29 Best Ancient History Audiobooks
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Cleopatra
- By: H. Rider Haggard
- Narrator: William Sutherland
- Length: 11 hours 29 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2006
- Language: English
Regular Price:Try for $0.0020.95 USDCleopatra lies asleep. One white, rounded arm makes a pillar for her head. The web of her dark hair falls over her like lace. Her limbs are draped in a robe so thin that the gleam of her flesh shines through it. Her rich lips are parted in aCleopatra lies asleep. One white, rounded arm makes a pillar for her head. The web of her dark hair falls over her like lace. Her limbs are draped in a robe so thin that the gleam of her flesh shines through it. Her rich lips are parted in a smile.
Harmachis looks down on her, and the sight of Cleopatra’s beauty strikes the young Egyptian with all the power of a mortal blow. For a moment, Harmachis aches with grief–that he should have to kill a thing so lovely!
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The Sacred Band
- By: James Romm
- Narrator: Vivienne Leheny
- Length: 9 hours 5 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2021
- Language: English
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3.98(262 ratings)
3.98(262 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.99 USDFrom classicist James Romm comes a “striking…fascinating” (Booklist) deep dive into the last decades of ancient Greek freedom leading up to Alexander the Great’s destruction of Thebes–and the saga of the greatestFrom classicist James Romm comes a “striking…fascinating” (Booklist) deep dive into the last decades of ancient Greek freedom leading up to Alexander the Great’s destruction of Thebes–and the saga of the greatest military corps of the time, the Theban Sacred Band, a unit composed of 150 pairs of male lovers.
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The story of the Sacred Band, an elite 300-man corps recruited from pairs of lovers, highlights a chaotic era of ancient Greek history, four decades marked by battles, ideological disputes, and the rise of vicious strongmen. At stake was freedom, democracy, and the fate of Thebes, at this time the leading power of the Greek world.
The tale begins in 379 BC, with a group of Theban patriots sneaking into occupied Thebes. Disguised in women’s clothing, they cut down the agents of Sparta, the state that had cowed much of Greece with its military might. To counter the Spartans, this group of patriots would form the Sacred Band, a corps whose history plays out against a backdrop of Theban democracy, of desperate power struggles between leading city-states, and the new prominence of eros, sexual love, in Greek public life.
After four decades without a defeat, the Sacred Band was annihilated by the forces of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander in the Battle of Chaeronea–extinguishing Greek liberty for two thousand years. Buried on the battlefield where they fell, they were rediscovered in 1880–some skeletons still in pairs, with arms linked together.
From violent combat in city streets to massive clashes on open ground, from ruthless tyrants to bold women who held their era in thrall, The Sacred Band recounts “in fluent, accessible prose” (The Wall Street Journal) the twists and turns of a crucial historical moment: the end of the treasured freedom of ancient Greece. -
Julius Caesar
- By: William Shakespeare
- Narrator: William Shakespeare
- Length: 2 hours 21 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2015
- Language: English
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3.7(165308 ratings)
3.7(165308 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0011.99 USDThe Folger Shakespeare Library, home to the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, brings Julius Caesar to life with this new full-length, full-cast dramatic recording of its definitive Folger Edition.Shakespeare may have written JuliusThe Folger Shakespeare Library, home to the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, brings Julius Caesar to life with this new full-length, full-cast dramatic recording of its definitive Folger Edition.
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Shakespeare may have written Julius Caesar as the first of his plays to be performed at the Globe, in 1599. For it, he turned to a key event in Roman history: Caesar’s death at the hands of friends and fellow politicians. Renaissance writers disagreed over the assassination, seeing Brutus, a leading conspirator, as either hero or villain. Shakespeare’s play keeps this debate alive.
This new unabridged audio recording of the well-respected edition of Shakespeare’s classic–expertly produced by the Folger Theatre–is perfect for students, teachers, and the everyday listener. -
The Writing of the Gods
- By: Edward Dolnick
- Narrator: Fajer Al-Kaisi
- Length: 8 hours 32 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2021
- Language: English
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4.19(994 ratings)
4.19(994 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.99 USDThe fast-paced and “engrossing account” (The New York Times Book Review) of “one of the greatest breakthroughs in archaeological history” (The Christian Science Monitor): two rival geniuses in a race to decode the writing onThe fast-paced and “engrossing account” (The New York Times Book Review) of “one of the greatest breakthroughs in archaeological history” (The Christian Science Monitor): two rival geniuses in a race to decode the writing on one of the world’s most famous documents–the Rosetta Stone.
