9780063081703
Play Sample

Fallen Idols audiobook

(295 ratings)
33% Cheaper than Audible
Get for $0.00
  • $9.99 per book vs $14.95 at Audible
    Good for any title to download and keep
  • Listen at up to 4.5x speed
    Good for any title to download and keep
  • Fall asleep to your favorite books
    Set a sleep timer while you listen
  • Unlimited listening to our Classics.
    Listen to thousands of classics for no extra cost. Ever
Loading ...
Regular Price: 27.99 USD

Fallen Idols Audiobook Summary

An Economist Best Book of the Year

In this timely and lively look at the act of toppling monuments, the popular historian and author of Blood and Sand explores the vital question of how a society remembers–and confronts–the past.

In 2020, history came tumbling down. From the US and the UK to Belgium, New Zealand, and Bangladesh, Black Lives Matter protesters defaced, and in some cases, hauled down statues of Confederate icons, slaveholders, and imperialists. General Robert E. Lee, head of the Confederate Army, was covered in graffiti in Richmond, Virginia. Edward Colston, a member of Parliament and slave trader, was knocked off his plinth in Bristol, England, and hurled into the harbor. Statues of Christopher Columbus were toppled in Minnesota, burned and thrown into a lake in Virginia, and beheaded in Massachusetts. Belgian King Leopold II was set on fire in Antwerp and doused in red paint in Ghent. Winston Churchill’s monument in London was daubed with the word “racist.” As these iconic effigies fell, the backlash was swift and intense.

But as the past three hundred years have shown, history is not erased when statues are removed. If anything, Alex von Tunzelmann reminds us, it is made.

Exploring the rise and fall of twelve famous, yet now controversial statues, she takes us on a fascinating global historical tour around North America, Western and Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia, filled with larger than life characters and dramatic stories. Von Tunzelmann reveals that statues are not historical records but political statements and distinguishes between statuary–the representation of “virtuous” individuals, usually “Great Men”–and other forms of sculpture, public art, and memorialization. Nobody wants to get rid of all memorials. But Fallen Idols asks: have statues had their day?

Other Top Audiobooks

Fallen Idols Audiobook Narrator

Kristin Atherton is the narrator of Fallen Idols audiobook that was written by Alex von Tunzelmann

Alex von Tunzelmann is the author of Blood and Sand, Indian Summer, and Red Heat. She lives in London.

About the Author(s) of Fallen Idols

Alex von Tunzelmann is the author of Fallen Idols

More From the Same

Fallen Idols Full Details

Narrator Kristin Atherton
Length 9 hours 5 minutes
Author Alex von Tunzelmann
Category
Publisher HarperAudio
Release date October 19, 2021
ISBN 9780063081703

Subjects

The publisher of the Fallen Idols is HarperAudio. includes the following subjects: The BISAC Subject Code is 20th Century, History, Modern

Additional info

The publisher of the Fallen Idols is HarperAudio. The imprint is HarperAudio. It is supplied by HarperAudio. The ISBN-13 is 9780063081703.

Global Availability

This book is only available in the United States.

Goodreads Reviews

Holly

September 11, 2021

Cards on the table from the outset, I am one of those historians who saw Colston's statue getting yeeted into the sea in Bristol and immediately thought "Yes, good, History is happening". I have no time and no patience for those who say incidents of statue removal erase History, not least because the number of people I know who knew anything about Colston went from two (me and a mate from Bath) to dozens once his statue took a dunk.Fall Idols is a book about statues getting pulled down in twelve specific instances, and also about the very idea of pulling down statues and what it means for History (capital H). It's no spoiler to say that Alex von Tunzelmann does not think that removing statues erases History, because she is a historian and we know that it doesn't work that way.Indeed, this book looks at why statues go up in the first place. The answers are fairly consistent: it's all about glory and trying to write History in place of what is actually happening or happened.Stalin gets pulled down, and the chapter looks at his efforts to rewrite everything about himself from his name to his relationship with Lenin. Robert E. Lee's statues weren't about celebrating his military prowess (he lost the Civil War) but were put up decades after he died in an attempt to assert white supremacy. Lenin didn't even want statues of himself but the apparatus around him did.There is so much interesting detail in here. Examples are sometimes obvious, but also sometimes less well known, like the awful Rafael Trujillo. Some of the stories are also hilarious - the Portland Elks is a classic farce, but the trolling vandal who spraypainted the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen with "Racist fish" in 2020 now has my heart.Maybe even give this book to your angry uncle/friend/colleague who thinks statues are always good. It's certainly well written and argued and they might have some new thoughts after reading.

