Colin Fluxman has narrated 107 audiobooks on Listento.it by 7 authors, with an average listener rating of 3.9★ across 23 ratings. The most-rated is Yugoslavia: The History of the Eastern European Nation from Its Founding to Its Breakup.
William the Conqueror
Summary
If you want to discover the captivating life of William the Conqueror, then pay attention... The tale of William the Conqueror is written down by numerous contemporaries with various perspectives. It's a tale that would inspire some, while fascinate and even terrify others. It’s a tale of a man from a seemingly small land rising to rule one of the most powerful, stable kingdoms in all of Europe at the time - a kingdom that would sow the seeds of an empire that would sprout many centuries later. William’s story is a fascinating yarn full of twists and turns, wins and losses, political intrigue, and good, old-fashioned raw bursts of emotion. In William the Conqueror: A Captivating Guide to the First Norman King of England Who Defeated the English Army Led by the King of the Anglo-Saxons in the Battle of Hastings, you will discover topics such as: William’s Early Days: Birth, Childhood, Adolescence, and Early Reign over the Normans The Conquest: Normandy and Britain in the Late 10th Century, the Battle of Hastings, and the Aftermath From Duke to King: Ruling over England and Normandy Final Years and Death William’s Character: Personality Traits, Virtues, Flaws, and Motivations And much, much more! So if you want to learn more about William the Conqueror, scroll up and click the "buy now" button!
©2020 Captivating History (P)2021 Captivating History
Ancient Gaul: The History and Legacy of the Gauls and the Region in Antiquity
Summary
The Roman Republic’s development from a city state into a world power that controlled large swathes of modern Italy, Gaul, and Spain, as well as other parts of Europe is seen by many as being the direct result of Roman fear of the “Celtic Threat.” The sacking of Rome by the Gauls in 386 BC became indelibly imprinted into the Roman psyche, and with this fear came a desire to put as much distance as possible between the city of Rome and any potential enemy. The result was the gradual acquisition of buffer zones that became provinces of an empire that grew without any particular thought out or deliberate strategy of expansion. The Gallic Wars, the series of campaigns waged by Julius Caesar on behalf of the Roman Senate between 58-50 BC, were among the defining conflicts of the Roman era. Not only was the expansion of the Republic’s domains unprecedented (especially when considering it was undertaken under the auspices of a single general), it had a profound cultural impact on Rome itself as well. The Roman Republic, so dynamic in the wake of the destruction of their ancient enemy, Carthage, had recently suffered a series of dramatic upheavals; from the great slave rebellion of Spartacus to the brutal and bloody struggle for power of Marius and Sulla. Rome had been shaken to its very core, and a victory was essential both to replenish the dwindling national coffers and to instill in the people a sense of civic pride and a certainty in the supremacy of the Republic. Quite simply, in terms of scale, the Gallic Wars were unmatched by anything the Roman Republic had witnessed since the Punic Wars. By the end of the campaigns, ancient historians estimated that more than a million people had died, and still more were displaced or enslaved. Even by the more conservative estimates of modern historians, a casualty count in the hundreds of thousands appears possible. Either way, the war was a cataclysm, involving tens of thousands of combatants, and it also marked the greatest displays of skill by one of the greatest battlefield generals history has ever known. Caesar’s successful campaigns in Gaul have become the stuff of military legend on their merits, but it helped that he had the foresight to document them himself. Caesar himself wrote a famous firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, apparently from notes he had kept during the campaigns, and he wrote Commentarii de Bello Gallico (Commentaries on the Gallic War) in the third person. Caesar’s account described the campaigning and the battles, all as part of a propaganda campaign to win the approval of the Roman people. As a result, he left out inconvenient facts, including how much of a fortune he made plundering, but the work still remains popular today, and it is still used to teach Latin. Ancient Gaul: The History and Legacy of the Gauls and the Region in Antiquity looks at the most famous events involving Gaul and the ancient world, from the Gauls’ sack of Rome to Caesar’s famous conquest.
