Try free for 30 days
-
The Story of China
- A Portrait of a Civilisation and Its People
- Narrated by: Michael Wood
- Length: 23 hrs and 7 mins
Failed to add items
Add to basket failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from Wish List failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
The Story of China
Buy Now for $21.86
No valid payment method on file.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also picked
-
In the Footsteps of Du Fu
- By: Michael Wood
- Narrated by: Michael Wood
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Du Fu (712-70) is one of China’s greatest poets. His career coincided with periods of famine, war and huge upheaval, yet his secular philosophical vision, combined with his empathy for the common folk of his nation, ensured that he soon became revered. Like Shakespeare or Dante, his poetry resonates in a timeless manner that ensures it is always relevant and offers something new to the modern generation. Broadcaster and historian Michael Wood follows in his footsteps to try to understand the places that inspired Du Fu to write some of the most famous and best-loved poetry the world has known.
-
In Search of the Dark Ages
- By: Michael Wood
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5
In Search of the Dark Ages is an unrivalled exploration of the origins of English identity, and the best-selling book that established Michael Wood as one of Britain's leading historians. Now, on the book's 40th anniversary, this fully revised and expanded edition illuminates further the fascinating and mysterious centuries between the Romans and the Norman Conquest.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great detailed history!
- By Anonymous User on 18-03-2024
-
Children of Ash and Elm
- A History of the Vikings
- By: Neil Price
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
The Viking Age - from 750 to 1050 saw an unprecedented expansion of the Scandinavian peoples into the wider world. As traders and raiders, explorers and colonists, they ranged from eastern North America to the Asian steppe. But for centuries, the Vikings have been seen through the eyes of others, distorted to suit the tastes of medieval clerics and Elizabethan playwrights, Victorian imperialists, Nazis, and more. None of these appropriations capture the real Vikings, or the richness and sophistication of their culture.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
great and informative listen
- By Liam Prendergast on 18-02-2021
-
1177 B.C. (Revised and Updated)
- The Year Civilization Collapsed
- By: Eric H. Cline
- Narrated by: Eric H. Cline
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 25
This audiobook narrated by acclaimed archaeologist and best-selling author Eric Cline offers a breathtaking account of how the collapse of an ancient civilized world ushered in the first Dark Ages.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The rise and fall: Two millenniums BC.
- By Amazon Customer on 18-09-2023
-
Rubicon
- The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows, Tom Holland
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 90
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 84
The Roman Republic was the most remarkable state in history. What began as a small community of peasants camped among marshes and hills ended up ruling the known world. Rubicon paints a vivid portrait of the Republic at the climax of its greatness - the same greatness which would herald the catastrophe of its fall. It is a story of incomparable drama.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A well narrated (hi)story
- By K-2 on 24-09-2022
-
The Foundations of Western Civilization
- By: Thomas F. X. Noble, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Thomas F. X. Noble
- Length: 24 hrs and 51 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 84
What is Western Civilization? According to Professor Noble, it is "much more than human and political geography," encompassing myriad forms of political and institutional structures - from monarchies to participatory republics - and its own traditions of political discourse. It involves choices about who gets to participate in any given society and the ways in which societies have resolved the tension between individual self-interest and the common good.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
History for the Non-Historian
- By Amazon Customer on 22-01-2014
-
In the Footsteps of Du Fu
- By: Michael Wood
- Narrated by: Michael Wood
- Length: 4 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Performance0 out of 5 stars 0
-
Story0 out of 5 stars 0
Du Fu (712-70) is one of China’s greatest poets. His career coincided with periods of famine, war and huge upheaval, yet his secular philosophical vision, combined with his empathy for the common folk of his nation, ensured that he soon became revered. Like Shakespeare or Dante, his poetry resonates in a timeless manner that ensures it is always relevant and offers something new to the modern generation. Broadcaster and historian Michael Wood follows in his footsteps to try to understand the places that inspired Du Fu to write some of the most famous and best-loved poetry the world has known.
