Listen free for 30 days
-
The Arabs
- A History
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 27 hrs and 29 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $50.07
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Buy it with
-
Iran
- A Modern History
- Written by: Abbas Amanat
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 41 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This history of modern Iran is not a survey in the conventional sense but an ambitious exploration of the story of a nation. It offers a revealing look at how events, people, and institutions are shaped by currents that sometimes reach back hundreds of years. The book covers the complex history of the diverse societies and economies of Iran against the background of dynastic changes, revolutions, civil wars, foreign occupation, and the rise of the Islamic Republic.
-
-
Excellent history of Iran from Safavid era to near present.
- By Jason Gacek on 2020-04-19
Written by: Abbas Amanat
-
The Silk Roads
- A New History of the World
- Written by: Peter Frankopan
- Narrated by: Laurence Kennedy
- Length: 24 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures, and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the 20th century - this book shows how the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East.
-
-
Epic Telling of History
- By chris bahrey on 2021-11-22
Written by: Peter Frankopan
-
The Fall of the Ottomans
- The Great War in the Middle East
- Written by: Eugene Rogan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Fall of the Ottomans, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan brings the First World War and its immediate aftermath in the Middle East to vivid life, uncovering the often ignored story of the region's crucial role in the conflict.
-
-
Fascinating read
- By Marie W on 2023-11-27
Written by: Eugene Rogan
-
The Crusades
- The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land
- Written by: Thomas Asbridge
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Crusades is an authoritative, accessible single-volume history of the brutal struggle for the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. Thomas Asbridge - a renowned historian who writes with "maximum vividness" (Joan Acocella, The New Yorker) - covers the years 1095 to 1291 in this big, ambitious, listenable account of one of the most fascinating periods in history.
-
-
Fantastic Book
- By braden on 2018-11-18
Written by: Thomas Asbridge
-
Necronomicon
- Written by: H. P. Lovecraft
- Narrated by: Richard Powers, Bronson Pinchot, Stephen R. Thorne, and others
- Length: 21 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Originally written for the pulp magazines of the 1920s and '30s, H. P. Lovecraft's astonishing tales blend elements of horror, science fiction, and cosmic terror that are as powerful today as they were when first published. This tome brings together all of Lovecraft's harrowing stories, including the complete Cthulhu Mythos cycle, just the way they were when first released.
-
-
Spot on performances
- By Amazon Customer on 2021-04-21
Written by: H. P. Lovecraft
-
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
- Written by: Thomas Piketty, Arthur Goldhammer - translator
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 24 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories.
-
-
A narrowed minded book on how to deal with inequality
- By Luisfer on 2021-01-23
Written by: Thomas Piketty, and others
-
Iran
- A Modern History
- Written by: Abbas Amanat
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 41 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This history of modern Iran is not a survey in the conventional sense but an ambitious exploration of the story of a nation. It offers a revealing look at how events, people, and institutions are shaped by currents that sometimes reach back hundreds of years. The book covers the complex history of the diverse societies and economies of Iran against the background of dynastic changes, revolutions, civil wars, foreign occupation, and the rise of the Islamic Republic.
-
-
Excellent history of Iran from Safavid era to near present.
- By Jason Gacek on 2020-04-19
Written by: Abbas Amanat
-
The Silk Roads
- A New History of the World
- Written by: Peter Frankopan
- Narrated by: Laurence Kennedy
- Length: 24 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It was on the Silk Roads that East and West first encountered each other through trade and conquest, leading to the spread of ideas, cultures, and religions. From the rise and fall of empires to the spread of Buddhism and the advent of Christianity and Islam, right up to the great wars of the 20th century - this book shows how the fate of the West has always been inextricably linked to the East.
-
-
Epic Telling of History
- By chris bahrey on 2021-11-22
Written by: Peter Frankopan
-
The Fall of the Ottomans
- The Great War in the Middle East
- Written by: Eugene Rogan
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 17 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In The Fall of the Ottomans, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan brings the First World War and its immediate aftermath in the Middle East to vivid life, uncovering the often ignored story of the region's crucial role in the conflict.
-
-
Fascinating read
- By Marie W on 2023-11-27
Written by: Eugene Rogan
-
The Crusades
- The Authoritative History of the War for the Holy Land
- Written by: Thomas Asbridge
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 25 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Crusades is an authoritative, accessible single-volume history of the brutal struggle for the Holy Land in the Middle Ages. Thomas Asbridge - a renowned historian who writes with "maximum vividness" (Joan Acocella, The New Yorker) - covers the years 1095 to 1291 in this big, ambitious, listenable account of one of the most fascinating periods in history.
-
-
Fantastic Book
- By braden on 2018-11-18
Written by: Thomas Asbridge
-
Necronomicon
- Written by: H. P. Lovecraft
- Narrated by: Richard Powers, Bronson Pinchot, Stephen R. Thorne, and others
- Length: 21 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Originally written for the pulp magazines of the 1920s and '30s, H. P. Lovecraft's astonishing tales blend elements of horror, science fiction, and cosmic terror that are as powerful today as they were when first published. This tome brings together all of Lovecraft's harrowing stories, including the complete Cthulhu Mythos cycle, just the way they were when first released.
