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Imperial Twilight
- The Opium War and the End of China's Last Golden Age
- Narrated by: Mark Deakins
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
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Publisher's summary
As China reclaims its position as a world power, Imperial Twilight looks back to tell the story of the country's last age of ascendance and how it came to an end in the 19th-century Opium War.
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.
The audiobook paints an enduring portrait of an immensely profitable - and mostly peaceful - meeting of civilizations that was destined to be shattered by one of the most shockingly unjust wars in the annals of imperial history. Brimming with a fascinating cast of British, Chinese, and American characters, this riveting narrative of relations between China and the West has important implications for today's uncertain and ever-changing political climate.
Critic reviews
"Everyone with experience in China has heard about the legacy of the Opium War and subsequent ‘Century of Humiliation.’ But Stephen Platt presents the buildup to this confrontation in a vivid and fascinating way, which challenges many prevailing assumptions in both China and the West (including some of my own). This is narrative and analytic history of a high order, which will be read with enjoyment by audiences around the world.” (James Fallows, author of Our Towns and China Airborne)
"A deeply researched study of an early clash of civilizations, when England attempted to impose its will on East Asia... A fluent, well-written exercise in revisionism, one of interest to students of modern geopolitics as well as 19th-century history." (Kirkus)
"A fresh perspective on the first Opium War, the conflict that allowed Western merchants to pry open China’s riches and gain unprecedented trading privileges... Platt's research is impeccably presented in this winning history of British and Chinese trade." (Publishers Weekly)
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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.
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InTOLerable Reader
- By Adam on 07-07-12
By: Stephen R. Platt
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Unlikely Allies
- How a Merchant, a Playwright, and a Spy Saved the American Revolution
- By: Joel Richard Paul
- Narrated by: Arthur Morey
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
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Unlikely Allies is the story of three remarkable historical figures. Silas Deane was a Connecticut merchant and delegate to the Continental Congress as the American colonies struggled to break with England. Caron de Beaumarchais was a successful playwright who wrote The Barber of Seville and The Marriage of Figaro.
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Love it
- By jenney on 05-17-11
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When America First Met China
- An Exotic History of Tea, Drugs, and Money in the Age of Sail
- By: Eric Jay Dolin
- Narrated by: A. T. Chandler
- Length: 10 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
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Ancient China collides with newfangled America in this epic tale of opium smugglers, sea pirates, and dueling clipper ships. Brilliantly illuminating one of the least-understood areas of American history, best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin now traces our fraught relationship with China back to its roots: the unforgiving nineteenth-century seas that separated a brash, rising naval power from a battered ancient empire. It is a prescient fable for our time, one that surprisingly continues to shed light on our modern relationship with China.
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Superior book! Excellent read!
- By melissa c. on 01-28-23
By: Eric Jay Dolin
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Our Man in Charleston
- Britain's Secret Agent in the Civil War South
- By: Christopher Dickey
- Narrated by: Antony Ferguson
- Length: 10 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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The unlikely man at the roiling center of this intrigue was Robert Bunch, an American-born Englishman who had maneuvered his way to the position of British consul in Charleston, South Carolina, and grew to loathe slavery and the righteousness of its practitioners. Bunch used his unique perch and boundless ambition to become a key player, sending reams of dispatches to the home government and eventually becoming the Crown's best secret source on the Confederacy.
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Not a spy novel
- By Michael Battle on 06-21-16
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The Imperial Cruise
- A Secret History of Empire and War
- By: James Bradley
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 9 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1905 President Teddy Roosevelt dispatched Secretary of War William Howard Taft on the largest U.S. diplomatic mission in history to Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, China, and Korea. Roosevelt's glamorous 21 year old daughter Alice served as mistress of the cruise, which included senators and congressmen. On this trip, Taft concluded secret agreements in Roosevelt's name.
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Over the Top - Why did I waste my time?
- By Kent on 01-25-10
By: James Bradley
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Liberty's Exiles
- American Loyalists in the Revolutionary World
- By: Maya Jasanoff
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
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Maya Jasanoff won the National Book Critics Circle Award for her groundbreaking work Liberty's Exiles. After the American Revolution, 60,000 British loyalists fled the U.S. for Canada, the Caribbean, India, and other points abroad. Jasanoff traces their harrowing journeys across the globe, shedding light on their ambitions, the post-revolutionary world they encountered, and their legacies.
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Staggering in its Breadth
- By Anders P Morley on 02-21-21
By: Maya Jasanoff
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For Liberty and Glory
- Washington, Lafayette, and Their Revolutions
- By: James R. Gaines
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 21 hrs and 21 mins
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On April 18, 1775, a riot over the price of flour broke out in the French city of Dijon. That night, across the Atlantic, Paul Revere mounted the fastest horse he could find and kicked it into a gallop. So began what have been called the "sister revolutions" of France and America. In a single, thrilling narrative, this audiobook tells the story of those revolutions and shows just how deeply intertwined they actually were.
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Excellent presentation
- By Hal on 08-20-12
By: James R. Gaines
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Revolution Song
- A Story of American Freedom
- By: Russell Shorto
- Narrated by: Russell Shorto
- Length: 18 hrs and 42 mins
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From the author of the acclaimed history The Island at the Center of the World, an intimate new epic of the American Revolution that reinforces its meaning for today. With America's founding principles being debated today as never before, Russell Shorto looks back to the era in which those principles were forged. Drawing on new sources, he weaves the lives of six people into a seamless narrative that casts fresh light on the range of experience in colonial America on the cusp of revolution.
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An inspiring book
- By Frank on 08-27-18
By: Russell Shorto
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Empire's Crossroads
- A History of the Caribbean from Columbus to the Present Day
- By: Carrie Gibson
- Narrated by: Romy Nordlinger
- Length: 17 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Ever since Christopher Columbus stepped off the Santa Maria onto what is today San Salvador, in the Bahamas, and announced that he had arrived in the Orient, the Caribbean has been a stage for projected fantasies and competition between world powers. In Empire’s Crossroads, British American historian Carrie Gibson traces the story of this coveted area from the northern rim of South America up to Cuba, and from discovery through colonialism to today, offering a vivid, panoramic view of this complex region and its rich, important history.
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Careless production mars storytelling
- By Brenda Thomas on 03-31-16
By: Carrie Gibson
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The Scratch of a Pen
- 1763 and the Transformation of North America
- By: Colin G. Calloway
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins
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In February, 1763, Britain, Spain, and France signed the Treaty of Paris, ending the French and Indian War. In this one document, more American territory changed hands than in any treaty before or since. As the great historian Francis Parkman wrote, "half a continent...changed hands at the scratch of a pen."
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Poor account - there are better
- By Brian on 07-18-06
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The Modern Scholar
- The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin
- By: Professor H.W. Brands
- Narrated by: H.W. Brands
- Length: 7 hrs and 59 mins
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This course examines the life of Benjamin Franklin and his influence on both American and world history. He remains the model of the American thinker - a man who was interested in nearly everything, and who pursued those interests with an admirable and contagious passion. To study Franklin's life is to learn not only the history of a single man, but to understand some of the most monumental changes in all of human history.
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Love it
- By Holly on 02-20-16
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Apostles of Revolution
- Jefferson, Paine, Monroe, and the Struggle Against the Old Order in America and Europe
- By: John Ferling
- Narrated by: Noah Michael Levine
- Length: 18 hrs and 26 mins
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Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and James Monroe were in the vanguard of revolutionary ideas in the 18th century. As founding fathers, they risked their lives for American independence, but they also wanted more. Each wished for profound changes in the political and social fabric of pre-1776 America and hoped that the American Revolution would spark republican and egalitarian revolutions throughout Europe, sweeping away the old aristocratic order. Ultimately, each rejoiced at the opportunity to be a part of the French Revolution, a cause that became increasingly untenable as idealism gave way to the bloody terror.
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A bit of a challenging listen but well worth it
- By J. Parks on 09-20-21
By: John Ferling
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Written by two of the world's leading authorities on the subject, Imperial Germany and War, 1871-1918 examines the most essential components of the imperial German military system, with an emphasis on such foundational areas as theory, doctrine, institutional structures, training, and the officer corps. In the period between 1871 and 1918, rapid technological development demanded considerable adaptation and change in military doctrine and planning.
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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.
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In 1837, Hong Xiuquan failed the notoriously difficult exam to gain entry to the Chinese Civil Service and suffered a nervous breakdown. In a weakened state, he had visions which he later interpreted to be messages from God, telling him that he is the younger brother of Jesus Christ and, therefore, the second son of God.
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What listeners say about Imperial Twilight
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Carl A. Gallozzi
- 09-05-18
Balanced readable narrative about the Opium Wars
A thorough narrative of the Opium War(s) - between Great Britain and China in the 1800's.
A history of how the Dutch, French, Portuguese and British "got there" - and how the British merchants established themselves by trading in legal goods (tea, silk) and illegal goods (opium grown in India and transported from India to China).
There was more than enough "blame" to go around - the Chinese Empire had significant levels of corruption - bribe taking - but there were more than enough opportunities to reconcile and not have a trade or real war - but these opportunities were not seized by either party. Instead appeals were made to British nationalism, pride for alleged insults to national honor and etc. Similar type thinking is detailed on the Chinese side.
In the end the British "won" - continued the trade in both the legal and illegal trade. This also doomed the Chinese Emperor system - and began (what the Chinese see as ) the Century of Humiliation - from approximately 1840 through 1949. The Chinese Government uses this to fire up nationalistic spirit of the Chinese - that China will "never again" be beset by Western Powers. This is the going forward lesson.
Worth a read - an important part of (now) current history - which isn't well understood.
Carl Gallozzi
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28 people found this helpful
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- Jay Caldwell
- 12-07-19
Can I get a refund?
I wanted a book about the Opium Wars. This is a 17 hour book about the buildup to the Opium Wars. About 45 minutes on the actual first Opium War and nothing about the second. False Advertising and boring book.
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19 people found this helpful
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- XiaoHu
- 04-04-20
An interesting history beautifully told
I learnt the Opium War from my middle school textbook in China some 40 years ago. The conflict was largely described as injustice war forced on China by the British who wanted to open Chinese ports and poisoned the people. I still hold these views after reading the book but with much more knowledge on the twists and turns of events and intricacy of the relationship between the two countries, and the randomness of seemingly predetermined historical fate. Thanks for the author for the book. I like the ending that portraits a US-China relationship in a romantic and ideal term---only if we could all live peacefully like the Chinese merchant Houqua and American trader Forbes.
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- Lorenzo Coopman
- 01-25-20
essential knowledge!
This book contains a portion of very interesting facts about the English (trade) connections with imperial China. It is a very difficult subject that needs a very delicate approach to be explained. and I must say : it does just that in excellent fashion. It also important in present day when China is taking a much more prominent place in the world order then it has done in the last 100 years. in other words this book is a gem for all those who are interested in the world and how things are and how they become this way.
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9 people found this helpful
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- SGDuval
- 04-04-21
Slow start, but comprehensive and panoramic.
I am hardly well-versed in 18th and 19th century Chinese history, and through the first chapter I thought to myself, "are they ever going to get to the point?" Luckily I persevered because that opening is necessary for grasping the context of the expansion and transformation of the British relationship with China that sets the stage for the Opium War. As the author does, and I think rightfully for the title and topic, the imperial twilight is more the story than the Opium War itself. It's laid out carefully and convincingly the imbalances, contraditions, and mistakes that led to China's decline while illustrating some of the cultural and social features that characterize its re-emergence, presaging both its vitality and the horrors of the Cultural Revolution and Great Leap Forward.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-02-20
loved it
finished it so fast. fascinating listen and easy to follow even with Chinese names and many people involved
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- D. Squires
- 11-17-18
a well painted portrait
By the end - I felt like a resident of the world... including knowing many of the characters that inhabited it... which the author did a great job of developing to the point that they seemed to cast a shadow.
I will say that the very end of the book... the part actually related directly to the opium war goes on long without as much of the interesting detail that characterized it's early chapters.
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- James Messelbeck
- 04-21-22
Very comprehensive without being ponderous
Now I understand the genesis of so-called opium war. This book, clearly and comprehensively, identifies the economic dynamics and the individuals involved so the unenlightened reader enjoys a 360* perspective.
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- Anonymous User
- 10-21-19
Detailed account
Detailed account of events. and causes leading up to, and events after the Opium war.
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- Louis Joost
- 02-21-19
Barely Touches on the war
Was really disappointed that this is mostly about the lead up to the war and barely about the war itself.
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