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Emperor
- A New Life of Charles V
- Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
- Length: 26 hrs and 24 mins
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All Against All
- The Long Winter of 1933 and the Origins of the Second World War
- Written by: Paul Jankowski
- Narrated by: Dean Gallagher
- Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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All Against All is the story of the season our world changed from postwar to prewar again. It is about the power of bad ideas - exploring why, during a single winter, between November 1932 and April 1933, so much went so wrong. Historian Paul Jankowski reveals that it was collective mentalities and popular beliefs that drove this crucial period that sent nations on the path to war, as much as any rational calculus called "national interest".
Written by: Paul Jankowski
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Smart Phone Dumb Phone
- Free Yourself from Digital Addiction
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- Narrated by: Jot Davies
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Smart Phone Dumb Phone rewires our relationship to technology. By unravelling the brainwashing process behind our addictive behaviour, we are freed from dependence and can reassert control over our time and productivity. Including 20 practical steps to help you along your way, this wonderful guide will release you from the clutches of your smartphone and allow you to live in the moment. It truly is the easyway.
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Changed my relationship with technology
- By Brad S. on 2022-01-13
Written by: Allen Carr
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The Craft
- How the Freemasons Made the Modern World
- Written by: John Dickie
- Narrated by: Simon Slater
- Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins
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Founded in London in 1717 as a way of binding men in fellowship, Freemasonry proved so addictive that within two decades it had spread across the globe. Masonic influence became pervasive. Under George Washington, the Craft became a creed for the new American nation. Masonic networks held the British empire together. Under Napoleon, the Craft became a tool of authoritarianism and then a cover for revolutionary conspiracy. Both the Mormon Church and the Sicilian mafia owe their origins to Freemasonry.
Written by: John Dickie
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Fathers and Sons
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- Narrated by: David Horovitch
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
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When Arkady Petrovich comes home from college, his father finds his eager, naive son changed almost beyond recognition, for the impressionable Arkady has fallen under the powerful influence of the friend he has brought with him. A self-proclaimed nihilist, the ardent young Bazarov shocks Arkady's father by criticising the landowning way of life and by his outspoken determination to sweep away the traditional values of contemporary Russian society.
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Passion and reason
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Written by: Ivan Turgenev
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Have You Eaten Yet?
- Stories from Chinese Restaurants Around the World
- Written by: Cheuk Kwan
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
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From Haifa, Israel, to Cape Town, South Africa, Chinese entrepreneurs and restaurateurs have brought delicious Chinese food across the globe. Unraveling a complex history of cultural migration and world politics, Cheuk Kwan describes a fascinating story of culture and place, ultimately revealing how an excellent meal always tells an even better story.
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The Gift
- Written by: Sebastian Fitzek
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
- Original Recording
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Con man Milan Berg has a photographic memory. But he’s hiding a secret: He can’t read. Unable to interpret the world around him, Milan finds increasingly crafty ways to navigate it. That is, until he comes across a car in traffic with a girl in the back seat. She desperately holds a written note up to the window, but what does it say? Fearing the girl is in mortal danger, Milan determines to search for her. As he follows a series of clues, each darker and scarier than the next, he’s thrust into a nightmarish odyssey with a deepening, disturbing progression: The clues are tied to his past.
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Disastrous mess
- By Budb on 2023-05-24
Written by: Sebastian Fitzek
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All Against All
- The Long Winter of 1933 and the Origins of the Second World War
- Written by: Paul Jankowski
- Narrated by: Dean Gallagher
- Length: 16 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
All Against All is the story of the season our world changed from postwar to prewar again. It is about the power of bad ideas - exploring why, during a single winter, between November 1932 and April 1933, so much went so wrong. Historian Paul Jankowski reveals that it was collective mentalities and popular beliefs that drove this crucial period that sent nations on the path to war, as much as any rational calculus called "national interest".
Written by: Paul Jankowski
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Smart Phone Dumb Phone
- Free Yourself from Digital Addiction
- Written by: Allen Carr
- Narrated by: Jot Davies
- Length: 7 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Smart Phone Dumb Phone rewires our relationship to technology. By unravelling the brainwashing process behind our addictive behaviour, we are freed from dependence and can reassert control over our time and productivity. Including 20 practical steps to help you along your way, this wonderful guide will release you from the clutches of your smartphone and allow you to live in the moment. It truly is the easyway.
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Changed my relationship with technology
- By Brad S. on 2022-01-13
Written by: Allen Carr
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The Craft
- How the Freemasons Made the Modern World
- Written by: John Dickie
- Narrated by: Simon Slater
- Length: 16 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Founded in London in 1717 as a way of binding men in fellowship, Freemasonry proved so addictive that within two decades it had spread across the globe. Masonic influence became pervasive. Under George Washington, the Craft became a creed for the new American nation. Masonic networks held the British empire together. Under Napoleon, the Craft became a tool of authoritarianism and then a cover for revolutionary conspiracy. Both the Mormon Church and the Sicilian mafia owe their origins to Freemasonry.