Liam

January 21, 2022

This is not a long book and, while some might dismiss it as simplistic (and there is a strong argument that in summarizing some of the history behind the statues she deals with there is a lack of subtlety and depth) overall this is a wise and sensible introduction to the whole 'statue' question that has developed in the public arena in the past few years. Put very simply removing, or even destroying a statue is not automatically iconoclasm, nor is it ignoring, denying, or rewriting history. In most of the most contentious cases the sculptures (of various colonialists like Rhodes or the Civil War generals and politicians) the statues were erected to propagate, not only a particular version of history, but to rewrite or deny history. It is particularly amusing when the more vociferous right wingers in The USA and Britain decry the often violent removal of statues because invariably they are the same people who praised the violent and destructive removal of statues with the collapse of communism or in Iraq - never mind the fact that the American rebellion against Britain n began with the toppling of a statue of King George III - a definite example of 'rewriting' or 'denying' a past history.People use the excuses of being Democratic processes in removing statues while not acknowledging how often this process has been tried and frustrated - usually by undemocratic special interest groups. Nor do those against the removal of statues care to be reminded how undemocratic the process was ands still is around the choice of who gets a statue erected to them. In variably most people are not against the removal of statues - only of 'their' statues or statues that reflect or support their version of history.An excellent, thought provoking book, which should provide anyone with answers, but also questions. What more could such a book want of a reader?

Andrew

August 09, 2021

Good book. I would recommend. The writing style for what could be a dry subject keeps you turning the pages. The book has energy with unexpected moments of humour that genuinely make you smile. Piqued my interest in areas of history I had not previously invested time in trying to understand. In my opinion the weakness in the book is the author’s arguments surrounding the removal of statues, which lacked depth and somewhat jumped from presenting evidence to presenting conclusions.

Joe

December 31, 2021

The Conservative Right have spent much of the last 18 months with their collective knickers in a twist over the issue of statue removal – principally inveighing against the demolition of sculptures of various colonialists, segregationists, and racists. Right-wingers have variously decried this global phenomenon as another example of ‘wokeism’ and (slightly less lazily) to a liberal-left attempt to erase parts of our collective history that we now find embarrassing or inconvenient. Thankfully, historian Alex von Tunzelmann is on hand with a necessary corrective to these complaints in the form of “Fallen Idols”. In part, this book is a history of such iconoclasm, from the toppling of Royalist figures at the outset of the American War of Independence through to the destruction of the slave trader Edward Colston’s statue in Bristol in 2020. But “Fallen Idols” is also about what statues – both in their construction and their demolition – can tell us about historical memory, and how that memory is constructed and challenged.Von Tunzelmann views statues as a form of historical storytelling, in that which figure goes up on the plinth – and when they are put up – “reflect(s) what some people, some time, thought we should think”. Statues are almost always political statements, echoing the elite opinions and ideologies of their day, and are more a form of propaganda rather than art, holding a place as Von Tunzelmann observes “somewhere between the secular and the religious”. She analyses a dozen examples of statue removal, from the Duke of Cumberland (responsible for the slaughter of the Scots at Culloden), Joseph Stalin (whose figure stood for 5 years in Budapest before being unseated during the 1956 uprising), King Leopold of Belgium (notorious for his genocidal regime in The Congo), Saddam Hussein, and the white supremacist robber-baron Cecil Rhodes. Through these examples in “Fallen Idols”, we see that the phenomenon of statue-smashing is almost as old as the tradition of putting them up in the first place. Such iconoclasm shows us that there is rarely such a thing as ‘a settled history’, and what statues go up (and stay up) are more a representation of “whose stories we tell” and who at any particular point in time is getting to define our histories.Throughout “Fallen Idols”, Von Tunzelmann takes a wrecking ball to the various right-wing arguments against statue removal; not least that conservatives can quite hypocritically be in favour of pulling down certain statues when it suits them (see Stalin and Saddam), but also the bogus contention that these monuments are adequate way of educating ourselves about our shared histories. What sustains her case is that “Fallen Idols” is written with a sly, mischievous wit (just one example being the peculiar case of Rafael Trujillo – dictator of the Dominican Republic – whose monuments to himself tended to take on a rather priapic form). It’s no mean feat to write such a frequently entertaining book, particularly when you are dealing with such a rogue’s gallery of psychopaths, slave traders, and genocidal maniacs. What “Fallen Idols” is about is not just a defence of iconoclastic statue removal, but also of the whole concepts of historical analysis and free debate. As Von Tunzelmann so adroitly puts it: “In a free democratic society, there can be no limits on which historical figures can be discussed and reassessed ... statues do not have rights - they stand at the pleasure of those who live beside them”. Recommended for anybody with an interest in how historical memory is constructed ... or anybody who recognises the necessity of continually debating and reassessing our historical myths.

