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Emperor

A New Life of Charles V

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Emperor

By: Geoffrey Parker
Narrated by: Nigel Patterson
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About this listen

The life of Emperor Charles V (1500-1558), ruler of Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and much of Italy and Central and South America, has long intrigued biographers. But the elusive nature of the man (despite an abundance of documentation), his relentless travel and the control of his own image, together with the complexity of governing the world's first transatlantic empire, complicate the task.

Geoffrey Parker, one of the world's leading historians of early modern Europe, has examined the surviving written sources in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Latin, and Spanish, as well as visual and material evidence. He explores the crucial decisions that created and preserved this vast empire, analyzes Charles' achievements within the context of both personal and structural factors, and scrutinizes the intimate details of the ruler's life for clues to his character and inclinations. The result is a unique biography that interrogates every dimension of Charles' reign and views the world through the emperor's own eyes.

©2019 Geoffrey Parker (P)2019 Tantor 16th Century Europe Medieval Modern Politicians Politics & Activism Royalty Middle ages Italy Biography Imperialism Global Crisis

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Critic reviews

"This is a splendid book. It's well-written, engaging the reader, even while marshalling to good use a truly impressive erudition...." (James D. Tracy, author of Emperor Charles V)
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Geoffrey Parker delivers remarkable insights into a man who should receive greater recognition from history buffs for his mostly successful efforts at preserving & expanding his patrimony. In my opinion, the best history books present their audiences with facts & connect seemingly separate events/ideas together which Emperor does in chapter after chapter, bringing the late 15th & early-mid 16th centuries into sharp relief for audiences today. Listeners who are looking for a history of emotions, instead of just facts, will be glad to know that Parker devotes significant attention to personal correspondence from the historical personages analysed in his work - giving audiences more than a glimpse into the inner lives of these historical icons. The cast of 'supporting characters' whose actions are explored in detail - from foes such as François I of France & Martin Luther to loyal ministers such as Chancellor Gattinara & an unexpected frenemy in England's Henry VIII - should be of interest to other fans of European political history too. Nigel Patterson's narration was definitely engaging too - evocative but not theatrically so.

An Imperial Endeavour

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Bit too long and could have done with tighter editing. But excellent in depth look at the life and times of a remarkable man

Needed some editing

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Great book, great narrator. For a weighty time, it read easy and engagingly. liked it so much I bought a physical copy!

Excellent

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Geoffrey Parker is a distinguished historian of the early modern period, and he has again written an exceedingly good biography of a Hapsburg monarch.

Alongside this, the narrator has to be praised for the best performance I’ve ever listened to. He enlivens every page with his lilt, and his pronunciation of the array of different European places is a joy to listen to.

Well done to both!

Exceptional narration

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Well written and researched, academic and readable and never loses sight of the aim of biography. First class narration too, particularly the latin and spanish!

Outstanding

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Highly ‘readable’, confidently bringing to life the Emperor, his court (and his enormous Empire). Kudos to the outstanding narrator and his command of French, Spanish, Latin and German.

Excellent in every way

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A man who outshined the people before and after him, in my opinion. Massive detailed, almost down to the days, and a man who dominated globally in a time of giants. Loved it. Seems like most people around him were in awe of him - and I can understand why.

Amazingly detailed.

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An exceptionally detailed and full history of one of the major figures of 16th century history. Unfortunately it frequently strays rather too close to straight-out apologism for Charles’ role in the colonisation, genocide and plundering of the resources of South America.

Full and detailed but sadly apologist

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