©2018 Charles River Editors (P)2018 Charles River Editors
The Pequot War
Summary
If you want to discover the captivating history of the Pequot War, then pay attention... The Pequot War (1636-1638) was a short-lived but extremely violent and bloody episode in United States history. This event represents one of the turning points in the entire history of North America, as the war changed the balance of power. The Dutch colonial authorities lost their status of being the dominant economic and political force, while the English took over this epithet. The end of the war also represented the first stage in England’s intensive expansion in that part of the world. In The Pequot War: A Captivating Guide to the Armed Conflict in New England Between the Pequot People and English Settlers and Its Role in the History of the United States of America, you will discover topics such as The European Conception of the Native Americans Who Were the Pequots? The Massachusetts Bay Colony of New England The Events That Triggered the Pequot War Military Capacities, Organization, and Tactics of the Warring Parties Conflict Escalation Mystic River Campaign The Mother of All Crimes Analysis and Comparison of King Philip’s War and the Historiography of the Pequot War Where Are They Today? A Look at the Pequots And much, much more! So, if you want to learn more about the history of the Pequot War, scroll up and click the "buy now" button!
©2020 Captivating History (P)2021 Captivating History
Constantine the Great
Summary
If you want to discover the captivating life of Constantine the Great, then pay attention... Constantine the Great is a complex figure surrounded by controversies and contradictions. The sources of history left for us to read are often biased one way or the other as he is the first Christian Roman emperor. His own propaganda paints a bright picture of his actions and his personality, while on the other side, we have his political enemies who paint him in much darker colors. All of the sources available to us either fully support Constantine or are strictly against him. There is no objective work that will give us any true insight on how Constantine lived, what he was thinking, and what his true motives were. In truth, contemporary historians served the purpose of writing what the people wanted to hear. They followed the latest political and cultural trends, and they did not care too much about objectivism and truth. The questions like what sort of a man was Constantine and what exactly did he achieve during his reign are still baffling historians. It is through tracking the right material and reading in between the lines that we are able to give some sort of answer. We have to use our common sense to discern the truth in the propaganda and paint a new, more accurate picture of Constantine the Great, his deeds, and his persona. In Constantine the Great: A Captivating Guide to the First Christian Roman Emperor and How He Ruled the Roman Empire, you will discover chapters, such as: The Early Life of Constantine the Great Early Rule Civil Wars Constantine, the Lavish Administrator The Man Behind the Emperor Constantinople Constantine and Christianity Late Rule and Death And much, much more! So, if you want to learn more about Constantine the Great, scroll up and click the "buy now" button!
©2020 Captivating History (P)2020 Captivating History
Tiberius
Summary
If you want to discover the captivating life of Tiberius, then pay attention.... Compared with the preceding rulers, Julius Caesar and Augustus, the name does not ring out with the same fame and pomposity. Shakespeare wrote no plays about Tiberius; his name does not echo in the history books with the same awe-inspiring prominence. Even his successors, Caligula and Nero, are more famous than he was. In fact, Tiberius can hardly be called famous at all. History knows him more for his infamy. Tiberius is remembered, if he is remembered at all, for his bad behavior. He spent much of his rule on a Greek island surrounded by every pleasure that his diseased flesh could dream of, abandoning his empire to scandal and intrigue. He is a great villain of Roman history. In Tiberius: A Captivating Guide to the Life of Ancient Rome's Second Emperor and How He Ruled the Roman Empire, you will discover topics such as: Before the Emperors Born into Turmoil The Eye of the Emperor In the Shadow of Augustus First Conquest Forced Marriage Rock Bottom Ascension A Slippery Slope to Capri The Last Javelin And Much, Much More! So if you want to learn more about Tiberius, scroll up and click the "Buy" button!
