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Title: Lourdes: The History and Legacy of France's Most Famous Christian Pilgrimage Site

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Jim D. Johnston

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 30 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-11-18

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

They say that judgment does not exist in Lourdes. Once one sets foot on this hallowed soil, all barriers of race, social status, background, and religious differences cease to exist. One is no more than a humble soul in search of a renewal of one's connection to God. In a statement released to the French press in mid-August of 2008, Father Jacques Nieuviarts guaranteed the following:

"Those who touch the rock at the grotto in Lourdes.... Perhaps they are praying to be imbued with the strength of this rock. Those who drink the water from the fountain feel that their inner thirst is being quenched, that they have been changed, and that the water has purified them.... In lighting the candle, they open themselves up to the clarity that comes from God, and when they depart leaving a burning candle, their prayer continues in union with the prayers of all the other people who have placed their lighted candles at the grotto...."

Given these promises of inner peace and spiritual awakenings, not to mention the countless cases - both claimed and "verified" - of miraculous healing this supernatural town is teeming with, it comes as no surprise that this once unassuming town has now become the second most popular tourist destination in France, following Paris. Over the years, this formerly quaint, but rinky-dink, gray-roofed cottage town has more than succeeded in putting itself on the map through its mystical sanctuaries built on miracles, but how exactly did they achieve such a designation? And how much truth, if any at all, is there in these so-called miracles?

Lourdes: The History and Legacy of France's Most Famous Christian Pilgrimage Site chronicles the remarkable history of the site and the religious influence it has had over the centuries.

Members Reviews:

Objectivity or skepticism?

The historical basics ARE presented -- no argument there -- but it's HOW they are presented that results in my mediocre rating. Why, for instance, is slang so frequently used? Describing a small village that has seen better times as "rinky-dink," the imbibing of alcohol as drinking "booze," and a man's temporary employment as a "gig" (to cite but several examples) lends a jarring flippancy of tone inconsistent with the serious, objective treatment of this topic one expects. One can only assume this is the result of either ignorance or deliberateness -- and neither one is acceptable.

I am not a Roman Catholic, and I downloaded this short book to learn more about what happened at Lourdes, but the subtle, underlying skepticism I detected in the overall tone of this work was not to my liking. Examples of miraculous cures -- the relatively few that were mentioned -- were always countered by other possibilities, and today's Lourdes came across as an ever-expanding building project.

If you seek an objective but reverential treatment, look elsewhere.

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Title: Ancient Rhodes: The History and Legacy of the Famous Greek Island in Antiquity

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Mark Norman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-15-17

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

Modern perceptions of classical Greece are almost invariably based on Athens and Sparta, but there are perhaps few areas as consistently undervalued as the island of Rhodes. Although solidly part of the Greek world for as long as there has been one, Rhodes, located just off the coast of Asia Minor, was also from its earliest times a port opening to the civilizations of the Eastern Mediterranean, and Rhodes was involved in every significant moment in ancient Greek history. The island often played a key role in world events that far surpassed its small size and at one point even stood side by side with much larger kingdoms as one of the main powers in the Greek world.

In the Archaic and Classical periods, Rhodes often stood as a prime exemplar of the highs and lows of its fellow Greek cities, and as the largest island of the Dodecanese, Rhodes history is largely in line with that of the rest of those islands. Rhodes was first colonized by the Greeks of the Dorian tribe around the eighth century BCE, and it aligned with its fellow Dorian cities on the surrounding islands and the mainland of Asia Minor to form the so-called Doric Hexapolis. After the Ionian revolt near the end of the sixth century BCE, Rhodes, along with other islands, was in the path of the Persian fleet that crossed the Aegean to face off against the Greeks in the Persian Wars.

In the aftermath of the Persian Wars, along with the rest of the islands and with Greek Asia Minor, Rhodes was subsumed into the Athenian alliance, which would soon become the Athenian Empire. However, Athens would soon lose its power, and around the end of the Peloponnesian War against Sparta, its hold on its allies would wane.

Members Reviews:

Well documented info

Well done and well documented study of the rise, sequential importance, and later descent into near obscurity of this pivotal area in the history of the Helenic world. Probably best read in segments over a couple of days due to the abundance of material.

