The Middle Kingdoms
A New History of Central Europe
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The Middle Kingdoms
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Narrated by:
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John Curless
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By:
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Martyn Rady
About this listen
Brought to you by Penguin.
Central Europe is not just a space on a map but also a region of shared experience - of mutual borrowings, impositions and misapprehensions. From the Roman Empire onwards, it has been the target of invasion from the east. In the Middle Ages, Central Europeans cast their eastern foes as 'the dogmen'. They would later become the Turks, Swedes, Russians and Soviets, all of whom pulled the region apart and remade it according to their own vision.
Competition among Europe's Middle Kingdoms yielded repeated cultural effervescences. This was the first home of the High Renaissance outside Italy, the cradle of the Reformation, the starting point of the Enlightenment, Romanticism, the symphony and modern nationalism. It was a permanent battleground too for religious and political ideas.
Most recent histories of Central Europe confine themselves to the lands in between Germany and Russia, homing in on Poland, Hungary, and what is now the Czech Republic. This new history embraces the whole of Central Europe, including the German lands as well as Ukraine and Switzerland. The story of Europe's Middle Kingdoms is a reminder of Central Europe's precariousness, of its creativity and turbulence, and of the common cultural trends that make these lands so distinctive.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2023 Martyn Rady (P)2023 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about The Middle Kingdoms
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Catalin
- 16-09-24
Thorough and (very little) flawd
An excellent book on Central Europe, which, as a Central and Eastern European (it is not clear from the book if Romania is or not in Central Europe, although or its historical provinces are mentioned quite often.
It highlights a specific history and ethos, which is more poignant when one leaves out Germany from the equation, What impressed the most is how through and insightful it is, and I found myself marveling at the fact that the author got some aspects so well. There is, however, a bit of room for error and in the last chapter I found again the annoying traces of Western judgement and complex of superiority. Other than that, a book I am glad I spent my time with and I strongly recommend.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Peter Balga
- 11-01-24
Very comprehensive
Being from Central Europe I found this book very detailed, and can highly recommend it to everyone wanting to find out how the region has developed and influenced the rest of the world.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- D. J. Adams
- 04-11-23
Comprehensive and delivered at a pace to keep you engaged
A long listen but covers huge ground over hundreds of years and it is read at fast enough pace to keep you engaged. This history gives plenty of detail about individuals, movements and significant events but doesn’t get bogged down in too much minutiae so you have the context and the broader picture in the history of Europe - something I couldn’t manage to grasp as an A level history student learning about individual countries or leaders.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 29-10-23
The best book on the subject I have read/heard
The book brilliantly navigates the history of Central Europe. The book contains enough detail, yet it still lets you keep a general overview of the marvellous puzzle of people and political entities that “Mittel Europa” has been and still is.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- myfanwy
- 02-12-23
An interesting book wrecked by bias
I looked forward to this book but was sadly disappointed by anti-Catholic bias.The writer displayed open hostility, favouring an 'anything but Rome' attitude. In the end, the description of the Society of Jesus as boozers rather than educators was the final straw. I couldn't finish the book. I would suggest that the history of this part of the work is not the ideal subject for someone who views the Catholic Church with ill-concealed contempt. Neutrality is the sine qua non of good historical writing. Some people are Catholic- get over it.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Stef
- 13-08-24
really interesting, broad overview with some real problems.
I did really enjoy my time with this- it was a thoroughly interesting listen and was broad enough to not get bogged down in unnecessary minutae. HOWEVER, I've had to mark it down because it's a really unprofessionally put together audiobook. there are a large number of mid-sentence cuts, and I even heard a 'let's do that again' 'okay' '-repeats previous point-'. Not good enough, frankly. I'd urge you to purchase the physical text, rather than the audiobook.
narrator himself is pretty good though, it's nothing personal against him. the production though...yikes.
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