Rise and Fall cover art

Rise and Fall

A History of the World in Ten Empires

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

A dazzling new history of the world through ten major empires.

Rise and Fall opens with the Akkadian Empire, which ruled over a vast expanse of the region of ancient Mesopotamia, then turns to the immense Roman Empire, where we trace back our western and eastern roots. Next Strathern describes how a great deal of western classical culture was developed in the Abbasid and Umayyid Caliphates. Then, while Europe was beginning to emerge from a period of cultural stagnation, it almost fell to a whirlwind invasion from the East, at which point we meet the Emperors of the Mongol Empire . . .

Combining breathtaking scope with masterful concision, Paul Strathern traces connections across four millennia and sheds new light on these major civilizations - from the Mongol Empire and the Yuan Dynasty to the Aztec and Ottoman, through to the most recent and biggest Empires: the British, Russo-Soviet and American. Charting 5,000 years of global history in ten succinct chapters, Rise and Fall makes comprehensive and inspiring reading to anyone fascinated by the history of the world.

©2019 Paul Strathern (P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Ltd Civilization Colonialism & Post-Colonialism Politics & Government World Ancient History China Imperialism Mongol Empire Middle East Middle Ages Africa Ottoman Empire Military Iran Soviet Union Colonial Period War Russia Latin American Ancient Greece
All stars
Most relevant
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It gave me just enough information as a base to explore empires I didn't know much about. With each empire being a 30-40minute chapter, it's not in depth but if, like me, you don't know too much about them it's just the right amount of info to not feel overloaded. A great introductory text!

A great whistle stop tour

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Despite being mercifully short, this book is not an easy read or listen. It is one long ramble without a coherent thesis or purpose. There are no signs of original research but one is simply assailed with a continuous stream of commonplace knowledge, banalities and falsehoods long disproven by historians. One could be kind and say it is conversational in tone but it really does just jump about from place to place. No genuine understanding of imperialism and its role in shaping world history is to be found in this superficial work.

Like a river that doesn't know where it is going.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.