History

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Stephen Fry's Victorian Secrets cover art

  • Stephen Fry's Victorian Secrets

  • By: Stephen Fry
  • Length: 7 hrs and 40 mins
  • Original Recording
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars 20
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars 20
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars 19

On the surface, the Victorian age is one of propriety, industry, prudishness and piety. But scratch the surface and you’ll find scandal, sadism, sex, madness, malice and murder....

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Love this!

  • By bridget Huolohan on 28-11-2018
Mythos cover art

  • Mythos

  • By: Stephen Fry
  • Narrated by: Stephen Fry
  • Length: 15 hrs and 25 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 1,964
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars 1,816
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 1,809

The Greek myths are amongst the greatest stories ever told, passed down through millennia and inspiring writers and artists as varied as Shakespeare, Michelangelo, James Joyce....

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Superb!

  • By Anonymous User on 14-11-2017
21 Lessons for the 21st Century cover art

  • 21 Lessons for the 21st Century

  • By: Yuval Noah Harari
  • Narrated by: Derek Perkins
  • Length: 11 hrs and 41 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars 636
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars 566
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 560

Sapiens showed us where we came from. Homo Deus looked to the future. 21 Lessons for the 21st Century explores the present....

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • He's done it again

  • By Anonymous User on 06-09-2018
Heroes cover art

  • Heroes

  • Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures
  • By: Stephen Fry
  • Narrated by: Stephen Fry
  • Length: 15 hrs
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars 161
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars 150
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars 150

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Heroes, written and read by Stephen Fry. There are heroes - and then there are Greek heroes....

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • amazing from start to end!

  • By Anonymous User on 27-11-2018

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An Economic History of the World since 1400 cover art

  • An Economic History of the World since 1400

  • By: Donald J. Harreld, The Great Courses
  • Narrated by: Donald J. Harreld
  • Length: 24 hrs and 25 mins
  • Original Recording
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 145
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 129
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 126

Most of us have a limited understanding of the powerful role economics has played in shaping human civilization. This makes economic history - the study of how civilizations structured their environments to provide food, shelter, and material goods - a vital lens through which to think about how we arrived at our present, globalized moment. Designed to fill a long-empty gap in how we think about modern history, these 48 lectures are a comprehensive journey through more than 600 years of economic history.

  • 4 out of 5 stars

  • I have learnt a lot

  • By Anonymous User on 19-06-2018
The Black Death: The World's Most Devastating Plague cover art

  • The Black Death: The World's Most Devastating Plague

  • By: Dorsey Armstrong, The Great Courses
  • Narrated by: Dorsey Armstrong
  • Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
  • Original Recording
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 58
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 52
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 52

Many of us know the Black Death as a catastrophic event of the medieval world. But the Black Death was arguably the most significant event in Western history, profoundly affecting every aspect of human life, from the economic and social to the political, religious, and cultural. In its wake the plague left a world that was utterly changed, forever altering the traditional structure of European societies and forcing a rethinking of every single system of Western civilization: food production and trade, the church, political institutions, law, art, and more.

  • 5 out of 5 stars

  • Fascinating & gripping

  • By Ballina Beach on 08-10-2016
The Vikings cover art

  • The Vikings

  • By: Kenneth W. Harl, The Great Courses
  • Narrated by: Kenneth W. Harl
  • Length: 17 hrs and 59 mins
  • Original Recording
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 57
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 55
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 55

As raiders and explorers, the Vikings played a decisive role in the formation of Latin Christendom, and particularly of western Europe. Now, in a series of 36 vivid lectures by an honored teacher and classical scholar, you have the opportunity to understand this remarkable race as never before, studying the Vikings not only as warriors, but in all of the other roles in which they were equally extraordinary - merchants, artists, kings, raiders, seafarers, shipbuilders, and creators of a remarkable literature of myths and sagas.

  • 4 out of 5 stars

  • Vikings more than horned helmets

  • By Stan on 27-12-2016
The Story of Human Language cover art

  • The Story of Human Language

  • By: John McWhorter, The Great Courses
  • Narrated by: John McWhorter
  • Length: 18 hrs and 15 mins
  • Original Recording
  • Overall
    4.5 out of 5 stars 70
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars 62
  • Story
    4.5 out of 5 stars 60

Language defines us as a species, placing humans head and shoulders above even the most proficient animal communicators. But it also beguiles us with its endless mysteries, allowing us to ponder why different languages emerged, why there isn't simply a single language, how languages change over time and whether that's good or bad, and how languages die out and become extinct.

