Studying History in the Car

Recently I've been thoroughly absorbed by some freebie history podcasts I downloaded from the Internet. Not only do they make car journeys pass more quickly, but sometimes I'm fretting to get back on my way, to find out what happened next!

I'm really only a dabbler in this area, but am very impressed by what is available and by the potential of the medium.

Some years ago I became very enthusiastic about The Napoleon Podcast, a series produced by an Australian, Cameron Reilly, which generated a lengthy series of shows featuring Reilly as host and continuity man (and frequent provocateur), and J David Markham - American author of numerous works on Napoleon, of which Napoleon for Dummies must be one of his biggest sellers. The series was ambitious, in an amiably homespun sort of way, and when the personalities of the two presenters (and their unrelenting devotion to the Emperor) began to grate on the nerves it was rescued by a number of excellent guest speakers. That series is still worth a listen, I think - especially the sections on the Russian army and its campaigns.

Apart from the occasional episode of BBC Radio's In Our Time show, I haven't been paying a lot of attention subsequently; I've checked out a number of audiobooks, but these things are very much dependant on how well they are read, which - in turn - is very much a matter of personal taste. I was delighted that someone had taken on the task of recording Oman's Peninsular War epic series on mp3, for example, but my excitement ended abruptly when I heard the results. I was also keen to get the very good audiobook version of CV Wedgwood's book on the Thirty Years War, but it seems this is tricky if you don't want an Audible account. At the time, I thought that Audible seemed like an updated version of the old monthly book-clubs scam, but I am slowly starting to consider this more seriously. I may be a potential subscriber. [Having typed this here, I suspect I will now see adverts for little else on my email page, my eBay screens, Facebook, in my shaving mirror, etc...]

The podcasts which have been keeping me entertained recently are both American:

Dan Carlin

World War 1 - excellently done, but very heavy going

(1) Dan Carlin's Blueprint for Armageddon series - which comprises six enormously long shows, available from Carlin's Hardcore History website. Carlin, I think, is a bit like Marmite - I have really become quite a big fan, but a lot of people do not appreciate his style, nor his political views. The series in question is available free from his site, and I downloaded these shows as a taster, before exploring some of the items which require a (small) investment. Carlin's viewpoint in this particular miniseries is to examine WW1 as it affected the participants. He does it well, and impartially, though the whole thing is presented with attention to the meat-grinder aspects of the experience which gets close to obsession at times. No matter - the point is well made, if maybe a few times too many. Carlin appears to have a view with which I can empathise - namely, that there are no absolute winners in war; as a rule, wars are started for political or economic reasons by national leaders or rulers, but the cost in suffering and ruin is borne by the common people, mobilised and conscripted in support of some national patriotic jamboree. Anyway, it's sobering stuff, but I learned a great deal, and he is a stunning presenter.

Mike Duncan

Well worth a browse

(2) Mike Duncan's Revolutions Podcast, which is all available free of charge, though you are sort of expected to make a donation if you appreciate the shows. This is a weekly series - I downloaded the ECW set, and thought they were very good. They give an excellent overall view of a complex subject, and they do it well, though they focus on the political rather than the military detail. I was a little disappointed that Duncan chose to spend very little time on the many sieges which were central to the wars, though he probably decided they were difficult things to present in an interesting way. The shows are well written, and well presented, though for my taste the insistence on introducing a matey joviality at times does not work well. Maybe this is compulsory for the Informal Internet, but, no matter how charismatic the presenter, inclusion of phrases like "awesome" and "kicking the crap out of the King's army" in a narration, even of popular history, adds little for me. Overall, though, I liked the slick way the shows were written and edited. I'm going to have a look at the wealth of other material on offer on the site. Mr Duncan is to be complimented on his efforts.

For zero cost, these podcasts offer a lot of entertainment and, in the series I have been following, a great deal of insight. I have enjoyed my motor trips much more of late, no doubt. Recommended - and I shall look further to see what else is out there.