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A History of the World

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A History of the World

By: Andrew Marr
Narrated by: Andrew Marr, David Timson
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Fresh, exciting and vividly readable, this is popular history at its very best.

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, political journalist 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.

A History of the World 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.’

 Civilization World Ancient History Middle Ages Africa Latin American Imperialism Middle East China Socialism Iran Self-Determination Thought-Provoking Funny Military Capitalism War Social justice Refugee Soviet Union Ancient Greece Russia British Empire Crusade Interwar Period
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I embarked on listening to this epic and well-researched book on the history of civilisation with some trepidation. There are after all, a total of 92 Chapters (26.5 hours) to work through and this is a formidable listening marathon by any stretch of the imagination. However, I found them all totally worth the effort. I am pleased Andrew Marr opened the narration by lending his voice to the introduction. This is a very expansive work as Mr. Marr draws references to a research base of some 2,000 or so books. In addittion, David Timson's highly expressive narration that followed is clear, assertive and a joy to listen to as it is consistenly intonated throughout without ever being condescending. You don't have to be a professional historian to appreciate the amount of effort that has gone into producing this book and the (at times) rather violent TV series to which this is a perfect accompaniment. The passion for the subject, dedication and commitment shine through at all times and for me, this is a notable quality of the book. Overall, a highly recommended purchase indeed which takes pride of place on my Audible bookshelf!

Awsome, educational and epic work

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You might think listening to over 26 hours of history would be heavy-going: not so. Well-written text that lends itself to being read, and read with verve, kept me listening and eager to continue. Inevitably superficial over detail, owing to the sheer scale of the undertaking, it emphasizes the chronological progression of history and the points up the parallel events in different part of the world.

An engaging sweep of history

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This is a truly remarkable work, always interesting. Marr weaves a clever and consistent line through world history, largely avoiding editorialising.

David Timson's rich narration, meanwhile, brings the book to life, creating one of the most engaging non-fiction audiobooks I've ever bought.

This should be a compulsory text for older kids studying history, as it fills in so many of the gaps necessarily left by the selective, more detailed approach to history teaching.

Buy it! You won't regret it.

Best non-fiction audiobook ever

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All those historical names you've heard, but don't know quite where to place in history. This books tells you where, why and how they influenced the world that we live in. The performance is great, and you can listen for hours and hours at the time.

A great summary of the history of the world

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This really has been a great book to listen to on my daily commute. The only criticism is the heavy weighting towards the recent past which I guess is down the available resources. Overall highly recommended.

Educational entertainment

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