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The Mental Floss History of the World
- An Irreverent Romp Through Civilization's Best Bits
- Narrated by: Johny Heller
- Length: 15 hrs and 31 mins
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Twelve core chapters of world history tackle everything from civilization's baby steps in the Fertile Crescent to the Not-Really-That-Dark-Unless-You-Lived-in-Europe Ages to A World United by Terror and TV. From the Golden Haemorhoids of the Philistines (punishment from above) to the likely namesake of the cartoon elephant Babar (a Mongol prince) to the most pressing language translation issues facing the menus of today ("carp" vs. "crap"), all of history's most interesting bits have finally been handpicked and roasted to perfection.
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Surprisingly compelling!
- By P. Strayer on 08-25-12
By: Sandra Benjamin
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War! What Is It Good For?
- Conflict and the Progress of Civilization from Primates to Robots
- By: Ian Morris
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Surprising as it sounds, war has made humanity safer and richer. In War! What Is It Good For?, the renowned historian and archaeologist Ian Morris tells the gruesome, gripping story of 15,000 years of war, going beyond the battles and brutality to reveal what war has really done to and for the world. War, and war alone, has created bigger, more complex societies, ruled by governments that have stamped out internal violence.
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Not What I Expected At All!!!
- By Leonard on 12-12-14
By: Ian Morris
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World History
- Ancient History, United States History, European, Native American, Russian, Chinese, Asian, Indian and Australian History, Wars Including World War 1 and 2
- By: Adam Brown
- Narrated by: Sarah Moore
- Length: 5 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
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Have you ever wondered how the world got to where it is today? Get ready to discover the rich history of our planet. You will be astonished to learn about some of the events that have occurred! Subjects include: Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, The Roman Empire, Constantine and Christianity, India, Ancient Korea, Chinese Dynasties, Napoleonic Europe, Foundation of USA, The 1812 War, Australia and Wars, World War I, World War II, The Ottoman Empire, Greece and North Africa, The Diem Regime, Pearl Harbor, and much more!
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Truly a fine book
- By Zlady Neri on 09-08-19
By: Adam Brown
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Justinian's Flea
- Plague, Empire, and the Birth of Europe
- By: William Rosen
- Narrated by: Barrett Whitener
- Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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The emperor Justinian reunified Rome's fractured empire by defeating the Goths and Vandals. At his capital in Constantinople, he built the world's most beautiful building, married the most powerful empress, and wrote the empire's most enduring legal code, seemingly restoring Rome's fortunes for the next five hundred years. Then, in the summer of 542, he encountered a flea. The ensuing outbreak of bubonic plague killed 5,000 people a day in Constantinople and nearly killed Justinian himself.
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More history than Disease
- By joan on 06-25-07
By: William Rosen
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A Short History of the World
- By: Christopher Lascelles
- Narrated by: Guy Bethell
- Length: 7 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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While this book explores world history from the big bang to the present day, it principally covers key people, events, and empires since the dawn of the first civilizations in and around 3500 BC. Epic in scope but refreshingly concise, A Short History of the World is an excellent place to start to bring your historical knowledge up to scratch.
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Apt introduction to World's History
- By rpluss on 12-22-16
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Ancient China
- A Captivating Guide to the Ancient History of China and the Chinese Civilization Starting from the Shang Dynasty to the Fall of the Han Dynasty
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Desmond Manny
- Length: 3 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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In this audiobook, you will be led on a journey through almost 2,000 years of Chinese history, showing you all the ups and downs of those ancient times, the sufferings and joys of the Chinese people, along with their greatest achievements and failures. Dynasties will change, people will be killed and born, art made and destroyed, but the Chinese civilization will prevail, rising from humble beginnings to an empire that at some points outshined any other in the world at that time.
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Ancient China
- By Joey on 05-31-20
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Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World
- By: Jack Weatherford
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis, Jack Weatherford
- Length: 14 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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The Mongol army led by Genghis Khan subjugated more lands and people in 25 years than the Romans did in 400. In nearly every country the Mongols conquered, they brought an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and a blossoming of civilization.
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Golden Horde/Platinum Listen
- By Cynthia on 12-11-13
By: Jack Weatherford
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Ancient Greece
- A Captivating Guide to Greek History Starting from the Greek Dark Ages to the End of Antiquity
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Duke Holm
- Length: 1 hr and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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The culture and events of Greece were so influential they have a significant effect on modern-day people all over the world. The ancient Greeks gave birth to democracy, a political system frequently used and considered by some as the best form of government. Great minds from Greece also made incredible and vital discoveries such as the water mill, the basics of geometry and using medicine to cure illness. The ancient Greek philosophers laid the groundwork for a whole new field of thought and study.
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A nice introduction to Ancient Greek history.
- By Alexander B. Talbot on 04-02-18
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From Muhammed to Burj Khalifa
- A Crash Course in 2,000 Years of Middle East History
- By: Michael Rank
- Narrated by: Kevin Pierce
- Length: 2 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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To untangle the modern Middle East conflict and the 2,000 years behind it, this book is divided into 25 concise chapters. Each one is devoted to a major theme in Middle East history, such as the beginning of Islam, the Crusades, Genghis Khan, and the beginning of Israel in 1948. They can be read in a few minutes, giving you a fast overview of the issues and help you to understand Middle East current events.
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Interesting, but of course it's quite brief
- By Philo on 07-26-13
By: Michael Rank
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Fire and Blood
- A History of Mexico
- By: T. R. Fehrenbach
- Narrated by: Timothy Andrés Pabon
- Length: 35 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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T. R. Fehrenbach brilliantly delineates the contrasts and conflicts between the many Mexicos, unraveling the history while weaving a fascinating tapestry of beauty and brutality: the Amerindians, who wrought from the vulnerable land a great indigenous Meso-American civilization by the first millennium BC; the successive reigns of Olmec, Maya, Toltec, and Mexic masters, who ruled through an admirably efficient bureaucracy and the power of the priests, propitiating the capricious gods with human sacrifices; the Spanish conquistadors, and much more.
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Good book bad narration
- By M. A. Chris Raine on 03-23-19
By: T. R. Fehrenbach
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1493
- Uncovering the New World Columbus Created
- By: Charles C. Mann
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 17 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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More than 200 million years ago, geological forces split apart the continents. Isolated from each other, the two halves of the world developed radically different suites of plants and animals. When Christopher Columbus set foot in the Americas, he ended that separation at a stroke. Driven by the economic goal of establishing trade with China, he accidentally set off an ecological convulsion as European vessels carried thousands of species to new homes across the oceans.
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Fascinating Mindbending History.
- By Betsy Powel on 12-19-11
By: Charles C. Mann
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The History of the Ancient World
- From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome
- By: Susan Wise Bauer
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 26 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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This is the first volume in a bold new series that tells the stories of all peoples, connecting historical events from Europe to the Middle East to the far coast of China, while still giving weight to the characteristics of each country. Susan Wise Bauer provides both sweeping scope and vivid attention to the individual lives that give flesh to abstract assertions about human history. This narrative history employs the methods of "history from beneath" - literature, epic traditions, private letters, and accounts - to connect kings and leaders with the lives of those they ruled.
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An Historic Achievement
- By Ellen S. Wilds on 04-25-14
By: Susan Wise Bauer
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Celebrity, with its neon glow and selfie pout, strikes us as hypermodern. But the famous and infamous have been thrilling, titillating, and outraging us for much longer than we might realize. Whether it was the scandalous Lord Byron, whose poetry sent female fans into an erotic frenzy; or the cheetah-owning, coffin-sleeping, one-legged French actress Sarah Bernhardt, who launched a violent feud with her former best friend; or Edmund Kean, the dazzling Shakespearean actor whose monstrous ego and terrible alcoholism saw him nearly murdered by his own audience....
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Why is glass see-through? What makes elastic stretchy? Why does a paper clip bend? These are the sorts of questions that Mark Miodownik is constantly asking himself. A globally renowned materials scientist, Miodownik has spent his life exploring objects as ordinary as an envelope and as unexpected as concrete cloth, uncovering the fascinating secrets that hold together our physical world.
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Surprisingly good
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What listeners say about The Mental Floss History of the World
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 03-07-23
lousy boring narrator. content mostly correct
Lousy monotonous narrator, mispronounced almost all foreign words, Abd some English ones. He kills any humour in the writer text.
covering a few millenia in a few hours is a momentous effortt. Content mostly correct,
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- ShareinE
- 04-11-24
Pretty good overview
I wish it was clearer and more in depth in the later chapters of modern history but it was a pretty good broad overview of world history in general. I did learn a few things. I did notice when discussing the Middle East conflict Palestine and the Palestinians weren’t mentioned at all… which wasn’t in keeping with the way other older land conflicts in the same region where previously discussed. Israel, Egypt and Syria were identified as the major players with no mention of the people already residing in Israel but I realize it’s a touchy subject. Modern history in general was very vaguely glossed over so that was a bit disappointing given but they did really take their time with the ancient history.
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- Christopher Murphy
- 05-15-12
Not That Irreverent, But Still Really Good
Would you consider the audio edition of The Mental Floss History of the World to be better than the print version?
No. I think some of the humor is lost via the reader, who falls flat. I would also assume that there would be maps, lists and graphs that would enhance the print version.
What did you like best about this story?
I love the fact that they try and encompass everything. And for the most part, I think they get as much as could be expected or imagined in one volume. They treat the pre-Colombian Americas and Africa with equal respect to Asia and Europe, which few books attempt. They tend to do very cursory glances over big historical moments so they can include a larger vision, and it feels like they are respectful to the reader by assuming that they know about WWI or WWII, rather than treating people like they never heard of it. They do a really good job of talking about cause and effect. Rather than use taxation/representation as the cause of the American Revolution, they link it back the French and Indian War.Despite being a general history book, and I have a lot of knowledge in the area, I was still introduced to new facts. I loved that.Overall, a great primer book for further exploration with a lot of respect for all cultures. Wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was.
What aspect of Johny Heller’s performance would you have changed?
He falls flat on their attempts at humor. I think that he doesn't do them justice in the "irreverence" aspect.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
God no. You digest this one in hour segments. I listened to this at the same time I listened to another book. I feel if you try to do too much of this at one time, you might get too much information and therefor not process as much as if you take it slowly.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Jim
- 02-25-10
Breezy, but Fascinating and Informative
I've listened to this recording repeatedly and always pick up new and interesting information. Its style is friendly, accessible and never tedious. Moreover, Johnny Heller has become my favorite reader. He has real flair and a tremendous delivery. I wish I could find other things he's read, alas. For history lovers, this recording makes the subject fun and appealing. I love this audio book.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Chicago shopper
- 04-19-12
Annoying Narrator Detracts from Subject Matter
Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?
I love history, and I appreciate the little facts compiled in this book. It's good for the car, as it's easy to come in and out of the story without losing track.
How did the narrator detract from the book?
The narrator's voice is annoying, and he pronounces a lot of the words incorrectly (parabola, anise, to name a couple). Sometimes his voice bothered me so much that I just had to take a break.
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- CE
- 01-11-21
Love it! Got my family interested in history!
Makes history real. I wouldn’t use the audio version to study for a test, but if you just want to become more familiar with how things flowed or conversant In key events, it’s great. Decent global coverage, too (not just a Euro-centric whitewashed perspective).
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- Eric Areiter
- 08-06-18
Excellent concise summary of human history
I think the other reviews for this audiobook are rather harsh, I've listened to it twice and enjoyed both times quite a bit. Given the breadth of the topic of course each civilization throughout human history can't be given an extended period of time, though I learned quite a bit through it and found it very enjoyable. I also liked the personality the narrator gave the material. I would highly recommend for anyone who is interested in a review of the entirety of human history across 15 hours of listening
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- Biffo
- 02-11-10
AWEFUL!!!!
This is my tenth Audible book and the worst by far. It's basically a list of historical events with a few anecdotes thrown in. It seems to jump from one geographical area to another with the emphasis on incidental events, and the chronology is confusing too. The narrator is awful -- an unattractive tone without expression and the attempt at humor is pathetic.
Just listen to the sample -- there's a word repeated twice which they left in and that sloppiness is typical of the whole project. The authors don't appear to have made any effort to make the book a quality product -- must have been paid to churn it out as quickly as possible.
I read a lot of science and history. This book is an insult. I think I've made my point. To be honest, I only listened to the first 4 chapters but couldn't continue for obvious reasons.
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- Mark S Clingan
- 01-09-10
Like Reading a History Book Time Line
I hated history in school. Thought this might help change my opinion... it did not.
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- A. Grishman
- 01-07-20
Worst Narrator
14 minutes in I gave up on this book. I wanted to like it - I really did! - but they choose the worst narrator. This book is supposed to be light-hearted, quick-witted, and fun! Johny Heller sounds like he should be reading auto repair manuals and obituaries. He is so flat and lifeless I didn’t even chuckle at the fact that there’s a subsection called “Slap Happy” about a Babylonian festival where citizens got to skip the king.
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1 person found this helpful