Shreya

October 22, 2022

#goodreads rating 4.12Fallen Idols. It's a book about statues around the world that have been felled or taken down, and the movements and the people behind them.The book spans 350 years as it tells us the stories of these 12 men (all men), notable in their lifetimes, famous or perhaps even infamous, but who certainly encountered far more notoriety after their deaths than they might have hoped for.From King George III who was toppled around the time of the American Revolution as an act of showing Britain the middle finger (as that moment in history demanded), to Stalin whose enormous bulk came crashing down, all except for his boots, through the efforts of hundreds of thousands of charged Hungarians, to the real story behind the much televised historic tumble that Saddam took in Baghdad, this book covers histories we know and many we don't. It's informative in all the broad and finer details it reveals, but for me, perhaps, more hearteningly, it shines a light on how history has marched on, from being written and "owned" by a few white men, to now being something alive and dynamic that all of us have access to. Where voices hitherto unheard of, matter. We Indians fall somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, as a former colony, on the world stage our story is authentic and our voices find representation. But we have failed to look within, failed to confront our own past, look it straight in the eye and acknowledge, apologize, reconstruct. This book though. It's the best thing I have read all year. Highly recommend.

Tony

April 25, 2022

This is the first of the six books on the Wolfson History Prize shortlist. I'm planning to read all of them before the winner is announced. Fallen Idols by Alex von Tunzelmann is, if I look at the other titles on the list, probably the book most aimed at the general reader. It is also the book that ties itself most obviously to contemporary politics. The impact of the "culture wars" is the background to this book and how that has impacted on how we talk about and study history. As von Tunzelmann says in her introduction, "This is a book about how we make history." *It would link nicely with "What is History, Now?" edited by Helen Carr and Suzannah Lipscomb. A book which features an essay by Alex von Tunzelmann. The book looks at the removal of the statues of twelve people, starting with the removal of the statue of George III in New York by American revolutionaries in 1776 and finishing with the fall of a statue of George Washington in Oregon in 2020. Each statue is contextualised and their falls are contextualised. Or, in the case of Leopold II of Belgium, why some of the statues haven't been removed. Two of von Tunzelmann's examples - the statue of George V in Delhi and the various 'imposing erections' of Rafael Trujillo's Dominican Republican dictatorship - are drawn from areas she has written about in other places books: Indian Summer: The Secret History of the End of an Empire (2007) and Red Heat. Conspiracy, Murder, and the Cold War in the Caribbean (2011). But there's talk of Stalin, Lenin, the Duke of Cumberland, Saddam Hussein, Cecil Rhodes, Robert E Lee and Edward Colston also.This breadth of examples offers up different reasons for their fall and different results, but it allows von Tunzelmann to challenge the arguments presented by those who would use the fall of statues to defend a status quo. She shows how statues represent a 'great man' mythologised version of history that - and forgive the pun - can't be set in stone because how we see ourselves and the world changes. History is a dynamic subject. It is an ongoing debate between what we think we know, what we'd like to think of ourselves and 'what really happened'. The examples are all stories interestingly told. Von Tunzelmann writes clearly and well. The best reason for reading this book though is that it is a defence of history as a subject and an explanation of how it works: "Any written history, even the blandest series of historical documents, can only ever be a map, not the actual territory of history, which vanishes as soon as it has happened. History is gone. What we have is the memory of history, and that is always contested. " (p. 8)It would actually make a good book for teaching history at schools or as introductory parts of university courses. When I did my history degree the first part of our course was 'What is History?' and they used historical 'mysteries' to introduce us to the methodologies and practices of historical study. We looked at things like 'Was there a Robin Hood?', 'Who Killed JFK?', 'What Happened to the Romanovs' etc. It gave you an insight into the subject that opened it up in a fun and intelligent way. That's what von Tunzelmann's book does. It tells the stories of twelve statues to show us what history is, which I can only applaud. *It would link nicely with "What is History, Now?" edited by Helen Carr and Suzannah Lipscomb. A book which features an essay by Alex von Tunzelmann.