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The Rosetta Stone is one of the most famous objects in the world, attracting millions of visitors to the British museum every year, and yet most people don’t really know what it is. Discovered in a pile of rubble in 1799, this slab of stone proved to be the key to unlocking a lost language that baffled scholars for centuries.
Carved in ancient Egypt, the Rosetta Stone carried the same message in different languages–in Greek using Greek letters, and in Egyptian using picture-writing called hieroglyphs. Until its discovery, no one in the world knew how to read the hieroglyphs that covered every temple and text and statue in Egypt.
Dominating the world for thirty centuries, ancient Egypt was the mightiest empire the world had ever known, yet everything about it–the pyramids, mummies, the Sphinx–was shrouded in mystery. Whoever was able to decipher the Rosetta Stone would solve that mystery and fling open a door that had been locked for two thousand years.
Two brilliant rivals set out to win that prize. One was English, the other French, at a time when England and France were enemies and the world’s two great superpowers. Written “like a thriller” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis), The Writing of the Gods chronicles this high-stakes intellectual race in which the winner would win glory for both himself and his nation. A riveting portrait of empires both ancient and modern, this is an unparalleled look at the culture and history of ancient Egypt, “and also a lesson…in what the human mind does when faced with a puzzle” (The New Yorker). -
Pandora’s Jar
- By: Natalie Haynes
- Narrator: Natalie Haynes
- Length: 9 hours 24 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: March 29, 2022
- Language: English
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4.27(8598 ratings)
4.27(8598 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.003.99 USD“Funny, sharp explications of what these sometimes not-very-nice women were up to, and how they sometimes made idiots of . . . but read on!”–Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale The national bestselling author of A“Funny, sharp explications of what these sometimes not-very-nice women were up to, and how they sometimes made idiots of . . . but read on!”–Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale
The national bestselling author of A Thousand Ships returns with a fascinating, eye-opening take on the remarkable women at the heart of classical stories Greek mythology from Helen of Troy to Pandora and the Amazons to Medea.
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.
In Pandora’s Jar, the broadcaster, writer, stand-up comedian, and passionate classicist turns the tables, putting the women of the Greek myths on an equal footing with the men. With wit, humor, and savvy, Haynes revolutionizes our understanding of epic poems, stories, and plays, resurrecting them from a woman’s perspective and tracing the origins of their mythic female characters. She looks at women such as Jocasta, Oedipus’ mother-turned-lover-and-wife (turned Freudian sticking point), at once the cleverest person in the story and yet often unnoticed. She considers Helen of Troy, whose marriage to Paris “caused” the Trojan war–a somewhat uneven response to her decision to leave her husband for another man. She demonstrates how the vilified Medea was like an ancient Beyonce–getting her revenge on the man who hurt and betrayed her, if by extreme measures. And she turns her eye to Medusa, the original monstered woman, whose stare turned men to stone, but who wasn’t always a monster, and had her hair turned to snakes as punishment for being raped.
Pandora’s Jar brings nuance and care to the millennia-old myths and legends and asks the question: Why are we so quick to villainize these women in the first place–and so eager to accept the stories we’ve been told?
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
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The Song of Achilles
- By: Madeline Miller
- Narrator: Frazer Douglas
- Length: 11 hours 14 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: March 06, 2012
- Language: English
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4.37(538299 ratings)
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4.37(538299 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0026.99 USD“At once a scholar’s homage to The Iliad and startlingly original work of art by an incredibly talented new novelist….A book I could not put down.” –Ann Patchett “Mary Renault lives again!” declares Emma“At once a scholar’s homage to The Iliad and startlingly original work of art by an incredibly talented new novelist….A book I could not put down.”
–Ann Patchett“Mary Renault lives again!” declares Emma Donoghue, author of Room, referring to The Song of Achilles, Madeline Miller’s thrilling, profoundly moving, and utterly unique retelling of the legend of Achilles and the Trojan War. A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad. An action-packed adventure, an epic love story, a marvelously conceived and executed page-turner, Miller’s monumental debut novel has already earned resounding acclaim from some of contemporary fiction‘s brightest lights–and fans of Mary Renault, Bernard Cornwell, Steven Pressfield, and Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series will delight in this unforgettable journey back to ancient Greece in the Age of Heroes.
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Mythology
- By: Edith Hamilton
- Narrator: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 14 hours 34 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: April 30, 2013
- Language: English
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4.03(41473 ratings)
4.03(41473 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.98 USDDive into the timeless tales of gods and heroes in this bestselling A-to-Z encyclopedia detailing classic myths and legends–perfect for curious readers and academics alike. Edith Hamilton’s mythology succeeds like no other book inDive into the timeless tales of gods and heroes in this bestselling A-to-Z encyclopedia detailing classic myths and legends–perfect for curious readers and academics alike.
