Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Letters of Pliny the Younger

Author: John B. Firth - translator, Pliny

Narrator: Leighton Pugh

Format: Unabridged

Length: 12 hrs and 40 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-22-16

Publisher: Ukemi Audiobooks

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

Pliny the Younger (61 CE-c. 113 CE) was a well-connected official in the Rome of the first century, and it is through his ten Books of Letters that we have one of the liveliest and most informal pictures of the period.

As a lawyer and magistrate, he rose through the senate to become consul in AD 100 and therefore corresponded with leading figures including the historian Tacitus, the biographer Suetonius, the philosophers Artemidorus and Euphrates the Stoic and, most notably, Emperor Trajan. The letters which flowed between Trajan and Pliny in the last decade of his life form Book X and are a remarkable glimpse into the relationship an emperor would have with an imperial magistrate. The letters are particularly well known because they touch upon key topics of the time. These include the eruption of Mount Vesuvius (in which Plinys uncle, Pliny the Elder, died) and his interaction with the early Christians, but Pliny also gives accounts of or comments on political events, trials, and social and domestic issues. These letters effectively allow us to meet and listen to a significant Roman of the time.

Members Reviews:

Very well done...

I took a long time listening to pliny's letters precisely because i think letters should be enjoyed a few at a time...like poems,epigrams...

The narrator is excellent, high praises for his performance. I wish he was contracted to do Cicero's letters...

Roman life brilliantly illuminated!

Pliny the Younger was born around 61AD and rose to become Consul in 100AD. His letters to his wife, friends and officials including the historian Tacitus and Emperor Trajan are full of detail, wisdom and humanity. They create a luminous picture of Roman life for a man of his wealth and stature. Leighton Pughs measured narration reflects the kindly thoughtfulness of Plinys writing. I never tire of his voice (even after over 12 hours!) - its as though Pliny is talking.

Famously, Pliny recorded the eruption of Vesuvius in 79AD in which his uncle with whom he lived was killed. Around 18 at the time, he was calmly reading Livy to take his mind off the tremors at the start, but was forced to escape as the sea sucked into itself, and all was enveloped in black ash and the air resounded with terrified screaming.

As an imperial magistrate, trials were his business and he comments on contested law suits especially concerning legacies, and also banishment, debating on questions such as the punishments of death versus banishment for various crimes including incest. It is striking how although nearly 2000 years separates now from then, his comments can sound uncannily contemporary. He criticises excessive expenditure by candidates before elections (sound familiar?) and pleads for a terminally sick man to be given an easy death when he cant be given life. It is partly Plinys grief which can flay the heart at the death of wise and cherished friends and of children which makes him so real and human. One of the ghastliest deaths is that chosen by the wife of a man dying in pain from putrid groin ulcers. (She tied herself to him and jumped into the sea.) Another mental absorption is his writings and the constructive criticism which he offers to young aspiring writers.

Pliny is good to his slaves and shares the grief of ordinary people whose herds are destroyed by a tempest-flooded river.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Year Without a Summer

Subtitle: The History and Legacy of the 1815 Eruption of Mount Tambora

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Mark Norman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 25 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-18-16

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 3 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

In many ways history is the story of human beings trying to control their destinies by overcoming the effects of their physical surroundings. As too many have learned, the best they could often do was cope with nature, and the various natural disasters produced around the globe. Consider, for example, the year 1816, known as the "Year Without a Summer", which found the working poor in both Europe and America facing starvation caused by factors that few, if any, of them understood. They only knew that the time for planting, the longed for and planned for last days of winter, never came. Farmers who had been growing the same crops for decades began to be curious when, in April of that year, the snow still fell. By the first of May, they were outright concerned. In the weeks that followed, each faced a critical decision: go forward and plant as usual, trusting that the sun would again warm the earth, or continue to wait. In the end, their decisions made little difference, except perhaps that those who waited could survive a little longer by eating the seeds they had been saving. For in 1816, the seeds planted in the ground to sprout and grow usually did neither, because temperatures were never warm enough to nurture their progress. Instead, most lay dormant, while those hardier varieties did finally push their ways to the earths surface, only to have the life frozen out of them by cold winds unabated by the suns warmth.

As the prolonged crisis went on, people around the planet tried to come to grips with what was happening. Preachers spoke of Gods judgment, while farmers stood and prayed for relief, but neither group knew the truth: the cause of their misfortune lay not at their own doorsteps but thousands of miles away on an island they had never heard of. In this case, their destiny had been decided on the island of Sumbawa in Indonesia, thanks to a big volcano known as Mount Tambora. In one of the strongest volcanic explosions in recorded history, Mount Tambora in April 1815 and sent enough ash and dust into the air to block out some of the suns warmth around the globe for nearly the next two years.

In the aftermath of the April 1815 explosion, the summer of 1816 witnessed crops freeze in the fields and be buried under snow. Indian corn, a hardy staple of the early American diet, barely produced, and hay and wheat failed to grow. Traditional summer vegetables, such as cucumbers and tomatoes, failed to grow at all, leaving people severely deficient in the vitamins they produced. Animals and humans alike would go hungry, as there was less food for each. Ultimately, those who survived would tell stories of the desperate time, and speak with wonder about the fact that they had survived at all to tell their tales.

Members Reviews:

Not just unabridged but unedited as well

I had high hopes for this, I really did. I guess I was expecting more information on the eruption itself but this book deals mostly with the impact on crops around the world. Fair enough, the eruption happened in 1815 and there wasn't exactly a lot of information gathering facilities in place then.

The reason I zinged this with 2 stars for performance was that this audio is the raw unedited. You hear him say a line and then realize he had the inflection off so he rereads the same line a time OR two more.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The East India Company

Subtitle: The History of the British Empire's Most Famous Mercantile Company

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: William Crockett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-14-16

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 13 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

The British East India Company served as one of the key players in the formation of the British Empire. From its origins as a trading company struggling to keep up with its superior Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish competitors to its tenure as the ruling authority of the Indian subcontinent to its eventual hubristic downfall, the East India Company serves as a lens through which to explore the much larger economic and social forces that shaped the formation of a global British Empire. As a private company that became a non-state global power in its own right, the East India Company also serves as a cautionary tale all too relevant to the modern worlds current political and economic situation.On its most basic level, the East India Company played an essential part in the development of long-distance trade between Britain and Asia. The trade in textiles, ceramics, tea, and other goods brought a huge influx of capital into the British economy. This not only fueled the Industrial Revolution, but also created a demand for luxury items amongst the middle classes. The economic growth provided by the East India Company was one factor in Britains ascendancy from a middling regional power to the most powerful nation on the planet. The profits generated by the East India Company also created incentive for other European powers to follow its lead, which led to three centuries of competition for colonies around the world. This process went well beyond Asia to affect most of the planet, including Africa and the Middle East.

Beyond its obvious influence in areas like trade and commerce, the East India Company also served as a point of cultural contact between Western Europeans, South Asians, and East Asians. Quintessentially British practices such as tea drinking were made possible by East India Company trade. The products and cultural practices traveling back and forth on East India Company ships from one continent to another also reconfigured the way societies around the globe viewed sexuality, gender, class, and labor. On a much darker level, the East India Company fueled white supremacy and European concepts of Orientalism (See Said, Orientalism).

In the same vein, as a joint stock company, the East India Company left behind meticulous documentation of its economic exchanges and policies. Descriptions of military endeavors, encounters with indigenous peoples, and codes of conduct for employees also give contemporary researchers insight into the cultural perspectives of those who governed the company. Moreover, the East India Companys policies and personnel were the subject of frequent commentaries in newspapers, parliamentary debates, and other publicly available sources. Historians have used these detailed records to reconstruct both the day-to-day operations and the larger historical arc of the company. In addition, the sources created by the East India Company provide insight into the far less well-documented histories of the people the East India Company encountered, traded with, and ultimately conquered.

