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Empire
- How Britain Made the Modern World
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 16 hrs and 11 mins
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 58
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 50
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 45
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 37
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- Unabridged
-
Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 112
-
Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 93
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 94
Niall Ferguson follows the money to tell the human story behind the evolution of finance, from its origins in ancient Mesopotamia to the latest upheavals on what he calls Planet Finance. Bread, cash, dosh, dough, loot, lucre, moolah, readies, the wherewithal: Call it what you like, it matters. To Christians, love of it is the root of all evil. To generals, it's the sinews of war. To revolutionaries, it's the chains of labor. Niall Ferguson shows that finance is in fact the foundation of human progress.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars 72
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 67
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Story4 out of 5 stars 66
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 19
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 16
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The British Empire was the largest in all history: the nearest thing to global domination ever achieved. The world we know today is in large measure the product of Britain's age of empire. The global spread of capitalism, telecommunications, the English language, and the institutions of representative government - all these can be traced back to the extraordinary expansion of Britain's economy, population, and culture from the 17th century until the mid-20th. On a vast and vividly colored canvas, Empire shows how the British Empire acted as midwife to modernity.
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5 out of 5 stars
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- By daniel Froese on 2023-02-03
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-
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- Written by: Niall Ferguson
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 21 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall5 out of 5 stars 5
-
Performance3.5 out of 5 stars 3
-
Story5 out of 5 stars 3
The Pity of War makes a simple and provocative argument: the human atrocity known as the Great War was entirely England's fault. According to Niall Ferguson, England entered into war based on naive assumptions of German aims, thereby transforming a Continental conflict into a world war, which it then badly mishandled, necessitating American involvement. The war was not inevitable, Ferguson argues, but rather was the result of the mistaken decisions of individuals who would later claim to have been in the grip of huge impersonal forces.
Written by: Niall Ferguson
Publisher's Summary
Penguin presents the unabridged audiobook edition of Empire by Niall Ferguson, read by Jonathan Keeble.
Once vast swathes of the globe were coloured imperial red, and Britannia ruled not just the waves but the prairies of America, the plains of Asia, the jungles of Africa and the deserts of Arabia. Just how did a small, rainy island in the North Atlantic achieve all this? And why did the empire on which the sun literally never set finally decline and fall?
Niall Ferguson's acclaimed Empire brilliantly unfolds the imperial story in all its splendours and its miseries, showing how a gang of buccaneers and gold diggers planted the seed of the biggest empire in all history - and set the world on the road to modernity.
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Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- David Selke
- 2019-12-26
A fascinating and well performed audio book.
I picked up this book because I enjoyed Niall’s books Civilization. This new work is much like his previous - full of fascinating facts and accounts which bring to life the world of 18th and 19th centuries. It’s clear that the author spent countless hours studying historical records, journals, and facts to prepare this work - a brilliant summary of how the British empire came to be what it was. Modern history lovers are bound to find this summary extensive and fascinating.
Undoubtably, the particular facts and stories which Niall chose to highlight in this book show his particular bias on such controversial topics as how Christianity spread in Africa and Asia. But it’s easy to see how difficult it would be to present an unbiased review of the facts. In the end, although I disagreed with a number of the conclusions made, I enjoyed the presentation.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Lisa White
- 2019-10-11
major themes are very interesting
Overall, the ideas are compelling and I learned a lot of interesting stuff. A few chapters go overboard on quotes from stuffy British historical characters. The chapter about the role of religion goes on and on and on and on. But, if you are even considering this title, you know you're in for some heavy learning. A good listen though, and the reader does some good voices.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Wayne Bissky
- 2019-08-21
Extremely biased and unbalanced book.
Very disappointed in this book as it presents an exclusively negative view of the British Empire and especially editorial regarding values and traditions; both religious and otherwise. The bad heavily dominated any good in the writers opinion. I could not finish the book as it became increasingly wearisome and disappointing.
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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
- Matt
- 2021-03-25
Refreshing
I am sick to the gills with social Marxism and critical race theory. Our University professors and administrative staff have become Communist Puritans who like to ignore historical inconveniences that don't support their version of reality. The same people that claim that 2 + 2 does not equal 4 ... and woe betide you if you disagree! Persecute the unbeliever!
This is not a propaganda piece. It is actually a balanced history with arguments made to both sides of a debate because the author wants you to think!
This book is nicely written, entertaining, informative, and the narration is problem free.
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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
- Amazon Customer
- 2020-08-10
Imperative Listen For Those That Wonder
I really enjoyed listening to this book. It was very detailed, and the chronology was succinct from the origins of the empire all the way to the selling off of the empire. I believe this book has empowered me to correct individuals that unabashedly utter lazy claims about the origins and motivations of the British Empire. I also believe this book should be taught in schools, and I will be sure to pass down this information to my children. Thank you
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- A
- 2021-08-31
pretty good history of the Empire
Pretty good book. It has all the historical accuracy and insight you would expect from Ferguson. The one thing I will say is there is a small section near the end where it just kind of bogs down talking about boring old British men. Besides that the general ideas and scope of the book are very good.
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