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Title: Englands Most Famous Palaces: The History of Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Ken Teutsch

Format: Unabridged

Length: 2 hrs and 27 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-15-17

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

Im glad weve been bombed. It makes me feel I can look the East End in the face. (The Queen Mother in 1940, after Buckingham Palace had been bombed by the Nazis)

When people think of the British royal family, and more specifically where they live, the first image that often pops into mind is that of stately Buckingham Palace, with its changing of the guard and the occasional royal coach leaving or entering. Others may think of the royal country estate of Windsor Castle, a favorite of both Britains longest reigning and second longest reigning monarchs. And there was a time when both royal residences played second fiddle to a much better known home, the elegant Kensington Palace.

In his multivolume work Old and New London (1878), Edward Walford wrote, It has often been said by foreigners that if they were to judge of the dignity and greatness of a country by the palace which its sovereign inhabits, they would not be able to ascribe to Her Majesty Queen Victoria that proud position among the crowned heads of Europe which undoubtedly belongs to her. But though Buckingham Palace is far from being so magnificent as Versailles is, or the Tuilleries once were, yet it has about it an air of solidity and modest grandeur, which renders it no unworthy residence for a sovereign who cares more for a comfortable home than for display.

This is ultimately what palaces are all about: power and impressions. Buckingham Palace is not different, for though it was originally built as a home of a private citizen, once a king bought it, its future was sealed.

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Title: The Wreckers

Subtitle: A Story of Killing Seas, False Lights and Plundered Ships

Author: Bella Bathurst

Narrator: Rebecca Crankshaw

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-12-17

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

From the best-selling author of The Lightouse Stevensons, a gripping history of the drama and danger of wrecking since the 18th-century - and the often grisly ingenuity of British wreckers, scavengers of the sea.

A fine wreck has always represented sport, pleasure, treasure and, in many cases, the difference between living well and just getting by. The Cornish were supposed to be so ferocious that notices of shipwrecks were given out during morning service by the minister whilst the congregation spent their time concocting elaborate theological justifications for drowning the survivors. Treeless islanders relied on the harvest of storms to furnish themselves with rafters, boat hulls, fence posts and floors. In other places false lights were set up with grisly ingenuity along the coast to lure boats to destruction.

With romance, insight and dry wit, Bella Bathurst traces the history of wrecking, looting and salvaging in the British Isles since the 18th century and leading up to the present day. 'For a fully laden general cargo to run to ground in an accessible position is more or less like having Selfridges crash-land in your back garden,' she writes. 'A Selfridges with the prices removed.'

Far from being a black-and-white crime, wrecking is often seen as opaque by its practitioners - the divisions between theft and recovery are small. No successful legal prosecution has ever been brought; the RNLI was founded by wreckers - even today lifeboat crews maintain the right to claim salvage; and since the sinking of the Cita in 1997, the inhabitants of the Scilly Isles have a startling propensity to sport Ben Sherman shirts.

In settings ranging from the eerily perambulatory Goodwin Sands to the wreck-strewn waters off the coast of Durham, these murky tales of resourcefulness and quick-witted opportunism open a beguiling vista of life at the rough edges of our land and legality.

Members Reviews:

Disappointed

Much more dry and dealing far less with actual incidents than I had hoped.

Five Stars

Interesting & well researched!

Made my 25 best reads of 2009.

Bella Bathurst, The Wreckers: A Story of Killing Seas and Plundered Shipwrecks from the 18th Century to the Present Day (Houghton Mifflin, 2005)

While I was coming up with my Best Reads of 2009 list, I found that I'd somehow forgotten to write a review of Bella Bathurst's The Wreckers, the book which clocked in at #16 on that list. It's almost two months later, and I still haven't written that review. I finished the book back in October 2009, and I'm writing this on February 15, 2010. (Note: there is no guarantee I will finish this review on February 15; I always have a few stubs lying around waiting for me to finish them.) So I'm a little fuzzy on the details, but I've got the structure firmly in my head; The Wreckers will be with me for much longer than this, rest you assured. Bella Bathurst has written my favorite kind of nonfiction book here, one that manages both the readability of a conversational tone and ample evidence of research. One in which the author is personally invested, but in which the author is not enough of an egoist to turn the entire book into a memoir that's related only tangentially to the purported subject. It is a book that is in balance.

