Blom's book about life in Europe and America between the Wars should be required reading for every student in both parts of the world. This profound and beautifully organized history book is delivered by Ralph Lister, whose British accent makes it truly irresistible. Lister deftly glides from seemingly unrelated topics, such as the rise of American jazz in the 1920s to unrest in Berlin and Paris a few years later, and quickly delivers the fascinating historical connections. His skill at describing how discoveries and trends, both good and bad, in one part of the world trigger very different reactions elsewhere is mesmerizing. It's like listening to the world's greatest history teacher. This is one audiobook listeners will want to hear many times.
Pub Date: June 30, 2015
Duration: 17 hrs
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
WORLD | HISTORY | UNITED STATES | MODERN
This fact-packed account of the apprenticeship and career of a master restorer is an unexpected listening pleasure.
Author and narrator Warrack’s modest subtitle barely suggests his audiobook’s range of interest. Equal parts autobiography, travelogue, and cabinet of curiosities, his rich personal history of monument restoration is also a treasure-trove of offbeat facts. How does Venice, built on a salt marsh, supply its fresh water? What’s the best method for removing pigeon excreta from the outside of a cathedral? Warrack’s rich narrative and unpretentious style are fully engaging and immersive. By the end, the listener knows exactly how to clean and repair Rome’s Tivoli Fountain—and longs fervently to have worked there alongside Warrack.
This fact-packed account of the apprenticeship and career of a master restorer is an unexpected listening pleasure.Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2026
Duration: 11 hrs, 42 mins
DD ISBN: 9798318583803
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: today
Utterly fascinating.
Narrator Soneela Nankani ushers listeners around the globe and through time in this sweeping survey of how humans use information to understand, interpret, and control. Author Risam begins her exploration 43,000 years ago and ends it with tantalizing peeks into possible futures. Ranging back and forth both geographically and temporally, she examines data collection and its use (or misuse) in the 23rd-century B.C.E. Akkadian Empire, Han-era China, 14th-century C.E. Mali, and elsewhere. Given this mammoth scope, the account could easily lose listeners along the way, but Nankani’s understated delivery is its perfect vessel. Voice rising and falling naturally, with emotion applied sparingly and skillfully, Nankani allows listeners full access to the argument Risam builds from the data she has so meticulously researched.
Utterly fascinating.Pub Date: July 14, 2026
Duration: 13 hrs, 59 mins
DD ISBN: 9780063430358
Publisher: Harper Audio
Review Posted Online: Sept. 8, 2026
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