-
In Search of the Dark Ages
- By: Michael Wood
- Narrated by: Marston York
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 5
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 5
In Search of the Dark Ages is an unrivalled exploration of the origins of English identity, and the best-selling book that established Michael Wood as one of Britain's leading historians. Now, on the book's 40th anniversary, this fully revised and expanded edition illuminates further the fascinating and mysterious centuries between the Romans and the Norman Conquest.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great detailed history!
- By Anonymous User on 18-03-2024
-
Children of Ash and Elm
- A History of the Vikings
- By: Neil Price
- Narrated by: Samuel Roukin
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 41
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 38
The Viking Age - from 750 to 1050 saw an unprecedented expansion of the Scandinavian peoples into the wider world. As traders and raiders, explorers and colonists, they ranged from eastern North America to the Asian steppe. But for centuries, the Vikings have been seen through the eyes of others, distorted to suit the tastes of medieval clerics and Elizabethan playwrights, Victorian imperialists, Nazis, and more. None of these appropriations capture the real Vikings, or the richness and sophistication of their culture.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
great and informative listen
- By Liam Prendergast on 18-02-2021
-
1177 B.C. (Revised and Updated)
- The Year Civilization Collapsed
- By: Eric H. Cline
- Narrated by: Eric H. Cline
- Length: 10 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 27
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars 25
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 25
This audiobook narrated by acclaimed archaeologist and best-selling author Eric Cline offers a breathtaking account of how the collapse of an ancient civilized world ushered in the first Dark Ages.
-
4 out of 5 stars
-
The rise and fall: Two millenniums BC.
- By Amazon Customer on 18-09-2023
-
Rubicon
- The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic
- By: Tom Holland
- Narrated by: Mark Meadows, Tom Holland
- Length: 15 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 90
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 85
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 84
The Roman Republic was the most remarkable state in history. What began as a small community of peasants camped among marshes and hills ended up ruling the known world. Rubicon paints a vivid portrait of the Republic at the climax of its greatness - the same greatness which would herald the catastrophe of its fall. It is a story of incomparable drama.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A well narrated (hi)story
- By K-2 on 24-09-2022
-
The Foundations of Western Civilization
- By: Thomas F. X. Noble, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Thomas F. X. Noble
- Length: 24 hrs and 51 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 97
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 88
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 84
What is Western Civilization? According to Professor Noble, it is "much more than human and political geography," encompassing myriad forms of political and institutional structures - from monarchies to participatory republics - and its own traditions of political discourse. It involves choices about who gets to participate in any given society and the ways in which societies have resolved the tension between individual self-interest and the common good.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
History for the Non-Historian
- By Amazon Customer on 22-01-2014
-
The Penguin History of New Zealand
- By: Michael King
- Narrated by: Rosemary Ronald
- Length: 17 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 36
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 28
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 28
New Zealand was the last country in the world to be discovered and settled by humankind. It was also the first to introduce full democracy. Between those events, and in the century that followed, the movements and conflicts of human history have been played out more intensively and more rapidly in New Zealand than anywhere else on Earth.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
a good introduction
- By Anonymous User on 17-03-2023
-
A History of the World
- By: Andrew Marr
- Narrated by: Andrew Marr, David Timson
- Length: 26 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 255
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 223
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 220
From the earliest civilizations to the 21st century: a global journey through human history, published alongside a landmark BBC One television series. Our understanding of world history is changing, as new discoveries are made on all the continents and old prejudices are being challenged. In this truly global journey, Andrew Marr revisits some of the traditional epic stories, from classical Greece and Rome to the rise of Napoleon, but surrounds them with less familiar material, from Peru to the Ukraine, China to the Caribbean.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Great work
- By James on 22-05-2015
-
Learn Mandarin Chinese with Paul Noble for Beginners – Part 1
- Mandarin Chinese Made Easy with your Personal Language Coach
- By: Paul Noble, Kai-Ti Noble
- Narrated by: Paul Noble
- Length: 5 hrs and 7 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 30
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 29
No grammar tests. No memory drills. No chance of failure. Welcome to Learn with Paul Noble – a unique, tried and tested language learning method that has been used by almost a million people to speak fluently and confidently in no time at all. Take a simple, relaxed approach to learning a language that has been proven to succeed every time. Unlike more traditional language learning courses, Paul Noble’s unique method has no grammar tests, no memory drills and no chance of failure.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Absolutely incredible series - unparalleled language teaching
- By hungryandhappy on 13-03-2024
-
The Anarchy
- The Relentless Rise of the East India Company
- By: William Dalrymple
- Narrated by: Sid Sagar
- Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 226
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 196
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 196
The Anarchy tells the remarkable story of how one of the world’s most magnificent empires disintegrated and came to be replaced by a dangerously unregulated private company, based thousands of miles overseas in one small office, five windows wide, and answerable only to its distant shareholders. In his most ambitious and riveting audiobook to date, William Dalrymple tells the story of the East India Company as it has never been told before, unfolding a timely cautionary tale of the first global corporate power.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
Directionless and difficult to follow.