One of the major reasons that the East India Company remains the subject of intense interest is that the consequences of its influence remain visible in India, Britain, and other parts of the world to this day.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Untold Story of the Talking Book

Author: Matthew Rubery

Narrator: Jim Denison

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 31 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-14-16

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 17 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

Histories of the book often move straight from the codex to the digital screen. Left out of that familiar account is nearly 150 years of audio recordings. Recounting the fascinating history of audio-recorded literature, Matthew Rubery traces the path of innovation from Edison's recitation of "Mary Had a Little Lamb" for his tinfoil phonograph in 1877 to the first novel-length talking books made for blinded World War I veterans to today's billion-dollar audiobook industry.

The Untold Story of the Talking Book focuses on the social impact of audiobooks, not just the technological history, in telling a story of surprising and impassioned conflicts: from controversies over which books the Library of Congress selected to become talking books - yes to Kipling, no to Flaubert - to debates about what defines a reader. Delving into the vexed relationship between spoken and printed texts, Rubery argues that storytelling can be just as engaging with the ears as with the eyes and that audiobooks deserve to be taken seriously. They are not mere derivatives of printed books but their own form of entertainment.

We have come a long way from the era of sound recorded on wax cylinders, when people imagined one day hearing entire novels on mini phonographs tucked inside their hats. Rubery tells the untold story of this incredible evolution and, in doing so, breaks from convention by treating audiobooks as a distinctively modern art form that has profoundly influenced the way we read.

Members Reviews:

Makes you Think about Audio Books

This is one of those books that makes you think. If you like audio books, as I do, it's stunning to learn the history of this art form.

As a member of the blind community, I am a user of the Library of Congress talking book program. But I also enjoy finding books on Audible that the Library of Congress program does not record.

I have also read books that have been recorded through both Audible and the Library of Congress. I often find that each version has its strengths and weaknesses.

The portion of this book that really stunned me was the chapters devoted to the origin of the audio books. The dreamers who predicted such technologies as the whispering machine could not have guessed that a portable media player along with a headset is fairly close to what was imagined.

The idea of professional actors narrating audio books seems to have been a common thread from the beginning of audio books until now. Many well known actors can be found narrating audio books, and others are narrated by voice talents that may not be as well known, but are very competent and capable.

The book often refers to Dickens in that section, and this prompted me to do a search for Great Expectations. That book couldn't be recorded in the early days of audio books, but today, it's possible to enjoy this book in full. I noticed several narrations of this book on Audible. Any of them would fit on a smart phone or media player with enough memory.

The rest of the book is indeed insightful. It sheds light on the issue of listening versus reading, and it does so in a way that encourages you to think about it.

If you like audio books, it's wonderful to learn about their history and think about where audio books have gone and what they can become.

This book could have used some editing.

I found the content of this book to be quite repetitive.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Three Kingdoms of Ancient China

Subtitle: The History and Legacy of the Reunification of China After the Han Dynasty

Author: Jin Fang, Charles River Editors

Narrator: Jim D Johnston

Format: Unabridged

Length: 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-04-16

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 8 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

One of the most turbulent and romanticized eras in ancient Chinese history is that of the three kingdoms period. During the third century AD in China, warlords battled for supremacy. This turbulent and bloody era is known as the three kingdoms period. It's also one of the most romanticized eras in Chinese history; heroes and villains like Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Zhuge Liang have served has inspiration for poetry, novels, opera, and song in China. Perhaps the most celebrated is Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong, considered a masterpiece of Chinese literature.

In The Three Kingdoms of Ancient China, you'll learn about the events before and after the three kingdoms period and its most famous characters.

Members Reviews:

Eh

It was only an hour and I knew that going in, but it turned into a litany of strange names and battles. The only context we got was the Mandate of Heaven; there was no other culture/continuity or context to hold on to. It wasn't useful to me.

