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A History of the World
- Narrated by: Andrew Marr, David Timson
- Length: 26 hrs and 28 mins
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A History of the World
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Editor reviews
Summary
From the earliest civilizations to the 21st century: a global journey through human history, published alongside a landmark BBC One television series.
Our understanding of world history is changing, as new discoveries are made on all the continents and old prejudices are being challenged. In this truly global journey, Andrew Marr revisits some of the traditional epic stories, from classical Greece and Rome to the rise of Napoleon, but surrounds them with less familiar material, from Peru to the Ukraine, China to the Caribbean. He looks at cultures that have failed and vanished, as well as the origins of today’s superpowers, and finds surprising echoes and parallels across vast distances and epochs. This is a book about the great change-makers of history and their times, people such as Cleopatra, Genghis Khan, Galileo, and Mao, but it is also a book about us. For 'The better we understand how rulers lose touch with reality, or why revolutions produce dictators more often than they produce happiness, or why some parts of the world are richer than others, the easier it is to understand our own times.'
Fresh, exciting and vividly listenable, this is popular history at its very best.
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What listeners say about A History of the World
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- magicaces
- 24-07-19
Excellent History
An interesting insight into our history and the lessons we've taken and the ones we haven't.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Pragmatic Indian Cricket Fan
- 05-12-17
you need to have lot of curiosity to enjoy this bo
don't try to rush this book. enjoy it over days or better weeks and let it sink in
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Schinken
- 01-12-14
so so so well done
If you could sum up A History of the World in three words, what would they be?
comprehensive without being overwhelming and incredibly well researched. Gripping, thoughful
Who was your favorite character and why?
Andrew Marr - intelligent, honest and open
Have you listened to any of Andrew Marr and David Timson ’s other performances? How does this one compare?
I gave the performance 4 starts simply because compared to Andew's reading, David's feels a little more subdued and loses out. however, it is a very well read book
Any additional comments?
the book starts by a very honest and open preface by Andrew Marr read by himself. He is unpretentious and is anything but a stuffy historian. Despite that, the book is very well researched, up-to-date with the modern understanding and archeological finds. In addition to interesting facts, it gives the feeling of coherence to the story and presents a rounded view of the history of us as people that closely resonated with mine. I have been wanted to broaden my historical knowledge but whatever book I read reviews for was either comprehensive and dull or too supercilious. this book is neither so I highly recommend. Shame that is was not Andew reading out all of it but David is very very good
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- antonio
- 08-04-15
Very interesting and well written
Enjoyed very much listening. I'll listen it for a second time and recommend it to friends. Excellent overall view of world History. Met my expectations. Reduced reading speed to 75 pc, found it a good pace for non native English speakers.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MR Harris-Reed
- 15-08-15
Good overall history
A good view of history from the start of civilisation to modern times. Giving good views to how things could be different if certain people didn't do what they did.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Steve Harris
- 25-07-15
Brilliant - I now feel educated!
What made the experience of listening to A History of the World the most enjoyable?
A well paced and fascinating journey through time. Witty but not whimsical, Andrew Marr has a gift for writing.
Have you listened to any of Andrew Marr and David Timson ’s other performances? How does this one compare?
Superb narration.
Any additional comments?
Loved it so much - I'm buying his other books!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 02-07-16
Fantastic book
I'm 19 years old , I've obviously heard all the famous names throughout my life , but now I know what they did
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jacques Leisegang
- 17-07-17
Great
Great book that gives an interesting summary of the entire history of humans. worth a read.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Estela
- 13-04-13
Understanding how the modern world was formed.
I have always enjoyed hearing about history to try and understand why the world is the way it is today but never enjoyed studying it at school. Other books are too detailed on specific eras or empires. This series provides a concise summary of all the eras and leaders of change. As history is normally written from the perspective of one side and taught that way in schools around the world it is never easy to know whose side of the story you are getting.
It appears that in this book the listener gets views that are not normally taught from the British perspective and therefore it is enlightening to hear the story from the perspective of others. I have been listening to this excellent summary whilst commuting to work. Occasionally I miss a few years when the traffic gets too intense so I have to rewind to listen again to make sure I understand what happened that lead to the next change.
Well worth listening too.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- sam
- 08-04-13
Easy to follow, very interesting
This is a great "read" and I went through the audiobook in less than a week.
It's probably more accurately described as a "History of the Human Race" as it starts and concentrates on the beginning of Man, with little about the world itself.
It's also back-loaded with much more about the last 300 years, but I guess that's because we have more recorded material from that time!
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