Empire: A New History of the World: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Civilizations

Written by Paul Strathern

Narrated by Elliot Fitzpatrick

A dazzling new history of the world told through the ten major empires of human civilization.



Eminent historian Paul Strathern opens the story of Empire with the Akkadian civilization, which ruled over a vast expanse of the region of ancient Mesopotamia, then turns to the immense Roman Empire, where we trace back our Western and Eastern roots.



Next the narrative describes how a great deal of Western Classical culture was developed in the Abbasid and Umayyid Caliphates. Then, while Europe was beginning to emerge from a period of cultural stagnation, it almost fell to a whirlwind invasion from the East, at which point we meet the Emperors of the Mongol Empire . . .



Combining breathtaking scope with masterful narrative control, Paul Strathern traces these connections across four millennia and sheds new light on these major civilizations—from the Mongol Empire and the Yuan Dynasty to the Aztec and Ottoman, through to the most recent and biggest empires: the British, Russo-Soviet, and American.



Charting five thousand years of global history in ten lucid chapters, Empire is a must-listen for anyone fascinated by the history of the world.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tantor Media, Inc
• Release date: Mar 3, 2020
• ISBN: 9781515945642

Paul Strathern

Paul Strathern is the author of numerous books about science, history, philosophy and literature, including two series, Philosophers in 90 Minutes and The Big Idea: Scientists Who Changed the World, and the Sunday Times bestseller The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance. He also won a Somerset Maugham award for his novel A Season in Abyssinia. He formerly lectured in philosophy and mathematics at Kingston University. He lives in London.

Reviews for Empire

[ralphcoviello · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

"Empire: A New History of the World: The Rise and Fall of the Greatest Civilizations" written by author Paul Strathern is an audiobook narrated by Elliot Fitzpatrick published by Tantor Audio originally published by Hodder & Stoughton in a hardcover edition under the title "Rise and Fall: A History of the World in Ten Empires" is a brisk overview of human civilizations across 5,000 years. Somehow author Paul Strathern is able to clearly distill each empire he examines down to their individual cycles of growth, success, and decline. A key insight he brings out is that although the overall lifecycles of each civilization is inevitable the ones with the briefest limited success are controlling and repressive while the ones that allow for a degree of freedom of individuality and religious' worship have greater and more enduring success. Elliot Fitzpatrick matches the briskness and clarity of Strathern's prose with his lucid narration. An excellent snapshot of human civilization through the lens of empire.

[ronincats · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I listened to this on a cross-country trip. It was an adequate review of the civilizations it highlighted.

[paul_s-289480 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Amazing information density. The author managed to condense a multi volume topic into a very short book. Probably not the perfect book if you're completely ignorant of the subject but a valuable recap to organise your knowledge and some interesting observations.

[jlbattis · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Covering the entirety of civilization in a (relatively) short book is problematic, regardless of the author's grasp on the subject. Strathern is not an unknown quantity to me; however, after more than two decades in bookselling, I cannot reliably place his name to any other single title. This was certainly not unenjoyable, but most probably because I had a familiarity with the topic, and was not relying on the author for his perspective. I may have been less tolerant if reading the book, but the audiobook was pleasant enough to get me through to his survey of the twentieth century, which was outright embarassing, and should be excised from the book altogether.

[amanda4242_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very brief and generalized look at the similarities in the rise and fall of ten empires. Strathern looks at empires from across the globe and many different periods of time, but there isn't a strong unifying theme to make this book much more than mildly interesting.

[ann_louise_7 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Early Bird Review - This is an engrossing listen so far. It's a broader survey history than I've heard/read in the past, and very good at tying the individual civilization described into the larger theme of empires in world history. Maybe more for the history buff than general listener/reader, but worth your time.

[ronrose1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is an entertaining, easily readable history of ten major world empires that dominated human history. The book ranges from the Akkadian empire dating from around 2300 BC, initially ruled by the great leader Sargon, to the more contemporary empires of Britain, Russia, and America. The author, Paul Strathern, weaves an interesting tale of birth and decline of empire after empire. He is good at pointing out both the good and bad aspects of each empire as it emerged and spread it's influence across the known world. Some empires incorporated and built on the wisdom and learning of previous empires, while others tried to wipe all vestiges of previous empires from the earth. There are lessons we should all learn written in the dust of the past.

[pomo58 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Empire: A New History of the World from Paul Strathern is an okay overview, which is all it was likely meant to be at this length. I listened to the audiobook and the reader was quite good but that wasn't enough to raise the rating for me.

There is some questionable information, not necessarily wrong but also not something a reader should place too much confidence in. While some sources are good, Strathern also uses some sources that are shaky at best, so while the facts, such as they are, may well be correct the spin is as likely to be off than on.

If one just wants a quick overview and doesn't put too much stock in the details, this is a nice accessible book. Not academic, not particularly nuanced, just a light history book for the general public.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via LibraryThing Early Reviewers.