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The Book of Roads and Kingdoms
- Narrated by: Richard Fidler
- Length: 12 hrs and 53 mins
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Publisher's Summary
When Richard Fidler came across the account of Ibn Fadlan—a tenth-century Arab diplomat who travelled all the way from Baghdad to the cold riverlands of modern-day Russia—he was struck by how modern his voice was, like that of a 21st century time-traveller dropped into a medieval wilderness. On further investigation, Fidler discovered this was just one of countless reports from Arab and Persian travellers of their adventures in medieval China, India, Africa and Byzantium. Put together, he saw these stories formed a crazy quilt picture of a lost world.
The Book of Roads and Kingdoms is the story of the medieval wanderers who travelled out to the edges of the known world during Islam's fabled Golden Age—an era when the caliphs of Baghdad presided over a dominion greater than the Roman Empire at its peak, stretching from North Africa to India. Imperial Baghdad, founded as the 'City of Peace', quickly became the biggest and richest metropolis in the world.
Winner of the Indie Book Awards Non Fiction 2023
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- wilhelmus rooms
- 11-12-2022
Very exciting book
Amazing book, thanks
There is so much lost historie, please write more books like this?
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- Anonymous User
- 09-01-2023
A great book for history lovers
Richard Fidler is a knowledgeable narrator of his own novel of the history of the Middle East and the Silk Road. Well researched stories from a perspective on history rarely heard in western culture.
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- Anonymous User
- 23-03-2023
Entertaining non fiction
I don't get an overall narrative, it just feels like a series of short stories - amazingly structured and narrated. I hope the author produces more.
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- Anonymous User
- 21-11-2022
stunning and beautiful overview of a vast empire
Beautifully written, even better spoken. This tome weaves facts and fables in a tangible and enticing collection of histories of the middle east. Not only is it an enjoyable read, but also an important one.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 03-02-2023
Great starter and summary for those new to Arabic history.
Brilliant alternate perspective on the supposed “dark ages”. Really gets the imagination going the coming together of different cultures around the periphery’s of Arab /Muslim empire
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- Anonymous User
- 23-03-2023
Great Topic, well presented
Fascinating journey through a part of history often forgotten! Awesome read and great writer/reader!
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- Abe Killian
- 11-01-2023
Fidler's Best
This is my third Fidler book, and I have to say, I think it's the best so far. It has a different format to the others - relying less on personal experience and delving more into the history and the characters.
The format is also unusual in that we start with sweeping stories that knit together amazingly and then we have much shorter parts that dart around a bit from around 5 hours in. It's fine and works, it's just we lose some of that epic poetic nature that Fidler and his team so beautifully produce at the beginning.
As we move through the book, we return to this sweeping poetic nature and really it's an absolute delight to listen to. I thoroughly enjoyed it, being a huge history fan, especially being able to learn more about multiple empires and move away from the white-washing of history we were all subjected to at school and in decades of documentaries.
We see how Alexander the Great was so influential to Persian and Arabic culture, how Islam grew in the desert while the world suffered through plague, how the mighty Mongols, Indian, China, the Middle East and even Europe all traded, warred, had alliances and spoke to each other. Blessed are we to have the works of the learned peoples of China and the poetic brilliance of the scholars of Arabia and Persia.
A great book for anyone into history.
Fidler probably gives his best performance so far as well, using tone to switch between the action, poetry, sadness and curiosity. Very well directed and edited together.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-11-2022
Brilliant
The best book of its kind I have read, well narrated and highly recommended.Learnt so much
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- Cris
- 10-02-2023
Richard Fidler is an A1 brainiac
I love history and I am a Richard Fidler fan from way back. As I was listening to this tome of a book, I had a visual of that Netflix Love, Death and Robots episode, Ice Age, where you see the history of humankind from caveman through to enlightenment with all of the creation, development, wars, death and destruction in between. This book takes you on a journey. Thanks Richard.
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- Trish Griffin
- 18-06-2023
Fidler Gold
Yet another book of indulgence for a history tragic like me. The intimate details of every day life in the long gone times is astonishing. Thank you Richard.
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