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    The Alps: A Human History from Hannibal to Heidi and Beyond
    The Alps: A Human History from Hannibal to Heidi and Beyond
    The Alps: A Human History from Hannibal to Heidi and Beyond
    Audiobook10 hours

    The Alps: A Human History from Hannibal to Heidi and Beyond

    Written by Stephen O'Shea

    Narrated by Robert Fass

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    For centuries the Alps have seen the march of armies, the flow of pilgrims and Crusaders, the feats of mountaineers and the dreams of engineers-and some 14 million people live among their peaks today. In The Alps, Stephen O'Shea takes readers up and down these majestic mountains, journeying through their 500-mile arc across France, Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, and Slovenia. Along the way, he explores the reality behind Hannibal and his elephants' famous crossing in 218 BCE; he reveals how the Alps have profoundly influenced culture from Frankenstein to Heidi to The Sound of Music; and he visits the spot where Arthur Conan Doyle staged Sherlock Holmes's death scene, the bloody site of the Italians' retreat in World War I, and Hitler's notorious vacation house, the Eagle's Nest. Throughout, O'Shea records his adventures with the watch makers, salt miners, cable-car operators, and yodelers who define the Alps today.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateFeb 21, 2017
    ISBN9781681684680
    The Alps: A Human History from Hannibal to Heidi and Beyond
    Author

    Stephen O'Shea

    Stephen O'Shea, for many years a journalist in Paris and New York, contributed to a wide variety of publications on the arts and translated French feature films. The Friar of Carcassonne is his third book of medieval history. He currently lives with his two daughters in Providence, Rhode Island. stephenosheaonline.com

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    Reviews for The Alps

    4/5

    27 ratings2 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The Alps has an unfortunately boring title but I took a chance. It's an old fashioned travel book, one person driving alone around the Alps describing the places and peoples he meets along with historical asides kept in a handwritten notebook at sidewalk cafes. O'Shea is a trained journalist and published historian so he has the perfect combination of skills for the job. He's also very funny at times which may seem like a small thing but makes the book IMO. It might be comparable to a Bill Bryson travelogue. I've actually done the same thing, though only for a few days, in the Rhone Valley region, and I thought he did an excellent job conveying what it's like to drive around the Alps. The Alps are of course extremely well known, there are no discoveries, but they are terribly interesting and worth learning about either in person or paper - a key to understanding Europe. I listened to the audiobook and followed along with Google Earth and its pictures which gave an immersive and memorable experience.
    • 4/5
      This could more accurately be described as a history and travelogue through the Alps. O’Shea goes through all of the major locales and tourist areas with a lighthearted ease and provides a wonderful tour guide to the majestic mountains.Free review copy.