Europe Audiobooks | Travel

The Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba and Mosque of Cristo de la Luz: The History the Moors’ Most Famous M

The Calle Cardenal Herrero in Córdoba is an iconic cobbled street impossible to overlook, for it is home to the Andalusian city's spectacular Mosque-Cathedral. Also known as “La Mezquita,” this one-of-a-kind Moorish and Christian place of worship reels in about 1.5 million visitors each year, most of whom find themselves spellbound by its hypnotic architectural features and the riveting history that has transpired and continues to within the beautifully weathered walls of the dual-church. That said, the Mezquita is far more than a mere tourist attraction - in recent years, the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba has become the crux of a complicated religious conflict resurrected by impassioned worshipers and patriotic locals who fear not only for the future of its legacy, but the preservation of its true history. It is easy for those on the outside looking in to make hasty judgments about the ongoing dispute, considering the endless amount of information that is uploaded online by the second. The contentious debates surrounding the Mezquita are often products of outdated prejudices, festering distrust, and whitewashing, all of which make it harder for the Mezquita to remain a non-discriminatory space serviceable to and appreciated by everyone today. The Mezquita del Cristo de la Luz is nowhere near the largest monument in Toledo. The grand Toledo Cathedral, for instance, dwarfs this modest, two-level structure with its height of 146 feet. The simple elegance of the mezquita pales in comparison to the city's stupendous landmarks. Toledo is, after all, home to the mighty stone fortification known as the Alcazar of Toledo, and the breathtaking masonry showpiece that is the Synagogue of Santa Maria la Blanca. Nevertheless, this multicultural mezquita is often hailed as one of the most precious treasures of Toledo, a place that truly embodies the unique, cross-cultural spirit of the city.

Charles River Editors (Author), Michelle Humphries (Narrator)

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[German] - Aquitanien: Das Ende eines Krieges

Dieses Hörbuch wird von einer digitalen Stimme vorgelesen. Am Rande des Weges ... gibt es Veranstaltungen und Orte, die einen Zwischenstopp wert sind. Dieses Buch stellt eine der größten Sommer-Veranstaltungen in Aquitanien vor und liefert einen Einblick in den historischen Zusammenhang, den das Event aufgreift und in einzigartiger Weise lebendig werden lässt: die letzte Schlacht des Hundertjährigen Krieges an der Dordogne. Es ist das Ende eines Krieges und einer Epoche. Der Schwerpunkt dieser Veröffentlichung liegt auf dem Abriss der historischen Ereignisse und der Hintergründe, die das Ende dieser Epoche besiegelt haben.. Daneben liefert die Autorin eine Einführung zum Schauspiel in Castillon-la-Bataille für diejenigen, die im Südwesten Frankreichs oder an der Atlantik-Küste Urlaub machen. Zusätzlich Tipps für Besichtigungen in der Gegend. Aus dem Inhalt: La bataille – das Schauspiel Die englische Guyenne Die historische Schlacht Das Ende der ritterlichen Kriegführung Sehenswert rund um Castillon-la-Bataille

Annemarie Nikolaus (Author), Digitale Stimme Gabriel G (Narrator)

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Missing Persons, Or My Grandmother's Secrets

Brought to you by Penguin. How far would you go for the missing? When Clair Wills was in her twenties, she discovered she had a cousin she had never met. Born in a Mother and Baby Home in 1950s Ireland, Mary grew up in an institution not far from the farm where Clair spent happy childhood summers. Yet she was never told of her existence. How could a whole family - a whole country - abandon unmarried mothers and their children, erasing them from history? To discover the missing pieces of her family's story, Clair searched across archives and nations, in a journey that would take her from the 1890s to the 1980s, from West Cork to rural Suffolk and Massachusetts, from absent fathers to the grief of a lost child. There are some experiences that do not want to be remembered. What began as an effort to piece together the facts became an act of decoding the most unreliable of evidence - stories, secrets, silences. The result is a moving, exquisitely told story of the secrets families keep, and the violence carried out in their name. 'This is a history shaken by intimacy - a brave and rigorously humane book' Seán Hewitt © Clair Wills 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

Clair Wills (Author), Clair Wills, TBD (Narrator)

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Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood: The Rise and Fall of Byzantium, 955 A.D. to the First Crusade

In the second half of the tenth century, Byzantium embarked on a series of spectacular conquests. By the early eleventh century, the empire was the most powerful state in the Mediterranean. Yet this imperial project came to a crashing collapse fifty years later, when political disunity, fiscal mismanagement, and defeat at the hands of the Seljuks and the Normans brought an end to Byzantine hegemony. By 1081, Byzantium's very existence was threatened. How did this transformation happen? Based on a close examination of the relevant sources, this history offers a new reconstruction of the key events and crucial reigns as well as a different model for understanding imperial politics and wars. In addition to providing a narrative of this critical period of Byzantine history, Streams of Gold, Rivers of Blood offers new interpretations of topics relevant to the medieval era. The narrative unfolds in three parts: the first covers the years 955-1025, a period of imperial conquest and consolidation of authority under the great emperor Basil 'the Bulgar-Slayer.' The second (1025-1059) examines the dispersal of centralized authority in Constantinople and the emergence of new foreign enemies. The last section chronicles the collapse of the empire, concluding with a look at the First Crusade and its consequences for Byzantine relations with the powers of Western Europe.

