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Title: Teotihuacan

Subtitle: The History of Ancient Mesoamerica's Largest City

Author: Dr. Jesse Harasta, Charles River Editors

Narrator: Michael Gilboe

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 1 min

Language: English

Release date: 06-10-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: History, Ancient

Publisher's Summary:

On January 31, AD 378, a massive army arrived at the gates of the city of Tikal, one of the ancient Maya's most important settlements on the Yucatan Peninsula. The events that transpired became known by the Spanish name Entrada (Entry), referring to "the entry of Teotihuacan". While there is no clear record of the events due to the sheer scale of destruction that took place, it's clear that neither Tikal nor the Maya as a whole had ever seen anything like it. These foreign soldiers not only conquered, but also subsequently ruled Tikal, despite the fact they had come from Teotihuacan, located about 630 miles (1,013 kilometers) away. In the process, the Teotihuacanos not only changed Tikal, but the direction of the Mayan civilization for centuries to come.

At the time, Teotihuacan was the biggest city in South America and was located in the Valley of Mexico, near today's Mexico City. Thriving between AD 100-750, it was one of the largest cities in the ancient world, with a population estimated at upwards of 150,000-250,000, over three times the size of contemporary Mayan capitals. Furthermore, Teotihuacan was a supremely well-planned and efficient city that was able to field massive armies and extend its power far beyond its home base to create a unified empire unlike anything in the region before it. In fact, the city's residents seemed so sure of its power that there were apparently no walls or military fortifications around Teotihuacan. Thanks to that power, Teotihuacan not only served as a vital center for trade in Ancient Mesoamerica, but also spread its architecture, art, religion, and culture, all of which subsequently influenced the famous Mesoamerican civilizations that followed, including the Aztecs and Mayas.

Members Reviews:

Nice introduction

Nice quick short review. Of a site. frequently overlooked by most casual tourists should develop an interest for going a short distance out of MC

Learn to pronounce the place names!

An interesting book on the early history of Mexico damaged be frequent mispronunciation. Could have been much better.

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Title: Legends of the Middle Ages: The History and Legacy of the Knights Templar

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Scott Clem

Format: Unabridged

Length: 55 mins

Language: English

Release date: 06-02-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: History, Ancient

Publisher's Summary:

A lot of ink has been spilled covering the lives of history's most influential figures, but how much of the forest is lost for the trees? In Charles River Editors' Legends of the Middle Ages series, readers can get caught up to speed on the lives of the most important medieval men and women in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known.

The Order of the Temple of Solomon, also known as the Templars or the Knights Templar, is one of the best-known and least-understood groups in history. They appear prominently in everything from novels (The Da Vinci Code) to films (as the Knights of the Cruciform Sword in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade) to videogames (Assassin's Creed). In these stories, they are a sinister cult that manipulated historical events since the Middle Ages, via intimidation and assassination. They are usually connected to the Freemasons and, sometimes, to other historical cults like the Hindu Thuggees.

The real Templars were both more mundane and more fascinating than the myths and legends. They were the first military religious order - monks who were also knights. The founding members were veterans of the First Crusade in Palestine and their main goal was, in fact, benign. They formed their group as a small tertiary order (Lay people who took monastic vows, but lived in the larger community) in Jerusalem, policing the pilgrim routes and shrines of the Levant and protecting travelers from the many bandits that infested the area. Even though they were used as the core of Crusader armies during the later crusades, the Templars never wavered from their original goal.

Members Reviews:

Can this guy read?

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

This is a good overview. It may be very good for high school students. It is particularly marred by the incredibly bad pronunciation of names by the narrator. It is laughable.

solid overview of Templars. doesn't take sides.

whether you have a positive or negative view of the Templars this is a fair and balanced introduction. covers the basic facts and also the more esoteric perspectives. even deals with Freemasonry and Illuminati connection in a responsible way without being dismissive towards so called conspiracy theories. currently listening to holy blood, holy grail and wanted mainstream overview to ground my thoughts about the Templars. this short book did the trick.

