The Shortest History of Japan
From Mythical Origins to Pop Culture Powerhouse: The Global Drama of an Ancient Island Nation
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The Shortest History of Japan
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Narrated by:
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Lucy Rayner
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By:
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Lesley Downer
About this listen
Zen, haiku, martial arts, sushi, anime, manga, film, video games . . . Japanese culture has long enriched our Western way of life. Yet from a Western perspective, Japan remains a remote island country that has long had a complicated relationship with the outside world.
Even at the nearest point, Japan—an archipelago strung like a necklace around the Asian mainland—is considerably farther from Asia than Britain is from Europe. The sea provides an effective barrier against invasion and has enabled the culture to develop in unique and distinctive ways. During the Edo period, the Tokugawa shoguns successfully closed the country to the West. After Japan opened, it swung in the opposite direction, adopting Western culture wholesale. Both these strategies enabled it to avoid colonization, one of the very few non-Western countries to do so, and to retain its traditions and way of life.
This history will be of interest to people who know nothing about Japan, but also full of insights for those who do. Lesley Downer takes the listener through the great sweep of Japanese history, focusing on the dramatic stories of larger-than-life individuals—from emperors descended from the Sun Goddess to warlords, samurai, merchants, court ladies, women warriors, geisha, and businessmen who shaped this extraordinary modern society.
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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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A Brief History of China
- Dynasty, Revolution and Transformation: From the Middle Kingdom to the People's Republic
- By: Jonathan Clements
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 11 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 82
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 66
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 65
In his retelling of a Chinese history stretching back 5,000 years, author and China-expert Jonathan Clements focuses on the human stories which led to the powerful transformations in Chinese society - from the unification of China under its first emperor, Qinshi Huangdi, to the Mongol invasion under Genghis Khan and the consolidation of Communist rule under Mao Zedong. Clements even brings listeners through to the present day, outlining China's economic renaissance under Deng Xiaoping and Xi Jinping.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Succinct and detailed overview of a huge topic
- By Stephen Sheafer on 08-19-20
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A New History of India: From Its Origins to the Twenty-First Century
- By: Toby Sinclair, Shobita Punja, Rudrangsh Mukherjee
- Narrated by: Elvis Mathias
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 2
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 2
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 2
The book covers all the major landmarks of Indian history from prehistoric times up to the 21st century—starting with the country’s geological origins a few billion years in the past and the migration of Homo sapiens from Africa into the region several millennia ago.
By: Toby Sinclair, and others
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Exurbia Now
- The Battleground of American Democracy
- By: David Masciotra
- Narrated by: Lee Goettl
- Length: 8 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall2 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
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Story0 out of 5 stars 0
The suburbs have become too liberal and diverse for many white American conservatives, so "exurbia"—areas outside the cities and their suburbs—are becoming the staging ground for the radical right extremist insurgency . . .
By: David Masciotra
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The Rage of Replacement
- Far Right Politics and Demographic Fear
- By: Michael Feola
- Narrated by: Gary Tiedemann
- Length: 6 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
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Story5 out of 5 stars 1
The "Great Replacement" narrative, which imagines that historic white majorities are being intentionally replaced through immigration policies crafted by global elites, has effectively mobilized racist, nationalist, and nativist movements in the United States and Europe. The Rage of Replacement tracks how this narrative has shaped the politics and worldview of the far right, binding its various camps into a community of rage obsessed with nostalgia for a white-supremacist past.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Comprehensive view behind the curtain into white fear.
- By Mark on 11-17-24
By: Michael Feola
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Wars of Ambition
- The United States, Iran, and the Struggle for the Middle East
- By: Afshon Ostovar
- Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 3
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 3
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 3
In Wars of Ambition, Afshon Ostovar explores the evolution of the metastasizing conflict as it unfolded over a span of more than two decades. Not just an account of the interaction between America’s Middle East policies and ambitious regional states on the receiving end, it also provides a powerful analysis of conflicting visions of the future that transcend regional politics.
By: Afshon Ostovar
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The Shape of My Eyes
- A Memoir of Race, Faith, and Finding Myself
- By: Dave Gibbons
- Narrated by: Dave Gibbons
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 12
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 12
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 12
Born to an American soldier and a Korean mother in the wake of the Korean War, Dave has spent his life struggling to blend his Korean roots and his very American upbringing. The family joins a conservative church that embraces a strict, rule-based faith, and they try to navigate life as one of the few mixed-raced families in their community. But when tragedy strikes, tearing the family apart, Dave is forced to face long-buried secrets that he can no longer ignore.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Authentic Memoir on Faith, Race, and Culture
- By jane on 11-03-24
By: Dave Gibbons
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Silencing the Past
- Power and the Production of History
- By: Michel-Rolph Trouillot
- Narrated by: Shaun Scott
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 5
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 5
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5
Placing the West's failure to acknowledge the most successful slave revolt in history alongside denials of the Holocaust and the debate over the Alamo, Michel-Rolph Trouillot offers a stunning meditation on how power operates in the making and recording of history.
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Raiders, Rulers, and Traders
- The Horse and the Rise of Empires
- By: David Chaffetz
- Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
- Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
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Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
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Story0 out of 5 stars 0
No animal is so entangled in human history as the horse. The thread starts in prehistory, with a slight, shy animal, hunted for food. Domesticating the horse allowed early humans to settle the vast Eurasian steppe; later, their horses enabled new forms of warfare, encouraged long-distance trade routes, and ended up acquiring deep cultural and religious significance.
By: David Chaffetz