AuthorCharles Rivers Editors
NarratorBill Hare
Duration2h 27m
CategoriesAdult Non-Fiction, History, Biography and Autobiography
PublisherCharles Rivers Editors
VersionUnabridged
Though he couldn't have known it, the various scholars and scientists that Napoleon Bonaparte brought to Egypt during his military campaigning there kicked off modern Egyptology, and a general fascination across the West. Until about 200 years ago, the writing of the ancient Egyptians was an enigma to the world, but that changed when an ancient Egyptian monument known today as the Rosetta Stone was discovered (or rediscovered serendipitously) by French soldiers in Egypt in 1799. Now one of the most famous monuments in the world, the Rosetta Stone is a black granite stele that was inscribed with texts in Greek and two different scripts of the ancient Egyptian language: demotic and hieroglyphs. Stelae like the Rosetta Stone were monuments that ancient Egyptian kings inscribed texts on, usually to proclaim a battle victory or a legal decree. Since the kings who commissioned stelae to be built believed that the information they contained were important, they were usually large, as is the case with the Rosetta Stone. Although damaged over time, the Rosetta Stone still stands nearly four feet tall and over two feet wide, and it originally stood probably between five and six feet tall (Andrews 1982, 12). The discovery of the Rosetta Stone finally provided researchers with a way of reading the Egyptian language based on an understanding of the Greek translation.
As more individuals headed for Egypt and made more groundbreaking discoveries, the interest in Egypt heightened, as did knowledge about ancient history, despite the fact it happened so long ago and covered an immense span of time. William Mathew Flinders Petrie, more commonly known as Flinders Petrie, was among the second wave of Egyptologists who saw the need to modernize the study of ancient Egypt by introducing scientific techniques from other fields of study. During his life and career, Petrie discovered many tombs, developed several influential theories, and changed the way in which modern archaeology is practiced. Petrie's methods are, for the most part, still used today, and archaeologists from a wide array of studies owe a debt of gratitude to the Englishman.
Petrie's life was fascinating in many respects beyond the firsts he recorded in the fields of archaeology and Egyptology. As Petrie excavated in Egypt and Palestine and taught and wrote in England, his career and life crossed paths with the famous and the yet to become famous. Petrie worked - and sometimes quarreled - with most luminaries in his fields, and while he influenced several of them, he was always willing to learn from others. In the process, he met important statesmen, philosophers, fellow explorers, and even a one-armed resistance leader. Thanks to all these efforts, modern Egyptologists have been able to learn an incredible amount about different periods through reading the surviving texts currently preserved in museums throughout the world and in the many temples and tombs in Egypt.
Flinders Petrie: The Life and Legacy of the Father of Modern Egyptology examines Petrie's greatest triumphs, both personal and professional, as well as some of the things he got wrong. Along with pictures depicting important people, places, and events, you will learn about Flinders Petrie like never before.
Author: Debbie Harry
Author Debbie Harry
Narrator Clem Burke
Duration 8h 53m
Debbie Harry is a musician, actor, activist and the iconic face of New York City cool. As the front-woman of Blondie, she and the band forged a new sound that brought together the worlds of rock, punk, disco, reggae and hip-hop to create some of the most beloved pop songs of all time. With all the grit, grime, and glory recounted in intimate detail...
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Author: Walter Isaacson
Author Walter Isaacson
Narrator Alfred Molina
Duration 17h 1m
Read by acclaimed actor Alfred Molina, star of The Da Vinci Code, An Education and Chocolat, this is the definitive biography of Leonardo Da Vinci. Based on thousands of pages from Leonardo's astonishing notebooks and new discoveries about his life and work, Walter Isaacson weaves a narrative that connects his art to his science. He shows how Leona...
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Author: John Humphrys
Author John Humphrys
Narrator John Humphrys
Duration 13h 3m
For more than three decades, millions of Britons have woken to the sound of John Humphrys's voice. As presenter of Radio 4's Today, the nation's most popular news programme, he is famed for his tough interviewing, his deep misgivings about authority in its many forms, and his passionate commitment to a variety of causes. A Day Like Today charts Joh...
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Author: Uwe Schutte
Author Uwe Schutte
Narrator Sam Peter Jackson
Duration 6h 14m
Brought to you by Penguin. The story of the phenomenon that is Kraftwerk, and how they revolutionised our cultural landscape 'We are not artists nor musicians. We are workers.' Ignoring nearly all rock traditions, experimenting in near-total secrecy in their Dsseldorf studio, Kraftwerk fused sound and technology, graphic design and performance, mo...
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Author: Catherine Bailey
Author Catherine Bailey
Narrator Laura Kirman
Duration 15h 27m
Brought to you by Penguin. Berlin, September 1944. Ulrich von Hassell, former ambassador to Italy and a key member of the German Resistance, is executed for his part in an assassination plot against Hitler. In response to the attack, Himmler, leader of the SS, orders the arrest of all the families of the plotters. In a remote castle in Italy, von H...
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Summary of Grant By Ron Chernow
Author: Abbey Beathan
Author Abbey Beathan
Narrator Peter Prova
Duration 2h 55m
Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book. The life and work of the magnificent general and President Ulysses Grant. Ulysses Grant must be one of the most misunderstood characters of United States' history. The majority of people have a polarized but incorrect impression of him as a loser and a bad businessman or as the triumphant but vicious gener...
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Author: Amanda Brown
Author Amanda Brown
Narrator Sophie Aldred
Duration 6h 3m
Horrifying, heartbreaking and eye-opening, these are the stories, the patients and the cases that have characterised a career spent behind bars. The no-holds-barred memoirs of a GP who went from working at a quiet suburban practice to treating the country's most dangerous criminals - first in young offenders' institutions, then at the notorious Wor...
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Author: David Cameron
Author David Cameron
Narrator David Cameron
Duration 30h
David Cameron was Conservative Party leader during the largest financial crash in living memory. The Arab Spring and the Eurozone crisis both started during his first year as prime minister. The backdrop to his time in office included the advent of ISIS, surging migration and a rapidly changing EU. He sets out how he helped turn around Britain's ec...
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Author: Min Kym
Author Min Kym
Narrator Rebecca Yeo
Duration 8h 10m
Penguin presents the complete unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of Gone by Min Kym, read by Rebecca Yeo. 'The hours fell away as I read this spellbinding tale of love, loss, and above all devotion to art. You probably don't know what it feels like to be a child prodigy or a world class violinist, but you will after reading this luminous me...
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Summary of Alexander Hamilton By Ron Chernow
Author: Publishing Readtrepeneur
Author Publishing Readtrepeneur
Narrator Peter Prova
Duration 1h
Disclaimer: This is NOT the original book but an unofficial summary. Alexander Hamilton was a man that came from nothing, but changed the world over the years. From an immigrant to an influential and significant figure in American history, he shaped the newborn America and gave it the order andprosperity it has today. Nobody has done a better jo...
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