Empire, Paul Strathern
Empire, Paul Strathern
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Empire
A New History of the World: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Civilizations

Author: Paul Strathern

Narrator: Elliot Fitzpatrick

Unabridged: 6 hr 12 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/03/2020


Synopsis

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

Eminent historian Paul Strathern opens the story of Empire with the Akkadian civilization, 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 the narrative 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 narrative control, Paul Strathern traces these 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 five thousand years of global history in ten lucid chapters, Empire is a must-listen for anyone fascinated by the history of the world.

About Paul Strathern

Paul Strathern is a Somerset Maugham Prize-winning novelist and the author of many nonfiction titles, including The Artist, the Philosopher, and the Warrior; Napoleon in Egypt; and Mendeleyev's Dream, which was short-listed for the Aventis Prize. Paul lives in England.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Cav on July 01, 2020

I really enjoyed this one. Empire gets off to a bit of a slow start, and I was not sure what to expect from it, as the reviews here were a bit mixed... Thankfully, I was pleasantly surprised; the writing here is very good. Empire is quite a dense book, the contents of its 288 pages could have easily f......more

Goodreads review by Roger on November 24, 2020

Superficial, mediocre survey of various empires over the ages. A few interesting, new insights (at least for me) early on but even those are called into question by glaring factual errors and omissions that emerge later in the text. Three examples: NO mention of Spanish American War in the discussio......more

Goodreads review by David on November 24, 2020

Facts twisted to fit a progressive/globalist agenda. If you have embraced the Cultural Marxist ideology you will find much to enjoy here, otherwise, it's safe to give this book a miss. Not a horrific reading of imperial history but a 'highly' contextualized one. Rating: 2 out of 5 Stars. Move along,......more

Goodreads review by Alfredo on September 16, 2020

Talks about the most important empires in human history and conveniently decides not to have a chapter on the Spanish Empire, which shaped modern Europe, or the Persian Empire. Both are mentioned only as a side-notes in other chapters.......more