Miles

October 21, 2021

An accessible pop history introduction to the role of statues in the last few hundred years linked to western European approach to putting notable white men on plinths.

Joe

January 02, 2022

This is a well-written book on the issues involving the controversies over statues erected to prominent men of the past and present. von Tunzelmann explains the custom of erecting statues down through the centuries, noting that raising such monuments and then removing them is nothing new. While the author isn't necessarily in favor of removing all statues, she points out the problems with the "Great Men of history" approach. These "Great Men" are often found to have issues. von Tunzelmann addresses the major reasons people fight against the removal of statues -- 1. The Erasure of History, 2. The Man of His Time, 3. The Importance of Law and Order, and 4. The Slippery Slope. One possible approach for the future may be to memorialize groups of people (such as slaves lost during the Middle Passage) and events, rather than individual great men...or women.

Keenan

July 23, 2022

Fallen Idols goes into the stories of twelve statues, specifically their reasons for going up and the (always political) reasons they came back down to earth. The author does a great job providing details that move along each story while also giving the necessary context about why statues go up in the first place and the back-and-forth in the public sphere about why they should or shouldn't remain. A good pop history read, especially if you enjoy tales of megalomaniacs and their places in history being rightfully challenged.

Irene

December 27, 2021

A really solid analysis of the motivations behind toppling civic statues of men, and the arguments on both sides. (Has a woman's statue ever been toppled? There aren't many to start with.) Even if you're only mildly interested in the subject, it's a page-turner.There's quite a lot of range in the 12 "idols" she chose. Stalin and Lenin are included, of course, but so are Edward Colston and Rafael Trujillo. Von Tunzelmann cleverly devotes her first and last chapters to the demise of two Georges-- statues of America's last king and its first president. The context for each toppling could hardly be better stated-- a Goldilocks formula, neither too much nor too little to understand the background of the man and what brought about both his monument and its demise. If I have a disappointment, it's that she occasionally lapses into statements that are so general and obvious that they're silly, e.g. "Removing statues is not enough [to reform a nation]" (duh) and "It is impossible for a process of truth and reconciliation to work without the truth" (ditto). But on the whole, a lively study of a persistent political phenomenon.

