Discover the Best Sellers Audiobooks in History, European

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Title: The Death of Caesar

Subtitle: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination

Author: Barry Strauss

Narrator: Robertson Dean

Format: Unabridged

Length: 8 hrs and 17 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-03-15

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 96 votes

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

William Shakespeare's gripping play showed Caesar's assassination to be an amateur and idealistic affair. The real killing, however, was a carefully planned paramilitary operation, a generals' plot put together by Caesar's disaffected officers and designed with precision. Brutus and Cassius were indeed key players, but they had the help of a third man - Decimus. He was the mole in Caesar's entourage, one of Caesar's leading generals, and a lifelong friend. It was he, not Brutus, who truly betrayed Caesar.

Caesar's assassins saw him as a military dictator who wanted to be king. He threatened a permanent change in the Roman way of life and in the power of senators. The assassins rallied support among the common people, but they underestimated Caesar's soldiers, who flooded Rome. The assassins were vanquished; their beloved Republic became the Roman Empire.

Critic Reviews:

"Strauss takes us deep into the psyche of ancient history in an exciting, twisted tale that is sure to please." (Kirkus)

Members Reviews:

Absorbing

On March 15, 44 B.C., Julius Caesar fell to the knives of Brutus, Cassius and perhaps 21 other senators. Strausss book covers only a three year span of time. Starting the year before the ides of March to the battle of Philippi two years later, when Brutus, defeated by pro-Caesar forces, took his own life.

The author of this historical study tries to capture the tension of an unfolding crisis but also runs into strong headwinds when it comes to questions of character and motive.

The author points out that thanks to William Shakespeare, the death of Julius Caesar is the most famous assassination in history. Shakespeare shows Caesars assassination to be an amateur and idealistic affair. Strauss points out that the real killing was a carefully planned paramilitary operation; a generals plot put together by Caesars disaffected officers and designed with precision.

The author tells of a key person, Decimus. He was the mole in Caesars entourage, one of Caesars leading generals and a lifelong friend. According to Strauss it was he, not Brutus, who truly betrayed Caesar. Strauss sheds new light on this fascinating pivotal moment in Roman history.

The book is superbly researched and well written. The author paints clear portraits of all the main characters such as Mark Antony, Decimus, Brutus, and Octavian. The book raises as many questions as it tries to answer. Robertson Dean narrated the book.

Splendid account of a story I thought I already knew

I thought I knew all about Caesar's death, thanks to Shakespeare. How wrong I was!

Gasping for air

The narrator's mediocre vocal presence, often straining to complete his sentences on depleted air, makes not attempt to invest his listeners with the high dramatic values inherent in this history. Monotone drones on and on till, thank god, the drone is done.

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Título: La Guerra de las dos Rosas

Subtitular: El enfrentamiento entre la casa de los Lancaster contra la de los York [The War of the Roses: The Confrontation Between the Houses of Lancaster and York]

Autor: Online Studio Productions

Narrador: uncredited

Formato: Original Recording

Duración: 34 mins

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 02-18-15

Editor: Online Studio Productions

Calificaciones: 2.5 de 5 de 2 votos

Categorías: History, European

Resumen del editor:

Fue la guerra que enfrentó a los miembros y partidarios de dos casas de alcurnia (la Casa de Lancaster y la Casa de York entre 1455 y 1485) por hacerse del trono de Inglaterra. El nombre de este enfrentamiento, que partió en dos a la nación, fue dado en alusión a los emblemas de ambas casas, la rosa blanca de York y la roja de Lancaster.

Please note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

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Title: The Ghosts of Africa

Subtitle: A Novel

Author: William Stevenson

Narrator: Malk Williams

Format: Unabridged

Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-03-15

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 2.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

A sprawling, epic saga of adventure, romance, war, and resistance based on the savage conflict in East Africa during World War I.

In German-occupied East Africa during World War I, British forces have arrived. In defiance of his orders, German military commander Paul von Lettow enlists soldiers, civilians, and African rebels to fight against the British, forming the first modern guerrilla uprising of the time. Amid his political battles, Lettow is embroiled in a romantic relationship with an American woman who loves him, but who objects to his war. To complicate things, Lettow's actions draw the attention of the brilliant but brutal chief of British intelligence who plots to defeat him.

Amid all the action, Zionists fight for influence in the region, rival tribes have to be appeased with diplomacy, and an African princess serves as a spy for the rebels.

Amazingly, these colorful characters and eventful plots are firmly based on real-life personas and historical events during the war. In the gripping style of narrative fiction, Stevenson relates the often overlooked German resistance in East Africa and their inventive use of guerrilla tactics. As a former foreign correspondent in the region, Stevenson paints an astonishingly accurate and detailed picture of the geography and political climate of East Africa.

A thrilling listen, The Ghosts of Africa packs history, military tactics, romance, and adventure into a single epic tale that will both entertain and inform.

Members Reviews:

Five Stars

Read the first two chapters in Vancouver, B.C. restaurant and just had to have my own copy.

Five Stars

excellent book

Four Stars

A bit loose with history, but then it is a novel.

Fascinating Little Known History

I read this book years ago and it has always stuck in my mind. I am glad to have found it again.

The story is fiction because it revolves around some Americans who supposedly found themselves in von Lettow's army. But the historical setting and many of the characters and events are real.

When WWI broke out, the small number of German troops in German East Africa (now Tanzania) rallied and trained the local tribes and the resident German farmers into a guerilla force to resist the much larger British army to the north in Kenya. The book details some of the tactics used, as well some remarkable inventiveness.

Paul von Lettow, the commander, had an ensemble of talent in his army's baggage train that proved very handy. There was a German fellow named Ersatz who invented a lot of things out of local ingredients. (Because the Royal Navy pretty much owned the seas, there was no resupply for the German soldiers in Africa.) Everyone knows what "ersatz" means now - but this campaign is where the concept got its name!

Like a medieval army, this one had no formal logistical support. It relied on many camp followers, including women and children, to keep the army fed and supplied. Many of these womens' efforts and what life was like for them in the field are described.

One incredible tale told of an Imperial Navy vessel marooned in the Rufiji Delta. Some of the German farmers had domesticated African elephants, and used then to haul guns off the ship up the slopes of Kilmanjaro to shoot at the British army.

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Title: Erotic Exchanges

Subtitle: The World of Elite Prostitution in Eighteenth-Century Paris

Author: Nina Kushner

Narrator: Sally Martin

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 24 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-30-15

Publisher: University Press Audiobooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 41 votes

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

In Erotic Exchanges, Nina Kushner reveals the complex world of elite prostitution in 18th-century Paris by focusing on the professional mistresses who dominated it. In this demimonde, these dames entretenues exchanged sex, company, and sometimes even love for being "kept". Most of these women entered the profession unwillingly, either because they were desperate and could find no other means of support or because they were sold by family members to brothels or to particular men. A small but significant percentage of kept women, however, came from a theater subculture that actively supported elite prostitution. Kushner shows that in its business conventions, its moral codes, and even its sexual practices, the demimonde was an integral part of contemporary Parisian culture.

Kushner's primary sources include thousands of folio pages of dossiers and other documents generated by the Paris police as they tracked the lives and careers of professional mistresses, reporting in meticulous, often lascivious, detail what these women and their clients did. Rather than reduce the history of sex work to the history of its regulation, Kushner interprets these materials in a way that unlocks these women's own experiences. Kushner analyzes prostitution as a form of work, examines the contracts that governed relationships among patrons, mistresses, and madams, and explores the roles played by money, gifts, and, on occasion, love in making and breaking the bonds between women and men. This vivid and engaging book explores elite prostitution not only as a form of labor and as a kind of business but also as a chapter in the history of emotions, marriage, and the family.