©2019 Captivating History (P)2020 Captivating History
Roman Emperors
Summary
If you want to discover the captivating lives of five Roman Emperors, then pay attention.... Five captivating manuscripts in one book: Augustus: A Captivating Guide to the First Emperor of Rome and How He Ruled the Roman Empire Tiberius: A Captivating Guide to the Life of Ancient Rome’s Second Emperor and How He Ruled the Roman Empire Nero: A Captivating Guide to the Last Emperor of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty and How He Ruled the Roman Empire Constantine the Great: A Captivating Guide to the First Christian Roman Emperor and How He Ruled the Roman Empire Justinian I: A Captivating Guide to Justinian the Great and How This Emperor Ruled the Roman Empire The life of Augustus is historically important because his leadership marked out a new era in the story of the Roman world, an era that would see the expansion of the Roman Empire across the Mediterranean and beyond. Tiberius is remembered, if he is remembered at all, for his bad behavior. He spent much of his rule on a Greek island surrounded by every pleasure that his diseased flesh could dream of, abandoning his empire to scandal and intrigue. Nero’s extravagance has become nothing short of legendary. In its day, it was incredibly destructive to his people, particularly after the Great Fire of Rome, a fire that he may have even started. Constantine the Great is a complex figure surrounded by controversies and contradictions. While the name Justinian may not be one that instantly strikes a chord with people, his life and his legacy continue to impact people all over the world to this day. It is very likely that as you read this, you are living your life in accordance with laws that came about as a result of Justinian’s rewriting of the old Roman codes. If you want to learn more about the lives of these five Roman Emperors, scroll up and click the "add to cart" button!
©2020 Captivating History (P)2020 Captivating History
Franz Kafka
Summary
In the waning years of the 19th century, Europe began to feel the effects of the Industrial Revolution. With the rise of mechanical technologies that upgraded productivity in terms of raw quantity, the Romantic era was rendered dispensable, and soon to be replaced. The region known as Bohemia, later to be reorganized into the Czech Republic, was buffeted by various influences of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire and the nearby sensibilities of Russian society. The arts, particularly in the city of Prague, were shaped and reshaped by the pull of nearby Vienna and the European tastes of St. Petersburg. In the previous century, the young Mozart had once called Prague his favorite center of European music. Catherine the Great recreated the artistic splendors of Western cities within proximity to Bohemia, and in the 19th century, composer Antonin Dvorak and others came to represent the final years of the Romantic era in the new state of Czechoslovakia. With the continent’s new industrial personality, the arts shed their preoccupation with the importance of personal urges and gave way to a cooler, bare view of life. Programmatic music and realistic art lost their preeminence, and in the more abstract, surreal, and “practical” era that followed, mirroring the effects of mechanical invention, the great writers followed suit. Among the most unique authors in the early 20th century, and as a Jewish German-language writer, he proved to be an ideal conduit for his era’s deepest anxieties. Already emotionally damaged, he was physically weak as well, unable to confront society on any level. His sense of intimidation at the hands of his family reached deeply pathological proportions, and he suffered further from a simultaneous, desperate mix of embrace and revulsion with the Jewish faith. Retreating into familiar representations of his time, Kafka created a series of nightmarish short stories and novels, in which someone much like him played the central role. Settings tended to be a mixture of landmarks, and rather than being based on real events from his life, Kafka’s stories are more linked to the habits of his own inner demons and exterior relationships. Kafka’s work was unprecedented in its day, but terms commonly used to describe his work today include “absurdist” and “visionary fiction”. The former is at times perceived by modern readers as whimsical, but more correctly applies to locales and situations that could not possibly exist or take place. In the latter, Kafka hangs the presiding issues of the piece on fictitious human and natural riddles that exacerbate the victimhood of central characters. These artificial dilemmas stand as the unsolvable barriers that lace each narrative. Nearly a century after his death, Kafka is considered one of the greatest writers of the 20th century, despite being a virtual unknown throughout his life. In fact, Kafka never intended for his unpublished work to be released posthumously, but his wishes were ignored, and it was certainly to the world’s benefit. Kafka’s work is so profound and unique that the term “Kafkaesque” is now a part of the English language, a reference to surreal distortions and amazing complexities, and his works served as the forerunners for some of the 20th century’s most influential short forms, such as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour and The Twilight Zone. Franz Kafka: The Life and Legacy of One of the 20th Century’s Most Influential Writers examines his short life, unique work, and enduring reputation.
©2021 Charles River Editors (P)2021 Charles River Editors