The Ukrainians (Fifth Edition)
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The Ukrainians (Fifth Edition)
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Narrated by:
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Stefan Rudnicki
About this listen
Now in its fifth edition, this book is the most acute, informed, and up-to-date account available today of Ukraine and its people. This new edition includes two new chapters covering 2014 to the present war.
Andrew Wilson focuses on the complex relations between Ukraine and Russia and explains the different versions of the past propagated by Ukrainians and Russians. He also examines the continuing debates over identity, culture, and religion in Ukraine since its independence in 1991.
As in many postcommunist states, politics in Ukraine revolves around the issue of national identity. Ukrainian nationalists see themselves as one of the world’s oldest and most civilized peoples, as “older brothers” to the younger Russian culture. Yet Ukraine became independent only in 1991, and Ukrainians often feel like a minority in their own country, where Russian is still the main language heard on the streets of the capital, Kiev.
This book is a comprehensive guide to modern Ukraine and to the versions of its past propagated by both Russians and Ukrainians. Andrew Wilson provides the most acute, informed, and up-to-date account available of the Ukrainians and their country.
Concentrating on the complex relation between Ukraine and Russia, the book begins with the myth of common origin in the early medieval era, then looks closely at the Ukrainian experience under the tsars and Soviets, the experience of minorities in the country, and the path to independence in 1991.
Wilson also considers the history of Ukraine since 1991 and the continuing disputes over identity, culture, and religion. He examines the economic collapse under the first president, Leonid Kravchuk, and the attempts at recovery under his successor, Leonid Kuchma. Wilson explores the conflicts in Ukrainian society between the country’s Eurasian roots and its Western aspirations, as well as the significance of the presidential election of November 1999.
2000, 2002, 2009, 2015, 2022 © by Andrew Wilson
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 158
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 157
Five centuries of Irish history are explored in this informative and accessible volume. John Gibney proceeds from the beginning of Ireland’s modern period and continues through to virtually the present day, offering an integrated overview of the island nation’s cultural, political, and socioeconomic history. This succinct, scholarly study covers important historical events, including the Cromwellian conquest and settlement, the Great Famine, and the struggle for Irish independence.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Accurate, concise, but lacks spark
- By lightbringer34 on 01-22-24
By: John Gibney
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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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Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know
- By: Serhy Yekelchyk
- Narrated by: Joel Richards
- Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 193
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 172
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 171
Ukraine's sudden prominence in American politics has compounded an already-widespread misunderstanding of what is actually happening in the nation. In the American media, Ukraine has come to signify an inherently corrupt place, rather than a real country struggling in the face of great challenges. Ukraine: What Everyone Needs to Know addresses Ukraine's relations with the West, particularly the United States, from the perspective of Ukrainians.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Everyone Should Read This Book in 2022
- By Theo Horesh on 03-09-22
By: Serhy Yekelchyk
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The Invention of China
- By: Bill Hayton
- Narrated by: Julian Elfer
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 44
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 39
A provocative account showing that "China" - and its 5,000 years of unified history - is a national myth, created only a century ago with a political agenda that persists to this day. China's current leadership lays claim to a 5,000-year-old civilization, but "China" as a unified country and people, Bill Hayton argues, was created far more recently by a small group of intellectuals.
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1 out of 5 stars
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trash
- By Maciel on 11-21-22
By: Bill Hayton
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A History of Fascism, 1914-1945
- By: Stanley G. Payne
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 20 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 79
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 64
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 65
Focusing mostly on Italy and Germany but also considering Spain, Romania, Japan, and movements in other countries, Payne describes fascism as revolutionary ultranationalism based on national rebirth, extreme elitism, mass mobilization, and the promotion of violence and military virtues. He also suggests that the early Russian communists borrowed many techniques from fascism, and that though we are fairly well-inoculated against fascism itself, the values it represents could still emerge in new forms.
