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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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About this listen

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 Middle Ages Ancient History 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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This is a very detailed and well written book about the world history. The book starts with the first evidence of mankind on Earth and takes it to the present. It is a fun to listen to the interesting anectodes and lesser-researched areas of the history. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect and the approach is clear and well documented. Recent research findings are also mentioned which makes the listening experience even more interesting. The narration is very clear and a pleasure to listen to.

A very detailed look at the world history

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This audio book is an epic and enchanting journey through the history of our world. Andrew Marr has done a fantastic job of turning events and dramas of the past in to a story easily accessible to all. It really is all encompassing, with all parts of the world given appropriate airtime and the interconnected nature of the whole human race really comes through. I particularly like the impartial nature of the narrative, which isn't afraid of debunking commonly held historical myths. I can't get enough of this audio book, it can be listened to over and over, each time you pick up on a snippet you may have previously missed. Perpetually fascinating. Thank you Andrew Marr!

Mesmerising!

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Very well read, thoroughly engaging, well paced, totally fascinating and entertaining without dumbing down. I would recommend this to absolutely anyone. It is the best audio book I have tried so far. The narrator pitched it perfectly. I couldn't wait to listen to it. The only downside is that sometimes it's a bit hard to remember facts etc without being able to turn back a page and check back, so occasionally I missed bits. But aside from that it was great.

Simply perfect. Far better than the TV series!

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I love this, having never listened during History I have hit my thirties feeling particularly unschooled in massive chunks of what came before. Really enjoying the authorly tone of the book, which zooms in on fascinating elements of each historical era and is read with enthusiasm and wit. It is also nearly thirty hours long which is great value!

Perfect

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This is just a brilliant book encompassing world history, from literally all around the world. Andrew Marr has a fluidity in connecting seamlessly one part of history to another, moving around the globe in waves and feeding you amazing information which will enlighten your mind in some parts, answer your questions in others and make you ask more about the amazing world we live in. It is amazing how he starts from the very beginnings of mankind in Africa and finishes with todays modern development and world. The brilliancy of this book belong to characters - the people, who shaped our world and history. David Timson has great clarity in his reading, making it comfortable and easy to listen to. I would highly recommend this book. Great job and exceedingly well done.

A beautiful view of world history

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