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Título: La Alhambra: Historia y legado del más famoso palacio de los Moros en España [The Alhambra: History and Legacy of the Most Famous Palace of the Moors in Spain]

Autor: Charles River Editors

Narrador: Nicolas Villanueva

Formato: Unabridged

Duración: 1 hr and 40 mins

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 12-07-17

Editor: Charles River Editors

Categorías: History, European

Resumen del editor:

Escondida en la cima de la colina Al-Sabika en Granada, región de Andalucía, España, al lado de la rumorosa corriente del río Darro, hay una estructura majestuosa con vista a la encantadora ciudad y a los místicos prados de La Vega. Esta fortaleza palaciega y la fabulosa Alhambra son la misma cosa. Para los que la vieron en todo su esplendor, esto fue el cielo en la tierra. Muchos cayeron pronto bajo el hechizo de su asombrosa belleza; sus admiradores la apodaron amorosamente una perla engastada en esmeraldas.

Hubo una época en que este lugar estaba engalanado con una red de cautivadores castillos, casas angelicales y jardines preciosos, y una hermosa fortaleza militar que era la envidia de los reinos vecinos. Esta no es otra que la Alhambra, que alguna vez fue tan hermosa que, muchos de aquellos que la visitaron en sus días de esplendor, la llamaron el paraíso en la tierra. Hoy en día, este histórico conjunto se ha convertido en el escenario y la inspiración de una gran cantidad de libros, música, películas y otras obras de arte y literatura, como Los cuentos de La Alhambra, de Washington Irving y la joya fílmica de Marcel LHervier, El Dorado. Un cinturón principal de asteroides ha sido bautizado con el nombre de este lugar de leyenda.

La exquisita obra de arte sigue siendo adorada, tanto así que una campaña de 2007 atrajo al lugar una multitud calculada en 5.000 personas. Allí, ellos unieron sus manos y formaron un anillo de casi 5 kilómetros alrededor de la espectacular fortaleza, con la esperanza de consolidar el monumento como una de las Siete nueve maravillas del mundo.

Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

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Title: Middle Ages: Medieval History

Subtitle: Including: The Holy Roman Empire, Vikings, the Crusades, and "Columbus" Reaching the New World

Author: Wayne M. Nestor

Narrator: Chester L. Proctor IV

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 38 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-27-17

Publisher: Wayne M Nestor

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

Intrigue. Disease. Adventure. War. Invention. Famine.

This is the story of how humankind emerged from the Dark Ages prepared for the coming age of enlightenment.

There is a good reason why many fantasy epics are based on events that took place in the Middle Ages. For nearly a thousand years, people battled nature, disease, and each other to survive.

Visionaries laid the foundations that todays world is built upon and their inventions and innovations gave rise to literacy, education, medicine, engineering and more.

Explorers opened trade to foreign lands and flooded Europe with luxuries including silk, tea, and gold.

Nearly half a million people died of the black plague.

The feudal system failed, and aristocratic power dwindled.

In Medieval History - Including: The Holy Roman Empire, Vikings, the Crusades, and "Columbus" Reaching the New World youll get a quick trip through the turbulent Middle Ages that is sure to inspire deeper study.

Youll:

By the end of this quick trip, youll have a better understanding of how a turbulent period that led to the Golden Age that followed.

Members Reviews:

An Exceptional Source for Understanding the Middle Ages!!!!

The author of this book does an exceptional job of describing and making sense of what was the most turbulant and ever changing periods in human history. Lasting nearly a thousand years, the Middle Ages began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, and it lasted all the way until the end of the 1400s and the fall of Byzantium. The first 500 years of this era was sometimes referred to as the âDark Ages,â in Western Europe because of the ignorance and superstition of the Catholic Church that sought to destroy all the written teaching of the Classical Age "Pagan" Greeks and Romans. This was accompanied by Viking and other raiders reeking havoc. By 1000 AD a period of relative peace and prosperity which helped to bring to a period of relative stability in western Europe. The Middle Ages began to become a time great innovation and gave rise to many of the things we now take for granted, including the moveable type printing books, ever increasing access to printed books, and public universities. It was a time full of legendary characters such as Marco Polo, Christopher Columbus, Chaucer, Dante, and Saladin, all of whom helped shape the world as we know it today. Furthermore, travel and trade were opening up new corners of the world that Europeans had only ever imaginedâfrom the Silk Road, which led all the way to China, to the New World in North and South America. These foreign lands flooded Europe with luxury items such as silk, tea, and, of course, gold, and brought them into contact with civilizations as varied as the Mayans and the Mongols. The history of the medieval world bring the beginnings of Europeâs imperial age as well as modern globalization. However, the history of the later medieval world is not only one of invention and exploration. There was also a dark, catastrophic side to Medieval history, because it was also an era full of war, disease, and famine. More than half of Europeâs population, an estimated 450 million, died as a result of the Bubonic Plague alone, causing massive social upheaval and marking the beginning of the end for the feudal system in Europe.

