The Shortest History of Germany
From Julius Caesar to Angela Merkel: A Retelling for Our Times
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The Shortest History of Germany
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Narrated by:
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Matthew Lloyd Davies
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By:
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James Hawes
About this listen
2,000 years of history in one riveting afternoon
A country both admired and feared, Germany has been the epicenter of world events time and again: the Reformation, both World Wars, the fall of the Berlin Wall. It did not emerge as a modern nation until 1871 - yet today, Germany is the world's fourth-largest economy and a standard-bearer of liberal democracy.
"There's no point studying the past unless it sheds some light on the present", writes James Hawes in this brilliantly concise history that has already captivated hundreds of thousands of readers and listeners. "It is time, now more than ever, for us all to understand the real history of Germany."
©2019 James Hawes (P)2019 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 161
Before 1871, Germany was not yet a nation but simply an idea. Its founder, Otto von Bismarck, had a formidable task at hand. How would he bring 39 individual states under the yoke of a single Kaiser? How would he convince proud Prussians, Bavarians, and Rhinelanders to become Germans? Once united, could the young European nation wield enough power to rival the empires of Britain and France - all without destroying itself in the process?
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1 out of 5 stars
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Misleading title/subtitle
- By Ethan Brown on 12-15-21
By: Katja Hoyer
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A Short History of Russia
- How the World's Largest Country Invented Itself, from the Pagans to Putin
- By: Mark Galeotti
- Narrated by: Mark Galeotti
- Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 193
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 166
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 163
Russia is a country with no natural borders, no single ethnic group, no true central identity. At the crossroads of Europe and Asia, it has been subject to invasion by outsiders, from Vikings to Mongols, from Napoleon’s French to Hitler’s Germans. In order to forge an identity, it has mythologized its past to unite its people and to signal strength to outsiders. In A Short History of Russia, Mark Galeotti explores the history of this fascinating, glorious, desperate, and exasperating country.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wonderful short history
- By Tad Davis on 01-19-21
By: Mark Galeotti
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The English and Their History
- By: Robert Tombs
- Narrated by: James Langton
- Length: 43 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 688
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 603
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 595
Robert Tombs' momentous The English and Their History is both a startlingly fresh and a uniquely inclusive account of the people who have a claim to be the oldest nation in the world. The English first came into existence as an idea, before they had a common ruler and before the country they lived in even had a name. They have lasted as a recognizable entity ever since, and their defining national institutions can be traced back to the earliest years of their history.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Should be called, The English and their politics
- By Mary Elizabeth Reynolds on 08-24-16
By: Robert Tombs
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Inventing Japan [Modern Library Chronicles]
- By: Ian Buruma
- Narrated by: Nelson Runger
- Length: 6 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 112
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 63
-
Story4 out of 5 stars 64
LA Times Book Award winner and expert on the past and present Japan, Ian Buruma examines the transformation of a country. Following Japan's history from its opening to the West in 1853 to its hosting of the 1964 Olympics, Buruma focuses on how figures such as Commodore Matthew Perry, Douglas MacArthur, and Emperor Mitsushito helped shape this complex country.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent Primer on Modern Japan
- By John Pavliga on 06-13-06
By: Ian Buruma
-
Fire and Blood
- A History of Mexico
- By: T. R. Fehrenbach
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 35 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 176
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 157
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 156
T. R. Fehrenbach brilliantly delineates the contrasts and conflicts between the many Mexicos, unraveling the history while weaving a fascinating tapestry of beauty and brutality: the Amerindians, who wrought from the vulnerable land a great indigenous Meso-American civilization by the first millennium BC; the successive reigns of Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Mexic masters, who ruled through an admirably efficient bureaucracy and the power of the priests, propitiating the capricious gods with human sacrifices; the Spanish conquistadors, and much more.
