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In the Shadow of the Sword
- The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
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Publisher's Summary
In the 6th century AD, the Near East was divided between two venerable empires: the Persian and the Roman. A hundred years on and one had vanished forever, while the other seemed almost finished. Ruling in their place were the Arabs: an upheaval so profound that it spelt, in effect, the end of the ancient world. In The Shadow of the Sword, Tom Holland explores how this came about. Spanning from Constantinople to the Arabian desert, and starring some of the most remarkable rulers who ever lived, he tells a story vivid with drama, horror, and startling achievement.
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Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Takudza
- 03-12-2015
He needs to site more sources
I loved the way this flowed like a fictional narrative but I wished he would site more sources as the story went along. I would like to know the material he was basing some of his conclusions.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 01-03-2018
More religion than warfare
This is a great listen if you're interested in the religious wrestle during the ancient times but I found the description of the book a tad misleading. Still interesting but yeah wasn't quite what I was hoping/expecting.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 29-06-2017
Filling the gaps in my history knowledge
I can't believe how rich with details and how well read this book is.
My only hope is that Tim doesn't become the next Salman Rushdie.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Shane
- 29-05-2016
Fantastic Writer
Wow. Tom Holland can really write well. I was struck so much by how the Roman, Sassanian and Arab stories could be woven into a cohesive narrative.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Luke
- 18-07-2017
Tremendous
from truly ancient Zoroaster to the not so ancient Mohammad, this volume is so fantastically informative
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lavinia Gordon
- 03-09-2022
why use 3 words when 40 will do?
The language is so flowery and convoluted. I found it difficult to recall facts because of this .
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- John Drakopoulos
- 14-05-2022
Sad to Get to the End
This was such an intriguing text. I actually felt a sense of loss when the ending came around. Good exploration of the historical details that are difficult to find sources for.
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- Chris Pedder
- 10-01-2022
Written in the style of the King James Bible.
The story, the narrator are excellent. But the prose style is so purple that lucidity and continuity are lost. It got to the stage that I had difficulty knowing when an ancient biblical or koranic quotation had stopped and we were back to the story. Probably a great read but, for me, an exhausting and impenetrable listen.
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- James
- 23-11-2021
Poorly constructed
I like Tom Holland, but I was disappointed. It felt more like a series of unrelated essays jammed together, rather than a cohesive book. Can not recommend.
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- ADS
- 23-10-2021
Worth the effort
Actually quite a challenge to listen through the first few chapters and it can be tempting to quit, but once Tom hits his stride after that he doesn’t look back and weaves an intriguing account of the development of new civilisation. Impeccably narrated (as always) by the best in the business, Jonathan Keeble
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