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The Rest Is History

By: Goalhanger Podcasts, Dr Tom Holland, Dominic Sandbrook
Narrated by: Dominic Sandbrook, Dr Tom Holland
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Summary

Bloomsbury presents The Rest is History by The Rest is History, read by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook.

'An idiosyncratic ride through history' Independent
'Holland and Sandbrook have pretty much reinvented popular history for the modern age' The Times

The nation’s favourite historians, Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, take on the most curious moments in history, answering the questions we didn’t even think to ask…

- What was the most disastrous party in history?
- How did a hair appointment almost blow Churchill’s cover?
- Why did the Nazis believe they were descended from the people of Atlantis?
- What made Alfred the Great so great?

From a British political leader who allegedly plotted to feed his lover to alligators, to a Brazilian emperor whose subjects mistook him for a banana, there is nothing too big or too small for Tom and Dominic to unpick.
©2023 Goalhanger Podcasts (P)2023 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History
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What listeners say about The Rest Is History

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Captured the essence of their oeuvre

This is everything the Rest is History is in audiobook form, with a recap of podcast highlights and additional material over the physical book and podcast

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  • Overall
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More than an edited version of the pod

I'm afraid this volume could safely be said to be light-weight compared with any other books the authors have published. Long-term listeners of the eponymous podcast would find all the content familiar but it's so much fun nonetheless. The bonus that makes this recording more than an edited version of the podcast include the conversations Holland and Sandbrook have in addition to what is written down in the print version, and some interesting, sometimes comical, sound effects.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Same as Podcast but without debate

Great chunks are directly taken from the Podcast.
Save the credit , not worth it.

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1 person found this helpful

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The guys in full technicolour

Some truly magnificent impressions. This has to be so much better than reading the book.
It’s the podcast on steroids!

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A real Tour de Force!

Tom, Dominic and the team knock it out of the park once again. Witty, engaging, plenty of in-jokes but not alienating for new listeners. And what impressions! Loved it.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Disappointed

I love history and was quite excited to get this but I marked it as finished with 6 hours to go. The presenters simply got on my nerves with their silly comments. Was it written for children? Fir teenagers? I’m not sure if they knew who their audience was. The poor editing didn’t help. Some bits they seemed to have added in stood out a mile. Maybe they recorded some of it in a hotel room? Or maybe an occasional cheap mic? I’m sure it’s ok as a podcast - it seems popular in that format. But as a history book it just didn’t work for me. It’s probably my fault thinking it was a historical “book” rather than a piece of entertainment.

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Utterly brilliant! -Misty Malverner

Just a simple, fantastic, brilliantly researched, tour of history. With the usual accents, commentary and joy that we have come to expect from their amazing podcast.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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The actual podcast is far, far better

This thing is just… weird. It’s a bunch of vocal impressions in some kind of children’s book style. Why? I have no idea. The actual podcast (which I really like) is nothing like this. It’s like someone involved with the production of the podcast just decided that the time had come to try and release some kind of commercial media related to the podcast, but they had absolutely no idea what to actually do. And the result is this collection of bizarre comedic vocal impressions. Go listen to the actual podcast instead, it’s much better.

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Fascinating - and very funny.

I’m biased of course, as I love the podcast. I had to buy the book, and had to listen to the Audible version, brilliantly read/performed by renowned historian Tom Holland and also by renowned historian Dominic Sandbrook (🤣). It’s all great listening, but I have to say I love the da Vinci code chapter most. (I actually think it’s best listened to, as you get a taste of the original tone.)

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Absolutely brilliant

Just as funny, educational and entertaining as the superb podcast, I loved this. A really interesting collection of historical subjects from around the world, very well read and the Da Vinci Code as written by renowned historian Dominic Sandbrook is one of the funniest things I've heard in a while. Can't wait for the next one (please!)

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