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The History of the Ancient World

From the Earliest Accounts to the Fall of Rome

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The History of the Ancient World

By: Susan Wise Bauer
Narrated by: John Lee
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About this listen

A lively and engaging narrative history showing the common threads in the cultures that gave birth to our own.

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. The result is an engrossing tapestry of human behavior from which we may draw conclusions about the direction of world events and the causes behind them.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.

©2007 Susan Wise Bauer (P)2013 Audible, Inc. Ancient Civilization Europe Greece Rome World Thought-Provoking Greek Mythology Ancient Egypt

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All stars
Most relevant  
narrator excellent but author relies too much on Suetonius who was great Roman gossip but certainly not a historian

interesting not riveting

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A great place to start you historical journey and equally a very rewarding read for people who already have a solid grasp of the past.

Excellent. Very enjoyable and very well read.

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Susan Wise Bauer's concise and witty summary of the story of the rise of civilisation through to the peak of the Roman Empire. John Lee's narration is superb - hearing him describe marriage to one's mother as "icky" made me chuckle.
Why is the next volume on the Medieval World not available in the UK?

First class writing. First class reading.

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the story is of course interesting, it is all of history (almost) but the narrator I'd absolutely awful. he sounds bonkers!

awful narrator

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Focus is on the Mediterranean region and it’s difficult at times to follow the development of different reigns, but you can always go back to the topics of interest later. The accompanying maps help in structuring the events and regions.

A good overview of the ancient times

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Covers the earliest civilizations which had written records: flitting between mesopotamia, China and the early Mediterranean kingdoms, roughly in parallel timeframes.
if you get the audio book, you'll find it really helpful to download and review the PDF maps before you listen to each chapter.

a very impressive tour of ancient civilizations.

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I loved it from the beginning to the end, the history of ancient times has always been interesting to me, but this book adds another new dimension to it. it reads more like a fiction than history and takes you all the way through every great (and not) king, emperor, empire and war that existed in the ancient times. It also doesn't discriminate geographically, and provides an outstanding journey through the stories of ancient Mediterranean, Middle East, Asia and any other civilisation which stories survived to be told in the modern era

Absolutely great work of literature

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A truly amazing book. Such an incredible amount of research to bring out such an array of information!

A fantastic explanation of ancient times!

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If you could sum up The History of the Ancient World in three words, what would they be?

Engaging, fascinating, long.

What other book might you compare The History of the Ancient World to, and why?

Honestly, I have not quite read a book like it. It takes history, which is often bloody and confusing and made it accessible without sacrificing quality.

What does John Lee bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

How to pronounce most of the names! They are quite complex and I would not have been able to manage otherwise.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I liked the mentions of women, and how their history was more than likely written by someone who had not bothered to check with them if it was actually correct.

Any additional comments?

Really good read for fans of history. I particularly liked the inclusion of China and India, usually books like this are painfully European-centric. I also enjoyed the discussion on the history of writing.

Be warned this book is not really one for fans of social history, and the lives of everyday people. It concerns itself with rulers, wars and conquerers and their fights and deaths. Some mention is made of culture and traditions but the focus is elsewhere.

Great read for fans of history

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loved it, but if you ask me a question on it I would probably not be able to remember.

so much information: so little brain

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