- By Howling Fantods on 09-12-2019
-
The Rise of Western Christendom (10th Anniversary Revised Edition)
- Triumph and Diversity, A.D. 200-1000
- By: Peter Brown
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 26 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars 1
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 1
This tenth anniversary revised edition of the authoritative text on Christianity's first thousand years of history features a new preface and an updated bibliography. The essential general survey of medieval European Christendom, Brown's vivid prose charts the compelling and tumultuous rise of an institution that came to wield enormous religious and secular power.
-
A Brief History of Indonesia
- Sultans, Spices, and Tsunamis: The Incredible Story of Southeast Asia's Largest Nation
- By: Tim Hannigan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 37
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
-
Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
Indonesia is by far the largest nation in Southeast Asia and has the fourth-largest population in the world after the United States. Indonesian history and culture are especially relevant today as the island nation is an emerging power in the region with a dynamic new leader. It is a land of incredible diversity and unending paradoxes that has a long and rich history stretching back a thousand years and more.
-
5 out of 5 stars
-
A literary masterpiece
- By Paddy on 21-01-2024
Publisher's Summary
China’s story is extraordinarily rich and dramatic. Now Michael Wood, one of the UK's pre-eminent historians, brings it all together in a major new one-volume history of China that is essential listening for anyone who wants to understand its burgeoning role in our world today.
China is the oldest living civilisation on earth, but its history is still surprisingly little known in the wider world. Michael Wood's sparkling narrative, which mingles the grand sweep with local and personal stories, woven together with the author’s own travel journals, is an enthralling account of China’s 4000-year-old tradition, taking in life stationed on the Great Wall or inside the Forbidden City. The story is enriched with the latest archaeological and documentary discoveries, correspondence and court cases going back to the Qin and Han dynasties, family letters from soldiers in the real-life Terracotta Army, stories from Silk Road merchants and Buddhist travellers, along with memoirs and diaries of emperors, poets and peasants.
In the modern era, the book is full of new insights, with the electrifying manifestos of the feminist revolutionaries Qiu Jin and He Zhen, extraordinary eye-witness accounts of the Japanese invasion, the Great Famine and the Cultural Revolution under Chairman Mao, and fascinating newly published sources for the great turning points in China’s modern history, including the Tiananmen Square crisis of 1989, and the new order of President Xi Jinping.
A compelling portrait of a single civilisation over an immense period of time, the audiobook is full of intimate detail and colourful voices, taking us from the desolate Mongolian steppes to the ultra-modern world of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong. It also asks what were the forces that have kept China together for so long? Why was China overtaken by the west after the 18th century? What lies behind China’s extraordinary rise today? The Story of China tells a thrilling story of intense drama, fabulous creativity and deep humanity; a portrait of a country that will be of the greatest importance to the world in the 21st century.
Critic Reviews
"A learned, wise, wonderfully written single volume history of a civilisation that I knew I should know more about." (Tom Holland)
"Masterful and engrossing...well-paced, eminently readable and well-timed. A must for those who want – and need – to know about the China of yesterday, today and tomorrow." (Peter Frankopan)
More from the same
What listeners say about The Story of China
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 01-02-2023
A great story
One reviewer complained that this book is basically not an academic history book even though the title is “The Story of” and published by a non-academic publisher. The nonsense critics can pull from those dark smelly places.