Edith Hamilton’s mythology succeeds like no other book in bringing to life for the modern reader the Greek, Roman and Norse myths that are the keystone of Western culture-the stories of gods and heroes that have inspired human creativity from antiquity to the present.
We follow the drama of the Trojan War and the wanderings of Odysseus. We hear the tales of Jason and the Golden Fleece, Cupid and Psyche, and mighty King Midas. We discover the origins of the names of the constellations. And we recognize reference points for countless works for art, literature and culture inquiry-from Freud’s Oedipus complex to Wagner’s Ring Cycle of operas to Eugene O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra
Both a reference text for scholars of all ages and a book to simply enjoy, Mythology is a classic not to be missed.
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The Bird and the Blade
- By: Megan Bannen
- Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller
- Length: 10 hours 12 minutes
- Publisher: Balzer + Bray
- Publish date: June 05, 2018
- Language: English
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4.06(3599 ratings)
4.06(3599 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0026.99 USDA sweeping and tragic debut novel perfect for fans of The Wrath and the Dawn and Megan Whalen Turner. The Bird and the Blade is a lush, powerful story of life and death, battles and riddles, lies and secrets from author Megan Bannen. Enslaved inA sweeping and tragic debut novel perfect for fans of The Wrath and the Dawn and Megan Whalen Turner.
The Bird and the Blade is a lush, powerful story of life and death, battles and riddles, lies and secrets from author Megan Bannen.
Enslaved in Kipchak Khanate, Jinghua has lost everything: her home, her family, her freedom . . . until the kingdom is conquered by enemy forces and she finds herself an unlikely conspirator in the escape of Prince Khalaf and his irascible father across the vast Mongol Empire.
On the run, with adversaries on all sides and an endless journey ahead, Jinghua hatches a scheme to use the Kipchaks’ exile to return home, a plan that becomes increasingly fraught as her feelings for Khalaf evolve into an impossible love.
Jinghua’s already dicey prospects take a downward turn when Khalaf seeks to restore his kingdom by forging a marriage alliance with Turandokht, the daughter of the Great Khan. As beautiful as she is cunning, Turandokht requires all potential suitors to solve three impossible riddles to win her hand–and if they fail, they die.
Jinghua has kept her own counsel well, but with Khalaf’s kingdom–and his very life–on the line, she must reconcile the hard truth of her past with her love for a boy who has no idea what she’s capable of . . . even if it means losing him to the girl who’d sooner take his life than his heart.
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The Lost Empire of Atlantis
- By: Gavin Menzies
- Narrator: Gildart Jackson
- Length: 11 hours 46 minutes
- Publisher: Dreamscape Media
- Publish date: October 25, 2011
- Language: English
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3.6(583 ratings)
3.6(583 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0017.99 USDFor three millennia, the legend of Atlantis has gripped the imaginations of explorers, philosophers, occultists, treasure hunters, historians, and archaeologists. Until now, it has remained shrouded in myth. Yet, like ancient Troy, is it possibleFor three millennia, the legend of Atlantis has gripped the imaginations of explorers, philosophers, occultists, treasure hunters, historians, and archaeologists. Until now, it has remained shrouded in myth. Yet, like ancient Troy, is it possible that this fabled city actually existed? If so, what happened to it and what are its secrets? The fascinating reality of Atlantis’s epic glory and destruction are uncovered, finally, in these pages in thrilling detail by the iconoclastic historian Gavin Menzies. Meticulously analyzing exciting new geologic research, recently unearthed archaeological artifacts, and cutting-edge DNA evidence, Menzies has made a jaw-dropping discovery: Atlantis truly did exist, and was part of the incredibly advanced Minoan civilization that extended from its Mediterranean base to England, India, and even America. Also includes a bonus discs with artifact photos and maps.
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Our Occulted History
- By: Jim Marrs
- Narrator: Dave Courvoisier
- Length: 11 hours 54 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: February 12, 2013
- Language: English
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4.02(501 ratings)
4.02(501 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.004.99 USDBestselling author Jim Marrs steps once again to the cutting-edge of research into conspiracies and hidden truths. In Our Occulted History, Marrs goes beyond the revelations of his classic Alien Agenda and illustrates how human civilization may haveBestselling author Jim Marrs steps once again to the cutting-edge of research into conspiracies and hidden truths. In Our Occulted History, Marrs goes beyond the revelations of his classic Alien Agenda and illustrates how human civilization may have originated with non-humans who visited earth eons ago…and may still be here today
Our Occulted History: Do the Global Elite Conceal Ancient Aliens? is an extensive survey that includes a mass of well-documented scientific and historical texts and sources. It will change the way you view the origins of mankind and the current state of society.
No subject is too controversial for Marrs, an award-winning journalist whose other investigative works include Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy, the basis for the Oliver Stone film JFK; Rule by Secrecy; and The Trillion-Dollar Conspiracy.
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After Jesus Before Christianity
- By: Erin Vearncombe
- Narrator: Cindy Kay
- Length: 10 hours 53 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: November 02, 2021
- Language: English
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3.84(201 ratings)
3.84(201 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0027.99 USDFrom the creative minds of the scholarly group behind the groundbreaking Jesus Seminar comes this provocative and eye-opening look at the roots of Christianity that offers a thoughtful reconsideration of the first two centuries of the JesusFrom the creative minds of the scholarly group behind the groundbreaking Jesus Seminar comes this provocative and eye-opening look at the roots of Christianity that offers a thoughtful reconsideration of the first two centuries of the Jesus movement, transforming our understanding of the religion and its early dissemination.
Christianity has endured for more than two millennia and is practiced by billions worldwide today. Yet that longevity has created difficulties for scholars tracing the religion’s roots, distorting much of the historical investigation into the first two centuries of the Jesus movement. But what if Christianity died in the fourth or fifth centuries after it began? How would that change how historians see and understand its first two hundred years?
Considering these questions, three Bible scholars from the Westar Institute summarize the work of the Christianity Seminar and its efforts to offer a new way of thinking about Christianity and its roots. Synthesizing the institute’s most recent scholarship–bringing together the many archaeological and textual discoveries over the last twenty years–they have found:
- There were multiple Jesus movements, not a singular one, before the fourth century
- There was nothing called Christianity until the third century
- There was much more flexibility and diversity within Jesus’s movement before it became centralized in Rome, not only regarding the Bible and religious doctrine, but also understandings of gender, sexuality and morality.
Exciting and revolutionary, After Jesus, Before Christianity provides fresh insights into the real history behind how the Jesus movement became Christianity.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
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The Twelve Caesars
- By: Michael Grant
- Narrator: Wanda McCaddon
- Length: 10 hours 29 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2012
- Language: English
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4.01(16107 ratings)
4.01(16107 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDThe personalities of the Twelve Caesars of ancient Rome—Julius Caesar and the first eleven Roman emperors who followed him—have profoundly impressed themselves upon the world. They bore the perilous responsibility of governing an empireThe personalities of the Twelve Caesars of ancient Rome—Julius Caesar and the first eleven Roman emperors who followed him—have profoundly impressed themselves upon the world. They bore the perilous responsibility of governing an empire comparable in its gigantic magnitude and diversity to the United States and the Soviet Union of the 1980s. It is a matter of perennial concern to investigate how the potentates who wield such vast might, and the men who advise them, cope with their task, or fail to cope with it. To what extent, for example, are we justified, after a study of the scorching pages of Tacitus, in applying to the Roman Caesar Lord Acton’s saying that absolute power corrupts absolutely? This is one of a number of questions relating to their exercise of authority to which Michael Grant—calling in additional sources of information such as coins and inscriptions—endeavors to answer.
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Pharaoh
- By: Wilbur Smith
- Narrator: Mike Grady
- Length: 13 hours 49 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: October 18, 2016
- Language: English
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3.78(1871 ratings)
3.78(1871 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0029.99 USDAn epic historical adventure set in Ancient Egypt from the New York Times bestselling legend Stephen King has called the “best historical novelist.” One of the world’s bestselling authors, Wilbur Smith returns to Ancient Egypt in aAn epic historical adventure set in Ancient Egypt from the New York Times bestselling legend Stephen King has called the “best historical novelist.”
One of the world’s bestselling authors, Wilbur Smith returns to Ancient Egypt in a breathtaking epic that conjures the magic, mystery, romance, and bloody intrigue of a fascinating lost world. Taita, the Pharaoh’s advisor and hero of Desert God and River God, once again finds himself caught up in a whirlpool of ruthless intrigue that threatens the very foundations of the beloved empire he has pledged his life to protect. Plunged into dangerous and deadly waters more treacherous than the Nile, he must use his intelligence, alchemy, and cunning to protect his Pharaoh and keep safe all he loves.
Filled with danger, passion, and a thrilling battle for power, Pharaoh will leave fans of George R. R. Martin, Bernard Cornwell, and Dan Brown rejoicing.
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Venus and Aphrodite
- By: Bettany Hughes
- Narrator: Bettany Hughes
- Length: 3 hours 11 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: September 22, 2020
- Language: English
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3.83(847 ratings)
3.83(847 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.98 USDA cultural history of the goddess of love, from a New York Times bestselling and award-winning historian.Aphrodite was said to have been born from the sea, rising out of a froth of white foam. But long before the Ancient Greeks conceived of thisA cultural history of the goddess of love, from a New York Times bestselling and award-winning historian.Aphrodite was said to have been born from the sea, rising out of a froth of white foam. But long before the Ancient Greeks conceived of this voluptuous blonde, she existed as an early spirit of fertility on the shores of Cyprus — and thousands of years before that, as a ferocious warrior-goddess in the Middle East. Proving that this fabled figure is so much more than an avatar of commercialized romance, historian Bettany Hughes reveals the remarkable lifestory of one of antiquity’s most potent myths.Venus and Aphrodite brings together ancient art, mythology, and archaeological revelations to tell the story of human desire. From Mesopotamia to modern-day London, from Botticelli to Beyonce, Hughes explains why this immortal goddess continues to entrance us today — and how we trivialize her power at our peril.... Read more -
A Thousand Ships
- By: Natalie Haynes
- Narrator: Natalie Haynes
- Length: 8 hours 34 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: January 26, 2021
- Language: English
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4.1(33352 ratings)
4.1(33352 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.99 USDNATIONAL BESTSELLER An NPR Best Book of the Year “Gorgeous…. With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism, Natalie Haynes gives much-needed voice to the silenced women of the Trojan War.”–Madeline Miller, author ofNATIONAL BESTSELLER
An NPR Best Book of the Year
“Gorgeous…. With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism, Natalie Haynes gives much-needed voice to the silenced women of the Trojan War.”–Madeline Miller, author of Circe
Shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, a gorgeous retelling of the Trojan War from the perspectives of the many women involved in its causes and consequences–for fans of Madeline Miller.
This is the women’s war, just as much as it is the men’s. They have waited long enough for their turn . . .
This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of them all . . .
In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen.
From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war.
A woman’s epic, powerfully imbued with new life, A Thousand Ships puts the women, girls and goddesses at the center of the Western world’s great tale ever told.
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Sparrows in the Wind
- By: Gail Carson Levine
- Narrator: Rachel LeBlang
- Length: 7 hours 53 minutes
- Publisher: Quill Tree Books
- Publish date: October 25, 2022
- Language: English
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3.43(124 ratings)
3.43(124 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0027.99 USDThis latest novel from Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine about two princesses battling against their fates in the middle of the Trojan War is a must-read for anyone who loves Greek mythology or the Percy Jackson books! Cassandra, a princess ofThis latest novel from Newbery Honor author Gail Carson Levine about two princesses battling against their fates in the middle of the Trojan War is a must-read for anyone who loves Greek mythology or the Percy Jackson books!
Cassandra, a princess of Troy and follower of Apollo, is delighted when the god himself appears to her. Apollo asks to love her in exchange for giving her future sight, and she agrees–but recoils when he kisses her. Enraged, the god transforms his gift into a curse: Cassandra’s visions will never be believed.
After horrifying images of coming war and death pour into her mind, and with no one to heed her warnings, Cassandra risks her safety again and again to avert the disaster awaiting Troy.
But it will take years–and the friendship of an Amazon warrior princess named Rin–for Cassandra to find hope of success in reversing the course of the war.
With heroines to cheer for and nail-biting adventures, Newbery Honor-winning author Gail Carson Levine once again transports her listeners, this time to ancient Troy, where princesses (even cursed ones) will stop at nothing to shape their fate.
Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.
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The Histories
- By: Caius Cornelius Tacitus
- Narrator: James Adams
- Length: 10 hours 9 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2008
- Language: English
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4.13(1 ratings)
4.13(1 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.95 USDCaius Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman orator and public official, is considered one of the greatest historians as well as one of the greatest prose stylists of the Latin language. In The Histories, he describes and interprets the period in which heCaius Cornelius Tacitus, a Roman orator and public official, is considered one of the greatest historians as well as one of the greatest prose stylists of the Latin language. In The Histories, he describes and interprets the period in which he lived, beginning with the political situation that followed Nero’s death in AD 69 and ending with the death of Domitian in AD 96 and the close of the Flavian dynasty. The five books of the history still in existance are part of an original work of twelve to fourteen books.
The narrative as it now exists, with its magnificent introduction, is a powerfully sustained piece of writing. Because Tacitus was a conscious literary stylist, both his thought and his manner of expression gave life to his work. He wrote in the grand style, helped by the solemn and poetic usage of the Roman tradition, and he exploited the Latin qualities of strength, rhythm, and color.
