Audiobooks narrated by Charles Armstrong

A History of Treason: The bloody history of Britain through the stories of its most notorious traito

The bloody history of Britain through the stories of its most notorious traitors A History of Treason details British history from 1352 to 1946, covering major historical moments in a fascinating and innovative way, using the history of high treason and deception as its theme. Appealing to a range of audiences, it covers more than 650 years of momentous history through the use of both famous and lesser known events which shaped Britain. Using original documents and detailed research undertaken by The National Archives' record specialists, it will cover moments in history which led to fundamental changes in eras. It will also include unique discoveries from these archives, uncovering mysteries and stories of how dealing with treason have brought about the changes which have influenced and shaped Britain throughout the centuries. Among these are: the trial and execution of Anne Boleyn on the orders of her husband, Henry VIII several major acts of sedition, including the Gunpowder Plot and the revolution plotted in the Cato Street conspiracy the evidence brought against Sir Roger Casement, executed at Pentonville and his remains later exhumed and given a state funeral in Ireland the trial and execution of the William Joyce who, as 'Lord Haw-Haw', broadcast Nazi propaganda from Berlin during the Second World War The book covers many stories that explore the nature of treason and how the crown and state reacted to it - from the introduction of the Treason Act in 1352 right through to the twentieth century. Written by experts from among the historians at the National Archives, the book is copiously illustrated with images from the unrivalled collections of The National Archives.

The National Archives (Author), Charles Armstrong (Narrator)

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A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities

Pierre-Simon, Marquis de Laplace (1749-1827) is often described as the ‘French Newton', though he lived a century later. His working life took him through the French Revolution, the Napoleonic era – during which he enjoyed various political positions – and afterwards, to the Bourbon Restoration. But his overriding importance was his contribution to science, with a remarkable range of interest and expertise including engineering, mathematics, statistics, physics, astronomy and philosophy. One of his most enduring works is recorded here – A Philosophical Essay on Probabilities (1825). As he explains in his opening introduction: 'This philosophical essay is the development of a lecture on probabilities which I delivered in 1795 to the normal schools whither I had been called, by a decree of the national convention, as professor of mathematics with Lagrange. I have recently published upon the same subject a work entitled The Analytical Theory of Probabilities. I present here without the aid of analysis the principles and general results of this theory, applying them to the most important questions of life, which are indeed for the most part only problems of probability'. The Essay comprises 18 chapters, including ‘General Principles of the Calculus of Probabilities', ‘Application of the Calculus of Probabilities to the Moral Sciences' and ‘Concerning Tables of Mortality and the Mean Durations of Life, Marriage and Some Associations'. He considers the ratio of the birth of boys to girls, he looks at probabilities behind risk when applied to the (increasingly widespread acceptance of) smallpox inoculation discovered by Edward Jenner, he discusses probabilities in games of chance, the reliability of witnesses in jury trials and the fluctuations of tides. He even applies it to the range of feeling in animals analogous to humans. The Essay is clear and generally accessible, but also surprising in that the personality of Laplace himself shines through – a brilliant polymath and mathematician who nevertheless lived fully engaged in the everyday world. Translated by Frederick Wilson Truscott and Frederick Lincoln Emory.

Pierre-Simon Laplace (Author), Charles Armstrong (Narrator)

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Ancient Rome: The Definitive History

Immerse yourself in the history of ancient Rome - from its origins as a small settlement on the Palatine Hill to its peak as an empire reigning over 90 million people, and its tumultuous decline. Covering more than 1,000 years of history, and an empire that stretched from Scotland to Syria, Ancient Rome reveals in vivid detail all of the key political, cultural, and military events that shaped the Roman Empire and explores what it was like to live in a society that laid the foundations for many aspects of the modern world. Featuring Rome's greatest emperors, from Augustus to Constantine, as well as profiles of generals, historians, and influential women, Ancient Rome also delves into the fascinating stories of gladiators, bakers, and enslaved people. The most iconic buildings of Rome are brought to life while the stories of ordinary citizens, soldiers, and persecuted groups from across the empire are told with the help of artefacts, and eyewitness accounts. Ancient Rome is the perfect book for anyone who is interested in this defining period of world history. © 2023 DK © 2023 DK Audio

Dk (Author), Charles Armstrong (Narrator)

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Asia—Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

This collection of Culture Smart guidebooks introduces listeners to China, Japan, and India. Each guidebook includes concise chapters on the local customs, traditions, and values of the country's inhabitants and, crucially, the key historical and cultural events that have shaped them. There are sections on social and business etiquette, tips on communication, both verbal and non-verbal, and advice on how to be a good guest. The guidebook on China is written by Indre Balcikonyte-Huang and Kathy Flower. The guidebook on Japan is written by Paul Norbury. The guidebook on India is written by Becky Stephen.