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4 out of 5 stars
-
Good book bad narration
- By M. A. Chris Raine on 03-23-19
By: T. R. Fehrenbach
-
The Pursuit of Italy
- A History of a Land, Its Regions, and Their Peoples
- By: David Gilmour
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 19 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 123
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 109
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 108
Did Garibaldi do Italy a disservice when he helped its disparate parts achieve unity? Was the goal of political unification a mistake? These questions are asked and answered in a number of ways in this engaging, original consideration of the many histories that contribute to the brilliance - and weakness - of Italy today. David Gilmour's exploration of Italian life over the centuries is filled with provocative anecdotes as well as personal observations.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Good history: Tough Narration
- By C.S. on 11-12-18
By: David Gilmour
-
Empires of Trust
- How Rome Built - and America Is Building - a New World
- By: Thomas F. Madden
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 192
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 93
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 92
In Empires of Trust, Professor Thomas F. Madden explores surprising parallels between the Roman and American republics. By making friends of enemies and demonstrating a commitment to fairness, the two republics - both "reluctant" yet unquestioned super-powers - built empires based on trust. Madden also includes vital lessons from the Roman Republic's 100-year struggle with "terrorism."
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1 out of 5 stars
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Bork, Reagan, and Honest of Rome
- By Nelson Alexander on 12-20-08
By: Thomas F. Madden
-
History of Germany
- A Captivating Guide to German History, Starting from 1871 through the First World War, Weimar Republic, and World War II to the Present
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Jason Zenobia
- Length: 7 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 40
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 38
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 37
Germany is one of the richest and most influential countries in the world, which is amazing when you consider that the nation is only about the size of the US states of Oregon and Washington combined. It’s even more astounding when you consider that at the end of World War II, every major German city (and many minor ones) had been flattened by the Allied bombing campaign. Still more amazing is that the country has gone from international pariah and home of the Holocaust to one of the most well-regarded and humanitarian nations on Earth.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Concise
- By J Stewart on 04-09-24
-
A People’s History of the World
- From the Stone Age to the New Millennium
- By: Chris Harman
- Narrated by: Napoleon Ryan
- Length: 29 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 265
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 218
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 214
Chris Harman describes the shape and course of human history as a narrative of ordinary people forming and re-forming complex societies in pursuit of common human goals. Interacting with the forces of technological change as well as the impact of powerful individuals and revolutionary ideas, these societies have engendered events familiar to every schoolchild-from the empires of antiquity to the world wars of the 20th century. In a bravura conclusion, Chris Harman exposes the reductive complacency of contemporary capitalism.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Oh God avoid
- By Robert on 03-28-18
By: Chris Harman
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A History of the World
- By: Andrew Marr
- Narrated by: Andrew Marr, David Timson
- Length: 26 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 491
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 429
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 430
From the earliest civilizations to the 21st century: a global journey through human history, published alongside a landmark BBC One television series. Our understanding of world history is changing, as new discoveries are made on all the continents and old prejudices are being challenged. In this truly global journey, Andrew Marr revisits some of the traditional epic stories, from classical Greece and Rome to the rise of Napoleon, but surrounds them with less familiar material, from Peru to the Ukraine, China to the Caribbean.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
25 hours of enjoyment
- By Mark on 04-26-13
By: Andrew Marr
-
What Is America
- A Short History of the New World Order
- By: Ronald Wright
- Narrated by: Stefan Rudnicki
- Length: 6 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 29
Ranging with dazzling expertise through anthropology, history, and literature, Wright reconfigures our self-perception, arguing that the "essence" of America can be traced to the foundations of our history--literally to the collision of worlds that began in 1492, as one civilization subsumed another--and exploring how these currents continue to shape our world.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
insightful overview
- By rm3154 on 04-19-12
By: Ronald Wright
-
The Gates of Europe
- A History of Ukraine
- By: Serhii Plokhy
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 119
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 99
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 98
Ukraine is currently embroiled in a tense fight with Russia to preserve its territorial integrity and political independence. But today's conflict is only the latest in a long history of battles over Ukraine's territory and its existence as a sovereign nation. As the award-winning historian Serhii Plokhy argues in The Gates of Europe, we must examine Ukraine's past in order to understand its present and future.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
An extraordinarily good book
- By Specs2789 on 03-01-23
By: Serhii Plokhy
-
Bully of Asia
- By: Steven W. Mosher
- Narrated by: Al Kessel
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 151
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 141
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 140
The signs are everywhere. China unilaterally claims the entire South China Sea as sovereign territory, then builds artificial islands to bolster its claim. It suddenly activates an air defense identification zone over the East China Sea, and threatens to down any aircraft that does not report its position. It builds roads into Indian territory, then redraws the maps to show that it is actually Chinese territory. The People's Republic under President Xi Jinping is quickly becoming The Bully of Asia.