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Meditations
- By: Thomas Moore
- Narrator: Thomas Moore
- Length: 1 hours 21 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: November 01, 2005
- Language: English
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3.65(160 ratings)
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3.65(160 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0014.99 USDThomas Moore, bestselling author of Care of the Soul and Soul Mates, draws on the twelve years he lived as a monk in this insightful book of a hundred one-page meditations. Interspersed with glimpses of the beauty and humor of the monk’s life,Thomas Moore, bestselling author of Care of the Soul and Soul Mates, draws on the twelve years he lived as a monk in this insightful book of a hundred one-page meditations. Interspersed with glimpses of the beauty and humor of the monk’s life, each page suggests a way of finding spirituality and nurturing the soul that can be applied in any walk of life.
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Jake Ransom and the Skull King’s Shadow
- By: James Rollins
- Narrator: Pedro Pascal
- Length: 8 hours 15 minutes
- Publisher: HarperCollins
- Publish date: April 28, 2009
- Language: English
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3.89(2547 ratings)
3.89(2547 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.99 USDWhen a mysterious envelope arrives for Jake Ransom, he and his older sister, Kady, are plunged into a gripping chain of events. An artifact found by their parents–on the expedition from which they never returned–leads Jake and Kady to aWhen a mysterious envelope arrives for Jake Ransom, he and his older sister, Kady, are plunged into a gripping chain of events. An artifact found by their parents–on the expedition from which they never returned–leads Jake and Kady to a strange world inhabited by a peculiar mix of long-lost civilizations, a world that may hold the key to their parents’ disappearance.
But even as they enter the gate to this extraordinary place, savage grackyls soar across the sky, diving to attack. Jake’s new friends, the pretty Mayan girl Marika and the Roman Pindor, say the grackyls were created by an evil alchemist–the Skull King. And as Jake struggles to find a way home, it becomes obvious that what the Skull King wants most is Jake and Kady–dead or alive.
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1421
- By: Gavin Menzies
- Narrator: Simon Vance
- Length: 12 hours 59 minutes
- Publisher: HarperAudio
- Publish date: January 28, 2014
- Language: English
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3.61(13056 ratings)
3.61(13056 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0027.99 USDOn March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China. Its mission was “to proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas” and unite the whole world inOn March 8, 1421, the largest fleet the world had ever seen set sail from China. Its mission was “to proceed all the way to the ends of the earth to collect tribute from the barbarians beyond the seas” and unite the whole world in Confucian harmony.
When it returned in October 1423, the emperor had fallen, leaving China in political and economic chaos. The great ships were left to rot at their moorings and the records of their journeys were destroyed. Lost in China’s long, self-imposed isolation that followed was the knowledge that Chinese ships had reached America seventy years before Columbus and had circumnavigated the globe a century before Magellan. Also concealed was how the Chinese colonized America before the Europeans and transplanted in America and other countries the principal economic crops that have fed and clothed the world.
Unveiling incontrovertible evidence of these astonishing voyages, 1421 rewrites our understanding of history. Our knowledge of world exploration as it has been commonly accepted for centuries must now be reconceived due to this landmark work of historical investigation.
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John Adams
- By: David McCullough
- Narrator: Edward Herrmann
- Length: 9 hours 55 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2001
- Language: English
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4.06(342836 ratings)
4.06(342836 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0021.95 USDThe Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling biography of America’s founding father and second president that was the basis for the acclaimed HBO series, brilliantly told by master historian David McCullough.In this powerful, epic biography,The Pulitzer Prize–winning, bestselling biography of America’s founding father and second president that was the basis for the acclaimed HBO series, brilliantly told by master historian David McCullough.
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In this powerful, epic biography, David McCullough unfolds the adventurous life journey of John Adams, the brilliant, fiercely independent, often irascible, always honest Yankee patriot who spared nothing in his zeal for the American Revolution; who rose to become the second president of the United States and saved the country from blundering into an unnecessary war; who was learned beyond all but a few and regarded by some as “out of his senses”; and whose marriage to the wise and valiant Abigail Adams is one of the moving love stories in American history.
This is history on a grand scale—a book about politics and war and social issues, but also about human nature, love, religious faith, virtue, ambition, friendship, and betrayal, and the far-reaching consequences of noble ideas. Above all, John Adams is an enthralling, often surprising story of one of the most important and fascinating Americans who ever lived. -
Alexander the Great
- By: Bill Yenne
- Narrator: Richard Powers
- Length: 8 hours 42 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2010
- Language: English
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3.63(81 ratings)
3.63(81 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0016.95 USDAlexander the Great is considered one of the most successful commanders of all time and was known to be undefeated in battle. He is mentioned in the Bible as well as the Qur’an and is on the shortest of short lists whenever the world’sAlexander the Great is considered one of the most successful commanders of all time and was known to be undefeated in battle. He is mentioned in the Bible as well as the Qur’an and is on the shortest of short lists whenever the world’s best military leaders are catalogued. When asked to name other great military leaders, Caesar reportedly said Alexander was the only great one.
