Get Your Free Audiobook
-
First Contact/The Cult of Progress
- Civilisations
- Narrated by: Ben Onwukwe
- Length: 5 hrs and 31 mins
- Categories: Arts & Entertainment, Art
Non-member price: $30.38
Publisher's Summary
Oscar Wilde said 'Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life'. Was he right? In Civilisations, David Olusoga travels the world to piece together the shared histories that link nations.
In part one, 'First Contact', we discover what happened to art in the great Age of Discovery, when civilisations encountered each other for the first time. Although undoubtedly a period of conquest and destruction, it was also one of mutual curiosity, global trade and the exchange of ideas.
In part two, 'The Cult of Progress', we see how the Industrial Revolution transformed the world, impacting every corner and every civilisation, from the cotton mills of the Midlands through Napoleon's conquest of Egypt to the decimation of both Native American and Maori populations and the advent of photography in Paris in 1839. Incredible art - both looted and created - relays the key events and their outcomes throughout the world.
More from the same
What listeners say about First Contact/The Cult of Progress
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Deborah H
- 07-10-2020
Enjoyed the book very much, but
I have no idea why narrators take on the cliched accent of the subject in a non-fiction book - I cringed at the brash American and effete French accents (but strangely not the German accent for Otto Dix). It’s a distraction and ridiculous. Otherwise, thoroughly enjoyed.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- DEEJAYESS
- 13-09-2020
Interesting and informative
A longtime fan of David Olusoga’s work, I expected this to be a worthwhile ‘read’. I was not disappointed. It demonstrates the power and importance of all cultures in civilizations whilst leaving you feeling frustrated that European colonialism allowed such a narrow view of the world to shine through.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Ben Behibro
- 14-06-2020
Excellent short insights
Excellent short insights into first contacts between civilisations and the role art played in documenting such events.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Amazon Customer
- 05-01-2020
Real truth brought to bear...
Amazingly told allegory, of the truth, of the history of yesteryear. this brought to light the many lies of the colonisers. Their barbaric and uncivilized ways in which they took over the world.
16 Best Audiobooks by Aboriginal Authors
Across genres, there’s no shortage of brilliant titles from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers of Australia.



25 Best Celebrity Audiobooks
It’s always a pleasant surprise to pick up a familiar story and find an unexpected famous friend in the narrator’s booth.



Best Audiobooks of 2020
We've crunched the numbers, heard from our listeners and gotten expert opinions to round up the best listens of 2020.


