The Great Democracies cover art

The Great Democracies

A History of the English Speaking Peoples, Volume IV

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The Great Democracies

By: Sir Winston Churchill
Narrated by: Christian Rodska
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About this listen

The fourth and last volume in Churchill's famous account spans 1815 to 1901. It closes when the British Empire is at its peak, with a staggering one-fifth of the human race presided over by the longest reigning monarch in British history: Queen Victoria.

In America he assesses the position of the "Great Republic" from slavery and secession to its position as a world superpower. He charts the rise of Germany and the unification of Italy and examines the situation in the Balkans in 1878, all of which had a deep impact not only on the war he was soon to fight, but on the geography of the European continent today.

©2014 Audible, Inc. (P)2014 Audible, Inc. Europe Great Britain Winston Churchill England War Royalty Imperialism

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All stars
Most relevant  
Links together the facets and story which eluded your history teacher.

How did we get here, you may well have asked your father as you sat upon his knee?

Churchill tells you how and weaves world history from a Eurocentric perspective. Particularly how a small island off the northwest coast of Europe took the baton from Greece and Rome and led development of the modern world, its democracy and economy.

What went well, what didn't go well? Glaring mistakes are revealed.

That baton is now in the hands of the United States of America.

Everything you wanted to know and discover

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Good, but off that an author with a naval background completely bypassed the stirling work carried out by the West Africa Squadron in eliminating the transatlantic slave trade, at huge cost in lives.

Great series

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The content of the entire series is superb. The narration excellent. I have really enjoyed being educated about the history of ‘The English Speaking People’ of which I am a proud member.

Conclusion of a wonderful series

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Churchill's fourth volume of the English speaking people - I hesitate to say last as it finishes with almost a teaser for his World War histories - continues his concise judgements of people and description of events.

The difficulty of a chronological narrative catches up in this volume as it nominally starts in 1815 but in many of the threads has to jump back before this date for context. This can be confusing especially for the time where Prime Ministers Gladstone and Disraeli are in and out of power and you can't remember in which dates that happened in the thread you are on.

The bias of 'things that interest Churchill' comes to the fore as the book covers in detail the colonies of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa in their own chapters but doesn't reserve chapters for any other 49 commonwealth states. This is particularly noticeable when discussing the Franco-Prussian War in which English Speaking countrys' role can at best be described as spectating.

Very in depth coverage of the American Civil war, from causes to minor actions, with a great esteem felt by Churchill for General Lee as a man of conviction fighting for his state's self governance. As with the previous historical figures of Marylebone, Wellington and others Churchill lays blame at the door of the government for not supporting generals during war time with McClellen as an almost tragic hero who is bought down by political in fighting. This leads to Lincoln not being portrayed in a flattering light and Churchill's conclusion of his greatness and that he could have prevented the evils of the reconstruction is a bolt from the blue.

An excellent overview of the period with some questionable focus on various elements that doesn't devalue the whole. It's incredibly difficult to narrow focus and whilst parts show their age as more relevant to a 50s audience than today it's a good background and analysis even if Churchill's biases are more apparent.

Churchill's history volume 4

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This is probably my 6th volume written by WSC.
I thoroughly enjoy them all. in this one I learn WSCs viewpoint on many interesting developments in Australia, Canada, South Africa, and India. Gladstone and Disraeli buy especially interesting was his treatment of the American Civil War.

I never get tired of Winston Churchill

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There's a good balance in this volume, it's not all about battles. That is until we come to the American Civil War. That that point we suddenly get great descriptive detail of all the twists and turns of the whole war. It reads like a novel in itself. Unfortunately, we don't get any information as to where the named rivers, towns, railways, mountain ranges etc are in relation to each other. Without maps to look at, the detail is wasted on the listener. Maybe the printed book comes with maps, I don't know.



The Best of the Four Volumes

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Would you listen to The Great Democracies again? Why?

It is easy to listen to and contains more events and facts than I can remember

Who was your favorite character and why?

Winston Churchill he significantly changed the course of the war and never gave up.

What about Christian Rodska’s performance did you like?

clearly spoken and engaging. liked his Churchill voice

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

it is too long for that

Any additional comments?

in my top ten audible books

easy listening - modern history

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This narrative puts into perspective how the civilised world functions today. what a debt the world owes to the English speaking people's.

A compelling case.

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