-
Return of a King
- The Battle for Afghanistan
- Narrated by: Sagar Arya
- Length: 20 hrs and 17 mins
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy for $21.81
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Anarchy
- The Relentless Rise of the East India Company
- By: William Dalrymple
- Narrated by: Sid Sagar
- Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Anarchy tells the remarkable story of how one of the world’s most magnificent empires disintegrated and came to be replaced by a dangerously unregulated private company, based thousands of miles overseas in one small office, five windows wide, and answerable only to its distant shareholders. In his most ambitious and riveting audiobook to date, William Dalrymple tells the story of the East India Company as it has never been told before, unfolding a timely cautionary tale of the first global corporate power.
-
-
excellent book but awkward narration
- By TexasVC on 02-25-20
-
Koh-i-Noor
- The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond
- By: Anita Anand, William Dalrymple
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On 29 March 1849, the 10-year-old Maharajah of the Punjab was ushered into the magnificent Mirrored Hall at the centre of the great Fort in Lahore. There, in a public ceremony, the frightened but dignified child handed over to the British East India Company in a formal act of submission not only swathes of the richest land in India but also arguably the single most valuable object in the subcontinent: the celebrated Koh-i-Noor diamond. The Mountain of Light.
-
-
Fascinating
- By Jean on 07-08-17
By: Anita Anand, and others
-
Imperial Twilight
- The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age
- By: Stephen R. Platt
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As one of the most potent turning points in the country's modern history, the Opium War has since come to stand for everything that today's China seeks to put behind it. In this dramatic, epic story, award-winning historian Stephen Platt sheds new light on the early attempts by Western traders and missionaries to "open" China even as China's imperial rulers were struggling to manage their country's decline and Confucian scholars grappled with how to use foreign trade to China's advantage.
-
-
Balanced readable narrative about the Opium Wars
- By Carl A. Gallozzi on 09-05-18
By: Stephen R. Platt
-
Crimea
- By: Orlando Figes
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 20 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The terrible conflict that dominated the mid-19th century, the Crimean War, killed at least 800,000 men and pitted Russia against a formidable coalition of Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire. It was a war for territory, provoked by fear that if the Ottoman Empire were to collapse then Russia could control a huge swathe of land from the Balkans to the Persian Gulf. But it was also a war of religion, driven by a fervent, populist and ever more ferocious belief by the Tsar and his ministers that it was Russia's task to rule all Orthodox Christians and control the Holy Land.
-
-
Outstanding History of the Crimean War
- By Rick Sailor on 11-08-18
By: Orlando Figes
-
The Great Game
- The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia
- By: Peter Hopkirk
- Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Great Game between Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia was fought across desolate terrain from the Caucasus to China, over the lonely passes of the Parmirs and Karakorams, in the blazing Kerman and Helmund deserts, and through the caravan towns of the old Silk Road - both powers scrambling to control access to the riches of India and the East. When play first began, the frontiers of Russia and British India lay 2000 miles apart; by the end, this distance had shrunk to 20 miles at some points.
-
-
Desperately Needs a PDF Map of Region at the Time
- By Ann on 12-22-17
By: Peter Hopkirk
-
Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom
- China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War
- By: Stephen R. Platt
- Narrated by: Angela Lin
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stephen R. Platt is widely respected for his incisive nonfiction, particularly in regard to his knowledge and understanding of China. With Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom, Platt details the absorbing narrative of the Taiping Rebellion, which resulted in the loss of 20 million lives. Occurring in the 1850s, this is the story of a cultural movement characterized by intriguing personages such as influential military strategist Zeng Guofan and brilliant Taiping leader Hong Rengan.
-
-
InTOLerable Reader
- By Adam on 07-07-12
By: Stephen R. Platt
-
The Anarchy
- The Relentless Rise of the East India Company
- By: William Dalrymple
- Narrated by: Sid Sagar
- Length: 15 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Anarchy tells the remarkable story of how one of the world’s most magnificent empires disintegrated and came to be replaced by a dangerously unregulated private company, based thousands of miles overseas in one small office, five windows wide, and answerable only to its distant shareholders. In his most ambitious and riveting audiobook to date, William Dalrymple tells the story of the East India Company as it has never been told before, unfolding a timely cautionary tale of the first global corporate power.