-
-
Spot on performances
- By Amazon Customer on 2021-04-21
Written by: H. P. Lovecraft
-
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
- Written by: Thomas Piketty, Arthur Goldhammer - translator
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 24 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories.
-
-
A narrowed minded book on how to deal with inequality
- By Luisfer on 2021-01-23
Written by: Thomas Piketty, and others
Publisher's Summary
In this definitive history of the modern Arab world, award-winning historian Eugene Rogan draws extensively on Arab sources and texts to place the Arab experience in its crucial historical context for the first time. Tracing five centuries of Arab history, Rogan reveals that there was an age when the Arabs set the rules for the rest of the world. Today, however, the Arab world's sense of subjection to external powers carries vast consequences for both the region and Westerners who attempt to control it.
Updated with a new epilogue, The Arabs is an invaluable, groundbreaking work of history.
What the critics say
More from the same
Author:
Narrator:
What listeners say about The Arabs
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Matthew
- 2017-10-22
Super informative, interesting, and enjoyable
I was expected this book to be long dense and boring, but really it was captivating. It also explains why Palestine is involved in everything today.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Brandon Cain
- 2023-12-02
Very interesting
Lovely written and read with a very wide scope, and hilariously biased with a complete lack of self awareness regarding said bias.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Nostromo
- 2016-05-29
Superb Book About the Arab World
This is the second book of Professor Rogan's that I have listened to (the first was the Fall of the Ottomans which I have previously reviewed). I purchased and listened to the book because I wanted to understand more about the Arab people and the source of the unrest that has plagued them and the Middle East since I can remember. I am very pleased with my purchase and although it is lengthy , I feel that I now a greater understanding the Arab people than I did before I listened to the book.
The book traces the history of the Arab world since the founding of Islam in the early seventh century AD. Despite the author's claims in his introduction, I feel that the book is divided into 5 phases: The growth of the Arab world (following founding of Islam; the Ottoman Empire and its governance through 1918; the imperialist (British and French mandate) phase of 1918 through the 1950's; the Arab Nationalist/Pharaoh Phase which lasted from the 1950's until the Iranian Revolution of 1979; and the Modern Era in which Islam has once again become the stirring force in the Arab world. Along the way we are introduced to historical figures- some of whom we have heard much of- such as Nasser, Sadat, King Hussein of Jordan, Khadafy, the Assad family in Syria and Sadam Hussein and Bath Party in Iraq; as well as some not so well known but very important personalities such as Muhammad Ali (not the fighter but the Albanian warrior who became a leading figure in the Ottoman empire and created the dynasty in Egypt), Urabi Pasha (whose rebellion led to the British occupation of Egypt) as well as well as Abd el-Krim who as leader of the Rif tribe in Morocco was able to defeat a modern Spanish army of 15,000 men after World War I. We are also introduced to the Islamic split between the Shira and Sunni Muslims which still pervades the Middle East to this day.
There were several takeaways from the book. The first was just how powerful the Islamic world was from its founding until its takeover by the Ottomans. I never also never realized that the Ottoman empire generally left the Arabs alone as long as its people paid its taxes to the Sultanate and how the change in this policy following the Young Turk Revolution in 1908 resulted in the Ottoman's rescinding this "laissez faire" attitude eventually led to the Arab revolt which was fanned by the British during World War One. Another takeaway was the perfidy of the British to the Arab Nationalists who fought in the war against the Ottomans. The British promised independence but actually tightened their grip on the Middle East by taking over Iraq, Trans Jordan and Palestine after the war (and concluding the Sykes Picot Treaty in 1916(. I also learned that many problems that now exist in the Middle East were caused by both the French (France actually carved out a Christian Lebanon from Islamic Syria following World War One which helped to cause the Lebanese Civil War and its aftermath); and how the British promises to both the Arabs (Independence) and the Jewish people (the Balfour Declaration) led to the disaster that now confronts the Palestinian Arabs and Israelis to this day.
I believe that the greatest takeaway from the book (which confirmed a theory I had) focused around the rise of Islamic Jihad in the modern day Middle East. Following World War Two, the British and French were pushed out of the Arab World by the rise of Arab nationalism led by the rise of Nasser in Egypt and his successful stance during the Suez crisis of 1956. This led to a the popularity of Nasser and his military progeny (such as Assad in Syria and Khadafy in Libya) which culminated in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and the defeat of the Arabs by a much better equipped and trained Israeli army. This defeat (when combined with the defeat of the Arab armies in the Yom Kippor war in 1972) led to the decline of Arab Nationalism and left the Arab world open the rise of radical Islam which took flight in 1979 following the Iranian revolution and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (and which the world is now having to confront and contest even to this day). For me I believe, the book conveyed to me that the Arab people have a great tradition which has been dissipated by both outside forces and the in fighting that has taken place among them. It will be interesting to see if the Arab world can overcome these divisions and unify.