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Title: The History of Britain in 50 Events

Subtitle: Timeline History in 50 Events, Book 1

Author: Stephan Weaver

Narrator: Phillip J Mather

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-15-17

Publisher: Stephan Weaver

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

This audiobook provides an easy-to-understand overview of British history in 50 events.

You will learn about....

Members Reviews:

Succinct eBook provides beautiful illustrated overview of British history... so worth the read!

The history of Great Britain in 50 events is a terrific succinct beautifully illustrated little eBook and overview (from prehistoric to modern times). I appreciated the inclusion of info related to tombs, monuments, and the creativity of the bronze and iron ages. Love the information about and photograph of Stonehenge, which the book revealed was built in phases. Didn't realize that the Celtic tribes, kinsmen of the Gauls in France, had invaded Britain for centuries. While this book may be light-weight reading, not being 300-400 pages long, for long-term British history buffs, this eBook was the perfect length and included many fascinating events, anecdotes, and other information, just enough, not too much... so I was able to take in the info and avoid information-overload. My favorite illustration was the beautiful illuminated manuscript initial page of the Peterborough Chronicle (also called the Laud manuscript and the E manuscript), which was one of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and contained unique information about the history of England after the Norman Conquest. This is the kind of eBook that I will read and re-read in order to synthesize the rich, detailed content. If you want an overview of British history with pictures and illustrations, you will love this book! Happy reading~*

50 Events

The 5 stars I gave the "The History of Britain in 50 Events" is because it did a great job in capturing 50 significant turning points in British history. The book makes no pretense at being the history of Britain. For people interested in reading the history of Britain, this book is a wonderful starter. The book sets up the story of Britain with "50 Events".

if you love reading history this book is for you

i hardly read the historical books but by chance i happen to come across this book and the just got curious to know the history of Britain. It was interesting read and quiet knowledgable about how London was discovered and the the evolution of Britain with descendants was interesting. Anyone who loves reading about history - grab this book and for sure you gonna have a good time in reading :)

Great Intro to Great Britain

A great introduction to one of the most complicated and oldest Western countries in history. You can spend a lifetime, and then some, studying Great Britain. This book is just a short tease to get you to start learning. The author did a nice job to peak an interest.

Yes

Enjoyed reading it.

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Title: Free France: The History and Legacy of the Exiled Free French Government during World War II

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Colin Fluxman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-10-17

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

"Whatever happens, the flame of French Resistance must not be extinguished and will not be extinguished." - General Charles de Gaulle, radio broadcast from London, June 18, 1940

"A great man? Why, he's selfish, he's arrogant, he thinks he's the center of the universe...you're right, he's a great man!" - Winston Churchill on General Charles de Gaulle

The French Army crumbled swiftly under the powerful blows delivered to it in 1940 by Nazi Germany's confident Wehrmacht. Launching a massive feint into Belgium to lure mobile French armies and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) away from the actual point of attack, the weakly protected Ardennes Forest, the Germans struck past the Maginot Line. In a lightning campaign, Heinz Guderian's panzers punched through to the coast, dividing Allied forces with a steel cordon across France and forcing the evacuation of the BEF from the port of Dunkirk.

French morale collapsed very quickly in the face of the Third Reich's onslaught. The French population had not yet recovered from World War I's immense bloodshed, and many French preferred surrender to a second decimation of their young men. Accordingly, the Germans seized the northern French territories directly, while permitting Marshal Petain, an elderly war hero and right-wing fanatic, to found a rump state centered on Vichy. History dubbed the quasi-independent client state's government the Vichy Regime.

Not all French people proved willing to surrender to the Nazi invaders, however.

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Title: British Legends

Subtitle: The Life and Legacy of King George III

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Bill Hare

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-03-17

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

Explains George III's role and policies during the American Revolution and Napoleonic Era.

Discusses George III's mixed legacy and whether criticisms of it are fair.

I wish nothing but good; therefore, everyone who does not agree with me is a traitor and a scoundrel. King George III

When he died in 1820, King George III had presided over the longest reign by a monarch in Englands history and ruled the British Empire during one of its most turbulent and important periods, but he was remembered by the unappealing sobriquets "The Mad King and The King Who Lost America". The British remembered him based on the fact that he began suffering serious mental illnesses by the end of his life, and he was even more despised in America, with Jefferson summing up the public opinion of the British king in a letter to then-ambassador John Adams: "We I hope shall be left free to avail ourselves of the advantages of neutrality: and yet much I fear the English, or rather their stupid king, will force us out of it. (...) Common sense dictates therefore that they should let us remain neuter: Ergo they will not let us remain neuter. I never yet found any other general rule for foretelling what they will do, but that of examining what they ought not to do."

Given George IIIs descent into senility, and the fact that he was the monarch during the American Revolution, it was only natural that George III would be remembered those ways, but his reputation and legacy have been given a more objective and positive reexamination over the last few decades.

Members Reviews:

Short, sweet and to the point

I thought I would read about the "Mad King George" because I've seen a film version about him. But I ended up reading about all that happened during his reign. He really ruled for a long time and the last ten years his son was regent due to his mental inability.

It was quite a book. I learned alot about King George III AND about the early years of America. There was quite alot happening during his reign.

The author presented King George's life in a factual and detailed account. Basically I found everything interesting and easy to read. Enjoyed this book

Short, informative

This quick read might give a different perspective on the American Revolution and on George III. You may learn something you never knew. For example:

"The detailed evidence of the years from 1763 to 1775 tends to exonerate George III from any real responsibility for the American Revolution." - Charles River Editors (2012-12-25). British Legends: The Life and Legacy of King George III (Kindle Locations 385-386).

You can download this to Kindle [$3] and read it in an hour or so.

It's OK as far as it goes.

whilst this is no doubt a factual reprort on the life of George III it only gives a snapshot of his life during his involvement with the American "rebels". His early life was served as a caring husband to his wife and devoted monarch to his subjects. None of this is mentioned in this book. There are far better books on the subject

Four Stars

Interesting read

George III

I learned information about the subject that i did not know. The writer did an excellent job on hie research.

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Title: The Butchering Art

Subtitle: Joseph Lister's Quest to Transform the Grisly World of Victorian Medicine

Author: Lindsey Fitzharris

Narrator: Sam Woolf

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-17-17

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 4 votes

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

Penguin presents the audiobook edition of The Butchering Art by Lindsey Fitzharris, read by Sam Woolf.

In The Butchering Art, historian Lindsey Fitzharris re-creates a critical turning point in the history of medicine, when Joseph Lister transformed surgery from a brutal, harrowing practice to the safe, vaunted profession we know today.

Victorian operating theatres were known as 'gateways of death', Fitzharris reminds us, since half of those who underwent surgery didn't survive the experience. This was an era when a broken leg could lead to amputation, and surgeons were still known to ransack cemeteries to find cadavers. And in squalid, overcrowded hospitals, doctors remained baffled by the persistent infections that kept mortality rates stubbornly high.

At a time when surgery couldn't have been more dangerous, an unlikely figure stepped forward: Joseph Lister, a young Quaker surgeon. By making the audacious claim that germs were the source of all infection - and could be treated with antiseptics - he changed the history of medicine forever.

With a novelist's eye for detail, Fitzharris brilliantly conjures up the grisly world of Victorian surgery, revealing how one of Britain's greatest medical minds finally brought centuries of savagery, sawing and gangrene to an end.

Members Reviews:

Loved it

It was great to hear the story of Jospeh Lister, his family and all his contributions to medicine and surgery. Beautifully narrated, and well written. I'm only sad about the short length - I really didn't want the story to end.