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Title: The Mycenaeans: The History and Culture of Ancient Greece's First Advanced Civilization

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Gabrielle Byrne

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 16 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-15-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: History, Ancient

Publisher's Summary:

When people think of ancient Greece, images of philosophers such as Plato or Socrates often come to mind, as do great warriors like Pericles and Alexander the Great. But hundreds of years before Athens became a city, a Greek culture flourished and spread its tentacles throughout the Western Mediterranean region via trade and warfare. Scholars have termed this preclassical Greek culture the Mycenaean culture. It existed from about 2000 to 1200 BCE, when Greece, along with much of the Eastern Mediterranean, was thrust into a centuries-long dark age.

Before the Mycenaean culture collapsed, it was a vital part of the late Bronze Age Mediterranean system and stood on equal footing with some of the great powers of the region, such as the Egyptians and Hittites. Despite being ethnic Greeks and speaking a language that was the direct predecessor of classical Greek, the Mycenaeans had more in common with their neighbors from the island of Crete, who are known today as the Minoans.

Due to their cultural affinities with the Minoans and the fact that they conquered Crete yet still carried on many Minoan traditions, the Mycenaeans are viewed by some scholars as the later torchbearers of a greater Aegean civilization. This is similar to the way the Romans carried on Hellenic civilization after the Greeks. Given that the Mycenaeans played such a vital role in history in the late Bronze Age, it would be natural to assume there are countless studies and accurate chronologies on the subject, but the opposite is true. Although the Mycenaeans were literate, the corpus of written texts from the period is minimal, so modern scholars are left to use a variety of methods in order to reconstruct a proper history of Mycenaean culture.

Members Reviews:

To Many Assumptions and Conjecture

What would have made The Mycenaeans: The History and Culture of Ancient Greece's First Advanced Civilization better?

Very few direct statements were made. Lots of "it could be", "it may be", "it is likely"...etc.

I thought I would be reading a book providing real information. Not a conjecture.

What could Charles River Editors have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Have more facts

What three words best describe Gabrielle Byrnes voice?

Gabrielle did a good job with the reading.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

My reaction is, "I don't know any more about The Mycenaeans now that I have read this book."

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Title: Athena: The Origins and History of the Greek Goddess

Author: Charles River Editors, Jesse Harasta

Narrator: Edoardo Camponeschi

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-12-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: History, Ancient

Publisher's Summary:

"I begin to sing of Pallas Athene, the glorious goddess, bright-eyed, inventive, unbending of heart, pure virgin, saviour of cities, courageous, Tritogeneia. From his awful head wise Zeus himself bare her arrayed in warlike arms of flashing gold, and awe seized all the gods as they gazed. But Athena sprang quickly from the immortal head and stood before Zeus who holds the aegis, shaking a sharp spear: Great Olympus began to reel horribly at the might of the bright-eyed goddess, and Earth round about cried fearfully, and the sea was moved and tossed with dark waves, while foam burst forth suddenly...." - "The Hymn To Athena", attributed to Homer

For the ancient Greeks, there were few divine beings more important, and more generous, to humanity than the goddess Athena. She was also called "Pallas", "Pallas Athena", and (to the Romans) "Minerva". The daughter of Zeus, Athena was famous as a virgin warrior woman who was born from her father's skull bearing a helmet, shield, and spear. Yet she was far more than simply a warrior goddess. She was at heart the patronage of civilization, and all of the arts that made advanced human society possible. She was the mistress of weaving, navigation, craftsmanship, and she gave her patronage to defensive wars, wise laws, and the "city" itself. Since the city-state, known as a "Polis" by the Greeks, was the center of Ancient Greek life, law, and politics, this made her all the more important as a deity, especially since she lent her name to one of the most famous of them all: Athens.

Members Reviews:

Not the best by any measure

Found this very hard going.

It's not very long, but I had to break off twice before I eventually made it to the end.

Not sure if it's the written style or the narration.