Culture Smart! (Author), Anna Bentinck, Charles Armstrong, Peter Noble (Narrator)

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Assad: The Triumph of Tyranny

'Important, compelling, and detailed . . . a superb analysis of the West's policy missteps and the tragic consequences of them.' - General David Petraeus In Assad: The Triumph of Tyranny, Con Coughlin, veteran commentator on war in the Middle East and author of Saddam: The Secret Life, examines how a mild-mannered ophthalmic surgeon has transformed himself into the tyrannical ruler of a once flourishing country. Until the Arab Spring of 2011, the world's view of Bashar al-Assad was largely benign. He and his wife, a former British banker, were viewed as philanthropic individuals doing their best to keep their country at peace. So much so that a profile of Mrs Assad in American Vogue was headlined 'The Rose in the Desert'. Shortly after it appeared, Syria descended into the horrific civil war that has seen its cities reduced to rubble and thousands murdered and displaced, a civil war that is still raging over a decade later. In this vivid and authoritative account Con Coughlin draws together all the strands of Assad's remarkable story, revealing precisely how a young doctor ensured not only that he inherited the presidency from his father, but has held on to power by whatever means necessary, continuing to preside over one of the most brutal regimes of modern times.

Con Coughlin (Author), Charles Armstrong (Narrator)

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Banned Books: The World's Most Controversial Books, Past and Present

Discover the stories behind the most shocking and infamous books ever published. Censorship of one form or another has existed almost as long as the written word, while definitions of what is 'acceptable' in published works have shifted over the centuries, and from culture to culture. Banned Books explores why some of the world's most important literary classics and seminal non-fiction titles were once deemed too controversial for the public to read - whether for challenging racial or sexual norms, satirizing public figures, or simply being deemed unfit for young readers. From the banning of All Quiet on the Western Front and the repeated suppression of On the Origin of the Species, to the uproar provoked by Lady Chatterley's Lover, entries offer a fascinating chronological account of censorship, and the astonishing role that some banned books have played in changing history. Packed with eye-opening insights into the history of the written word, and the political and social climate during the period of suppression or censorship, this is a must-listen for anyone interested in literature, creative writing, politics, history, or law.

Dk (Author), Charles Armstrong (Narrator)

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Big Week

During the third week of February 1944, the combined Allied air forces launched their first-ever round-the-clock bomber offensive against Germany. The aim was to smash the main factories and production centres of the Luftwaffe and draw the German fighter force up into the air and into battle. Officially called Operation ARGUMENT, this monumental air assault very quickly became known simply as Big Week. Following the fortunes of pilots, aircrew and civilians from both sides, Big Week is a blistering narrative of one of the most critical periods of the entire war, one that culminated in the largest air battle ever witnessed.

James Holland (Author), Charles Armstrong (Narrator)

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Bright Shiny Things

Out of the blue, private investigator and ex-soldier Lee Arnold receives a visit from an old army mate. Abbas al'Barri worked as a translator with him during the Second Iraq War. Now living in Ilford with his family, Abbas is convinced that he's had a message from his estranged son Fayyaad, who was radicalised and was last thought to be fighting for ISIL in Iraq. Does Fayyaad's message indicate a change of heart? Abbas is desperate for Lee's help in establishing some contact with him, a point with which Lee's Muslim assistant Mumtaz might be able to help.

Barbara Nadel (Author), Charles Armstrong (Narrator)

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China - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

For thousands of years, the Chinese believed that they had created a perfect social system based on Confucian values and tempered by the Mandate of Heaven. Dynasties came and went, but the essence of being Chinese remained essentially unchanged until the twentieth century. Since then, change has taken place in Chinese society at an unprecedented speed: the country experienced the turmoil of civil war and revolution and then emerged on to the world stage as a global superpower. This book aims to put these changes into a historical context, explain deep-seated cultural attitudes, and guide listeners through a maze of unfamiliar social situations, in order to help them discover the pragmatism, genius, warmth, and humanity of this extraordinary people.