Another reviewer complained about length as if they didn’t know how long it was before they bought it. As if there aren’t shorter alternatives.
If you don’t want history told in a narrative fashion that takes on a variety of viewpoints instead of the fictional “objective historian” and told with enough depth to take some time to go through then this ain’t for you.
Everyone else, have fun.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 23-03-2024
Brilliant
Brilliantly researched , looked at the big picture of China , very easy to listen too gave me a much better understanding of China thought it was quite marvellous
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 11-09-2021
brilliant
the best history book that I have read. takes you away from the list of dates and kings and gives you an understanding of what it was like to live at that time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance1 out of 5 stars
-
Story2 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 05-08-2021
Chapters much too long,I couldn't go the distane
I have enjoyed very much other audio books from Michael Wood, in particular the Story of India. As such I had high hopes for the Story of China but as much as I wanted to enjoy it, it is just overwhelming in the share volume of information the author attempts to provide. It is like battling a raging tsunami.
I gave up about three chapters in. Such a shame.
I wish it had been delivered in much smaller chunks.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall2 out of 5 stars
-
Performance5 out of 5 stars
-
Story1 out of 5 stars
- Rebecca Lee
- 21-10-2021
Pretentious Drivel
I was just unhappy with how poorly researched this was.
I did not enjoy it, as I felt that a lot of words were expended on making China sound exotic and other, without actually delving into the actual history. I think I listened to about half an hour of purple prose about scenery before we even got to the emperor's role in a ceremony.
As a Chinese person myself, I would have preferred a drier, more factual book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall3 out of 5 stars
-
Performance4 out of 5 stars
-
Story3 out of 5 stars
- Jeff
- 06-04-2021
A great story hurt by a bewildering postscript end
I have watched Michael Wood in his documentary on China. I found him to be very knowledgeable about the history on the whole, but mostly in particular the point at which the opium wars commenced and the right nation alliance chose to invade a sovereign nation because they felt it was their duty.
When I saw the book version I knew this had to have more in it and it did not leave me disappointed. Well, that is to say that the information was much more detailed and if you are a person who is genuinely open to history, then M Wood delivers it in abundance in the Chinese sector of the world throughout the ages. you could feel yourself looking over these time-honoured people and the hardships and glories they faced. There was much that was not said also, but then...how long do you want to read, or listen to the reading of a book is also a consideration. History is like that, a facts timeline or factual story of events. I feel this is the latter.
Well, it was until we reach the last piece, the closing comment about Covid-19. Michael has obviously completed this book in 2020 and in doing so made the worst possible mistake! That of passing judgement on the origin and data timeline for passage of information about the virus. He has instead, chosen to follow the sheep and please the one country who has now been identified as the worst in the world to deal with the virus. He has chosen to malign the current leader of the CPC as being the same as Mao during the cultural revolution, yet this same man has brought back over 6000 officials who fled with government money to other countries, regained ¥440,000,000,000,000.00 in monies they have taken to other countries and tried to live like king's and Lords. He focuses on the needs of the people, which can be seen in the massive infrastructure that occurs in cities and between them. He did not quote how high speed rail has been laid since Xi took power or the Subways that connect the airports to the cities now., just a ref to being like Mao...why?
I believe China political system is going through changes, as does Mr Wood, to a single part democratic style of system. The truth is that the West has proven beyond a doubt that the multiple party system does not work, it only promotes self-effacing people to a position of power where they become greedy and the people suffer on two fronts. 1) Decide who you want 50% can't of winning, and 2) and, Then you are stuck with whoever wins for the next four years, until you vote again.
My honest opinion of this book, is without the ill-informed end piece, it was a great piece of history, but then all the excellent work was wasted with those frivolous and poorly written and researched statements.
Sorry Mr Wood, I'm a fan of your work but you messed up.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