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Title: The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Paul Bloede

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-12-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: History, Ancient

Publisher's Summary:

"I have gazed on the walls of impregnable Babylon along which chariots may race, and on the Zeus by the banks of the Alpheus, I have seen the hanging gardens, and the Colossus of the Helios, the great man-made mountains of the lofty pyramids, and the gigantic tomb of Mausolus; but when I saw the sacred house of Artemis that towers to the clouds, the others were placed in the shade, for the sun himself has never looked upon its equal outside Olympus." - Antipater of Sidon

Nearly 2,000 years ago, two ancient writers named Antipater of Sidon and Philo of Byzantium authored antiquity's most well-known tour guides. After the two Greeks had traveled around the Mediterranean, they wrote of what they considered to be the classical world's greatest construction projects. While there is still some question as to who actually authored the text attributed to Philo and Antipater at the time of its creation, their lists ended up comprising the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, igniting interest in the ones they chosen and inspiring subsequent generations to identify their era's own Seven Wonders.

Naturally, the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World may be considered something of a misnomer. Only one still stands (the Great Pyramid at Giza in Egypt), all existed in the Hellenistic culture rather than all over the world, and relatively few people saw them or visited them. They were all architectural marvels of the late Classical period and all but two were created by the Greeks. All but one were in the Mediterranean area. Even so, they represented a widespread range of works and cultures and spread out across three different continents.

Members Reviews:

Informative

This is a great little book for those, like myself, who have a hard time remembering dates or important locations of relics in the past. Each of the seven wonders of the ancient world has a brief narrative about its origin and also drawings or pictures of reproductions to help visualize what each must have looked like. Although this book does not go into great depth, there is enough basic information for one to feel comfortable conversing on these topics.

Nice read

I usually like this type of historical book. I found this selection to be very informative. It was a little on the short side, but was pleased overall. I would recommend this to others.

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Title: The World's Greatest Civilizations: The History and Culture of the Celts

Author: Jesse Harasta, Charles River Editors

Narrator: Violet Meadow

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 13 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-08-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: History, Ancient

Publisher's Summary:

This book explains the history, mythology, religion, and social structure of the Celts.

The Celts are one of the most well-known groups in Europe and one of the least understood. Depending on which classifications are used, the Celts are also one of the oldest civilizations in Europe. In the centuries before Christ, the Celts were spread out across much of continental Europe, and though they are mostly identified with Gaul, evidence suggests they also spread as far as Portugal.

Though they were spread out across Europe before the height of the Roman Empire, most people associate the Celts with the British Isles today, particularly Ireland and Scotland. After they had been relegated to those smaller regions as a result of the Romans and other migrations, the culture of the Celts as it is currently understood began to congeal during the Early Middle Ages, and Celtic culture, folklore, and legend have all become inextricably intertwined with Irish history and British history as a whole.

While much of the world associates the Celts with the British Isles and Ireland specifically, Celtic is typically used in the British Isles as a way to describe anything that is in contrast to the dominant "Saxon", "Anglo-Saxon", or "English" culture. It is impossible to separate these two: Celtic in this sense exists because it can be contrasted to English and vice versa. The "Celts" and "Celtic" things are viewed as more natural, emotional, irrational, tradition-bound, hot-headed, and feminine. The English are seen as more civilized, rational, forward-thinking, cool-headed, and masculine.

Members Reviews:

the six Celtic nations

Useful, but perhaps overly focused on the modern history of the six Celtic nations: Ireland, Scotland, Cornwall, the Isle of Man, Brittany, and Wales. It briefly covers the distinctions between the two post-classical Celtic language and cultural groups. It does not significantly cover the Celtic emergence as traders with the Greeks and their cultural influence as far south as Galicia. Still an interesting and useful overview for the price.

Good Job on a Difficult Topic

This Charles River short was great. This was a hard task because the author had to straddle several different eras from the Urnfield Culture of the Bronze Age to the Celts of Julius Caesar up to the modern day. There was a lot of material on how Celtic culture influenced the culture of the Middle Ages and myths like the Arthurian tales. Fast forward to the 19th century where British oppression of Celtic cultures turned into modern day Celtic nationalism.

Definitely worth the read.