Written by: John Dickie
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Fathers and Sons
- Written by: Ivan Turgenev
- Narrated by: David Horovitch
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
When Arkady Petrovich comes home from college, his father finds his eager, naive son changed almost beyond recognition, for the impressionable Arkady has fallen under the powerful influence of the friend he has brought with him. A self-proclaimed nihilist, the ardent young Bazarov shocks Arkady's father by criticising the landowning way of life and by his outspoken determination to sweep away the traditional values of contemporary Russian society.
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Passion and reason
- By Anonymous User on 2022-05-28
Written by: Ivan Turgenev
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Have You Eaten Yet?
- Stories from Chinese Restaurants Around the World
- Written by: Cheuk Kwan
- Narrated by: Brian Nishii
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
From Haifa, Israel, to Cape Town, South Africa, Chinese entrepreneurs and restaurateurs have brought delicious Chinese food across the globe. Unraveling a complex history of cultural migration and world politics, Cheuk Kwan describes a fascinating story of culture and place, ultimately revealing how an excellent meal always tells an even better story.
Written by: Cheuk Kwan
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The Gift
- Written by: Sebastian Fitzek
- Narrated by: Ari Fliakos
- Length: 7 hrs and 8 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
Con man Milan Berg has a photographic memory. But he’s hiding a secret: He can’t read. Unable to interpret the world around him, Milan finds increasingly crafty ways to navigate it. That is, until he comes across a car in traffic with a girl in the back seat. She desperately holds a written note up to the window, but what does it say? Fearing the girl is in mortal danger, Milan determines to search for her. As he follows a series of clues, each darker and scarier than the next, he’s thrust into a nightmarish odyssey with a deepening, disturbing progression: The clues are tied to his past.
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Disastrous mess
- By Budb on 2023-05-24
Written by: Sebastian Fitzek
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The Invincible Miss Cust
- A Novel
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- Narrated by: Lucy Rayner
- Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins
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Aleen Cust has big dreams. And no one―not her family, society, or the law―will stop her. Born in Ireland in 1868 to an aristocratic English family, Aleen knows she is destined to work with animals, even if her family is appalled by the idea of a woman pursuing a veterinary career. Going against their wishes but with the encouragement of the guardian assigned to her upon her father’s death, Aleen attends the New Veterinary College in Edinburgh, enrolling as A. I. Custance to spare her family the humiliation they fear.
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Female pioneer in the veterinary field
- By Chicshiraz55 on 2023-01-12
Written by: Penny Haw
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Summer of '85
- Written by: Chris Morrow, Kevin Hart, Charlamagne Tha God, and others
- Narrated by: Kevin Hart
- Length: 4 hrs and 47 mins
- Original Recording
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Welcome to the summer of 1985 in Philadelphia, when the city was rocked—in almost every sense of the word—by two unprecedented events: Mayor W. Wilson Goode’s May 13 decision to bomb the headquarters of MOVE, a controversial Philadelphia-based radical communal organization, and the July 13 Live Aid concert, where international rock royalty convened in Philly to raise money for victims of the Ethiopian famine. Separated by just two months and eight miles, these events would showcase both the best and the worst of the so-called City of Brotherly Love.
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Moving and eye-opening
- By Anonymous User on 2022-10-28
Written by: Chris Morrow, and others
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Winterset Hollow
- Written by: Jonathan Edward Durham
- Narrated by: Jonathan Edward Durham
- Length: 9 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Everyone has wanted their favorite book to be real, if only for a moment. Everyone has wished to meet their favorite characters, if only for a day. But be careful in that wish, for even a history laid in ink can be repaid in flesh and blood, and reality is far deadlier than fiction...especially on Addington Isle.
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This is An AMAZING Book!!
- By Amazon Customer on 2022-10-12
Written by: Jonathan Edward Durham
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Slaughterhouse-Five
- Written by: Kurt Vonnegut
- Narrated by: James Franco
- Length: 5 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Traumatized by the bombing of Dresden at the time he had been imprisoned, Pilgrim drifts through all events and history, sometimes deeply implicated, sometimes a witness. He is surrounded by Vonnegut's usual large cast of continuing characters (notably here the hack science fiction writer Kilgore Trout and the alien Tralfamadorians, who oversee his life and remind him constantly that there is no causation, no order, no motive to existence).
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Where’s the old version?