Editorial Reviews:

"This history brings to life les dames entretenues- women who dazzled and scandalized 18th-century Paris as mistresses of powerful men". (New Yorker)

Members Reviews:

Historical examination of the Demimonde

Erotic Exchanges (Unabridged)

________________________________________

Author: Nina Kushner

Narrator:

Sally Martin

Provider:

University Press Audiobooks

Running Time:

12 h 24 min

In Erotic Exchanges, Nina Kushner reveals the complex world of elite prostitution in 18th-century Paris by focusing on the professional mistresses who dominated it. In this demimonde, these dames entretenues exchanged sex, company, and sometimes even love for being "kept". Most of these women entered the profession unwillingly, either because they were desperate and could find no other means of support or because they were sold by family members to brothels or to particular men. A small but significant percentage of kept women, however, came from a theater subculture that actively supported elite prostitution. Kushner shows that in its business conventions, its moral codes, and even its sexual practices, the demimonde was an integral part of contemporary Parisian culture. Kushner's primary sources include thousands of folio pages of dossiers and other documents generated by the Paris police as they tracked the lives and careers of professional mistresses, reporting in meticulous, often lascivious, detail what these women and their clients did. Rather than reduce the history of sex work to the history of its regulation, Kushner interprets these materials in a way that unlocks these women's own experiences.

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Title: Ernest Shackleton's Frozen March at the Bottom of the World

Subtitle: History 1-Hour Reads, Book 2

Author: Michael Rank

Narrator: Kevin Pierce

Format: Unabridged

Length: 40 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-22-15

Publisher: Five Minute Books

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 7 votes

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

This short history audiobook features the story of Ernest Shackleton. He was among the last of a group of intrepid men from the Golden Age of Discovery in the Victorian era. He sought honor for England and himself in embarking on a dangerous journey to lead a team of men to cross the Antarctic continent.

His story approaches the outer limits of plausibility. Few had his perseverance. When Ernest Shackleton's ship, Endurance, was destroyed by South Pole sea ice, the crew had to continue on three row boats, camp on ice sheets, and subsist on sled dogs and seal blubber. They were at sea for 497 days until landing on Elephant Island, which was completely deserted and isolated. Shackleton sailed a small lifeboat across 800 miles of violent sea to South Georgia Island to obtain a rescue vessel. He and the four men returned and rescued the 22 men left behind.

This audiobook is a selection from Off the Edge of the Map: Marco Polo, Captain Cook, and 9 Other Travelers and Explorers That Pushed the Boundaries of the Known World.

Members Reviews:

Will return and update my review if necessary

The "Look Inside" leads me to believe that this book will well be worth five stars. Once I have finished reading it, I will return and put a dated Addendum as to whether it was or not, and why or why not.

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Title: God's Traitors

Subtitle: Terror & Faith in Elizabethan England

Author: Jessie Childs

Narrator: James Adams

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 53 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-30-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 25 votes

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

For many Catholics, the Elizabethan "Golden Age" was an alien concept. Following the criminalization of their religion by Elizabeth I, nearly 200 Catholics were executed, and many more wasted away in prison during her reign. Torture was used more than at any other time in England's history. While some bowed to the pressure of the government and new church, publicly conforming to acts of Protestant worship, others did not - and quickly found themselves living in a state of siege. Under constant surveillance, haunted by the threat of imprisonment - or worse - the ordinary lives of these so-called recusants became marked by evasion, subterfuge, and constant fear. In God's Traitors, Jessie Childs tells the fascinating story of one Catholic family, the Vauxes of Harrowden Hall, from the foundation of the Church of England in the 1530s to the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, and their struggle to keep the faith in Protestant England. Few Elizabethans would have disputed that obedience was a Christian duty, but following the excommunication of Queen Elizabeth by Pope Pius V in 1570 and the growing anti-Catholic sentiment in the decades that followed, it became increasingly difficult for English Catholics to maintain a dual allegiance to their God and their Queen. Childs follows the Vauxes into the heart of the underground Catholic movement, exploring the conflicts of loyalty they faced and the means by which they exerted defiance. Tracing the family's path from staunch loyalty to the Crown, to passive resistance and on to increasing activism, Childs illustrates the pressures and painful choices that confronted the persecuted Catholic community. Though recusants like the Vauxes comprised only a tiny fraction of the Catholic minority in England, they aroused fears in the heart of the commonwealth. Childs shows how "anti-popery" became an ideology and a cultural force, shaping not only the life and policy of Elizabeth I, but also those of her successors.