Gauthier

June 21, 2022

Thought-provoking and insightful, this book is the kind of work that brings history to its relevance today. It is the kind of book that makes you think critically at every page and that helps you widen your understanding of the complex issues that surround the toppling of statues in general. Von Tunzelman starts her book with an introduction on the meaning of statues and what they represent. She proceeds to list the 4 main arguments that people who criticize the pulling of statues usually make:1. The erasure of History 2. The Man of His Time3. The Importance of Law and Order4. The Slippery Slope Then, she outlines a thought experiment that claims to show all 4 arguments are fallacies. However, I consider that her thought experiment only addresses 2 of them: The Man or His Time and The Slippery Slope. And in my view, her experiment comes as unconvincing. First, because she takes the most radical examples that one can find: Hitler and Stalin, 2 of the most murderous men of the 20th century. Relying on a comparison with Hitler or Stalin is overused and has become a weak argument because it's an easy one and takes the most extreme approach possible. In addition, the Man of His Time argument usually applies to individuals who lived in periods where it is demonstrated that people had different mindset and values. Stalin and Hitler both lived less than 100 years ago, which is very recent. As for her thought experiment claiming that no one used the Slippery Slope argument when US troops blew up the Nuremberg marble swastika on April 22, 1945, it is again a weak comparison: comparing the destruction of a Nazi symbol by soldiers who endured suffering and losses in the final days of one of the most brutal conflicts that humankind has ever known. This was not the protest of civilians contesting the existence of offending symbols supported by their government. It was the destruction by the victors of a vanquished enemy whose defeat came at a terrible price. The context is widely different.Therefore, Von Tunzelman's thought experiment is, in my view, a failure. However, I do agree with her that most of the arguments are fallacies. She could just have used a better example to refute them. The Importance of Law and Order argument is actually mentioned by Georges Washington in the first chapter regarding the toppling of King Georges III's statue in NY, who disapproved of the act. Von Tunzelman goes on to say: "Of course, revolutions are not always carried out with perfect decorum, no matter how much their commanders might wish it" (p. 31). She basically says that "we don't make an omelette without breaking eggs". This kind of violence is inevitable when a just cause such as a revolution is taking place. This gives an insight in the author's point of view because she makes it sound as if she did not agree with Washington's wish. For her, that's how things are and we should accept it. I personally find that a poor argument. While I recognize that revolutions do not happen without violence, it does not mean we should condone it or be happy about the destruction they cause. In the case of the French Revolution for example, how many works of arts were lost due to the rage of individuals who had no knowledge of what they were destroying? Washington should not be chastised for wishing that such events occur peacefully. While it may be naive, it is still commendable. In any event, it is not really an honest comparison to compare the pulling down of a statue representing someone considered a symbol of a present enemy in the heat of passion resulting from tensions and a conflict that are occurring at the moment. Georges III's statue was pulled down during the American Revolution, not after. This is very different from pulling down a statue representing someone from another era, sometimes centuries later, especially when the author rightly points out that it any case, most people don't even know the statue of such person exists or that they might pass in front of someone's statue everyday and never know who it is.What is interesting as well is that that last sentence also goes both ways and Von Tunzelman mentioned it: most people who criticize the toppling of statues oftentimes have no idea whose statue it was until they learned of the toppling. It is therefore funny that they should suddenly care. But as I said, it goes both ways: most people who support statue toppling never knew about the statue in the first place until they heard about it in the news and suddenly they started caring.Beyond this consideration, Von Tunzelman goes on to provide context surrounding the different figures who have had statues commemorating them and the latter being the target of human passion decades or even centuries later. She does so effectively, addressing Stalin, Lenin, Cecil Rhodes, Sadam Hussein, King Leopold II, and some more, including, surprisingly, Georges Washington himself. In many cases, she shows that the person was not even appreciated during their lifetime. Cecil Rhodes and Leopold II for example, or the Duke