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Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) is the great lost scientist: more things are named after him than anyone else. There are towns, rivers, mountain ranges, the ocean current that runs along the South American coast; there's a penguin, a giant squid - even the Mare Humboldtianum on the moon. His colourful adventures read like something out of a Boy's Own story.
For the Western allies, 11 November 1918 has always been a solemn date - the end of fighting which had destroyed a generation and a vindication of a terrible sacrifice with the total collapse of their principal enemies: the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. But for much of the rest of Europe, this was a day with no meaning, as a continuing nightmarish series of conflicts engulfed country after country. In this highly original, gripping book, Robert Gerwarth asks us to think again about the true legacy of the First World War.
Clement Attlee was the Labour prime minister who presided over Britain's radical postwar government, delivering the end of the empire in India, the foundation of the NHS and Britain's place in NATO. Called 'a sheep in sheep's clothing', his reputation has long been that of an unassuming character in the shadow of Churchill. But as John Bew's revelatory biography shows, Attlee was not only a hero of his age but an emblem of it, and his life tells the story of how Britain changed over the 20th century.
Random House presents the audiobook edition of Postwar by Tony Judt, read by Ralph Cosham. Tracing the story of postwar Europe and its changing role in the world, Judt's magnificent history of the continent of our times investigates the political, social and cultural history of Europe from the wreckage of postwar Europe to the expansion of the EU into the former Soviet empire. Judt's stress is on the continent as a whole, from Greece to Norway, from Portugal to Russia.
'I'll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce my brother. His name's Simon. I think you're going to like him. I really do. But in a couple of pages he'll be dead. And he was never the same after that.' The Shock of the Fall is an extraordinary portrait of one man's descent into mental illness. It is a brave and groundbreaking novel from one of the most exciting new voices in fiction.
In words remarkable for their richness of rhythm and imagery, Milton tells the story of man's creation, fall, and redemption, "to justify the ways of God to men". Here, unabridged, and told with exceptional sensitivity and power by Anton Lesser, is the plight of Adam and Eve, the ambition and vengefulness of Satan and his cohorts.
Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) is the great lost scientist: more things are named after him than anyone else. There are towns, rivers, mountain ranges, the ocean current that runs along the South American coast; there's a penguin, a giant squid - even the Mare Humboldtianum on the moon. His colourful adventures read like something out of a Boy's Own story.
For the Western allies, 11 November 1918 has always been a solemn date - the end of fighting which had destroyed a generation and a vindication of a terrible sacrifice with the total collapse of their principal enemies: the German Empire, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. But for much of the rest of Europe, this was a day with no meaning, as a continuing nightmarish series of conflicts engulfed country after country. In this highly original, gripping book, Robert Gerwarth asks us to think again about the true legacy of the First World War.
Clement Attlee was the Labour prime minister who presided over Britain's radical postwar government, delivering the end of the empire in India, the foundation of the NHS and Britain's place in NATO. Called 'a sheep in sheep's clothing', his reputation has long been that of an unassuming character in the shadow of Churchill. But as John Bew's revelatory biography shows, Attlee was not only a hero of his age but an emblem of it, and his life tells the story of how Britain changed over the 20th century.
Random House presents the audiobook edition of Postwar by Tony Judt, read by Ralph Cosham. Tracing the story of postwar Europe and its changing role in the world, Judt's magnificent history of the continent of our times investigates the political, social and cultural history of Europe from the wreckage of postwar Europe to the expansion of the EU into the former Soviet empire. Judt's stress is on the continent as a whole, from Greece to Norway, from Portugal to Russia.
'I'll tell you what happened because it will be a good way to introduce my brother. His name's Simon. I think you're going to like him. I really do. But in a couple of pages he'll be dead. And he was never the same after that.' The Shock of the Fall is an extraordinary portrait of one man's descent into mental illness. It is a brave and groundbreaking novel from one of the most exciting new voices in fiction.
In words remarkable for their richness of rhythm and imagery, Milton tells the story of man's creation, fall, and redemption, "to justify the ways of God to men". Here, unabridged, and told with exceptional sensitivity and power by Anton Lesser, is the plight of Adam and Eve, the ambition and vengefulness of Satan and his cohorts.
Wharton’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel set in upper class New York City. Newland Archer, gentleman lawyer and heir to one of New York City's best families, is happily anticipating a highly desirable marriage to the sheltered and beautiful May Welland. Yet he finds reason to doubt his choice of bride after the appearance of Countess Ellen Olenska, May's exotic, beautiful 30-year-old cousin, who has been living in Europe. This novel won the first ever Pulitzer awarded to a woman.