-
-
excellent book but awkward narration
- By TexasVC on 02-25-20
-
Koh-i-Noor
- The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond
- By: Anita Anand, William Dalrymple
- Narrated by: Leighton Pugh
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On 29 March 1849, the 10-year-old Maharajah of the Punjab was ushered into the magnificent Mirrored Hall at the centre of the great Fort in Lahore. There, in a public ceremony, the frightened but dignified child handed over to the British East India Company in a formal act of submission not only swathes of the richest land in India but also arguably the single most valuable object in the subcontinent: the celebrated Koh-i-Noor diamond. The Mountain of Light.
-
-
Fascinating
- By Jean on 07-08-17
By: Anita Anand, and others
-
Imperial Twilight
- The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age
- By: Stephen R. Platt
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As one of the most potent turning points in the country's modern history, the Opium War has since come to stand for everything that today's China seeks to put behind it. In this dramatic, epic story, award-winning historian Stephen Platt sheds new light on the early attempts by Western traders and missionaries to "open" China even as China's imperial rulers were struggling to manage their country's decline and Confucian scholars grappled with how to use foreign trade to China's advantage.
-
-
Balanced readable narrative about the Opium Wars
- By Carl A. Gallozzi on 09-05-18
By: Stephen R. Platt
-
Crimea
- By: Orlando Figes
- Narrated by: Malk Williams
- Length: 20 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The terrible conflict that dominated the mid-19th century, the Crimean War, killed at least 800,000 men and pitted Russia against a formidable coalition of Britain, France and the Ottoman Empire. It was a war for territory, provoked by fear that if the Ottoman Empire were to collapse then Russia could control a huge swathe of land from the Balkans to the Persian Gulf. But it was also a war of religion, driven by a fervent, populist and ever more ferocious belief by the Tsar and his ministers that it was Russia's task to rule all Orthodox Christians and control the Holy Land.
-
-
Outstanding History of the Crimean War
- By Rick Sailor on 11-08-18
By: Orlando Figes
-
The Great Game
- The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia
- By: Peter Hopkirk
- Narrated by: Alex Wyndham
- Length: 17 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Great Game between Victorian Britain and Tsarist Russia was fought across desolate terrain from the Caucasus to China, over the lonely passes of the Parmirs and Karakorams, in the blazing Kerman and Helmund deserts, and through the caravan towns of the old Silk Road - both powers scrambling to control access to the riches of India and the East. When play first began, the frontiers of Russia and British India lay 2000 miles apart; by the end, this distance had shrunk to 20 miles at some points.
-
-
Desperately Needs a PDF Map of Region at the Time
- By Ann on 12-22-17
By: Peter Hopkirk
-
Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom
- China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War
- By: Stephen R. Platt
- Narrated by: Angela Lin
- Length: 17 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Stephen R. Platt is widely respected for his incisive nonfiction, particularly in regard to his knowledge and understanding of China. With Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom, Platt details the absorbing narrative of the Taiping Rebellion, which resulted in the loss of 20 million lives. Occurring in the 1850s, this is the story of a cultural movement characterized by intriguing personages such as influential military strategist Zeng Guofan and brilliant Taiping leader Hong Rengan.
-
-
InTOLerable Reader
- By Adam on 07-07-12
By: Stephen R. Platt
-
Central Asia
- A New History from the Imperial Conquests to the Present
- By: Adeeb Khalid
- Narrated by: Aaqil Ahmed
- Length: 17 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Central Asia is often seen as a remote and inaccessible land on the peripheries of modern history. Encompassing Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and the Xinjiang province of China, it in fact stands at the crossroads of world events. Adeeb Khalid provides the first comprehensive history of Central Asia from the mid-18th century to today, shedding light on the historical forces that have shaped the region under imperial and Communist rule.
-
-
Great History of a Forgotten Region
- By Than on 07-07-21
By: Adeeb Khalid
-
The Wages of Destruction
- The Making and Breaking of the Nazi Economy
- By: Adam Tooze
- Narrated by: Adam Tooze, Simon Vance
- Length: 30 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An extraordinary mythology has grown up around the Third Reich that hovers over political and moral debate even today. Adam Tooze's controversial book challenges the conventional economic interpretations of that period.