In summary, I believe that the book is a well worthwhile listen that anyone who wants to learn more about the Arab world should listen to. It is long and there is a tremendous information that is being hurled at the listener (as the author moves from era to ear and country to country), but there is a lot of great information in the book and the narration by Derrick Perkins (who also narrated the Fall of the Ottomans) is good.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
34 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Rocky Stonebreaker
- 2016-06-24
Learned much about the Arabs
Found the book intense as it criticized the US, but understand that some criticism is due. It's easy, however, to find fault looking back. Nonetheless, I learns a lot and have modified my position regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Benny
- 2016-06-06
A must listen for anyone interested in current events
This book is an excellent overview of Arab history and should be listened to by anyone interested in, and confused by, current events in the Middle East. The only way to understand the present is to study the past. Well written, and well narrated.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
10 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Jason Cherniak
- 2017-02-21
Biased but worthwhile
This is a good way to understand the Arab view of the last 200 odd years. It's extremely biased, though, once it gets past WWII. I'd say it goes from being a history of the Arabs to the Arab take on Israel with all the usual half-truths.
As just one example, in dealing with the peace negotiations of 2000 and 2001 the author says Israel offered more than ever before, but it wasn't enough. The author doesn't give an actual percentage or an explanation of why it wasn't enough. It is more a statement of opinion than an historical analysis or explanation. Throughout, he states it as a fact that Arafat wanted a two state solution without considering the alternative view that might explain Arafat's decision to not make peace in 2001.
That said, even going back to 1967 and particularly 1973 there are some interesting tidbits that I never knew before and do provide a different, useful perspective. I recommend this, but you have to be prepared to either get annoyed if you disagree or be aware of the bias if you don't already have an understanding of the history.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
9 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Elizabeth Bohannon
- 2016-07-25
Excellent Education
I am grateful for the author's treatment of this important subject. I now understand the common threads that tie together events remembered as distinct. Many nations have had a hand in creating the environment that made it possible for people to commit so many atrocities. We in the west should commit ourselves to learning about this region from sources other than the press and politicians.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
7 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Vic McFarland
- 2016-07-01
The title's promise not kept
What would have made The Arabs better?
This is far too sparse a treatment of the subject to wear the title given to it. There is little or nothing new to be found in the treatment given major events in Arab history such as the rise of Islam, the flowering of Arabian science, or conflicts with the surrounding world. Better treatments can be found in books such as: "Empire's of the Sea: The Contest for the Center of the World'" by Roger Crowley, or "World's at War: The 2500 Year Struggle between East and West," by Anthony Pagden. Neither of these two books provide anything like full histories of the Arabs but they do give the reader fuller, richer, far more interesting accounts of the parts of this great subject that they do treat.
Has The Arabs turned you off from other books in this genre?
Not at all. This book simply falls in the category of "Not Useful."
What do you think the narrator could have done better?
Left this on the shelf as his Doctoral Thesis, if that is how it started.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Disappointment
Any additional comments?
I'll continue to read books on the subject as they appeal to my interests. I am an educated American of European descent. As such, my background includes nothing that would have prepared me for the terror campaign we are now experiencing from the Middle East. Self-Defense requires an understanding of the mind of one's enemy. Relative to that is a knowledge of his history.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
5 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- R. T.
- 2020-05-21
Great read, highly recommended
Accurate and objective history of the Arab world since the early 16th century.
Having been born and live half of my life in the Arab world, the other half in the US, I was impressed by how well the author studied and understood the Arab history and culture and how well he put it in this book. I felt he was honest to his academic duties and avoided any bias to a great extent even in writing about very polarizing events.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Isaac T. Knowles
- 2020-05-31
Fantastic performance, informative history
Derek Perkins's narration is stellar. The book itself is quite good, but if I have one complaint, it is that too much focus was placed on military clashes large and small, a bit too little on the social and political fights that gave rise to the armed sort. But still a fascinating book.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Dude
- 2017-02-28
A dense history of modern and early modern arabia
If you could sum up The Arabs in three words, what would they be?
detailed, but cyclical
What did you like best about this story?
I enjoyed the political details delved into so deeply
What about Derek Perkins’s performance did you like?
His pronunciations of Arabic names was impressive
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
The story of the founding of the Saudi kingdom
Any additional comments?
half or more of the book is the 20th century. The book starts in the 16th century. If you're looking for the Arab enlightenment look elsewhere. This is mostly on the rise and fall of Arab nationalism.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Martin Fierro
- 2016-09-09
In Depth Information & History--A Great Resource
This work presents detailed history that explains not only "where we are" but also "how we got here." If you are serious about understanding this part of the world's people, it is a must-read.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful