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Sicily: Three Thousand Years of Human History
- Narrated by: Fred Filbrich
- Length: 16 hrs and 32 mins
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Publisher's Summary
Tourists, armchair travelers, and historians will all delight in this fluid narrative that can be read straight through, dipped into over time, or used as a reference guide to each period in Sicily's fascinating tale.
Emigration of people from Sicily often overshadows the importance of the people who immigrated to the island through the centuries. These have included several who became Sicily's rulers, along with Jews, Ligurians, and Albanians. Greeks, Romans, Vandals, Goths, Byzantines, Muslims, Normans, Hohenstaufens, Spaniards, Bourbons, the Savoy Kingdom of Italy and the modern era have all held sway, and left lasting influences on the island's culture and architecture. Sicily's character has also been determined by what passed it by: events that affected Europe generally, namely the Crusades and Columbus's discovery of the Americas, remarkably had little influence on Italy's most famous island.
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What listeners say about Sicily: Three Thousand Years of Human History
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- P. Strayer
- 08-25-12
Surprisingly compelling!
Any additional comments?
I am planning a trip to Sicily and bought the print version of this book to read. I spend so much time (3 hours a day round trip) commuting in terrible traffic, I was delighted to see that it was also available in audio, so I listened to it instead of reading it. I am happy to report the audio version was outstanding.
The writing is simple and straightforward - totally appreciated - and the story of the island is fascinating. It's made learning about Sicily fun and interesting. I think the book is great background for anyone planning to travel to Sicily. I only wish the author had written more books. I think this is the best basic introduction to the island's history. I feel it's better than any guidebook I own (and I own pretty much all of them) - very focused and easy to follow...better than spending a fortune on tour guides!
Again, if you are planning a trip, this is ESSENTIAL background - and well delivered. Highly recommended
10 people found this helpful
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- Neil Chisholm
- 08-14-13
It improved with time
I was initially disappointed with this book - 3000 years is a lot to cover and the years BC were very confusing and not very exciting listening. I felt that the wars between the different greek colonies ended up being a list that just baffled me.
I was particularly interested in the Norman occupation and that didn't disappoint and really from then on it was well written and held my interest.
Poor Sicily has had many invasions and masters. It has been included in several empires and ruled by kings and emperors that lived far away. None of it really changed the character of the sicilians themselves.
The latter part of the book concerned itself with the unification of Italy and the mafia which made most interesting listening but it took a lot of getting to.
I do recommend this book - persist with it and you will get to some hidden gems and nuggets of interesting information.
6 people found this helpful
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- Charles Divita
- 03-09-17
Highly informative and one of the best narrations I experienced.
Very detailed and well researched. The narrator did a great job. It's a long read (listen) but I was always eager to get back to it. I'll listen to it again. Wish I had this book prior to my trip to Sicily two years ago. I'll certainly listen to it again before my next visit. What an interesting country. Tragic in many ways. The book gave me a much richer understanding of "my people" -- their history, trials, and psyche.
3 people found this helpful
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- PSD
- 01-05-22
Amazing account/history of Sicily
Phenomenal diversity account of a culture often times misjudged and overlooked.
3000 years of history was a great listen to anyone interest in learning the WHY Sicily was know as the jewel of the Mediterranean with its fertile soils and rich deposits.
I feel there could be deep dives in each time period covered - so much occurred on this little island it was a great listen.
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- hans sandberg
- 10-21-21
Fascinating book that explains Sicily
One cannot avoid feeling bad for the people of Sicily, an island that was destined by its central and strategic location to be run over and occupied over and over, leaving a lack of trust in authorities that still shapes it's character.
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- GraceG
- 08-02-21
Great beginning and ending.
Great coverage of the Sicilian heritage, oppression of Sicilians and their tolerance and strength of survival. The ending brought out the great quality of Sicilians including the mafiosi who have never killed a tourist nor a regular Sicilian citizen. I liked the narrators voice, bit I wish he had done his homework with the Italian pronunciation of cities and other words. Putting the accent on the wrong syllable changes the name or word.
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- Amazon Kunde
- 01-21-21
Real insight in sicilian people and culture
Please disregard all the negative reviews. Condensing 3k years of history in 16 hrs is not an easy task. Listening to this has helped me put in place missing pieces i had in the sicilian jigsaw puzzle. Great listen!
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- barbara
- 11-20-19
awful narration
The narrator's voice is so boring and sounds like a computer. I couldn't listen anymore.
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- Patrick F.
- 10-01-19
Fascinating
This story of Sicily is well done and enlightened me to the many happenings that make Sicily the place it is today
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- Justin R.
- 08-14-19
Great history of Sicily
A long haul, but worth it if you're interested in Sicily and understanding the unique history of its peoples.
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- donna D
- 05-18-17
the robots are coming
This is read by what sounds like a robot. It's unlistenable. Awful. Missed opportunity
1 person found this helpful