The brilliantly compelling new biography of the treacherous and tyrannical King John, published to coincide with the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta. Authoritative and dramatic, Marc Morris' King John offers a compelling portrait of an extraordinary king whose reign marked a momentous turning point in the history of Britain and Europe. King John is buried in Worcester Cathedral.
A philosopher dons a wet suit and journeys into the depths of consciousness. Peter Godfrey-Smith is a leading philosopher of science. He is also a scuba diver whose underwater videos of warring octopuses have attracted wide notice. In this audiobook he brings his parallel careers together to tell a bold new story of how nature became aware of itself.
This classic, definitive account of totalitarianism traces the emergence of modern racism as an "ideological weapon for imperialism", beginning with the rise of anti-Semitism in Europe in the 19th century and continuing through the New Imperialism period from 1884 to World War I.
Unfolding in a graveyard over the course of a single night, narrated by a dazzling chorus of voices, Lincoln in the Bardo is a literary experience unlike any other, for no one but Saunders could conceive it. February 1862. The Civil War is less than one year old. The fighting has begun in earnest, and the nation has begun to realize it is in for a long, bloody struggle. Meanwhile, President Lincoln's beloved 11-year-old son, Willie, dies and is laid to rest in a Georgetown cemetery.
Istanbul has always been a place where stories and histories collide and crackle, where the idea is as potent as the historical fact. From the Qu'ran to Shakespeare, this city with three names - Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul - resonates as an idea and a place and overspills its boundaries - real and imagined. Standing as the gateway between the East and West, it has served as the capital of the Roman, Byzantine, Latin and Ottoman Empires.
Deep in the heart of Paris, its oldest cemetery is, by 1785, overflowing, tainting the very breath of those who live nearby. Into their midst comes Jean-Baptiste Baratte, a young, provincial engineer charged by the king with demolishing it. At first Baratte sees this as a chance to clear the burden of history, a fitting task for a modern man of reason. But before long, he begins to suspect that the destruction of the cemetery might be a prelude to his own.
What if everything we thought we knew about history was wrong? From the global best-selling author of Empire, The Ascent of Money and Civilization, this is a whole new way of looking at the world. Most history is hierarchical: it's about popes, presidents, and prime ministers. But what if that's simply because they create the historical archives? What if we are missing equally powerful but less visible networks-leaving them to the conspiracy theorists, with their dreams of all-powerful Illuminati?
Rejecting fragmented histories of nations in the making, this bold revision surveys the shared institutions that bridged difference and distance to bring stability and meaning to the far-flung empire. By supporting new schools, law courts, and railroads along with scientific and artistic advances, the Habsburg monarchs sought to anchor their authority in the cultures and economies of Central Europe. A rising standard of living throughout the empire deepened the legitimacy of Habsburg rule.
Gustav Perle grows up in a small town in Switzerland where the horrors of the Second World War seem distant. He adores his mother, but she treats him with bitter severity, disapproving especially of his intense friendship with Anton, the Jewish boy at school. A gifted pianist, Anton is tortured by stage fright; only in secret games with Gustav does his imagination thrive. But Gustav is taught that he must develop a hard shell, 'like a coconut', to protect the softness inside - just like the hard shell perfected by his country to protect its neutrality.
Here in a single volume is the entire, unabridged recording of Gibbon's masterpiece. Beginning in the second century A.D. at the apex of the Pax Romana, Gibbon traces the arc of decline and complete destruction through the centuries across Europe and the Mediterranean. It is a thrilling and cautionary tale of splendor and ruin, of faith and hubris, and of civilization and barbarism. Follow along as Christianity overcomes paganism... before itself coming under intense pressure from Islam.
In the Spring of 1940, as Britain reeled from defeats on all fronts and America seemed frozen in isolation, one fear united the British and American leaders like no other: the Nazis had stolen a march on the Allies towards building the atomic bomb. So began the hunt for Hitler's nuclear weapons - nothing else came close in terms of priorities. It was to be the most secret war of those wars fought amongst the shadows. The highest stakes. The greatest odds.
Winner of the 2013 Costa Book Awards, Biography of the Year.
Winner of the 2013 Samuel Johnson Prize for non-fiction.
The story of Gabriele D'Annunzio, poet, daredevil - and Fascist. In September 1919 Gabriele D'Annunzio, successful poet and occasional politician, declared himself Commandante of the city of Fiume in modern-day Croatia. His intention - to establish a utopia based on his fascist and artistic ideals. It was the dramatic pinnacle to an outrageous career.