-
-
answers a long awaiting question
- By Uzi Geiger on 09-11-21
By: Adam Tooze
-
Afghanistan
- A Cultural and Political History
- By: Thomas Barfield
- Narrated by: Robin Bloodworth
- Length: 17 hrs and 22 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Afghanistan traces the historic struggles and the changing nature of political authority in this volatile region of the world, from the Mughal Empire in the 16th century to the Taliban resurgence today. Thomas Barfield introduces listeners to the bewildering diversity of tribal and ethnic groups in Afghanistan, explaining what unites them as Afghans despite the regional, cultural, and political differences that divide them.
-
-
Interesting content, poor production
- By R. Taylor on 04-08-19
By: Thomas Barfield
-
Directorate S
- The C.I.A. and America's Secret Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan
- By: Steve Coll
- Narrated by: Malcolm Hillgartner
- Length: 28 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Resuming the narrative of his Pulitzer Prize-winning Ghost Wars, best-selling author Steve Coll tells for the first time the epic and enthralling story of America's intelligence, military, and diplomatic efforts to defeat Al Qaeda and the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan since 9/11.
-
-
All the detail you could want
- By Louis Macareo on 03-06-18
By: Steve Coll
-
Napoleon
- A Life
- By: Andrew Roberts
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 32 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Andrew Roberts' Napoleon is the first one-volume biography to take advantage of the recent publication of Napoleon's thirty-three thousand letters, which radically transform our understanding of his character and motivation. At last we see him as he was: protean multitasker, decisive, surprisingly willing to forgive his enemies and his errant wife Josephine.
-
-
What a dynamo!
- By Tad Davis on 01-16-15
By: Andrew Roberts
-
The Napoleonic Wars
- By: Alexander Mikaberidze
- Narrated by: Steven Crossley
- Length: 35 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Napoleonic Wars saw fighting on an unprecedented scale in Europe and the Americas. It took the wealth of the British Empire, combined with the might of the continental armies, almost two decades to bring down one of the world's greatest military leaders and the empire that he had created. Napoleon's ultimate defeat was to determine the history of Europe for almost 100 years. From the frozen wastelands of Russia, through the brutal fighting in the Peninsula to the blood-soaked battlefield of Waterloo, this book tells the story of the dramatic rise and fall of the Napoleonic Empire.
-
-
No description of battles
- By John Gaston on 01-15-21
-
Games Without Rules
- The Often-Interrupted History of Afghanistan
- By: Tamim Ansary
- Narrated by: Tamim Ansary
- Length: 14 hrs and 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Today, most Westerners still see the war in Afghanistan as a contest between democracy and Islamist fanaticism. That war is real, but it sits atop an older struggle between Kabul and the countryside, between order and chaos, between a modernist impulse to join the world and the pull of an older Afghanistan - a tribal universe of village republics permeated by Islam. Now, Tamim Ansary draws on his Afghan background, Muslim roots, and Western and Afghan sources to explain history from the inside out and to illuminate the long, internal struggle that the outside world has never fully understood.
-
-
Very enlightening read
- By Massoud on 05-31-17
By: Tamim Ansary
-
The British in India
- A Social History of the Raj
- By: David Gilmour
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 23 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Full of illuminating anecdotes drawn from memoirs, correspondence, and government documents, The British in India weaves a rich tapestry of the everyday experiences of the Britons who found themselves in “the jewel in the crown” of the British Empire. David Gilmour captures the substance and texture of their work, home, and social lives, and illustrates how these transformed across the several centuries of British presence and rule in the subcontinent, from the East India Company’s first trading station in 1615 to the twilight of the Raj and Partition and Independence in 1947.
-
-
Superb. Loved every beautifully read minute!
- By Rosemary on 01-31-19
By: David Gilmour
-
1776
- By: David McCullough
- Narrated by: David McCullough
- Length: 11 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this stirring audiobook, David McCullough tells the intensely human story of those who marched with General George Washington in the year of the Declaration of Independence, when the whole American cause was riding on their success, without which all hope for independence would have been dashed and the noble ideals of the Declaration would have amounted to little more than words on paper.
-
-
Front Seat on History
- By Mark on 10-22-05
By: David McCullough
-
The Road to Dien Bien Phu
- A History of the First War for Vietnam
- By: Christopher Goscha
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 17 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On May 7, 1954, when the bullets stopped and the air stilled in Dien Bien Phu, there was no doubt that Vietnam could fight a mighty colonial power and win. After nearly a decade of struggle, a nation forged in the crucible of war had achieved a victory undreamed of by any other national liberation movement. The Road to Dien Bien Phu tells the story of how Ho Chi Minh turned a ragtag guerrilla army into a modern fighting force capable of bringing down the formidable French army.
-
-
Motley Crew History new, true...,
- By Anonymous User on 04-20-22
-
Peter the Great
- His Life and World
- By: Robert Massie
- Narrated by: Ted Samore
- Length: 46 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Cast between the 17th and 18th centuries, this gigantic, Pulitzer prize-winning biography is as impressive as the man himself. Peter the Great was an extraordinary ruler - impulsive and stubborn, cruel yet generous, tender and forgiving.
-
-
A brief but great narrative.
- By Steven Ray Hill on 01-01-20
By: Robert Massie
-
Bolivar
- American Liberator
- By: Marie Arana
- Narrated by: David Crommett
- Length: 20 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is astonishing that Simón Bolívar, the great Liberator of South America, is not better known in the United States. He freed six countries from Spanish rule, traveled more than 75,000 miles on horseback to do so, and became the greatest figure in Latin American history. His life is epic, heroic, straight out of Hollywood: he fought battle after battle in punishing terrain, forged uncertain coalitions of competing forces and races, lost his beautiful wife soon after they married and died relatively young, uncertain whether his achievements would endure.
-
-
There will be blood.
- By Joselo on 08-02-13
By: Marie Arana
Publisher's Summary
Bloomsbury presents Return of a King by William Dalrymple, read by Sagar Arya.
Shortlisted for The Samuel Johnson Prize 2013
In the spring of 1839, Britain invaded Afghanistan for the first time. Nearly 20,000 British and East India Company troops poured through the high mountain passes and re-established on the throne Shah Shuja ul-Mulk.
On the way in, the British faced little resistance. But after two years of occupation, the Afghan people rose in answer to the call for jihad and the country exploded into violent rebellion. The First Anglo-Afghan War ended in Britain's greatest military humiliation of the 19th century: an entire army of the then most powerful nation in the world ambushed in retreat and utterly routed by poorly equipped tribesmen.
Using a range of forgotten Afghan and Indian sources, William Dalrymple's masterful retelling of Britain's greatest imperial disaster is a powerful parable of colonial ambition and cultural collision, folly and hubris. Return of a King is history at its most urgent and important.
Critic Reviews
"This sorry saga has been recounted many times, but never that I can recall as well as by Dalrymple. He is a master story-teller, whose special gift lies in the use of indigenous sources, so often neglected by imperial chroniclers." (Max Hastings, Sunday Times)
"Enchantingly written.... In Dalrymple’s usual happy style of historical narrative, applied to a fascinating, neat and highly suggestive series of events, this long and involved book will be a great success, and bring the famous story to a large new audience." (Philip Hensher, Spectator)
"Of the books swooped into being by his scholarship (to which he himself has applied the adjective 'obsessive'), this one is the most magnificent.... His account is so perceptive and so warmly humane that one is never tempted to break away.... This book would be compulsive reading even if it were not a uniquely valuable history, which it is, because Dalrymple has uncovered sources never used before." (Diana Athill, Guardian)
More from the same
Author
Narrator
What listeners say about Return of a King
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Caden Hensley
- 06-09-21
Tragic story excellently told
It took me just a bit to get into it, but once I did I couldn't wait to listen again. I knew the basics but the details of the first Anglo Afghan war are fascinating, complex, tragic, and incredibly interesting.
As a side note, stay for the research acknowledgements at the end. It not only shines a light on the extent of Dalrymple's thoroughness but also illustrates how dangerous the area remains.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Amazon Customer
- 05-05-22
Sagar Arya is amazing! And this story needs to be heard.
This book is mindblowing. And the presentation is masterful, to say the least. I want to hear more!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Geoffrey L Smith
- 12-12-21
Great book about the origins of the Great Game
The story is a page turner and the reading spirited and a good match to the story.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Namrata Sharma
- 09-20-21
Learned a lot about Afghanistan’s history
I always love to know about the history of different countries and relate it to the present situation. In case of Afghanistan it was fascinating to learn historical events and kudos to the hard work of the author and all who contributed.
If you like history you will love listening to this book and can relate it to the present fate of the country.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Laura G. Marcantoni
- 09-19-21
Well documented but not dreary.
I listened to this book during the last days of the latest western occupation of Afghanistan which made the experience particularly poignant.
Listening the book the numerous mistakes made by the British in the nineteenth century seemed so similar to those made in the twenty first that it was depressing.
Still it is a book well worth listening too, because it manages to be informative without being boring thanks also to a sapient use of the fonts which, at times, are frankly amusing.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Mohammad Yunus Naseri
- 09-18-21
Wonderful story from every aspect
I liked everything about this book except for some performance issues like sudden interruptions which caused the listener to lose the track of story. Otherwise everything has been fascinating.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Sonny Schovanec
- 09-12-21
unmatched
The best book I've read out of many about the First Anglo Afghan War. Very applicable to the American war in Afghanistan. Must read for any politician regardless of country who might have interest in an occupation of Afghanistan
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- A. J. Taylor
- 05-12-21
Excellent and Well Researched
For anyone interested in early 19th Century history, the history of the Great Game, history of Afghanistan or the British in India this is a must have. Well researched & an excellent story in which the author went to extreme lengths to understand the history & appreciate Afghani society & culture. I recommend this book.
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Omer
- 11-05-21
A window to the past which also serves as a mirror for the present
The way the book is written just draws the reader in and of course the narration is flawless with perfect representation of emotion and tones.
After reading the Anarchy this showed a stark contrast to the “successes” of the company in India compared to the humiliation in Afghanistan.
As they say “History repeats itself”.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Mrs. G. Moynihan
- 11-03-21
A great account
Brilliant narration and a great account. I feel for all Afghans and Afghanistan, they just want and deserve honesty and a fair chance.
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Chantal
- 06-21-22
Fantastically well researched, a bit dull
Lots of characters made the ddtory hard to get into but a while in that fsdes. However, the narrator did an awful job with the UK accents making a complicated story very hard to follow. So it became a chore to read this to the end. I think this book would be better with another narrator or on paper
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Melissa Pinder
- 05-28-22
An unbiased and very thoroughly researched book
Another masterpiece by Mr Dalrymple. Most of the events mentioned in this book were part of our school's history lessons growing up in Afghanistan. for a very long time now, I've been searching for a well researched book about the second Anglo Afghan wars but haven't really succeeded in finding one. hope I can get some recommendations in the reviews' section.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- dean
- 12-15-21
Narrator not good
Narrator is not very good. Good book but better to read yourself. It is just a series of articles from other books put together and edited to make sound like one story.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Nikhil Ghodke
- 12-11-21
Thorough and still entertaining
The book goes into very detailed analysis of historical events based on actual recorded historcal correpondence... I found the parts about Ramjith Singh and Kohinoor to be adding even more depth to the story. recommended!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story

- Rodney Wetherell
- 05-11-21
Story of devastation, entertainingly told.
I knew roughly what Dalrymple's book was about, but was not prepared for the story of incompetence and ignorance, on the part of the British in India, which led them into a hopeless mire in Afghanistan. The Afghan leaders were no strangers to torture and murder themselves, and had the chance to eliminate many of the hated British generals and top bureaucrats. Dalrymple has told the story in great detail, using Afghan sources for the first time, and the result is a masterwork indeed. Sometimes I lost track of who was who, among the Shahs and Emirs, Generals and Governors-General, but the story swept splendidly on - yet vengeance played a huge part in the events, on both sides. The narrator was excellent.
1 person found this helpful