Caesar’s Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar’s Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome

Monday, October 13th, 2008 by Book Guy | No Comments »

"Written in a readable, popular style, this book is a must for military buffs and anyone interested in Roman history at a critical point in European civilization."
T. R. Fehrenbach, author of Lone Star

Stephen Dando-Collins paints a vivid and definitive portrait of daily life in the Tenth Legion as he follows Caesar and his men along the blood-soaked fringes of the Empire. This unprecedented regimental history reveals countless previously unknown details about Roman military practices, Caesar’s conduct as a commander and his relationships with officers and legionnaires, and the daily routine and discipline of the Legion.

From penetrating insights into the mind of history’s greatest general to a grunt’s-eye view of the gruesome realities of war in the Classical Age, this unique and riveting true account sets a new standard of excellence and detail to which all authors of ancient military history will now aspire.

Stephen Dando-Collins is an Australian-born researcher, editor, and author who has spent the last three decades identifying and studying the individual legions of the Roman army of the late Repulic and the empire of the Caesars.

Stuart Langton is an award-winning actor based in New York City. He works in theater, film, and TV and has narrated audiobooks for more than ten years.

Publisher: Blackstone Audio Inc
Author: Stephen Dando-Collins
Narrator: Stuart Langton
ISBN: 0-7861-3732-0
Normal Price: $34.95
Download Price: $23.95 Discover this audio book

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Tags: Ancient Military History, Author Stephen, Classical Age, Definitive Portrait, Epic Saga, European Civilization, Julius Caesar, Last Three Decades, Legionnaires, Military Buffs, Military Practices, Penetrating Insights, Realities Of War, Regimental History, Roman Army, Standard Of Excellence, Stephen Dando Collins, T R Fehrenbach, Tenth Legion, True Account

Hamlet

Tuesday, September 9th, 2008 by Book Guy | No Comments »

Hamlet, which dates from 1600-1601, is the first in Shakespeare’s great series of four tragedies, the others being Othello (1603), King Lear (1605) and Macbeth (1606). In writing this extraordinary play Shakespeare effectively re-invented tragedy after an interval of roughly two thousand years - we have to go back to the Greek dramatists of 5th century Athens to find anything of comparable depth and maturity.

Certainly Shakespeare had already dealt with tragic themes and situations in plays such as Romeo and Juliet, Richard II and Julius Caesar, but in Hamlet he found himself able to fuse with complete artistic success the conflicting concerns of the private individual and the public state of which he is a member, or for which he may indeed be responsible - Hamlet is, after all. Prince of Denmark. This is a quin-tessentially Renaissance theme: it is no longer enough to appeal to an accepted moral or religious system, but instead each man must find out for himself a moral path through the ‘unweeded garden’ of life.

The first known version of the Hamlet story is found in the twelfth century Historia Danica by Saxo Grammaticus. Most of the main ingredients of the story are already present, albeit in primitive form, and some of the names, too -’Amlethus’ for Hamlet. In 1576 Francois de Belleforest retold the story in his Histoires Tragiques, translated into English in 1608 and hence too late for Shakespeare to have read - but someone, perhaps Thomas Kyd, came across the story in the 1580’s and turned it into a play which must have been Shakespeare’s immediate source, however radically different Shakespeare’s version turned out to be. We know, incidentally, that the idea of a ghost seeking revenge comes from this lost play: Thomas Lodge in 1596 writes of the ‘ghost which cried so miserably at The Theater, like an oyster wife, “Hamlet, revenge. ‘”

Publisher: Select Music & Distribution
Author: William Shakespeare
Narrator: Full Cast Production
ISBN: 9 62634 124 6
Download Price: $19.25 Continue…

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Tags: Artistic Success, Four Tragedies, Garden Of Life, Greek Dramatists, Hamlet Revenge, Julius Caesar, King Lear, Music Distribution, Prince Of Denmark, Private Individual, Religious System, Renaissance Theme, Romeo And Juliet, Saxo Grammaticus, Select Music, Thomas Kyd, Thomas Lodge, Tragic Themes, Twelfth Century, William Shakespeare

Caesar & Cleo

Monday, September 1st, 2008 by Book Guy | No Comments »

Caesar & Cleo
On June 17, 1996 a construction crew clearing a site in Alexandria Egypt for the foundation of a new fast-food joint uncovered a sealed urn. Inside were scrolls purported to be written in 42 BC by none other than the personal slave of Julius Caesar.

Caesar & Cleo by Bruce Kane is the first play to be based on what have, since their discovery, become known as The Burger King Scrolls.

Running time: 35 minutes.

Publisher: One Act Audio Theatre
Author: One Act Players
Narrator: Full Cast
ISBN: 0
Download Price: $1.98

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Tags: Act Players, Alexandria Egypt, Bruce Kane, Burger King, Cleo, Construction Crew, Discovery, Fast Food, Julius Caesar, Narrator, Personal Slave, Price 1, Running Time, Urn

Sceptred Isle 7: The Age of Revolutions - 1760-1792, This

Wednesday, July 30th, 2008 by Book Guy | No Comments »

Sceptred Isle 7: The Age of Revolutions - 1760-1792, This
The story of Britain from the arrival of Julius Caesar in 55BC to the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, specially written for BBC Radio 4 by Christopher Lee , narrated by Anna Massey and featuring extracts from Sir Winston Churchill ’s A Histovy of the English-speaking Peoples read by Peter Jeffrey .  

7. The Age of Revolutions 1760-1792 - In 1760, at the age of 22, George III succeeded his grandfather as Britain’s third Hanoverian nomarch. The country was still at war with the French and his first decade was to be a time of political instability as Parliament and the stubborn, conscientious king tussled to establish the constitutional monarchy we recognise today.

Meanwhile, the frontiers of the known world were expanding in philosophy and religion, science and technology, literature and the arts.

And this wealth of new ideas showed itself in practical ways: British society was changed forever by the growing industrial revolution, the map of the world was also changed forever as revolution in America resulted in the birth of a new nation and, much closer to home, revolution in France was to change the face of Europe,

Publisher: BBC Audiobooks Ltd
Author: Christopher Lee
Narrator: Anna Massey and Peter Jeffrey
ISBN: 140569940X
Download Price: $22.75

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Tags: Age Of Revolutions, Anna Massey, Bbc Radio 4, Christopher Lee, Constitutional Monarchy, Death Of Queen, George Iii, Hanoverian, Home Revolution, Julius Caesar, Map Of The World, Peter Jeffrey, Political Instability, Queen Victoria, Religion Science, Science And Technology, Sir Winston Churchill, Technology Literature, This Sceptred Isle, Winston Churchill

Julius Caesar

Saturday, May 24th, 2008 by Book Guy | No Comments »

Julius Caesar

BBC Radio has a unique heritage when it comes to Shakespeare. Since 1923, when the newly formed company broadcast its first full-length play, generations of actors and producers have honed and perfected the craft of making Shakespeare to be heard.

Political intrigue and fierce battle rage in this tense and dynamic production in which a country is torn apart under the legacy of Julius Caesar, ‘the colossus’.

Revitalised, original, and comprehensive, this is Shakespeare for the new millennium.

Publisher: BBC Audiobooks Ltd
Author: William Shakespeare
Narrator: Full Cast Production
ISBN: 0563553540
Download Price: $18.99

Posted in Drama and Culture | No Comments »
Tags: Actors, Bbc, Bbc Radio, Caesar Julius, Colossus, Dynamic Production, Fierce Battle, Full Length, Generations, Heritage, Julius Caesar, Legacy, Narrator, New Millennium, Political Intrigue, Producers, Rage, Shakespeare, William Shakespeare