Indre Balcikonyte-Huang, Kathy Flower (Author), Charles Armstrong (Narrator)

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Cross Channel

Brought to you by Penguin. From the winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize for Fiction comes an enthralling set of short stories. No one has a better perspective on life on both sides of the channel than Julian Barnes. In these exquisitely crafted stories spanning several centuries, he takes as his universal theme the British in France; from the last days of a reclusive English composer, the beef consuming 'navvies' labouring on the Paris-Rouen railway to a lonely woman mourning the death of her brother on the battlefields of the Somme. © Julian Barnes 1996 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

Julian Barnes (Author), Charles Armstrong (Narrator)

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Discourse on Metaphysics, On the Ultimate Origin of Things and Other Principal Essays

This Leibniz collection contains some of the philosopher's most important works and ideas, spans three decades and illuminates the fascinating intellectual journey undertaken by him in his quest for truth. A prodigious polymath, Leibniz was a mathematician, philosopher, physicist and statesman and engaged with a sweeping range of ideas and disciplines, striving throughout his life to be at the cutting edge of scientific thinking. These Principal Essays are arranged in chronological order. ‘Thoughts on Knowledge, Truth and Ideas' (1684) was Leibniz's first published paper on philosophical issues. In it he defined his concept of knowledge for the first time. In so doing, he criticised Descartes' version of ontological truth and was undoubtedly prompted to do so by the appearance of Arnauld's attack on Malebranche's theory of knowledge in the ‘des vraies et des fausses idées'. He contrasts a priori and a posteriori reasoning, considers the nature and role of logic in reasoning and offers a clear overview of his epistemology. The preoccupation with being able to distinguish between truth and falsity was nothing new in the 17th century and yet is something that remains as relevant and essential today as when it was written. The ‘Discourse on Metaphysics' (1684) is the first explicit exposition of the nature of Leibnizian reasoning with its two principal pillars: sufficient reason and contradiction being shored up by the principle of the best, the principle of continuity, the predicate-in-notion principle and the principle of the identity of indescernibles. From these principles he would derive his notion that a perfect God created ‘the best of all possible worlds.' In ‘A New System' (1695) Leibniz presents a five step argument for pre-established harmony wherein he rigorously opposes Cartesian dualistic views of the mind body relationship and rejects materialistic conceptions of mind. He outlines his Dynamic Theory of Motion and argues that the subject of perception and consciousness must be a single indivisible ‘I' and postulates a divinely pre-established unifying harmony between body and soul. ‘In a New System' also contains his reply to Foucher's objections to his ideas and the second explanation of the system of the communication between substances. In ‘Reflections on Locke's Essay on Human Understanding' (1696) Leibniz suggests that the doctrine of innateness, if properly understood, is not only reasonable but indispensable in accounting for human knowledge. ‘On the Ultimate Origin of Things' was written in 1697. In it Leibniz asserts the truth of the cosmological argument for the existence of God. He bases this truth on the principle of sufficient reason, one of the bedrock principles of his philosophy and postulates a process of endless progress to ever greater perfection in existence. ‘On Nature In Itself, or the Force Residing in Created Things' (1698) explained the internal workings of nature within the framework of Leibniz's theory of dynamics, identifying nature as the handiwork of God. ‘The Monadology', written in 1714, just two years before his death, is a classic of natural philosophy and is a strikingly concise, cogent and condensed summary of Leibniz's world view. In just 6,000 words, comprising ninety sections, he defines and defends the key elements of his philosophy. The term monad, suggested by the title, derives from monas, a Greek word meaning unity or oneness. Monads are simple substances, soul-like ind

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (Author), Charles Armstrong (Narrator)

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Ecuador - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

Squeezed between Colombia in the north and Peru in the south, Ecuador is named for its location on the Equator and has a landscape so varied that it has been described as a microcosm of every microclimate found in South America. This diversity makes it a magnet for tourists, mountain trekkers, volunteers, and increasing numbers of US retirees looking for a warm, culturally interesting, economical, and safe place to spend much of their time. Ecuador's multiethnic population reflects a unique blend of cultures, from traditionally dressed mountain peoples, whose ancestors inhabited their highland villages before the arrival of the Incas, to the Afro-Ecuadorians of Esmeraldas and the Chota Valley and the tribal peoples of the Amazonian rainforest. The Ecuadorians are proud, friendly, hospitable, and hardworking, but to know them well, the foreign visitor needs to understand the complex historical divisions between the highlands and the coast, and the rigid class and racial hierarchy that has shaped the country's history. Culture Smart! Ecuador takes you beyond the usual descriptions of where to go and what to see and gives you an insider's view of the people, their history, their food, and their culture. Special sections are designed to help food lovers get the most out of the menu, assist business travelers to gain an edge on the competition, and show expats, volunteers, and visitors how to meet and get on well with the Ecuadorians, who are as diverse and varied as the country's amazing geography.

Russel Maddicks (Author), Charles Armstrong (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Charles Armstrong