Best get it in Whispersync

A brief history of a fixed period in the history of China's rulers. I had some difficulty relating the information in the text to the map at hand. I wish that the narrator had been more skilled in the art of lecture, as he sped through the piece too quickly for note taking. The information itself seemed well researched and presented.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Victory at Villers-Bretonneux

Author: Peter FitzSimons

Narrator: Robert Meldrum

Format: Unabridged

Length: 24 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-03-16

Publisher: Bolinda Publishing Pty Ltd

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 9 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

On Anzac Day 1918, when the town of Villers-Bretonneux falls to the British defenders, it is the Australians who are called on to save the day, the town and the entire battle.

It's early 1918, and after four brutal years the fate of the Great War hangs in the balance. On the one hand, the fact that Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks have seized power in Russia - immediately suing for peace with Germany - means that no fewer than one million of the Kaiser's soldiers can now be transferred from there to the Western Front. On the other, now that America has entered the war, it means that two million American soldiers are also on their way, to tip the scales of war in favor of the Allies.

The Germans, realising that their only hope is striking at the Allied lines first, do exactly that, and on the morning of 21 March 1918, the Kaiserschlacht, the Kaiser's battle, is launched - the biggest set-piece battle the world has ever seen.

Members Reviews:

A must for WWI!

Excellent book for WWI history buffs and especially those interested in Australian battles.

Written in the present tense and using the words commonly found in the author's research. The narrator brings the book to life with an exceptional zest! If you aren't familiar with this beautiful French town and the devastation of war just enter the name in 'search.' Considering the many Audible books I have about WWI and specific battles, this is by far one of the best . . . definitely recommr!

outstanding book, outstanding listen.

The third in a series about the Anzacs in World War I, the author brings those men and the war they fought to life and fully relevant to today. it was so good, detailed, and sourced that I couldn't help reading it again. It is history as history should be- a story that inspires and informs.

Shouty, with music but a great story nonetheless

Where does Victory at Villers-Bretonneux rank among all the audiobooks youve listened to so far?

An excellent historical narrative of the Australian contribution to the Western Front in World War 1.

What did you like best about this story?

The sheer volume of historical detail.

What didnt you like about Robert Meldrums performance?

I couldn't stand the occasional shouting. There's really no need for it even if the author has added an exclamation mark outside of the quotes.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

The pre- and post chapter music is extremely irritating.

Good detail: Childlike parochialism

If this book wasnt for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

Much as I enjoyed some of the detailed research. the strengths of the book were more than undermined by the simplistic nationalism expressed by Fitzsimons who laced the narrative with his republican views at every opportunity. The result is a book well suited for those that believe that Australians are in some way endowed with innate super human characteristics.

What could Peter FitzSimons have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The book would have benefitted greatly from a far more balanced perspective.

Would you be willing to try another one of Robert Meldrums performances?

This is not the best Meldrum performance, but it was ok.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: Crusader Castles

Subtitle: The History of the Medieval Castles Built in the Holy Lands During the Crusades

Author: Charles River Editors

Narrator: Jim D. Johnston

Format: Unabridged

Length: 1 hr and 28 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-24-16

Publisher: Charles River Editors

Ratings: 5 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

A series of mountain chains frame the Levantine coast, growing in height as they approach modern-day Lebanon. These provided a natural defense along the important coast, and the few passes through these mountain ranges were the focal points of movement and communication. For this reason, these locations were where many crusader castles were erected. Bristling with fortifications, these impressive structures were occupied by orders of knights who came to the Holy Land with the Pope's blessing, and who have gained a most romantic status in history. These Crusaders were called al Faranj ("Franks") by the Arabs in the Holy Land, reflecting the French origins of many of the knights, even though the knights, soldiers, and pilgrims came to the Holy Land from all over Europe, and in particular from southern Italy, Germany, and England.

For the men who built and manned these castles, they were much more than buildings surrounded by stone walls or wooden palisades. They were also more than a headquarters for knights and their armies during battle, or a storehouse for goods in the remoteness of the Levant. These castles were the central focal point for those who held them and those trying to conquer them, and it would not be an exaggeration to claim that castles were the nexus for much activity and conflict within the Holy Lands.