A Nice Overview

The History and the Culture of the Celts gives an interesting and detailed overview on the history of the Celtic nations and explains how the cultures came into their present day forms. This reading is concise and easy to follow; you don't need to be a history buff to enjoy it. I learned a great deal in the hour and a half it took to read.

I have been short books on the history of different ...

I have been short books on the history of different groups in history. This was quick read and it focus on the Celts that still have remnant of the Celtic languages. I thought this made interesting.

Three Stars

Too much supposition and not enough facts.

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Title: Ancient Cities: The History of Carthage

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Edoardo Camponeschi

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 36 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-07-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: History, Ancient

Publisher's Summary:

"Ceterum autem censeo Carthaginem esse delendam." ("Furthermore, I consider it imperative that Carthage be destroyed.") (Cato the Elder)

At its peak, the wealthy Carthaginian Empire dominated the Mediterranean against the likes of Greece and Rome, with commercial enterprises and influence stretching from Spain to Turkey, and at several points in history it had a very real chance of replacing the fledgling Roman Empire or the failing Greek poleis (city-states) altogether as master of the Mediterranean.

Although Carthage by far preferred to exert economic pressure and influence before resorting to direct military power, (and even went so far as to rely primarily on mercenary armies paid with its vast wealth for much of its history,) it nonetheless produced a number of outstanding generals, from the likes of Hanno Magnus to, of course, the great bogeyman of Roman nightmares himself: Hannibal. Through clever use of force projection, both by maintaining a large and very active navy to dominate the seaborne routes along which most of their vast trading empire's lifeblood flowed and by paying allies with gold or recruiting mercenary armies to fight for them, Carthage was able to go from a minor Phoenician settlement to one of the most powerful trading empires of antiquity.

However, the Carthaginians' foreign policy had one fatal flaw; over the centuries, they had a knack for picking the worst enemies they could possibly enter into conflict with. The first serious clash of civilizations which Carthage was involved in was with Greece. Unfortunately for the Carthaginians, Carthage would not endure the next major confrontation.

Members Reviews:

War! Revolt! Plague! Disaster! Execution! Exile! Peace! And then more War as it comes full circle again!

I enjoyed this book about the history of Carthage (hard to believe so many people survived that trying time!) I had learned from other Charles River Editor books to page back from where the book has you begin as there was oodles of other info I would have missed otherwise. Have to say I was a bit lost at first with all the history of the kings who ruled over all those centuries, but the story of "the great bogeyman of Roman nightmares himself: Hannibal" was well worth it! I was fascinated by his one campaign that read "Hannibal's army slaughtered an average of 600 Roman soldiers every minute until nightfall ended the battle". Wishing there were more photos (some statues were present) but I understand Rome took it to them after nearly being obliterated themselves. Very good history lesson and book about a civilization that rivaled Rome and Greece at that period of time!

Learn the History of Carthage in Just a Few Pages:

Surprisingly, this eBook is not up to Charles River Editors' standards. The maps provided to show the growth of Carthage or conflict locations - were too small to be very useful. The labeling words were miniscule -- and smaller. There were times I wished there were drawings showing the path of battles. Sometimes, it is hard to understand the significance of actions without more visual aids.

However, this is a good general overview of the history of Carthage. The folks of the ancient times seemed to wage war with amazing frequency.

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Title: Ancient Cities: The History of Troy

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Claire White

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-07-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: History, Ancient

Publisher's Summary:

Discusses the Iliad's depiction of the Trojan War and the way the Iliad was used to rediscover Troy. Includes a bibliography for further reading.

"Rage - Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses, hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls, great fighters' souls, but made their bodies carrion, feasts for the dogs and birds, and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end. Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed, Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles...." (Homer, The Iliad)

Troy is unquestionably one of the most famous and legendary cities of antiquity, yet it is also the most mysterious. While ancient cities like Rome and Athens survived, and the destruction of others like Carthage and Pompeii were well documented, the fame of Troy rested entirely on Homer's epic poems, The Iliad & The Odyssey. The poems were so famous in the ancient world that Augustus had Virgil associate Rome's foundation with the destruction of Troy and Aeneas' own odyssey in the Aeneid. Augustus went so far as to have a new settlement, New Ilium, built in the region.