Anthony Kaldellis (Author), Nigel Patterson (Narrator)

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Venice: The Remarkable History of the Lagoon City

A sweeping and comprehensive history of Venice--from its formation in the early Middle Ages to the present day--that traces its evolution as a city, city-state, regional power, and overseas empire. No city stirs the imagination more than Venice. From the richly ornamented palaces emerging from the waters of the Grand Canal to the dazzling sites of Piazza San Marco, visitors and residents alike sense they are entering, as fourteenth-century poet Petrarch remarked, 'another world.' During the Middle Ages and Renaissance, Venice was celebrated as a model republic in an age of monarchs. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it became famous for its freewheeling lifestyle characterized by courtesans, casinos, and Carnival. When the city fell on hard times following the collapse of the Republic in 1797, a darker vision of Venice as a place of decay, disease, and death took hold. Today tourists from around the globe flock to the world heritage site as rising sea levels threaten its very foundations. This comprehensive account reveals the adaptations to its geographic setting that have been a constant feature of living on water from Venice's origins to the present. It examines the lives of the women and men, noble and common, rich and poor, Christian, Jew, and Muslim, who built not only the city but also its vast empire that stretched from Northern Italy to the eastern Mediterranean. It details the urban transformations that Venice underwent in response to environmental vulnerability, industrialization, and mass tourism. Alongside the city's commercial prominence has been its dramatically changing political role, including its power as a city-state, regional stronghold, and overseas empire, as well as its impact on the development of fascism. Throughout, Dennis Romano highlights the city's cultural achievements in architecture, painting, and music, particularly opera. This richly illustrated volume offers a stunning portrait of this most singular of cities.

Dennis Romano (Author), David Colacci, TBD (Narrator)

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Hitler's Panzer Generals: Guderian, Hoepner, Reinhardt and Schmidt Unguarded

Germany's success in the Second World War was built upon its tank forces; however, many of its leading generals, with the notable exception of Heinz Guderian, are largely unknown. This biographical study of four German panzer army commanders serving on the Eastern Front is based upon their unpublished wartime letters to their wives. David Stahel offers a complete picture of the men conducting Hitler's war in the East, with an emphasis on the private fears and public pressures they operated under. He also illuminates their response to the criminal dimension of the war as well as their role as leading military commanders conducting large-scale operations. While the focus is on four of Germany's most important panzer generals-Guderian, Hoepner, Reinhardt, and Schmidt-the evidence from their private correspondence sheds new light on the broader institutional norms and cultural ethos of the Wehrmacht's Panzertruppe.

David Stahel (Author), Julian Elfer (Narrator)

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To the Ends of the Earth: Scotland's Global Diaspora 1750-2010

Part of his trilogy on Scottish history, T. M. Devine's To the Ends of the Earth is a compelling account of the Scots as a 'global people,' charting their forgotten role in the building of the modern world. The Scots are one of the world's greatest nations of emigrants. For centuries, untold numbers of men, women, and children sought their fortunes in every part of the globe, from the British Empire to the United States, in cities and on prairie farms, as traders, bankers, missionaries, soldiers, politicians, and engineers. With To the Ends of the Earth T. M. Devine-acclaimed author of The Scottish Nation and Scotland's Empire-puts this extraordinary epic center stage in Scottish history, cutting through myth and sentiment surrounding stories such as the Highland Clearances and the Enlightenment to show the true impact of Scottish emigration on the world, and on the nation it left behind.

T.M. Devine (Author), James Cameron Stewart (Narrator)

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The Gambling Century: Commercial Gaming in Britain from Restoration to Regency

Gambling captures as nothing else the drama of the 'long eighteenth century' between the age of religious wars and the age of revolutions. The society that was confronted with games of chance pursued as commercial ventures also came to grips with unprecedented social mobility, floated by new wealth from new sources created fortunes from trade in sugar, cotton, ivory, silk, tea, or enslaved human beings. Likewise, play for money was prominent in the public imagination as money itself, deployed through an ever expanding and ever more sophisticated range of mechanisms, increasingly invaded public awareness, as when prospective spouses in period fiction were rated in terms of annual income as if they were municipal bonds. Similarly, the archetypal figure of the gambler captured the imagination of the public in fiction, media, and politics. At the same time, new interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics-encouraged and bankrolled by those in power-fostered a new and unprecedented appreciation for mathematical probability and its applications, opening the possibility that games of chance might be pursued as a profitable commercial venture. The Gambling Century focuses like no previous work on those who enabled, facilitated, and profited from gambling, as well as on efforts to regulate or outlaw it.

