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In the Shadow of the Sword

The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World

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In the Shadow of the Sword

Auteur(s): Tom Holland
Narrateur(s): Jonathan Keeble
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À propos de cet audio

In the 6th century AD, the Near East was divided between two venerable empires: the Persian and the Roman. A hundred years on and one had vanished forever, while the other seemed almost finished. Ruling in their place were the Arabs: an upheaval so profound that it spelt, in effect, the end of the ancient world. In The Shadow of the Sword, Tom Holland explores how this came about. Spanning from Constantinople to the Arabian desert, and starring some of the most remarkable rulers who ever lived, he tells a story vivid with drama, horror, and startling achievement.

©2012 Tom Holland (P)2012 Hachette Digital Ancienne Histoire ancienne Moyen-Orient Moyen Âge Afrique Croisade

Ce que les critiques en disent

Holland's new book traces the process by which the world of the first millennium came to be dominated by one God, three religions and an innumerable succession of emperors (Dan Jones)
It is difficult not to be bedazzled by a cast that includes ulcerated Christian holy men, Zoroastrian priests obsessed with dental hygiene, demonic emperors, barbarians with self-inflicted cranial deformities and Arab ambassadors stinking of camel (Richard Miles)
Holland is a restless wanderer across the ancient world, both geographically and intellectually... A dazzling range of characters... Holland is a skilful and energetic narrator, and while he guides us along the more intricate twists and turns of the period, he also keeps our eyes on the bigger story (Anthony Sattin)
Holland leaves almost no aspect of the traditional story of Islam intact as he charts its rise to global power from the ashes of the Roman and Persian empires (Bryan Appleyard)
A work of history, trying to tell the truth, as modern historians understand that fraught concept... A gripping, colourful book (Charles Moore)
A handsome volume, tackling an important question from a novel perspective, backed by useful notes and written in an accessible and fluid style (Michael Scott)
A brave and valuable attempt to train the lens of popular history upon an exceptionally contentious field of study... elegant and entertaining... In the Shadow of the Sword stands as a useful, and sometimes provocative, starting point for anyone interested in approaching the birth of Islam from a historical, rather than devotional, perspective (Thomas Ashbridge)
Elegantly written and refreshingly free from specialist jargon... marshalling its resources with dexterity, it is a veritable tour de force (Malise Ruthven)
Those unwilling to struggle through academic texts have long needed a guide to the story of Islam as it's understood by those with the fullest access to the latest linguistic and archaeological evidence. Now at last in Tom Holland's In the Shadow of the Sword, they finally have it (David Frum)
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Feels like the story jumps too much, going from different geographical areas and times without much warning. Narrator did a good job

Solid Performance, story jumps a bit

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I enjoyed this book.it provides a really interesting look at the origins of Islam. Maybe it is the academic in me but I wish there was slightly more discussion of sources but imsuremost listeners will be glad that is not in there. Enjoyable

Interesting but wish the argument was a it clearer at times

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Book is great if you like history. I flew through this audiobook in like 4 days

It's great

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Perhaps the best way to describe Holland is "A Fantasy novel fan's first history book" He uses the most sensationalist versions of any story and then adds a little on top.

Can't not love it. He makes History so approachable, interesting and engaging. Buyer Beware, this is a starting point in the journey of history not the last stop. It will light the fires to know more.

Extremely interesting and engaging.

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Tom Holland reads like poetry. I listened to Shadow of the Sword after Dominion....both books opened my eyes and answered many questions I had regarding organized religion. I believe more now than ever that faith and religion are two separate things.
I'm a fuller person by my better understanding of the evolution of Christianity, Judaism, Islam and paganism and their effect on humanity.

Outstanding

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Fascinating and highly informative .
I believe that it's very important for truth to out there and assessable.
I have no wish to be controversial but so many people claim to practice a religion which in truth they know little about. Here I am referring to any specific religion.

EXTREMELY INTERESTING:

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An epic as well told and fascinating as any modern story, no matter how fantastical.

An amazing look at the end of the ancient world

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I already took numerous history courses in the university on this subject that this book is still amazed me to hear it again that serves as my personal refresher course. Thanks for making this available to me.

Best material for History of Christianity .

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While the narration is good, the writer has studied only one side of his argument and presents a very skewed version of Christian history. It sounded like apologetics for the Muslim faith.

Not accurate about Christian history

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For a book about the rise and history of Islam I’m 20 chapters in and he still hasn’t started to talk about Islam — which is disappointing because I have been looking for a good, thoughtful history of Islam. (Note that he did write in the first chapter about Islam where he explained that it is hard to determine an accurate history of the origins of Islam).

I would probably be okay to continue with the somewhat meandering backstory but the longer he talks about the history of Middle East religion the more scornful his tone gets. It is almost as if he is fearful that his readers will think that he holds the same views as the people he is writing about. If he simply recorded the history without the derision and allowed us as readers to make our own judgment, that would be quite helpful. Unfortunately eventually it starts to sound like the long, rambling history lectures I used to get in university from history professors who thought that I was too dumb to think for myself. Too bad because I really enjoyed the first book of his that I read (Rubicon) and was looking forward to a thoughtful examination of the history of one of the great world religions.

Wearying

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