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5 out of 5 stars
-
Eye opening, up to date
- By Silomi on 01-01-19
By: Steven W. Mosher
-
What If? Part 1
- Reshaping the 20th Century
- By: Stephen E. Ambrose, John Keegan, more
- Narrated by: John Cunningham, Janet Zarish
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall4 out of 5 stars 163
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 84
What if Hitler had won the war, if Japan had another sneak attack, or if the cold war turned hot? What If? provides a fascinating new perspective on history's most pivotal events. Featuring today's foremost historians speculating on what could have happened, we discover where we might be if history had not unfolded the way it did.
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2 out of 5 stars
-
For history buffs
- By Charles Elmore on 05-11-04
By: Stephen E. Ambrose, and others
-
Modern Times
- The World from the Twenties to the Nineties
- By: Paul Johnson
- Narrated by: Nadia May
- Length: 37 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 443
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 316
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 314
Beginning with May 29, 1919, when photographs of the solar eclipse confirmed the truth of Einstein's theory of relativity, Johnson goes on to describe Freudianism, the establishment of the first Marxist state, the chaos of "Old Europe", the Arcadian 20s, and the new forces in China and Japan. Also discussed are Karl Marx, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Roosevelt, Gandhi, Castro, Kennedy, Nixon, the '29 crash, the Great Depression, Roosevelt's New Deal, and the massive conflict of World War II.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
The Anti-Howard Zinn
- By Pork C. Fish on 05-22-12
By: Paul Johnson
-
1913
- The Eve of War
- By: Paul Ham
- Narrated by: Christopher Oxford
- Length: 2 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 198
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 180
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 180
Christmas 1913: In Britain, people are debating a new dance called ‘the tango’. In Germany, they are fascinated by the wedding of the Kaiser’s daughter to the Duke of Brunswick. Little did they know that their world was on ‘The Eve of War’, a catastrophe that was to engulf the continent, cost millions of lives, and change the course of the century. And yet behind the scenes, the Great Powers were marching towards what they thought was an inevitable conflict.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
This is What Wasn't Taught in School.
- By upfrontboi on 04-26-18
By: Paul Ham
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War has always been with us
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This audiobook provides a clear and informative guide to the twists and turns of German history from the early Middle Ages to the present day. The multifaceted, problematic history of the German lands has furnished a wide range of debates and differences of interpretation. Mary Fulbrook provides a crisp synthesis of a vast array of historical material and explores the interrelationships between social, political, and cultural factors in the light of scholarly controversies.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Mixed feelings on this one.
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Germania
- In Wayward Pursuit of the Germans and Their History
- By: Simon Winder
- Narrated by: James Cameron Stewart
- Length: 18 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 163
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 138
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Story4 out of 5 stars 138
Propelled by a wish to reclaim the brilliant, chaotic, endlessly varied German civilization that the Nazis buried and ruined, and that so many Germans have worked to rebuild, Germania was recorded to enlighten us on serious topics, curiosities, and on the limits of language, the meaning of culture, and the pleasure of townscape.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Very Droll but Almost Entirely Uninformative
- By Timothy Verseput on 03-13-19
By: Simon Winder
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The Shortest History of Europe
- By: John Hirst
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 5 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 75
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 64
Celebrated historian John Hirst offers a fascinating exploration of the qualities that made Europe a world-changing civilization. The Shortest History of Europe begins with a rapid overview of European civilization, describing its birth from an unlikely mixture of classical learning and Christianity and German warrior culture. Over the centuries, this unstable blend produced highly distinctive characters - pious knights and belligerent popes, and beyond - and its coming apart provided the dynamic of European history in modern times.