  • 3 out of 5 stars

  • This is from 2005

  • By David on 26-07-2018
The Fall and Rise of China cover art

  • The Fall and Rise of China

  • By: Richard Baum, The Great Courses
  • Narrated by: Richard Baum
  • Length: 24 hrs and 8 mins
  • Original Recording
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars 79
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars 72
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars 71

For most of its 5,000-year existence, China has been the largest, most populous, wealthiest, and mightiest nation on Earth. And for us as Westerners, it is essential to understand where China has been in order to anticipate its future. These 36 eye-opening lectures deliver a comprehensive political and historical overview of one of the most fascinating and complex countries in world history.

  • 4 out of 5 stars

  • Excellent Analysis

  • By Tomas on 13-10-2018
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World cover art

  • The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World

  • By: Robert Garland, The Great Courses
  • Narrated by: Robert Garland
  • Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins
  • Original Recording
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars 100
  • Performance
    4.5 out of 5 stars 90
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars 89

Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.

  • 4 out of 5 stars

  • An eye-opening account of the ancient 99%

  • By Nelson C on 09-07-2015

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Illinois Native Americans: A 9,000 Year Civilization cover art

  • Illinois Native Americans: A 9,000 Year Civilization

  • By: in60Learning
  • Narrated by: Lisa S. Ware
  • Length: 1 hr and 15 mins
  • Unabridged
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Did you know that the Illinois Confederacy of North America is arguably the longest ruling civilization in the world? Surpassing the Romans, Egyptians, Japanese, and Chinese, the Native Americans of this confederacy ruled the Midwest unchallenged for more than 9,000 years. 

The Safavid Empire: A Captivating Guide to the Persian Empire That Fought Against the Ottomans in the Ottoman-Safavid War cover art

  • The Safavid Empire: A Captivating Guide to the Persian Empire That Fought Against the Ottomans in the Ottoman-Safavid War

  • By: Captivating History
  • Narrated by: Desmond Manny
  • Length: 1 hr and 21 mins
  • Unabridged
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The Safavid dynasty was one of the most notable ruling dynasties of Iran. This Islamic empire was powerful enough to challenge the Mughals in the east and the Ottomans in the west. Their story has shaped what we know as modern Iran more than any other period in its history. In this captivating history audiobook, you will discover all about this remarkable empire that was responsible for one of Persia's golden ages in terms of power and culture. 

A History of the Popes cover art

  • A History of the Popes

  • By: Joseph McCabe
  • Narrated by: Denis Daly
  • Length: 17 hrs and 36 mins
  • Unabridged
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Joseph McCabe's study of papal history is unusual in that he takes a hostile view of the Roman Catholic Church in general, and of the papacy in particular. Raised as a Catholic, McCabe was ordained as a Franciscan priest in 1890, but by 1897 had abandoned both the priesthood and the Catholic faith and was in the process of establishing himself as an ardent secularist. He published over 200 books, many of which were critiques of the history and contemporary activities of the Catholic Church. 

Cork Wars cover art

  • Cork Wars

  • Intrigue and Industry in World War II
  • By: David A. Taylor
  • Narrated by: Robin J Sitten
  • Length: 7 hrs and 15 mins
  • Unabridged
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In 1940, with German U-boats blockading all commerce across the Atlantic Ocean, a fireball at the Crown Cork and Seal factory lit the sky over Baltimore. The newspapers said you could see its glow as far north as Philadelphia and as far south as Annapolis. Rumors of Nazi sabotage led to an FBI investigation and pulled an entire industry into the machinery of national security as America stood on the brink of war. David Taylor traces this fascinating story through the lives of three men and their families, who were all drawn into this dangerous intersection of enterprise and espionage.

Domina cover art

  • Domina

  • The Women Who Made Imperial Rome
  • By: Guy de la Bédoyère
  • Narrated by: Julian Elfer
  • Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins
  • Unabridged
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Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero - these are the names history associates with the early Roman Empire. Yet, not a single one of these emperors was the blood son of his predecessor. In this captivating history, a prominent scholar of the era documents the Julio-Claudian women whose bloodline, ambition, and ruthlessness made it possible for the emperors' line to continue. Eminent scholar Guy de la Bedoyere, author of Praetorian, asserts that the women behind the scenes - including Livia, Octavia, and the elder and younger Agrippina - were the true backbone of the dynasty.

Famine and Rebellion: The History of Ireland Under the British Empire in the 19th Century cover art

  • Famine and Rebellion: The History of Ireland Under the British Empire in the 19th Century

  • By: Charles River Editors
  • Narrated by: Colin Fluxman
  • Length: 2 hrs and 38 mins
  • Unabridged
  • Overall
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There are very few national relationships quite as complicated and enigmatic as the one that exists between the English and the Irish. For two peoples so interconnected by geography and history, the depth of animosity that is often expressed is difficult at times to understand. Famine and Rebellion: The History of Ireland Under the British Empire in the 19th Century analyzes the tumultuous events that marked Irish history during British rule in the 19th century. From this audiobook, you will learn about Ireland in the 19th century like never before.