Born in 356 B.C., the son of Philip II of Macedonia, Alexander the Great was educated by Aristotle, became a consummate horseman, and commanded a wing of his father’s army in the victory over the Thebans and Athenians at the Battle of Chaeronea — all when he was still a teenager. By the time of his death at age thirty-two, he had united Greece and had amassed an empire that stretched from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River and included all of Persia and most of Egypt. He ruled as both the shah of Persia and as a pharaoh of Egypt by right of conquest, and he was also crowned king of Asia. The scope of his military prowess remains awe inspiring to this day. Yenne’s masterful biography shows Alexander’s influence on the course of cultural and political history and discusses his leadership, strategy, and legacy.
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Caesar and Christ
- By: Will Durant
- Narrator: Grover Gardner
- Length: 36 hours 31 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2014
- Language: English
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4.41(1404 ratings)
4.41(1404 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0029.95 USDThe third volume of Will Durant’s Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Caesar and Christ chronicles the history of Roman civilization and of Christianity from their beginnings to 325 AD. In this masterful work, listeners will learn about: –The third volume of Will Durant’s Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Caesar and Christ chronicles the history of Roman civilization and of Christianity from their beginnings to 325 AD. In this masterful work, listeners will learn about:
– the Etruscan civilization of ancient Italy – the birth of the Roman Republic and the beginnings of Roman law – the great reigns of Caesar and Antony – the people of Rome–the artisans, tradesmen, and scientists – the places of Rome’s great empire – the beginnings of Christianity and its growth – the rise of Constantine and the fall of the empire
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The History of the Peloponnesian War
- By: Thucydides
- Narrator: Pat Bottino
- Length: 22 hours 6 minutes
- Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
- Publish date: January 01, 2006
- Language: English
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3.92(30928 ratings)
3.92(30928 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0031.95 USDThucydides’ classic chronicle of the war between Athens and Sparta from 431 to 404 BCE persists as one of the most brilliant histories of all time. As one who actually participated in the conflict, Thucydides recognized the effect it wouldThucydides’ classic chronicle of the war between Athens and Sparta from 431 to 404 BCE persists as one of the most brilliant histories of all time. As one who actually participated in the conflict, Thucydides recognized the effect it would have on the history of Greece above all other wars. With a passion for accuracy and a contempt for myth and romance, he compiled an exhaustively factual record of the disaster that eventually ended the Athenian empire.
Conflicts between Athens and Sparta over shipping, trade, and colonial expansion came to a head in 431 BCE, when the entire Greek world was plunged into twenty-seven years of war. This watershed event concerns not only military prowess but also perennial conflicts between might and right, imperial powers and subject peoples. Extraordinary writing, scrupulous methods, and keen political insight make this account a joy to read.
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Uncommon Wrath
- By: Josiah Osgood
- Narrator: Ana Clements
- Length: 10 hours 12 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: November 29, 2022
- Language: English
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4.14(25 ratings)
4.14(25 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0027.99 USDA dual biography of Julius Caesar and Cato the Younger that offers a dire warning: republics collapse when partisanship overrides the common good. In Uncommon Wrath, historian Josiah Osgood tells the story of how the political rivalry between JuliusA dual biography of Julius Caesar and Cato the Younger that offers a dire warning: republics collapse when partisanship overrides the common good.
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In Uncommon Wrath, historian Josiah Osgood tells the story of how the political rivalry between Julius Caesar and Marcus Cato precipitated the end of the Roman Republic. As the champions of two dominant but distinct visions for Rome, Caesar and Cato each represented qualities that had made the Republic strong, but their ideological differences entrenched into enmity and mutual fear. The intensity of their collective factions became a tribal divide, hampering their ability to make good decisions and undermining democratic government. The men’s toxic polarity meant that despite their shared devotion to the Republic, they pushed it into civil war.
