 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Terrific comprehensive history

Evans's history of 19th century Europe should be required reading for anyone interested in how we came to the situation facing us in the 21st. The beginning of the book,with its focus on geopolitics, is slow going but worth the effort. Evans seems to cover everything: A rich social history that spans the continent from the end of the Napoleonic wars to the onset of WW1. Highly recommended.

A great book

This is a very good and comprehensive history of the 19th century. It is very well written and also very well performed; I do Recommend it highly.

An Excellent History of Pre Great War Europe

Delivered by the steady dulcet tones of Napoleon Ryan, The Pusuit of Power goes in depth with the history of 19th Century Europe and it's inevitable march to WWI.

Good History, Rough narration

This is a very academic history. Evans is to be commended for a thorough analysis of this time period, and how it brings us into the cataclysms of the 20th century. The narrator has a good voice, but then spoils it with weird voices to emphasize quotations. The writer uses years to indicate where an individual belongs in the "history" of the time, but listening to years from and to, over and over, does end up spoiling the flow of the narrative.

Facts and Anecdotes

Is there anything you would change about this book?

This is full of facts. However the narrative is dry and jerky as the author goes from fact to fact without enough context or interpretation

What did you like best about this story?

The sweep of history it embraces. It filled in many gaps in my knowledge

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The endless dates of personages needed to be edited out. They work in a book, not in an audio book. The reader's German needs some work. It is not Bismaaach!

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

I struggled to finish this book because I felt I was learning something. However it was not entertaining in any way. Comprehensive but dry.

Great History I Loved It Highly Recommend

What did you love best about The Pursuit of Power?

This book is so comprehensive and I think accurate, I can apply it to current events, the same human issues exist today, only desquised by modern conditions. The author's use of a single person to help you understand, say, the life of a serf, was perfect. As was taking a topic like health or the industrial revolution and separating it from the constant wars that were going on. Marvelous, overall.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Pursuit of Power?

The descriptions of individual persons, their misbehavior and their fumbling with leadership skills they lacked, and the understanding of the feelings of others -- perfectly described.

What about Napoleon Ryan’s performance did you like?

I actually got into it, and loved his performance. Others might disagree, but I liked his British accent, and his sometimes use of dialect to make a part of the story less boring and repetitive. This is a massive amount of material, 82 chapters, 50 hours I suspect, he had a mammoth job to do, and I think he did it well.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I did not listen in one sitting, it took 40 sittings .. it is 82 chapters. I listen in the car, this is a serious book, real learning about human nature, and government and "how we got to where we are' in history, as nations, and how these 100 years are still affecting European borders, conflicts and hatreds.

Any additional comments?

Anyone who likes history should love this -- different and in many ways better organized than most history books. Not quite at the level of Will Durant's work, but just as comprehensive and even more detailed. You live the book, not just read it.

less about power- more about history

the title is misleading insofar as this isn't a study of the pursuit of power as much as a fascinating delve into the Europe of 1750-1915. excellent, from that PoV.

Narration ruins the book

I don't want to be mean but the narration makes this completely unlistenable. It's just horrid. You'd be better off reading it.

terrible reader, excellent book

What made the experience of listening to The Pursuit of Power the most enjoyable?

A great history of Europe after Napoleon, by a historian of Germany. Unfortunately the reader pauses after every fifth or sixth word for no discernable reason, making this a very rocky choppy ride. Evans' history is best when most detailed, in the period leading up to the revolutions of 1830 and then 1848, followed by more cursory potted treatments of social, artistic, scientific, literary, musical, i.e. "cultural" milestones, and then we're suddenly at the turn of the century, rush through the Balkan wars, and its time for world war I. Nice exposition of some modern historiography - imperial atrocities in the colonies got imported into Europe, women's suffrage, etc.

What didn’t you like about Napoleon Ryan’s performance?

Pauses after every fifth or sixth word; it's like listening to hiccups.

Skipping stones across history.

I think the time period covered is way too long for a one volume history. It's supposed to be a "peoples history" but by necessity it is mainly political and military. There is an attempt to describe cultural changes but most of the social and demographic groups involved are mentioned by you do not get the sense that the story of the view of the individuals in those groups is anything but cursory.