Browse audiobooks by Thomas F. Madden, listen to samples and when you're ready head over to Audiobooks.com where you can get 3 FREE audiobooks on us
Istanbul: City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World
The first single-volume history of Istanbul in decades: a biography of the city at the center of civilizations past and present. For more than two millennia Istanbul has stood at the crossroads of the world, perched at the very tip of Europe, gazing across the shores of Asia. The history of this city-known as Byzantium, then Constantinople, now Istanbul-is at once glorious, outsized, and astounding. Founded by the Greeks, its location blessed it as a center for trade but also made it a target of every empire in history, from Alexander the Great and his Macedonian Empire to the Romans and later the Ottomans. At its most spectacular Emperor Constantine I re-founded the city as New Rome, the capital of the eastern Roman Empire, and dramatically expanded the city, filling it with artistic treasures, and adorning the streets with opulent palaces. Around it all Constantine built new walls, truly impregnable, that preserved power, wealth, and withstood any aggressor-walls that still stand for tourists to visit. From its ancient past to the present, we meet the city through its ordinary citizens-the Jews, Muslims, Italians, Greeks, and Russians who used the famous baths and walked the bazaars-and the rulers who built it up and then destroyed it, including Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the man who christened the city "Istanbul" in 1930. Thomas Madden's entertaining narrative brings to life the city we see today, including the rich splendor of the churches and monasteries that spread throughout the city. Istanbul draws on a lifetime of study and the latest scholarship, transporting readers to a city of unparalleled importance and majesty that holds the key to understanding modern civilization. In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, "If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital."
Thomas F. Madden (Author), Edoardo Ballerini (Narrator)
Audiobook
Medieval Mysteries: The History Behind the Myths of the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is not only a period of Romance, but of legends, tales, and mysteries. In this course, Professor Thomas F. Madden guides listeners through the most famous and enduring narratives of medieval Europe. Beginning with King Arthur, Professor Madden peels back layers of exaggeration and fiction to lay bare the historical basis for the mythical king. Madden then examines myths of the medieval church, sexual myths of the Middle Ages, and myths about Robin Hood and the Shroud of Turin, all the time imparting an understanding of just what medieval people thought about their planet.
Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Author), Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Narrator)
Audiobook
The Lost Warriors of God: The True History of the Knights Templar
Professor Thomas F. Madden is a widely published author and the director of the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Saint Louis University. In The Lost Warriors of God, Madden examines one of the most fascinating organizations in world history: the Knights Templar, whose members gave up home, family, and worldly possessions to defend the Holy Land and the Christian pilgrims who journeyed there.
Thomas F. Madden (Author), Thomas F. Madden (Narrator)
Audiobook
An extraordinary chronicle of Venice, its people, and its grandeur Thomas Madden's majestic, sprawling history of Venice is the first full portrait of the city in English in almost thirty years. Using long-buried archival material and a wealth of newly translated documents, Madden weaves a spellbinding story of a place and its people, tracing an arc from the city's humble origins as a lagoon refuge to its apex as a vast maritime empire and Renaissance epicenter to its rebirth as a modern tourist hub. Madden explores all aspects of Venice's breathtaking achievements: the construction of its unparalleled navy, its role as an economic powerhouse and birthplace of capitalism, its popularization of opera, the stunning architecture of its watery environs, and more. He sets these in the context of the rise and fall of the Byzantine Empire, the endless waves of Crusades to the Holy Land, and the awesome power of Turkish sultans. And perhaps most critically, Madden corrects the stereotype of Shakespeare's money-lending Shylock that has distorted the Venetian character, uncovering instead a much more complex and fascinating story, peopled by men and women whose ingenuity and deep faith profoundly altered the course of civilization.
Thomas F. Madden (Author), Edoardo Ballerini (Narrator)
Audiobook
A History of Venice: Queen of the Seas
Renowned professor Thomas F. Madden focuses his expertise on what has been called the most beautiful city in the world'Venice. In these lectures, Professor Madden explains how the city on the lagoon was established by refugees escaping the onslaught of northern 'barbarians' invading the crumbling Roman Empire. Through its history, Venice housed the world's leading merchants, thrived as a maritime powerhouse, and developed into an independent republic not unlike the present United States. Venice draws millions of visitors each year, and these lectures shed light on why the city is such a continual source of fascination.
Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Author), Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Narrator)
Audiobook
The Medieval World II: Society, Economy, and Culture
An award-winning, widely recognized expert on pre-modern history, Professor Thomas F. Madden concludes this two-part series on the medieval world. In this course, we will see the error of the commonly held assumption that the "Dark Ages" was a time of superstition, ignorance, and violence. Rather than a time of darkness, the Middle Ages saw extraordinary innovation, invention, and cultural vitality. It was the Middle Ages that gave us universities, vernacular literature, and the extraordinary beauty of Gothic architecture. To study the medieval world, then, is not only to study a time that has passed away. It is to study the birth of a new culture that would mature into the modern West. Whether we know it or not, the world we live in today is itself the product of the Middle Ages-not "Dark," but remarkably bright.
Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Author), Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Narrator)
Audiobook
The Medieval World I: Kingdoms, Empires, and War
This all-encompassing investigation of a highly influential time period includes the major events of the era and informative discussion of empire, papacy, the Crusades, and the fall of Constantinople. During the course of these lectures, Professor Madden also addresses the rise of Islam, reform movements, and schisms in the church. In so doing, Professor Madden underscores the significance and grand scale of an age that continues to hold an undeniable fascination for people today.
Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Author), Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Narrator)
Audiobook
The Tiber and the Potomac: Rome, America, and Empires of Trust
Esteemed university professor and best-selling author Thomas F. Madden presents an intriguing series of lectures based on a fascinating premise: that the United States has more in common with the rising Roman Republic than with the declining Roman Empire. The Tiber and the Potomac explores the amazing parallels between history's two most unusual superpowers. Both nations built empires based on trust, skillfully making friends of enemies. During the course of these lectures, Madden not only reveals these often surprising similarities, but also extracts useful principles from history, including vital lessons from Rome's 100-year struggle with terrorism. **Contact Customer Service for Additional Material**
Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden, Thomas Madden (Author), Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Narrator)
Audiobook
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Even millennia after its fall, the grand expanse of Roman achievement continues to affect not only American society, but the entire world as well. What caused a civilization of such accomplishments to disintegrate? In this informative and lively series of lectures, renowned history professor Thomas F. Madden serves as the ultimate guide through the fall of ancient Rome. Professor Madden correlates the principles of Roman conduct-both governmental and military- that would forever change the world. Rome was an empire unlike the world had ever seen, and one that will likely never be duplicated. Peopled with personages of great distinction and even greater ambition, at once notable for humanity's great promise and flawed nature, the Roman Empire contributed many of history's proudest advancements. Here Professor Madden invites audiences to explore all the grandeur of this lost empire.
Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Author), Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Narrator)
Audiobook
The Catholic Church in the Modern Age
In the nearly two thousand years since its founding, the Catholic Church has provided a spiritual home for billions of followers. Renowned professor Thomas F. Madden leads listeners through the events that have helped create the modern church from the Renaissance period to the twenty-first century. Along the way, the audience will learn about the people who influenced and guided the church-priests and saints, laymen and popes-through some of its most difficult times and in some of its most glorious moments. ** Please contact Customer Service for additional content**
Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Author), Henry Strozier, Thomas F. Madden (Narrator)
Audiobook
Heaven or Heresy: A History of the Inquisition
Professor Thomas F. Madden-Saint Louis University For many, the Inquisition conjures Gothic images of cloaked figures and barbarous torture chambers. So enmeshed is this view of the Inquisition in popular culture that such scenes play out even in comedies such as Mel Brooks' History of the World and Monty Python's Flying Circus. But is this a fair portrayal? And how was the Inquisition perceived in its own time? Professor Thomas F. Madden of Saint Louis University delivers a stimulating series of lectures exploring all facets of the Inquisition, including the religious and political climate of its time and the Inquisition's relationship to heresy and reformation. ** Please contact Customer Service for additional content**
Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Author), Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden, Thomas Madden (Narrator)
Audiobook
Christianity at the Crossroads: The Reformations of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
Esteemed history professor Thomas F. Madden explores the reformations that swept across Christendom in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The impact of these reforms affected government, popes, and kings as well as commoners, for at this time the Church was an omnipresent part of European identity-and the import of Church reforms on every level of life at this time simply cannot be underestimated. Involved in this fascinating era are such notable personages as King Henry VIII, Martin Luther, and John Calvin. Through every aspect of this remarkable process of reformation, Professor Madden captures the essence of the era-and imparts a true, studied understanding of just what this time period meant to the course of human events. ** Please contact Customer Service for additional content**
Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Author), Professor Thomas F. Madden, Thomas F. Madden (Narrator)
Audiobook
©PTC International Ltd T/A LoveReading is registered in England. Company number: 10193437. VAT number: 270 4538 09. Registered address: 157 Shooters Hill, London, SE18 3HP.
Terms & Conditions | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer