If diversion guides your choice of audiobooks, this wayward history of Germany will suit every mood. Whether driving, doing dishes, or dropping off into a nap, this irreverent, digressive narrative will hold you, or release you. James Cameron Stewart, though thoroughly British, or maybe because of that, proves the perfect narrator, holding a nice balance between erudition and whimsy. Winder is also the author of DANUBIA, and his is the sort of travel guide one loves to listen to and follow--especially with a pause button at hand. GERMANIA ends with the Nazis, but their shadow hangs over the narrative, a repeated point of reference as the author recounts Germanic legends and tries to square German nationalism with long centuries of fragmentation. Informative, insightful, often very funny, this is history as you like it, without all those mountains to climb, and without the Nazis.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2018
Duration: 18 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Tantor Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Highly engaging for a wide variety of listeners.
Four exceptional narrators unfailingly capture the full relevance of every sentence and broad idea in this epic audiobook. With this monumental economic and social history, the author traces the growth of capitalism’s decisive impact on human society, from 15th-century traders to the invention of money and the seemingly unstoppable power of capital markets today. Beckert describes capitalism’s fraught relationship with forced and paid labor as it changed with advances in agriculture, transportation, industry, and political trends. Despite the idealized dream of free markets under capitalism, Beckert shows how it flourished only with the cooperation of governments that enforced the social and economic order necessary for wealth accumulation.
Highly engaging for a wide variety of listeners.Pub Date: Nov. 25, 2025
Duration: 42 hrs, 30 mins
DD ISBN: 9798217163571
Publisher: Penguin Audio
Review Posted Online: Feb. 9, 2026
Author Baconi is the best choice to narrate his memoir of family and political upheaval. The emotional undercurrent he projects suits a story spanning Haifa, Beirut, Amman, and London. His delivery gives clarity to the family history he recounts--his grandmother Eva's flight from Haifa in 1948, his mother Rima's escape from Beirut during the civil war, his own displacement, and a deepening love for his childhood friend, Ramzi. As Baconi moves into his London years, his narration highlights his search for belonging, his emerging political awareness during the Iraq War, and his effort to understand himself across cultures. His voice brings cohesion to these interwoven timelines. Baconi guides listeners through an intimate exploration of identity, inheritance, displacement, and return.
Pub Date: Nov. 18, 2025
Duration: 7 hrs, 45 mins
DD ISBN: 9781668114834
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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