- By S.S. on 2022-02-17
Written by: Kurt Vonnegut
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Devil in a Blue Dress
- An Easy Rawlins Mystery
- Written by: Walter Mosley
- Narrated by: Michael Boatman
- Length: 5 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Los Angeles, 1948: Easy Rawlins is a black war veteran just fired from his job at a defense plant. Easy is drinking in a friend's bar, wondering how he'll meet his mortgage, when a white man in a linen suit walks in, offering good money if Easy will simply locate Miss Daphne Money, a blonde beauty known to frequent black jazz clubs.
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good
- By Genevieve Paquette on 2021-02-08
Written by: Walter Mosley
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When the Moon Was Ours
- Written by: Anna-Marie McLemore
- Narrated by: Raviv Ullman, Bailey Carr
- Length: 8 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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To everyone who knows them, best friends Miel and Sam are as strange as they are inseparable. Roses grow out of Miel's wrist, and rumors say that she spilled out of a water tower when she was five. Sam is known for the moons he paints and hangs in the trees and for how little anyone knows about his life before he and his mother moved to town. But as odd as everyone considers Miel and Sam, even they stay away from the Bonner girls, four beautiful sisters rumored to be witches.
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They and Their
- By MLD on 2023-08-12
Written by: Anna-Marie McLemore
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The Last Rose of Shanghai
- A Novel
- Written by: Weina Dai Randel
- Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg, Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 12 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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1940. Aiyi Shao is a young heiress and the owner of a formerly popular and glamorous Shanghai nightclub. Ernest Reismann is a penniless Jewish refugee driven out of Germany, an outsider searching for shelter in a city wary of strangers. He loses nearly all hope until he crosses paths with Aiyi. When she hires Ernest to play piano at her club, her defiance of custom causes a sensation. His instant fame makes Aiyi’s club once again the hottest spot in Shanghai. Soon they realize they share more than a passion for jazz - but their differences seem insurmountable....
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Very gripping story from the start to finish!
- By Dr. Chris Nutting on 2022-05-06
Written by: Weina Dai Randel
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Build
- An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making
- Written by: Tony Fadell
- Narrated by: Tony Fadell, Roger Wayne
- Length: 11 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Tony Fadell led the teams that created the iPod, iPhone, and Nest Learning Thermostat and learned enough in 30+ years in Silicon Valley about leadership, design, startups, Apple, Google, decision-making, mentorship, devastating failure, and unbelievable success to fill an encyclopedia. So that’s what this book is. An advice encyclopedia. A mentor in a box. Build is full of personal stories, practical advice and fascinating insights into some of the most impactful products and people of the 20th century.
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Great Book
- By Anonymous User on 2023-01-19
Written by: Tony Fadell
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Tulip Fever
- Written by: Deborah Moggach
- Narrated by: Rula Lenska
- Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Seventeenth-century Amsterdam is a city in the grip of tulip mania, basking in the wealth it has generated. Sophia’s husband Cornelis, an ageing merchant, is among those grown rich from this exotic new flower. To celebrate, he commissions a talented young artist to paint him with his young bride. But as the portrait grows, so does the passion between Sophia and the painter; and as ambitions, desires and dreams breed an intricate deception, their reckless gamble propels their lives towards a thrilling and tragic conclusion.
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Beautiful story
- By Madelyn H. on 2022-12-30
Written by: Deborah Moggach
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Pandora's Jar
- Women in the Greek Myths
- Written by: Natalie Haynes
- Narrated by: Natalie Haynes
- Length: 9 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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The tellers of Greek myths—historically men—have routinely sidelined the female characters. When they do take a larger role, women are often portrayed as monstrous, vengeful or just plain evil—like Pandora, the woman of eternal scorn and damnation whose curiosity is tasked with causing all the world’s suffering and wickedness when she opened that forbidden box. But, as Natalie Haynes reveals, in ancient Greek myths there was no box. It was a jar . . . which is far more likely to tip over.
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Fan freaking tasting
- By loralou on 2023-05-19
Written by: Natalie Haynes
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The Milky Way
- An Autobiography of Our Galaxy
- Written by: Moiya McTier
- Narrated by: Moiya McTier
- Length: 6 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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After a few billion years of bearing witness to life on Earth, of watching 100 billion humans go about their day-to-day lives, of feeling unbelievably lonely, and of hearing its own story told by others, the Milky Way would like a chance to speak for itself. All 100 billion stars and 50 undecillion tons of gas of it. It all began some 13 billion years ago, when clouds of gas scattered through the universe's primordial plasma just could not keep their metaphorical hands off each other. They succumbed to their gravitational attraction, and the galaxy we know as the Milky Way was born.
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expansive!
- By Anonymous User on 2022-11-01
Written by: Moiya McTier
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Press Reset
- Ruin and Recovery in the Video Game Industry
- Written by: Jason Schreier
- Narrated by: Ray Chase
- Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Jason Schreier's groundbreaking reporting has earned him a place among the preeminent investigative journalists covering the world of video games. In his eagerly anticipated, deeply researched new book, Schreier trains his investigative eye on the volatility of the video game industry and the resilience of the people who work in it.
