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Audiobooks Narrated by Nigel Patterson
Browse audiobooks narrated by Nigel Patterson, listen to samples and when you're ready head over to Audiobooks.com where you can get 3 FREE audiobooks on us
"In the 1980s, countries across Asia stunned the world with meteoric economic growth—but when eyes turn to Africa today, it is often to lament corruption, violence, and poverty rather than to scout the next developmental frontrunners. Yet some African nations, even in the face of challenging geography and the crippling legacies of colonialism, have found remarkable success. In How Africa Works, Joe Studwell draws on extensive research and travel across the continent to explore what's worked and what hasn't, and shows how the rapidly rising population—seen as alarming by so many—will be foundational to Africa's flourishing.
Highlighting the insights and achievements of African leaders rather than the international community that presumes to know better, Studwell shows that there is a clear developmental path many successful nations have followed. He puts the spotlight on four countries that have seen exceptional economic growth—Botswana, Mauritius, Ethiopia, and Rwanda—and that demonstrate the promise as well as the particular challenge of the African context. Prosperity is well within reach, thanks to huge leaps forward in education and favorable demographics, but embracing winning polices and sidestepping misguided foreign interests will be key. Studwell's book is essential for anyone looking to understand the next chapter of global development."
"IT WAS AN AGE OF GLORY . . . BUT ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD.
The sixth-century AD witnessed a remarkable turn-around in the Roman Empire's fortunes. Justinian's general, Belisarius, recovered North Africa and Italy from the barbarians. An impressive new law code was inaugurated that would endure to this day. Astonishing building projects rivalled the great monuments of Old Rome.
But rather than restoring Rome's greatness did Justinian in fact pave the way for its collapse less than a century after his death? Drawing on the contemporary sources, especially those of the chronicler Procopius, Nick Holmes reveals a darker side to Justinian—a ruthless opportunist, whose costly conquests and misguided priorities drained the empire's wealth and critically weakened its army.
This is the fourth volume in Nick Holmes' series on the Fall of the Roman Empire. The first three books trace the empire's story from the 'crisis of the third century', through its reinvention by Constantine as a Christian state, and then onto the fall of its western half. A fifth volume will tell of its rapid demise in the seventh century AD, when the first Islamic Caliphate became the new superpower of western Eurasia."
"A human history of one of the planet's most iconic lakes, and the civilizations that surrounded its shores
The Dead Sea is a place of many contradictions. Hot springs around the lake are famed for their healing properties, though its own waters are deadly to most lifeforms—even so, civilizations have built ancient cities and hilltop fortresses around its shores for centuries. The protagonists in its story are not only Jews and Arabs, but also Greeks, Nabataeans, Romans, Crusaders and Mamluks. Today it has become a tourist hotspot, but its drying basin is increasingly under threat.
In this panoramic account, Nir Arielli explores the history of the Dead Sea from the first Neolithic settlements to the present day. Moving through the ages, Arielli reveals the religious, economic, military, and scientific importance of the lake, which has been both a source of great wealth and a site of war. The Dead Sea weaves together a tapestry of the lake's human stories—and amidst environmental degradation and renewed conflict, makes a powerful case for why it should be saved."
"Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) is a towering figure of modern Western philosophy, someone whose thought continues to exert an influence across all areas of the discipline. His work is characterized by both breadth and unity: he writes powerfully about mind, epistemology, metaphysics, logic, mathematics, natural science, ethics, politics, aesthetics, education, and more. And across those areas, his work is concerned with defending a view of human beings and their place in nature according to which our own reason enables us to discover and uphold the laws of nature and freedom—that is, to think for ourselves.
The Oxford Handbook of Kant provides an up-to-date account of recent scholarship on Kant's philosophy, taking in all areas of his writings. It will be an essential listen for students and researchers who want to think for themselves about the topics he wrote with such insight. The individual chapters to this Handbook each provide a scholarly analysis and assessment of some aspect of Kant's thought, and the collection ranges across all the areas to which Kant contributed. It collectively presents a picture of where the study of Kant's philosophy finds itself at this point in the twenty-first century."
"This three-part biography of Leon Trotsky was hailed by Graham Greene as one of 'the greatest . . . in the English language'—a must listen for those interested in the history of Soviet Russia and international communism.
Few political figures of the twentieth century have aroused such intensities of fierce admiration and reactionary fear as Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky. His extraordinary life and extensive writings have left an indelible mark on the revolutionary consciousness. Yet there was once a danger that his life and influence would be relegated to the footnotes of history.
Published over the course of ten years, beginning in 1954, Deutscher's magisterial three-volume biography turned back the tide of Stalin[s propaganda, and has since been praised by everyone from Tony Blair to Graham Greene. In this definitive work, now reissued in a single volume, Trotsky's true stature emerges as the most heroic, and ultimately tragic, character of the Russian Revolution."
"The second volume in an acclaimed biography of Oliver Cromwell, from the capture of Charles I to the expulsion of the Long Parliament
In 1647, the Parliamentarians were divided. They had won the first civil war and the king was in custody, but disagreements over the way forward had led to a stalemate. As the leader of one party, Oliver Cromwell found himself again at the center of events.