Members Reviews:

Well-researched, well-written

Examines a fascinating and dreadful period in history through the life of one family. Many memorable characters and interesting details. Strikes a good balance, avoiding both apology and anti-popery. I found the reading a little slow; this book benefits from a faster playback.

Very interesting

I enjoyed this book about the persecuted Catholics as well as their impulse to organize and fulminate opposition to the reformation of the English church. The author did a good job telling the story of events leading up to and just following the gunpowder plot.

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Title: How to Ruin a Queen

Subtitle: Marie Antoinette and the Diamond Necklace Affair

Author: Jonathan Beckman

Narrator: Michael Page

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 15 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-16-14

Publisher: Dreamscape Media, LLC

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 19 votes

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

In 1785, a sensational trial began in Paris that would divide the country and captivate Europe. A leading Catholic cardinal and scion of one of the most distinguished families in France stood accused of forging the queen's signature to obtain the most expensive piece of jewelry in Europe: a 2,800-carat diamond necklace.

Where were the diamonds? Was the cardinal innocent? Was, for that matter, the queen? The revelations from the trial would bedevil the French monarchy as the country descended into a bloody revolution.

Critic Reviews:

"With its exuberant use of language and subtly ironic storytelling, it is almost as colorful as the scandal it unfolds." (Sunday Times, UK)

"Jonathan Beckman skillfully unfolds the intricacies and absurdities of this extraordinary episode... [and] provides us with an engaging and finely-researched study of an affair that, despite having the plot of a frothy operetta, was of genuine historical significance." (Literary Review, UK)

"A hell of a tale and Jonathan Beckman gives it all the verve and swagger it deserves." (Spectator, UK)

Members Reviews:

A History Buff's Guilty Pleasure

WOW!!!! Just finished this amazing tale, and once again truth is stranger than fiction. It's got everything--treachery, venality, ambitious nobles, conniving commoners, royals and rascals, daring escapes, amazing twists, foreign intrigue and diamonds. Carefully researched, clevarly written, and beautifully read. If I could give it 6 stars, I would:)

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Title: The Hornets Sting

Subtitle: The Amazing Untold Story of World War II Spy Thomas Sneum

Author: Mark Ryan

Narrator: Andy Caploe

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 57 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-25-14

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 10 votes

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

Based on hundreds of hours of interviews with Sneum, Mark Ryan describes how Tommy made an incredible escape from Denmark in a battered old Hornet Moth aircraft - which he had to refuel in mid-air by climbing out on the wing. Later, he escaped from Denmark again - by walking across a treacherous frozen sea on which two of his companions died.

Tommy brought over precious intelligence about the Nazi radar installations in Denmark and their atom bomb - his reward was to be imprisoned in Brixton as a suspected double agent and threatened with execution. He cheated the hangman - but it is only with the publication of this enthralling book that Sneum can be celebrated as, in the words of Professor R.V. Jones, Churchill's chief of scientific intelligence, one of the true heroes of World War II.

Members Reviews:

Sobering, fascinating, top draw

"Lest we forget" An absolutely brilliant listen for those who wish to appreciate the unbelievable breadth and depth of struggle in WWII.

Very credible story readily referenced within the audio book itself (I mean many explicit references that the reader can investigate. I did not investigate any myself. I did do a few google searches etc and found many hits, links etc corroborating the story. It would appear this is one of those stories where life is more fantastic than fiction).

Staggering.

This does not stand up to today's standards

Want misogyny and total lack of respect for women? Want a man that borders on psychopathy? This is the book for you. If this man had been born 20 years later he would have wound up in prison, no doubt. He is brave, that's true, but so are psychopaths because they cannot imagine their plans not working. I stopped listening after getting utterly fed up with this man discussing his sexual prowess in detail. I would have loved to hear whether the women felt as astounded with him as he obviously did. I doubt it.

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Title: Fifty Shades of Lady Catherine Grey: The Sex Scandals That Shook the Tudor Court

Author: T. S. Wiseman

Narrator: Katherine Littrell

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 10 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-07-14

Publisher: Burton Crown Limited

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 17 votes

Genres: History, European

Publisher's Summary:

Sex. If there was one thing the Tudors did well, it was sex!