At the same time, the castles were filled with the hustle and bustle of activity caused by a wide range of actors even in times of relative peace and stability. Men-at-arms were the soldiers who manned the castle, protected the borders of the Crusader states, and followed the orders of their noble knight lords, but the castles also served as a gathering place for skilled craftsmen such as blacksmiths, potters, stone masons, bakers, carpenters, and the like. Many served as religious centers in their own right, containing at least one chapel of either Christian or Muslim faith.

The Muslim efforts to reclaim and rule the Levant were just as important and interesting as those of the Crusaders. Initially led by the atabegs of Aleppo, and later by the renowned Saladin (known also as Salah EdDin), various Muslim forces took and retook the Holy City of Jerusalem. The cycle of conflicts between the Crusader states and the Muslim armies was disrupted in 1260 CE when the Mongols, having roved without obstruction across Eurasia, invaded the region with the support of the Armenians and some of the Crusader states. However, they were eventually defeated by the mighty Mamelukes of Egypt, who in turn focused their attention on consolidating their control over the Near East and eradicating the European presence in the region. Finally, in 1302 CE the Mamelukes conquered the last Crusader stronghold at Arwad, leaving one last remaining Crusader state - the Kingdom of Cyprus, which held out until it was invaded by the Ottomans in 1571 CE.

Members Reviews:

I really liked this book

I really liked this book. It explains not only the history of the Crusades, but how and why the castles were built, and the various defensive features the Crusaders and Muslims used for their castles. This was a lot of fun to read.

Intgeresting and Informative read

Very detailed and interesting. I learned the relationship between European Castles and eastern castles.

Écoutez ce livre audio dans son intégralité gratuitement sur https://hotaudiobook.com

Titre: Un fauteuil sur la Seine : Quatre siècles d'histoire de France

Auteur: Amin Maalouf

Narrateur: Yann Collette

Format: Unabridged

Durée: 8 hrs and 11 mins

Langue: Français

Date de publication: 10-12-16

Éditeur: Audiolib

Evaluation: 4.5 sur 5 sur 7 votes

Genres: History, World

Résumé de l'éditeur:

Amin Maalouf, élu au 29e fauteuil de l'Académie française et successeur de Claude Lévi-Strauss, compose les portraits des dix-huit grands hommes qui l'ont précédé, à travers l'évocation de leur histoire publique et privée, et nous fait revivre ainsi quatre siècles d'histoire de la nation française.

Créée en 1634, l'Académie française fut le théâtre où se jouent, encore aujourd'hui, les enjeux culturels et scientifiques qui constituent "L'Esprit français" : la chambre d'écho des métamorphoses de la société et du pouvoir. De la querelle du Cid à la Révolution française, de la Commune de Paris à l'affaire Dreyfus ou la seconde guerre mondiale, c'est dans l'éternelle imbrication de l'histoire politique et culturelle française qu'Amin Maalouf nous entraîne avec talent.

À partir d'un simple fauteuil, lieu de mémoire fragile et chaleureux posé sur les bords de la Seine, Amin Maalouf nous fait voyager à travers les riches heures du passé de la France, la permanence de son "génie national", ainsi que ses constantes métamorphoses. Ce voyage "autour d'un fauteuil" dans l'histoire de l'esprit français, offre une magnifique vue cavalière sur ses évolutions et métamorphoses, merveilleusement servi par la lecture de Yann Collette.

©2016 Éditions Grasset & Fesquelle (P)2016 Audiolib

Avis des membres:

Merci de la part de tous les férus d'histoire

Encore un autre livre fascinant de l'auteur de Samarcande et Leon l'Africain!! Il relate l'histoire de ses prédécesseurs au fauteuil numéro vingt-neuf de l'Académie Franaise, et à travers eux, c'est toute l'histoire de France et un peu du monde qu'il relate. Et comme d'habitude, il écrit tellement bien que l'on n'a pas envie de s'arrter. J'ai lu le livre d'une seule traite.