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1 out of 5 stars
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Political Cheap Shots Instead of History
- By Anonymous User on 08-25-24
By: John Hirst
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The Story of China
- The Epic History of a World Power from the Middle Kingdom to Mao and the China Dream
- By: Michael Wood
- Narrated by: Liam Gerrard
- Length: 20 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 23
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 18
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 18
Michael Wood has travelled the length and breadth of China, the world's oldest civilization and longest lasting state, to tell a thrilling story of intense drama, fabulous creativity, and deep humanity that stretches back thousands of years.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Well researched, balanced, and informative
- By Chinmay Aladangady on 04-25-23
By: Michael Wood
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The Templars
- The History and the Myth: From Solomon's Temple to the Freemasons
- By: Michael Haag
- Narrated by: Guy Bethell
- Length: 11 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 265
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 229
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Story4 out of 5 stars 226
Arguably one of the most provocative, puzzling, and misunderstood organizations of medieval times, the legendary Knights Templar have always been shrouded in a veil of mystery, while inspiring popular culture from Indiana Jones to Dan Brown. In The Templars, author Michael Haag offers a definitive history of these loyal Christian soldiers of the Crusades - sworn to defend the Holy Land and Jerusalem, but ultimately damned and destroyed by the Pope and his church.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Narrator ruined it
- By Amazon Customer on 10-19-17
By: Michael Haag
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Ancient Rome
- The Rise and Fall of An Empire
- By: Simon Baker
- Narrated by: Chris MacDonnell
- Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 261
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 225
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 225
This is the story of the greatest empire the world has ever known. Simon Baker charts the rise and fall of the world's first superpower, focusing on six momentous turning points that shaped Roman history. Welcome to Rome as you've never seen it before - awesome and splendid, gritty and squalid. From the conquest of the Mediterranean beginning in the third century BC to the destruction of the Roman Empire at the hands of barbarian invaders some seven centuries later, we discover the most critical episodes in Roman history.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Clear and dramatic
- By Tad Davis on 08-01-17
By: Simon Baker
What listeners say about The Shortest History of Germany
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- SiggyFay
- 05-30-23
A very interesting History that seems to repeat itself
A great performance and very interesting history about Germany and how it became such a significant country in Europe.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- MGA
- 05-12-24
interesting
interesting view on Germany sub regional politics. a nice short overview of German history
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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
- Kelly Gordon
- 01-02-23
Best Perspective on German History
This book puts forth historical comparisons of east vs west German with American north vs south that I have never previously considered. An excellent book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Vauras Ilmari
- 03-22-19
The narrator can’t pronounce German
I am happy with the content of the book, but unfortunately the narrator can’t pronounce German names and words, which makes listening painful to me.
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4 people found this helpful
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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
- Jack Jennaway
- 01-06-20
I learned a great deal.
My German history was lacking. I now have a context for German & European news.
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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
- Self taught
- 07-31-23
Learned a lot
The east west divide in german and prussia is informative and gives a clearer understanding of germany as a whole.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- John H
- 11-14-19
Difficult to hear the narración. Very interestin
Very helpful history. Many surprising observations. unfortunately the narrador softens his vice at importante points.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- ABQMIMI
- 02-03-20
much needed summary in English!
I would like another on the same subject for comparison and contrast since I'm ba
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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
- William Terry
- 05-09-23
Great book
Terrific depiction of an important and complex people. The narration was entertaining and projected sincerity.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Carl in Bethesda
- 12-13-23
Narrator is so frustrating
Narrator drops his voice at the end of most sentences. If you are driving or walking and any other ambient noise is present, he is unintelligible. I was constantly rewinding to try to understand this very interesting story.
Author seemed to be unbiased until the last third of the book, when all troubles of Germany are said to be based upon Prussians and their influence. I currently lack the background to appreciate whether this is accurate, but it was a very interesting story--if I heard it properly.
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