Sex and beheading traitors; although rarely at the same time.

With well over one hundred years on the throne, the Tudor dynasty experienced its fair share of sex scandals. This book looks at some of the more interesting and significant ones and explores the issues around them in a fun, non-heavy way.

Among the Tudor sex scandals covered:

This is a little book that you can enjoy in your lunch hour. If you find you enjoy it you can read some heavier volumes by other authors in the future.

Members Reviews:

just not good

what ever it's just boring a total waste of time and money don't do it!

Dull

Would you try another book written by T. S. Wiseman or narrated by Katherine Littrell?

No

What was your reaction to the ending? (No spoilers please!)

This was a selection of accounts from history, so there was no real ending

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

No

If this book were a film would you go see it?

These subjects have been covered in details in many various TV programmes

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Título: Breve historia de los celtas

Autor: Manuel Velasco

Narrador: Maria del Carmen Siccardi

Formato: Unabridged

Duración: 6 hrs and 19 mins

Idioma: Español

Fecha de publicación: 08-12-14

Editor: Audible Studios

Calificaciones: 4 de 5 de 5 votos

Categorías: History, European

Resumen del editor:

"Una obra que introduce en una larga y desconocida historia de siglos a través de personajes tan conocidos en el imaginario popular como Viriato, Vercingetórix o Boudicca y hechos que han provocado la admiración de la historia como la heroica resistencia de la ciudad de Numancia o el saqueo de Roma". Breve Historia de los Celtas, rubricado por Manuel Velasco es un trabajo que le ayudará a conocer la asombrosa variedad de una nación que se extendió por toda Europa, desde Grecia hasta España, e hizo del mestizaje su bandera.

Conocer a los celtas es conocer una parte de aquello que nos hace europeos.El libro nos introduce a la cultura, los héroes, los ritos, la mitología y la vida cotidiana, de un pueblo que se extendió por Austria, Suiza, Francia, Bélgica, España, Reino Unido y, por supuesto, Irlanda. Dividido en tres partes, Manuel Velasco nos narra en la primera la historia de su legendaria resistencia a la conquista romana, a través de tres figuras fundamentales: el hispano-luso Viriato, el galo Vercingetórix, y la británica Boudicca, reina guerrera que arrasó la ciudad de Londinum (Londres); completa este apartado una completa descripción de la vida cotidiana de los celtas en Irlanda. La segunda se ocupa de la religión y la mitología, el paso fundamental de una mitología arcana y politeísta, a un cristianismo impulsado por San Patricio. En la tercera se incluye una valiosísima información complementaria sobre el idioma y la escritura, los nombres celtas y los lugares emblemáticos de esta cultura (finisterres).

Fundamental para todos aquellos interesados en misterios como Stonehenge, Carnac o las tradiciones mágicas de los druidas, pero también para aquellos que quieran recrear la vida cotidiana y los ritos de un pueblo que está en la base de autores tan dispares y populares como Goscinny y Uderzo, y J.R.R. Tolkien.

Please Note: This audiobook is in Spanish.

Opiniones de los miembros:

Es un libro que toca temas principalmente de invasiones y ...

Es un libro que toca temas principalmente de invasiones y religión. Hay una parte, a la mitad, donde está relatado como una especie de novela, eso no me agradó. Te permite conocer cosas básicas de los celtas, de las regiones que provienen, a dónde se asentaron, qué quedó de ellos. Aunque a veces se centra mucho en los romanos.

Desilusión

Quizás por intentar hacerla "breve" el autor no logra comprometer al lector (tal mi caso) ni consigue trasmitir el espíritu, la cultura y la idiosincracia de los celtas. Francamente, me desilusionó mucho; esperaba bastante más.

Buena síntesis.

Es una obra muy útil para los neófitos del tema, como yo. Si bien hay momento en que me perdíaen los tiempos por carecer de una afinada hilvanación de los hechos. Se pierde mucho en el tema de los druidas no prestando la debida atención histórica al resto de los acontecimientos. Sin embargo es digna de ser leída

libro histórico

Libro histórico muy bien elaborado, de lectura amena, pero tal vez demasiado breve.