of Cumberland were notoriously criticized. As a result, Von Tunzelman pushes us to question why those statues exist in the first place and why we shouldn't assume they represent men worth celebrating just because they exist. This effectively debunks the Man of His Time argument although I am personally not entirely convinced the argument is invalid. Indeed, Von Tunzelman explains that since there was no pollsters in those days, we can't measure whether or not topics such as slavery were widely accepted. She also goes on to say that we know for sure that slaves themselves did not view slavery as a good thing ans since they represent a non negligible part of society, they (rightly) cannot be discounted. Finally, she explains that we have numerous testimonies of individuals criticizing slavery or men such as General Lee or Edward Colston. Therefore, it is proof that in those days, people did not think very differently from today. This makes sense, until it does not.First, it is true there were no pollsters in the days. However, if we could not measure whether or not slavery was viewed positively, we cannot measure whether or not it was viewed negatively either. Furthermore, if there are a lot of testimonials from people criticizing those men or slavery and colonialism, there are also a lot more texts that support slavery and colonialism. One just has to observe the strength of abolitionist movements to understand that the majority of society either supported slavery or, at least, did not care for it. Which brings me to another point: that the vast majority of people in European societies during the times when slavery was practiced in the last few centuries did not support or condemn slavery for a very simple reason: they were too busy getting by, living difficult lives with high mortality rates in births and from disease or malnutrition. Therefore, the vast majority of people did not really consider the issue of slavery and of those who could, the elites, most of them supported it. And it does not take a genius to conclude that someone who lives in a violent society, or a society where death is much more common, will have a different outlook on life than a privileged individual living in the Western world in 2022. This has been demonstrated by historians such as George Minois in his monumental history of the Hundred Years War where it could be observed that even in those violent times, there were incredible bouts of violence, even for those times, not because those people were inherently bad, but because they lived in violent societies that were experiencing numerous crises: war, famine, plague, etc.Therefore, in my view, the Man of His Time argument still stands. Yet, it does not work for everyone and the best way to counter it is by actually relying on the other individuals of the time. If the people who lived at the same time of the person commemorated by the statue despised him, then there is a good chance we should judge him by their standards as well. One just has to think about King Leopold II to understand that Belgians of his time were appalled by him.All in all, this makes us understand that we should not take the view that toppling statues is inherently wrong or right. Statues were put up by certain people to convey a message. This message might not be relevant today and/or it might be a far cry from the actual truth about the figure it represents. As the author says, statues are poor ways of telling us who a person was when human beings are complex beings. Every case where a statue has been removed or is asked to be removed should be considered on a case by case basis. And we should not put statues on a pedestal where no one has the right to question them. In fact, we need to keep the right to question anything and everything. That is what makes the study of history so alive.Finally, I'll take a jab at Von Tunzelman and her critic of the Great Man theory. Although I would not go as far as saying that it is the dynamic that drives society and drove the world until today, in my view the place of exceptional individuals to make changes through their inner capabilities cannot be downplayed. Yes, those individuals, men and women, could not have done what they did without the support of the masses. But the masses could not have done what they did without the out of the ordinary individuals, or when they did, their impact was limited. A good example is the Yellow Vests movement in France in 2018, which shook French society but eventually dissolved itself as there was no leader to give it direction. And it is difficult to deny that our societies remain fascinated by the possibility of things being changed by the will of a single individual. There is something inspiring in this belief although there is also something inspiring in the belief that we can do so much as a group. Those two views are not necessarily mutually exclusive. In any case, Von Tunzelman's book is, as I said earlier, thought-provoking and highly relevant. It was a pleasure reading it and challenging or agreeing with its arguments.

Clare

December 27, 2021

I found this absolutely fascinating - both in its descriptions of contentious statues and their removal, and in its account of how history is reinterpreted and contextualised throughout time. Highly recommended

Kathleen

October 11, 2021

Delightful look at not only why statues have been defaced and pulled down but also why they went up in the first place. Well, we know that- there's an ego thing as well as a desire to commemorate something or someone that some people feel important. But why? In each of these 12 cases, von Tunzelmann has done extensive research on the subject and in a clear eyed way, laid out the bad (and the good) and what happened. King Leopold - he comes down in a lot of places! So do others, of course (Columbus for one) and you, like me, might learn something about each of these individuals and the context in which the statues were both erected and destroyed. I read this as a sort of short story collection - one a day-and found myself seeking out additional info. Thanks to Edelweiss for the arc. A good read.

Thijs

January 03, 2023

An insightful book that puts some of history in an interesting perspective. I personally found it a well written and enriching read. Gets you thinking about your own opinions, so for that reason alone I will already recommend. Also, the handful of illustrations (eventhough not many) are pretty nice! They're also on the cover but I like them a lot.

Emmanuel

September 06, 2022

There is something about the front and back cover of this paperback edition: It features the drawn heads of the men (for they all are) whose statues are central to the book. They are all in a proper statue-like pose, looking towards but not at us, slanted at the same 45 degrees angle. Apart from Lenin, who seems to critically appraise us from the corners of his eyes, they are not at all engaging with us. And then there is the picture of the author, Alex von Tunzelmann, accidentally or intentionally printed at about the same size. She looks directly at us, with large expressive eyes and a half-smile. As engaging as the statue heads are distant.It is appropriate. For this is a book about us, and the conversation (or lack thereof) among us people of today about the fate of statues. The subjects of the statues themselves are almost incidental to it. The real tension is between those who put up the statue, and those who want to pull it down. Of course some of the portrayed people put up their own statues (Stalin, Saddam, Trujillo) but that does not necessarily change the issue. In the midst of the bitter culture wars, the author engages with us, seeks to have an exchange based on rational and considered opinions. Her opinion is plainly that there is a good case for pulling down most of these statues, at least as good a case as there was for putting them on their pedestals. It is, to my mind, a largely convincing case. In many cases the motivation for creating the statue was flawed from the start. And it is that motivation, the message that the statue was intended to broadcast, that interests the historian far more than its subject.It is not entirely wrapped up, however. I would have liked to see Tunzelmann make a case for keeping a statue. The author uses a plain “reductio ad absurdum” to make the case that obviously, there are statues that should be removed. But are any worth keeping? In the heady days of iconoclasm, some voices were heard that argued for, essentially, a purity test. But all people are inherently flawed. Where do we stop, and what shade of grey still entitles its carrier to public remembrance? And who determines that?As far as I can tell, Tunzelmann’s position on this is dual. Primarily she argues for public monuments that would celebrate not the few but the many. Moving away from statues that celebrate “Great Men” or “Great Women” whose idolising belongs to an antiquated view of history, and instead using our public spaces to memorialise members of the public. She gives the example of the ‘Stolpersteine’ that remind us of the victims of the Holocaust. On the other hand, she is positive about monuments that remember the heroes of the past without glorifying them. She gives the example of a pair of statues of Churchill and FDR sitting on a bench in Bond Street in London: A bench is not a pedestal or a column. It is fine to have statues of flawed people, as long as you are honest about it. (Attaching a commentary plaque to a statue, often the compromise position, has little impact.)A very interesting and thoughtful book. It is not long, and easily one could write more about each of these cases. But it is sufficient to make the case. It is obviously engaging with a hard-fought controversy, but does so without bitterness and with an occasional funny swipe.

Frequently asked questions

Listening to audiobooks not only easy, it is also very convenient. You can listen to audiobooks on almost every device. From your laptop to your smart phone or even a smart speaker like Apple HomePod or even Alexa. Here’s how you can get started listening to audiobooks.

  • 1. Download your favorite audiobook app such as Speechify.
  • 2. Sign up for an account.
  • 3. Browse the library for the best audiobooks and select the first one for free
  • 4. Download the audiobook file to your device
  • 5. Open the Speechify audiobook app and select the audiobook you want to listen to.
  • 6. Adjust the playback speed and other settings to your preference.
  • 7. Press play and enjoy!

While you can listen to the bestsellers on almost any device, and preferences may vary, generally smart phones are offer the most convenience factor. You could be working out, grocery shopping, or even watching your dog in the dog park on a Saturday morning.
However, most audiobook apps work across multiple devices so you can pick up that riveting new Stephen King book you started at the dog park, back on your laptop when you get back home.

Speechify is one of the best apps for audiobooks. The pricing structure is the most competitive in the market and the app is easy to use. It features the best sellers and award winning authors. Listen to your favorite books or discover new ones and listen to real voice actors read to you. Getting started is easy, the first book is free.

Research showcasing the brain health benefits of reading on a regular basis is wide-ranging and undeniable. However, research comparing the benefits of reading vs listening is much more sparse. According to professor of psychology and author Dr. Kristen Willeumier, though, there is good reason to believe that the reading experience provided by audiobooks offers many of the same brain benefits as reading a physical book.

Audiobooks are recordings of books that are read aloud by a professional voice actor. The recordings are typically available for purchase and download in digital formats such as MP3, WMA, or AAC. They can also be streamed from online services like Speechify, Audible, AppleBooks, or Spotify.
You simply download the app onto your smart phone, create your account, and in Speechify, you can choose your first book, from our vast library of best-sellers and classics, to read for free.

Audiobooks, like real books can add up over time. Here’s where you can listen to audiobooks for free. Speechify let’s you read your first best seller for free. Apart from that, we have a vast selection of free audiobooks that you can enjoy. Get the same rich experience no matter if the book was free or not.

It depends. Yes, there are free audiobooks and paid audiobooks. Speechify offers a blend of both!

It varies. The easiest way depends on a few things. The app and service you use, which device, and platform. Speechify is the easiest way to listen to audiobooks. Downloading the app is quick. It is not a large app and does not eat up space on your iPhone or Android device.
Listening to audiobooks on your smart phone, with Speechify, is the easiest way to listen to audiobooks.

footer-waves