Lucy Hughes-Hallett charts the controversial life of D'Annunzio, the debauched artist who became a national hero. His evolution from idealist Romantic to radical right-wing revolutionary is a political parable. Through his ideological journey, culminating in the failure of the Fiume endeavour, we witness the political turbulence of early 20th-century Europe and the emergence of fascism.
In The Pike, Hughes-Hallett addresses the cult of nationalism and the origins of political extremism - and at the centre of the book stands the charismatic D'Annunzio: A figure as deplorable as he is fascinating.
I purchased the book on bookseller's recommendation but found it a difficult read, probably due to its structure and the myriad of people, places and foreign names. However, when this audio book was released, decided to give it another go. It is long, very long (too long!) - a convoluted tale about an arrogant and repellent character but it is firmly placed in the historical and social context of events in Italy and surrounding countries. I found the clarity of the narrator made it far more accessible and interesting, kept my interest AND I finished it! A long and complex book but worth listening to.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?
I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in modern history, biography, Italy or the origins of fascism.
What did you like best about this story?
I thought it was very well written and rigorously researched. The subject, D'Annunzio, is so complex and full of contradiction that it must have been a daunting task to try and cover every aspect. He is also at times utterly repellant in his behaviour and his utterances, but Lucy Hughes-Hallett manages to maintain a completely neutral tenor and yet retain one's interest.
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
Although the first 'kaleidoscopic' section with its 'staccato' approach may have worked well in writing, it made for difficult and confusing listening. Purportedly trying to imitate the multi-faceted personality and career of the D'Annunzio, it didn't really succeeded in this any better than the remaining, chronological narrative.
Any additional comments?
The one sour note for me was in the reading performance. Overall it was very good and the Italian words were well pronounced and unobtrusive. However I was disappointed by what I see as a lack of professionalism when it came to pronouncing words in other languages, obviously less familiar to the reader, particularly French. Very well known French figures and places had their names completely mangled. If you don't know how to pronounce something, why not check beforehand? Even some of the English was poorly pronounced. I blame the producers as much as the reader and this is certainly not the first time that my pleasure in listening to a good book has been marred but this problem.
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Is there anything you would change about this book?
It's really two books: (1) the story of a grotesque rake who reinvented himself as a WW1 war hero, and (2) the bizarre Fiume experiment in which an Austro-Hungarian border town chose d'Annunzio as its figurehead and so became the crucible for a wild social experiment which was later plagiarised wholesale by Mussolini and his fascists. Part (2) is the one to recommend, but can only be understood in the light of (1).
What other book might you compare The Pike: Gabriele d'Annunzio, Poet, Seducer and Preacher of War to, and why?
The Great Beast, by John Symonds.
Gabriel d'Annunzio was the man Aleister Crowley would have loved to be. The former was far more talented and successful, but no less flamboyant and depraved.
Did the narration match the pace of the story?
The narrator has a beautiful voice, but voyaging the book with her is like a stroll through a badly-cleared minefield, one mispronounced word after another exploding in your face.
Did The Pike: Gabriele d'Annunzio, Poet, Seducer and Preacher of War inspire you to do anything?
Yes definitely. To explore the antecedents to Fascism (and thence Nazism), as well as the Aesthetic Movement, popularised by Oscar Wilde, not to mention Futurism. Plus Garibaldi, all of which spawned the spores which blighted the 20 century with global wars. Oh yes-- and the superstar Sarah Bernhardt, allegedly one of d'Annunzio's legion of lovers.
I still cannot understand what the Italians saw in this awful man, and that's a research project in itself.
Any additional comments?
The book is valuable not only for its detailed (and sometimes boring) account of the comings and goings of a fin-de-siecle Italian poet and playwright in the Byronic mould, but for its history of the Fiume Occupation and the subsequent rise of Mussolini and fascism. D'Annunzio was never a fascist (in spite of the party's unfailing attempts to claim him) but fascism was 100% "d'Annunzian".
1 of 1 people found this review helpful
If you could sum up The Pike: Gabriele d'Annunzio, Poet, Seducer and Preacher of War in three words, what would they be?
Surprising, alluring and tragic
What did you like best about this story?
It is a wonderful account of a very troubled time and a very narcissistic man.
Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Karoline Newman?
Anyone with a half decent Italian accent or understanding of Italian. Her pronunciation is awful. Her English spoken word is lovely. But she's not right for this one...
If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
A dreamscape of a man
Any additional comments?
I cannot stress enough how important it is to get someone who can pronounce the words of the language which one is narrating.