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BioShock
- By Jesse on 2022-11-07
Written by: Jason Schreier
Publisher's Summary
The life of Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), ruler of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and much of Italy and Central and South America, has long intrigued biographers. But the elusive nature of the man (despite an abundance of documentation), his relentless travel and the control of his own image, together with the complexity of governing the world's first transatlantic empire, complicate the task.
Geoffrey Parker, one of the world's leading historians of early modern Europe, has examined the surviving written sources in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish, as well as visual and material evidence. He explores the crucial decisions that created and preserved this vast empire, analyzes Charles' achievements within the context of both personal and structural factors, and scrutinizes the intimate details of the ruler's life for clues to his character and inclinations. The result is a unique biography that interrogates every dimension of Charles' reign and views the world through the emperor's own eyes.
What the critics say
"This is a splendid book. It's well-written, engaging the reader, even while marshalling to good use a truly impressive erudition...." (James D. Tracy, author of Emperor Charles V)
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What listeners say about Emperor
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- bigdjunta
- 2019-10-21
Amazing.
The amount of study involved in the making of this book was significant. I can't believe how long this book is. Time just flew by the book is so interesting. Narration was also great.
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17 people found this helpful
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- Jose
- 2020-12-23
Excellent Content and Narration
Narration: Nigel Patterson is great, does a great job on emphasis and story development
The content is great for the historical reader. Germany, Spain, Reformation, Netherlands, France, England, Papacy, and Ottoman politics in depth. You almost can't say you know the Renaissance period without knowing this story.
You also get great context on the importance and management of the New World for Charles V. It was actually quite the side show. You get awesome clarity on the age of exploration and how it unfolded within the framework of the dynastic struggle in Europe.
You will probably enter the book with England, France, Spain, and Austria as the major players in Europe.. But what you leave understanding is that (to the leaders) the most important thing was House of Tutor, House of Hapsburg, House of Trastamara, and House of Valois. The players were not religious or national zealots. They were political and dynastic tigers, some extremely slimy. France was selling out Christians to Ottoman allies. Even the interpretation of Luther was wrapped in Dynastic colors as much as religious.
Great book
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall

- DavidSanFran
- 2019-10-21
Cool
It's really good but it needs some pictures to make the story more interesting and fun...😉
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6 people found this helpful
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- John
- 2020-12-17
best read on Charles V
best narrated book on Charles v. overall excellent historical background on family and the habsburgs.
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4 people found this helpful
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- J. Mar
- 2021-10-19
Well Researched but…
Very well researched. The author knows their subject matter. Yet, the author is good at stringing source material together, which is great but I don’t think the author has any real conclusions of their own at the end. Just more of what other people thought. It wasn’t bad at all. I would read something from this author again but this one wasn’t very good compared to other historical works I have read. Very, very dry which, of course, can be expected from an academic piece like this one.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Robert K
- 2021-03-20
Excellent biography
I really appreciate the style by Parker. He brings Charles to life with great skill. Narration is also flawless.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Dan Lambeezy
- 2022-02-09
Great Biography of Charles V
I’ll start this review by stating I’m a bit biased in that I was already interested in the time period and subject matter before beginning this book. With that said, I enjoyed it a lot. Charles lived an amazing life, and the author does an amazing job of bringing it to life by referencing not only the writings of Charles himself but of his contemporaries as well. I really gained an understanding of how Charles lived and how he was viewed in his own time. The narrator does a great job as well. I’d recommend this to anyone interested in early modern Europe, the history of Spain, or the Habsburgs.
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2 people found this helpful
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- James McDermott
- 2020-03-28
Interesting story about a historical person
I liked the book. It was very detailed. I did find it a little repetitious but still enjoyed it.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Allan Mahnke
- 2023-02-17
Excellent
Excellent writing, it is thorough without taxing. It is also beautiful writing. The reading is superb.
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- David Smith
- 2023-02-12
Great overall
Excellent popular biography that shows notable familiarity with primary sources and adequately contextualizes the life and legacy of Charles V. I would have appreciated more engagement with the key figures and ideas of the reformation in Germany and the inquisition in Spain. Perhaps also with the theological questions and challenges behind the debates over the treatment of the indigenous population of Spanish America. Engagement with church politics in Italy was also reductionistic at some points. Otherwise, very solid work.
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- Asser
- 2023-06-13
Excellent biography and narration
It's shocking how little Charles V today by non-specialists given the extraordinary role he played in the 16th century and his being effectively the strongest monarch in the west in the millennium between Charlemagne and Napoleon. This biography teaches us not only about the man but about how a new world was taking shape during the renaissance in Europe. The narration is excellent.
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