British actor Ben Onwukwe contributes the adamant and histrionic tone and British accent that are appropriate to a postcolonial audit of Britain's colonial past. The focal point of the narrative is September 29, 1923, the date that marked the Empire's greatest territorial expanse. All before that was acquisition; all after it, loss. And well-deserved loss, too, by this account. Rapacity, greed, racial prejudice, and economic oppression abound--all cloaked, often infuriatingly, in a Eurocentric paternalism and all expressed here in towering vowels and resounding periods. The narrative proves insightful and rich in drama but is heavily overladen. Narrator overpowers narrative, and voice upstages content. The effect is a bit cloying and tiring, but Onwukwe is a sufferable ham, and this is history everyone should hear.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
Duration: 27 hrs
DD ISBN: 9781668632246
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
HISTORY | GENERAL HISTORY | WORLD | MILITARY
A fresh look at Europe’s long, contentious history.
Hearing all of European history compressed into 14 hours could be comparable to seeing Earth from outer space. Everything is familiar, yet wondrous and new. Even those familiar with the history will find this audiobook to be a unique listening experience. Actor and narrator Alisdair Simpson is a familiar voice from dozens of British documentaries, and his performance here is highly polished, exacting, and attuned to every word. History compressed becomes history clarified. Drama is lost—the Huns, Charlemagne, the fall of Constantinople, all here and gone in a minute. At the same time, patterns emerge. Simpson’s flawless voice carries listeners effortlessly into a wider and more timeless perspective.
A fresh look at Europe’s long, contentious history.Pub Date: yesterday
Duration: 14 hrs, 10 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668656204
Publisher: Hachette Audio
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2026
Buruma’s subtle and effective narration style is essential to this chronicle.
Bard College historian Buruma has a personal link to WWII-era Berliners, his Dutch father having been a forced laborer in wartime Berlin. Buruma’s account highlights instances of the survival and rescue of Jews and of the Berlin residents who came forward to assist them. But of most Berliners, he says, “Their main aim was to stay out of trouble.” Buruma’s performance as both historian and narrator is a model of restraint and reliance on fact. He shapes a powerful narrative around Germany’s defeat at Stalingrad and year-by-year shifts in civilian morale. As deprivation and disillusion with the Nazi regime set in, the struggle for survival extended to all Berliners.
Buruma’s subtle and effective narration style is essential to this chronicle.Pub Date: March 17, 2026
Duration: 12 hrs, 15 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217282210
Publisher: Penguin Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: March 16, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2026
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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