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3 out of 5 stars
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Dated lit review, ill-suited for audiobook
- By Keith on 11-24-19
By: Stanley G. Payne
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The Light That Failed
- Why the West Is Losing the Fight for Democracy
- By: Ivan Krastev, Stephen Holmes
- Narrated by: David de Vries
- Length: 8 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 47
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Why did the West, after winning the Cold War, lose its political balance? In the early 1990s, hopes for the eastward spread of liberal democracy were high. And yet the transformation of Eastern European countries gave rise to a bitter repudiation of liberalism itself, not only there but also back in the heartland of the West. In this brilliant work of political history, Ivan Krastev and Stephen Holmes argue that the supposed end of Communism turned out to be only the beginning of the age of the autocrat.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great text
- By Safronov on 05-03-21
By: Ivan Krastev, and others
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A Concise History of Italy
- By: Christopher Duggan
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 52
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 45
Since its formation in 1861, Italy has struggled to develop an effective political system and a secure sense of national identity. Christopher Duggan's acclaimed introduction charts the country's history from the fall of the Roman Empire in the West to the present day, and surveys the difficulties Italy has faced during the last two centuries in creating a unified country. Duggan successfully weaves together political, economic, social and cultural history, and stresses the alternation between materialist and idealist programs for forging a nation-state.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Concise indeed
- By nikex on 03-22-21
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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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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 129
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 103
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 103
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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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
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The Anatomy of Fascism
- By: Robert O. Paxton
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 1,201
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 1,021
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 1,005
What is fascism? By focusing on the concrete, what the fascists did rather than what they said, the esteemed historian Robert O. Paxton answers this question for the first time. From the first violent uniformed bands beating up "enemies of the state", through Mussolini's rise to power, to Germany's fascist radicalization in World War II, Paxton shows clearly why fascists came to power in some countries and not others.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great book for getting a clearer idea of fascism
- By Amazon Customer on 11-02-17
By: Robert O. Paxton
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Tomorrow, the World
- The Birth of US Global Supremacy
- By: Stephen Wertheim
- Narrated by: Stephen Graybill
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 112
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 88
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 86
For most of its history, the US avoided making political and military commitments that would entangle it in European-style power politics. Then, suddenly, it conceived a new role for itself as the world’s armed superpower and never looked back. In Tomorrow, the World, Wertheim traces America’s transformation to the crucible of World War II, especially in the months prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. As the Nazis conquered France, the architects of the nation’s new foreign policy came to believe that the US ought to achieve primacy in international affairs forevermore.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Powerful punch to American dogma.
- By JLK on 06-30-21
By: Stephen Wertheim
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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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History of Romania
- A Captivating Guide to Romanian History, Including Events Such as the First Roman-Dacian War, Raids of Vlad III Dracula Against the Ottoman Empire, the Great War, and World War 2
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Jason Zenobia
- Length: 7 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 34
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 34
Romania lies on Europe’s eastern border, and as such, it is often neglected in history. Although it is a culturally very rich country, the world displayed little interest in its promotion. By listening to this captivating history of Romania, you will learn about the turbulent past of the region, the many wars it fought, and the people who led them. You will also learn the truth behind the character of Vlad the Impaler and decide for yourself if he was a ruthless, bloodthirsty ruler or a politician, tactician, and national hero.
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2 out of 5 stars
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Polished to the edge of propaganda
- By Anonymous User on 08-19-23
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Ukraine's Maidan, Russia's War
- A Chronicle and Analysis of the Revolution of Dignity
- By: Mychailo Wynnyckyj, Serhii Plokhy - foreword
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 16 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 30
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 30
In early 2014, sparked by an assault by their government on peaceful students, Ukrainians rose up against a deeply corrupt, Moscow-backed regime. Initially demonstrating under the banner of EU integration, the Maidan protesters proclaimed their right to a dignified existence; they learned to organize, to act collectively, to become a civil society. Most prominently, they established a new Ukrainian identity: territorial, inclusive, and present-focused with powerful mobilizing symbols.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Says he is a Christian but totally ignores God
- By Viktor V. Choban on 08-11-20
By: Mychailo Wynnyckyj, and others
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China’s Good War
- How World War II Is Shaping a New Nationalism
- By: Rana Mitter
- Narrated by: Dennis Kleinman
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 56
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 49
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 47
For most of its history, the People’s Republic of China limited public discussion of the war against Japan. It was an experience of victimization - and one that saw Mao Zedong and Chiang Kai-shek fighting for the same goals. But now, as China grows more powerful, the meaning of the war is changing. Rana Mitter argues that China’s reassessment of the World War II years is central to its newfound confidence abroad and to mounting nationalism at home.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Scholarly work
- By Kindle Customer on 09-12-23
By: Rana Mitter