In the second volume of his pioneering biography, Ronald Hutton traces Cromwell's career from 1647 through to his seizure of supreme power. These decisive years saw the execution of Charles I and the establishment of the Commonwealth of England, as well as notorious and savage campaigns in Ireland and Scotland. Cromwell's political and military leadership were well honed after years of practice, but this was also the period of his greatest ruthlessness and brutality.
This groundbreaking account reveals a different kind of Cromwell, showing how he navigated the many forces ranged against him—and rose to the pinnacle of his power."
"A classic and innovative work of feminist science-fiction and a definitive novel in the slipstream genre.
In Ice, Anna Kavan's haunting and surreal novel, the narrator and a man known as 'the warden' search for an elusive girl in a frozen, seemingly post-nuclear, apocalyptic landscape. The country has been invaded and is being governed by a secret organisation. There is destruction everywhere; great walls of ice overrun the world. Together with the narrator, the reader is swept into a hallucinatory quest for this strange and fragile creature with albino hair.
'There is nothing else like it ... This ice is not psychological ice or metaphysical ice; here the loneliness of childhood has been magicked into a physical reality as hallucinatory as the Ancient Mariner's.' - Doris Lessing
'Ice is Kavan's best novel: a sustained and extended metaphor for the descent into, and traverse of, the ice-laden world of the addict ... a marvel of descriptive, chilling writing, rich in action and introspection.' - Christopher Priest, novelist and Arthur C. Clarke Award-winner"
"'A skilled storyteller . . . Holmes presents a riveting account of Rome's decline' —Kirkus Reviews
Attila is a household name. But his true character and impact on the Roman Empire have always remained elusive. Until now.
In the first major work written about Attila in decades, Nick Holmes rewrites the story of Attila and Rome. Contrary to his brutal legend, Attila was a complex and captivating personality. A great warlord who despised ostentation, admired bravery, and valued loyalty.
He led his steppe nomads further west than Genghis Khan or Tamerlane. He nearly destroyed the Roman Empire. But his vast ambition undid him. This book is a must-listen for those interested in Rome, the Huns, and military history."
"The Sumerians, the pragmatic and gifted people who preceded the Semites in the land first known as Sumer and later as Babylonia, created what was probably the first high civilization in the history of man, spanning the fifth to the second millenniums BC. This book is an unparalleled compendium of what is known about them.
Professor Kramer communicates his enthusiasm for his subject as he outlines the history of the Sumerian civilization and describes their cities, religion, literature, education, scientific achievements, social structure, and psychology. Finally, he considers the legacy of Sumer to the ancient and modern world.
'An uncontested authority on the civilization of Sumer, Professor Kramer writes with grace and urbanity.' —Library Journal"
"Filling a gap in the literature for an academically oriented volume on the Viking period, this unique book is a one-stop authoritative introduction to all the latest research in the field.
Bringing together today's leading scholars, both established seniors and younger, cutting-edge academics, Stefan Brink and Neil Price have constructed the first single work to gather innovative research from a spectrum of disciplines (including archaeology, history, philology, comparative religion, numismatics, and cultural geography) to create the most comprehensive Viking Age book of its kind ever attempted.
Consisting of longer articles providing overviews of important themes, supported by shorter papers focusing on material of particular interest, this comprehensive volume covers such wide-ranging topics as social institutions, spatial issues, the Viking Age economy, warfare, beliefs, language, voyages, and links with medieval and Christian Europe.
This original work, specifically oriented towards a university audience and the educated public, will have a self-evident place as an undergraduate course book and will be a standard work of reference for all those in the field."
"It was a time of revolution. The Roman Revolution describes the little known 'crisis of the third century', and how it led to a revolutionary new Roman Empire. Long before the more famous collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century, in the years between AD 235-275, barbarian invasions, civil war, and plague devastated ancient Rome. Out of this ordeal came new leaders, new government, new armies, and a new vision of what it was to be Roman. Best remembered today is the rapid rise of Christianity in this period, as Rome's pagan gods were rejected, and the emperor Constantine converted to this new religion. Less well remembered is the plethora of other changes that conspired to provide an environment well suited to a religious revolution.
Drawing on the latest research, Nick Holmes looks for new answers to old questions. He charts the rise of the Roman Republic and the classical Roman Empire, examining the roles played by sheer good luck and the benign climate. Focusing on the reigns of the critically important but under-researched emperors in the third century, such as Aurelian, Diocletian, and Constantine, he vividly brings to life how Rome just escaped catastrophe in the third century, and embarked on a journey that would take it into a brave new world—one which provided the foundations for modern Europe and America."
"A skilled storyteller, Holmes presents a riveting account of the wars, intrigues and personalities that contributed to Rome's decline, with entire chapters devoted to single battles.' Kirkus Reviews
Why did Rome Fall?
In this gripping retelling of one of the most momentous chapters in history, Nick Holmes presents a new interpretation of an old story. The fate of Rome was decided not just by emperors, soldiers, and barbarians but also by an environmental disaster.
A catastrophic megadrought on the Asian steppes in the fourth century AD forced the migration of entire peoples—Huns, Goths, Vandals, and others—west into the Roman Empire. They met an empire weakened from war with Persia. Rome's misfortunes multiplied as it made tactical errors on the battlefield. Civil war, religious unrest, and political incompetence compounded a worsening situation. The result was one of the greatest disasters in the ancient world—the sack of Rome by the Goths in AD 410."
