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The History of the Ancient World
- From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
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The History of the Ancient World
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Summary
A lively and engaging narrative history showing the common threads in the cultures that gave birth to our own.
This is the first volume in a bold new series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from Europe to the Middle East to the far coast of China, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. Susan Wise Bauer provides both sweeping scope and vivid attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. This narrative history employs the methods of "history from beneath" - literature, epic traditions, private letters, and accounts - to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled. The result is an engrossing tapestry of human behavior from which we may draw conclusions about the direction of world events and the causes behind them.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
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What listeners say about The History of the Ancient 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
- focus1234
- 08-07-20
Absolutely great work of literature
I loved it from the beginning to the end, the history of ancient times has always been interesting to me, but this book adds another new dimension to it. it reads more like a fiction than history and takes you all the way through every great (and not) king, emperor, empire and war that existed in the ancient times. It also doesn't discriminate geographically, and provides an outstanding journey through the stories of ancient Mediterranean, Middle East, Asia and any other civilisation which stories survived to be told in the modern era
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- D. N. Frew
- 24-08-18
a very impressive tour of ancient civilizations.
Covers the earliest civilizations which had written records: flitting between mesopotamia, China and the early Mediterranean kingdoms, roughly in parallel timeframes.
if you get the audio book, you'll find it really helpful to download and review the PDF maps before you listen to each chapter.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Alexandra R.
- 15-12-23
A fantastic explanation of ancient times!
A truly amazing book. Such an incredible amount of research to bring out such an array of information!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- CP
- 04-12-14
Great read for fans of history
If you could sum up The History of the Ancient World in three words, what would they be?
Engaging, fascinating, long.
What other book might you compare The History of the Ancient World to, and why?
Honestly, I have not quite read a book like it. It takes history, which is often bloody and confusing and made it accessible without sacrificing quality.
What does John Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
How to pronounce most of the names! They are quite complex and I would not have been able to manage otherwise.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
I liked the mentions of women, and how their history was more than likely written by someone who had not bothered to check with them if it was actually correct.
Any additional comments?
Really good read for fans of history. I particularly liked the inclusion of China and India, usually books like this are painfully European-centric. I also enjoyed the discussion on the history of writing.
Be warned this book is not really one for fans of social history, and the lives of everyday people. It concerns itself with rulers, wars and conquerers and their fights and deaths. Some mention is made of culture and traditions but the focus is elsewhere.
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23 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- The doctor
- 08-11-21
so much information: so little brain
loved it, but if you ask me a question on it I would probably not be able to remember.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Nelson
- 22-12-19
One of the best books on Audio book and Amazon,
This is an excellent book. a truly remarkable book. If you are interested in classical history, well written and beautifully narrated then please get this book. This is an excellent book that requires several readings. Read, listen, reflect, take notes and do it again. The author is wonderful, the narration is wonderful, the prose, research, wonderful. Powerful book, serious work, written by someone a professional. Highly recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Kdl
- 01-02-15
Fascinating insight
An excellent book. I listen to it over and over again. We live in a complicated world yet the seeds were sown thousands of years ago. This book explains how great empires were born and evolved and eventually began to fall apart. Fully recommend it.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- M. Griffiths
- 23-01-16
Ancient history litany
I think that confining the scope to Europe and the Middle East would have made this more interesting to me. I tried but the sections on India and China tended to pass me by because I had no pre-existing knowledge.
Occasional humour and the very extensive supplementary material added an extra star.
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3 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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- david mccullagh
- 07-04-15
very interesting
I thought this was a well thought out narrative that was well performed - very interesting.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- A buyer
- 11-01-21
Interesting but not what I anticipated
I love old history but for some reason I struggled to connect with the narrator. I enjoyed the details but maybe it's me but I just found the delivery 'rushed' and bland.
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1 person found this helpful