John Eglin (Author), Dan Calley (Narrator)

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Gentlemen of Uncertain Fortune: How Younger Sons Made Their Way in Jane Austen's England

A history of younger sons in Regency England and how these 'spares' supported themselves: 'Illuminates the hard facts with vignettes of actual lives lived.' -The Spectator In Regency England the eldest son usually inherited almost everything-while his younger brothers, left with little inheritance, had to make a crucial decision: What should they do to make an independent living? Historian Rory Muir weaves together the stories of many obscure and well-known young men of good family but small fortune, shedding light on an overlooked aspect of Regency society. This is the first scholarly yet accessible exploration of the lifestyle and prospects of these younger sons.

Rory Muir (Author), Mike Cooper (Narrator)

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The Beautiful Race: The Story of the Giro d'Italia

Born of tumult in 1909, the Giro d'Italia helped unite a nation. Since then, it has reflected it's home country—the Giro's capricious and unpredictable nature matches the passions and extremes of Italy itself. A desperately hard race through a beautiful country, the Giro has bred characters and stories that dramatize the shifting culture and society of its home. There was Alfonsina Strada, who cropped her hair and raced against the men in 1924 and Ottavio Bottecchia, expected to challenge for the winner's Maglia Rosa, the famed pink jersey, in 1928, until he was killed on a training ride—most likely by Mussolini's Black Shirts. And what would a book about the Giro d'Italia be without Fausto Coppi, the metropolitan playboy with amphetamines in his veins, guided by a mystic blind masseur, who seemed to glide up the peaks. But let us not forget his arch rival Gino Bartali—humble, pious, and brave. It recently emerged that he smuggled papers for persecuted Jewish Italians. Then there is the Giro's most tragic hero, Marco Pantani, born to climb but fated to lose. Halted only by World Wars, the Giro has been contested for over a century, and The Beautiful Race is a richly written celebration of this legendary race.

Colin O'brien (Author), Carlotta Brentan (Narrator)

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The Picnic: An Escape to Freedom and the Collapse of the Iron Curtain

Brought to you by Penguin. A dramatic and intensely moving reconstruction of the greatest border breach in Cold War history and its tumultuous aftermath. In August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists did the unthinkable: they entered the forbidden militarised zone of the Iron Curtain - and held a picnic. Word had spread of what was going to happen. On wisps of rumour, thousands of East German 'holiday-makers' had made their way to the border between Hungary and Austria and packed the nearby camping sites, awaiting an opportunity, fearing prison, surveilled by lurking Stasi agents. The highest state authorities were choosing to turn a blind eye - but that could change at any moment. The stage was set for the greatest border breach in Cold War history: that day hundreds would cross from the Communist East to the longed-for freedom of the West. The fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Soviet Union - the so-called end of history - all would flow from those dramatic hours. Drawing on dozens of original interviews with those involved - activists and border guards, escapees and secret police, as well as the last Communist prime minister of Hungary - Matthew Longo reconstructs not only this remarkable event but also its complex and bittersweet aftermath. Freedom had been won but parents had been abandoned and families divided. Love affairs faltered and new lives had to be built from scratch. The Picnic is the story of a moment when the tide of history turned. It shows how freedom can be both dream and disillusionment, and how all we take for granted can vanish in an instant. © Matthew Longo 2024 (P) Penguin Audio 2024

Matthew Longo (Author), TBD, Tom Parks (Narrator)

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Botticelli: Biography of the Popular Italian Painter in the Early Renaissance

This audiobook is narrated by a digital voice. Sandro Botticelli, born Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, stands as a luminary within the realm of early Late Renaissance Italian painters. While his posthumous acclaim experienced a downturn, the late nineteenth century witnessed a revival, spearheaded by the Pre-Raphaelites, leading to a reevaluation of his artistic contributions. Despite originating from the latter part of the Renaissance, Botticelli's works emanate a distinctive blend of linear grace reminiscent of late Italian Gothic and early Renaissance painting. The oeuvre of Botticelli encompasses a diverse array of subjects, ranging from religious themes, including numerous renditions of the Madonna and Child often shaped in the round tondo format, to portraiture, and the mythological subjects that have come to define his legacy. Among his most celebrated masterpieces are 'The Birth of Venus' and 'Primavera,' housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. Botticelli's artistic journey unfolded predominantly within the confines of his native Florence, with brief interludes in Pisa in 1474 and the Sistine Chapel in Rome in 1481–82, marking exceptions to his steadfast presence in his hometown. Although only the Mystic Nativity (National Gallery, London) bears a discernible date (1501), a meticulous examination of archival records provides insights into the evolution of Botticelli's style. The 1470s witnessed his ascent as an autonomous master, reaching the pinnacle of renown. The ensuing decade, the 1480s, proved to be his zenith, marked by the completion of iconic Madonnas and grand mythological compositions. The 1490s ushered in a more personal and stylized phase, deviating from the mainstream. His later works reveal a return to a style often characterized as more Gothic or 'archaic,' setting him apart from contemporaries like Leonardo da Vinci and the emerging High Renaissance painters.

Kelly Mass (Author), Digital Voice Anya G (Narrator)

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Europe Audiobooks in Travel