Deeply researched and compellingly told, Uncommon Wrath is a groundbreaking biography of two men whose hatred for each other destroyed the world they loved. -
Hadrian and the Triumph of Rome
- By: Anthony Everitt
- Narrator: Anthony Everitt
- Length: 14 hours 24 minutes
- Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
- Publish date: April 27, 2012
- Language: English
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3.89(1346 ratings)
3.89(1346 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0024.99 USDAcclaimed British historian Anthony Everitt delivers a compelling account of the former orphan who became Roman emperor in A.D. 117 after the death of his guardian Trajan. Hadrian strengthened Rome by ending territorial expansion and fortifyingAcclaimed British historian Anthony Everitt delivers a compelling account of the former orphan who became Roman emperor in A.D. 117 after the death of his guardian Trajan. Hadrian strengthened Rome by ending territorial expansion and fortifying existing borders. And-except for the uprising he triggered in Judea-his strength-based diplomacy brought peace to the realm after a century of warfare.
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Philip and Alexander
- By: Adrian Goldsworthy
- Narrator: Neil Dickson
- Length: 20 hours 36 minutes
- Publisher: Hachette Audio
- Publish date: October 13, 2020
- Language: English
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4.34(604 ratings)
4.34(604 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0026.98 USDThis definitive biography of one of history’s most influential father-son duos tells the story of two rulers who gripped the world — and their rise and fall from power.Alexander the Great’s conquests staggered the world. He led his... Read moreThis definitive biography of one of history’s most influential father-son duos tells the story of two rulers who gripped the world — and their rise and fall from power.Alexander the Great’s conquests staggered the world. He led his army across thousands of miles, overthrowing the greatest empires of his time and building a new one in their place. He claimed to be the son of a god, but he was actually the son of Philip II of Macedon.Philip inherited a minor kingdom that was on the verge of dismemberment, but despite his youth and inexperience, he made Macedonia dominant throughout Greece. It was Philip who created the armies that Alexander led into war against Persia. In Philip and Alexander, classical historian Adrian Goldsworthy shows that without the work and influence of his father, Alexander could not have achieved so much. This is the groundbreaking biography of two men who together conquered the world. -
Flashback Four #3: The Pompeii Disaster
- By: Dan Gutman
- Narrator: Mark Turetsky
- Length: 4 hours 51 minutes
- Publisher: HarperCollins
- Publish date: April 03, 2018
- Language: English
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4.24(173 ratings)
4.24(173 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0018.99 USDIn this explosive third installment of New York Times bestselling author Dan Gutman’s action-packed series, four thrill-seeking friends travel back in time to document one of the most devastating natural disasters the world has everIn this explosive third installment of New York Times bestselling author Dan Gutman’s action-packed series, four thrill-seeking friends travel back in time to document one of the most devastating natural disasters the world has ever seen.
Eccentric billionaire Miss Z is sending Luke, Julia, David, and Isabel on another mission back in time to capture one of history’s most important events.
This time, the Flashback Four are headed to AD 79 to photograph the eruption of Mount Vesuvius! Can the Flashback Four get their photo and get back home before they become ancient history?
The Pompeii Disaster tells the story of one of the world’s most devastating natural disasters like you’ve never seen it before.
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The War That Made the Roman Empire
- By: Barry Strauss
- Narrator: Jacques Roy
- Length: 9 hours 59 minutes
- Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
- Publish date: January 01, 2022
- Language: English
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4(403 ratings)
4(403 ratings)Regular Price:Try for $0.0019.99 USDA “splendid” (The Wall Street Journal) account of one of history’s most important and yet little-known wars, the campaign culminating in the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, whose outcome determined the future of the RomanA “splendid” (The Wall Street Journal) account of one of history’s most important and yet little-known wars, the campaign culminating in the Battle of Actium in 31 BC, whose outcome determined the future of the Roman Empire.
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Following Caesar’s assassination and Mark Antony’s defeat of the conspirators who killed Caesar, two powerful men remained in Rome–Antony and Caesar’s chosen heir, young Octavian, the future Augustus. When Antony fell in love with the most powerful woman in the world, Egypt’s ruler Cleopatra, and thwarted Octavian’s ambition to rule the empire, another civil war broke out. In 31 BC one of the largest naval battles in the ancient world took place–more than 600 ships, almost 200,000 men, and one woman–the Battle of Actium. Octavian prevailed over Antony and Cleopatra, who subsequently killed themselves.
The Battle of Actium had great consequences for the empire. Had Antony and Cleopatra won, the empire’s capital might have moved from Rome to Alexandria, Cleopatra’s capital, and Latin might have become the empire’s second language after Greek, which was spoken throughout the eastern Mediterranean, including Egypt.
In this “superbly recounted” (The National Review) history, Barry Strauss, ancient history authority, describes this consequential battle with the drama and expertise that it deserves. The War That Made the Roman Empire is essential history that features three of the greatest figures of the ancient world.
Cliff Weitzman
Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.
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