Five Stars

A MARVELOUS AND UNUSUAL JOURNEY THROUGH FIVE CENTURIES FRENCH STORY

L'histoire de France de 1634 jusqu'à ce que presque nos ...

L'histoire de France de 1634 jusqu'à ce que presque nos jours, racontée à travers les histoires des luminaires qui ont réussi à la tte de l'Académie franaise. Parmi les plus mémorables il définitivement Claude Levi Strauss, à laquelle l'auteur dédie ce livre. Si je l'avais su plus sur l'histoire de la France, j'aurais aimé plus, mais cela est certainement un livre intéressant et bien dit.

La storia della Francia dal 1634 fino a quasi i giorni d'oggi, raccontata attraverso le storie dei luminari che si sono succeduti alla guida de l'Académie franaise. Tra i piú memorabili c'é sicuramente Claude Levi Strauss, a cui l'autore dedica anche questo libro.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: History of Engineering

Author: IntroBooks

Narrator: Tracy Tupman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 45 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-22-16

Publisher: IntroBooks

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

The idea of engineering has been present since prehistoric times when humans started shaping important creations like the lever, wheel and pulley. Every invention is described with the contemporary explanation of basic engineering principles of mechanics.

The word engineering has been derived from the term engineer and dates back to around recently 1325 and the word engineer in those times meant or denoted to someone who was the constructor of engines. The term engine has actually become obsolete as it is now refers to a military machine or in a more detailed description it was a mechanical apparatus used in wars. The word engine comes from the Latin word ingenium which means intrinsic quality, particularly cerebral power, as in an ingenious creation.

As time passed more structures like houses, buildings and bridges were invented, which required new engineering techniques. The term civil engineering was introduced to differentiate among those who were experts in building military machines and was called military engineering.

The term engineering is extremely broad and comprises a variety of different types of engineering, each focusing on specific parts of technology, applied science and applications.

Members Reviews:

Needs editing

This book needs editing, there are many annoying mistakes. At least one important dates are conflicting (construction of the Step Pyramid appears as 2550 BC and 2630 - 2611 BC). Can we trust the others? Mostly too superficial, a quick look in Wikipedia provides more information than you could get reading this book.

Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Games

Subtitle: A Global History of the Olympics

Author: David Goldblatt

Narrator: Napoleon Ryan

Format: Unabridged

Length: 18 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-26-16

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 14 votes

Genres: History, World

Publisher's Summary:

Renowned sportswriter David Goldblatt has been hailed by the Wall Street Journal for writing "with the expansive eye of a social and cultural critic". In The Games, Goldblatt delivers a magisterial history of the biggest sporting event of them all: the Olympics. He tells the epic story of the games from their reinvention in Athens in 1896 to the present day, chronicling classic moments of sporting achievement from Jesse Owens to Nadia Comaneci, the Miracle on Ice to Usain Bolt.

He goes beyond the medal counts to explore how international conflicts have played out at the Olympics, including the role of the games in Fascist Germany and Italy, the Cold War, and the struggles of the postcolonial world for recognition. He also tells the extraordinary story of how women fought to be included on equal terms, how the Paralympics started in the wake of World War II, and how the Olympics reflect changing attitudes to race and ethnicity.

Critic Reviews:

"Gracefully written and compellingly argued, this is one of the best books of the year and one of the best sports books ever written." (Kirkus)

Members Reviews:

a bit cynical

if you are more into investigative journalism than inspiring stories, this book is for you.

Disappointed

I love all things Olympic - so when I purchased this book, I had the hopes that it would be a great way to learn some facts and discover a new side to the Olympic Games. Unfortunately, the way this book was written - and perhaps it's better to physically read it, as opposed to listen to it - I found it distracting and unorganized. Instead of listing the different facts about each of the modern games, every topic jumped back and forth varying on what idea the author was trying to talk about. Then, it would mention multiple Games before breaking them down into just talking about that particular game. I just found it frustrating and confusing. I'm not the best writer of reviews, granted, but listening to this book could've helped inspire such a bad review.