While the epic poems have been read for thousands of years and are regarded among Western literature's most important, their depictions of the Trojan War between the Greeks and Trojans clearly included fictional elements. As a result there has been much historical debate over whether the Trojan War actually happened. Up until the 19th century, many scholars merely regarded it as an ancient myth, but when Heinrich Schliemann used Homer's descriptions to guide his excavations, he found ruins in Western Turkey of several ancient cities built atop each other, with the oldest dating to the 12th century BC. Further excavations have found early settlements on the spot dating as far back as 3000 BC.

Members Reviews:

Interesting but not a ton of detail.

it was an interesting book to listen to but didn't go into a lot of the detail that I would have expected.

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Title: The Mythology and Religion of the Aztec

Author: Dr. Jesse Harasta, Charles River Editors

Narrator: K.C. Kelly

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 41 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-06-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: History, Ancient

Publisher's Summary:

"They strike open the wretched Indian's chest with flint knives and hastily tear out the palpitating heart which, with the blood, they present to the idols.... They cut off the arms, thighs and head, eating the arms and thighs at ceremonial banquets. The head they hang up on a beam, and the body is...given to the beasts of prey." (Bernal Diaz, a Spaniard who described the Aztec's human sacrifice)

From the moment Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortés first found and confronted them, the Aztecs have fascinated the world, and they continue to hold a unique place both culturally and in pop culture. Nearly 500 years after the Spanish conquered their mighty empire, the Aztecs are often remembered today for their major capital, Tenochtitlan, as well as being fierce conquerors of the Valley of Mexico who often engaged in human sacrifice rituals.

Ironically, and unlike the Mayans, the Aztecs are not widely viewed or remembered with nuance, in part because their own leader burned extant Aztec writings and rewrote a mythologized history explaining his empire's dominance less than a century before the Spanish arrived. While the Mayans are remembered for their astronomy, numeral system, and calendar, the Aztecs have primarily been remembered in a far narrower way despite continuing to be a source of pride to Mexicans through the centuries. As a result, even though the Aztecs continue to interest people across the world centuries after their demise, it has fallen on archaeologists and historians to try to determine the actual history, culture, and lives of the Aztecs from the beginning to the end, relying on excavations, primary accounts, and more.

Members Reviews:

baffling omissions

Omitted major portions of religion for seemingly no reason. For example it brushes over the Festival of Toxcatl and its god Tezcatlipoca, a major religious festival for a major god. The narrator also uses multiple pronunciations for various names throughout.

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Title: The World's Greatest Civilizations: The History and Culture of the Maya

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Jack Nolan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-23-15

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: History, Ancient

Publisher's Summary:

Many ancient civilizations have influenced and inspired people in the 21st century. The Greeks and Romans continue to fascinate the West today. But of all the world's civilizations, none has intrigued people more than the Mayans, whose culture, astronomy, language, and mysterious disappearance all continue to captivate people.

In 2012 especially there was a renewed focus on the Mayans, whose advanced calendar led many to speculate the world would end on the same date the Mayan calendar ends. The focus on the doomsday scenario, however, overshadowed the Mayans' true contributions to astronomy, language, sports, and art.

The World's Greatest Civilizations: The History and Culture of the Maya discusses the Mayan calendar within the larger context of their astronomical advances while also providing a comprehensive analysis of their history, empire, and culture. Along with a description of Mayan life, the mystique of the Maya is traced from the height of their empire to the present day in an attempt to understand a civilization often best described as an enigma.

Members Reviews:

general overview

Good enough basic treatment but more in the nature of an encyclopedia article. It provides a useful introduction for those looking for one.

Short and brief

I was looking for regular books on the Mayan Culture before a trip down there. This is a very brief synopsis, but also does not get really basic either. No map to explain where these areas are, so needed to either assume you have a good basic idea of where are the cities and states of mexico are, or a map next to this. Would have been a tolerable freebee. Read it in about 30 minutes from cover to cover.