Sicily: An Island at the Crossroads of History

John Julius Norwich

Jul 2015 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Michael Healy

About this audiobook

"Sicily," said Goethe, "is the key to everything." It is the largest island in the Mediterranean, the stepping-stone between Europe and Africa, the link between the Latin West and the Greek East. Sicily's strategic location has tempted Roman emperors, French princes, and Spanish kings. The subsequent struggles to conquer and keep it have played crucial roles in the rise and fall of the world's most powerful dynasties. Yet Sicily has often been little more than a footnote in books about other empires. Here is a vivid, erudite, chronicle of an island and the remarkable kings, queens, and tyrants who fought to rule it. From its beginnings as a Greek city-state to its emergence as a multicultural trading hub during the Crusades, from the rebellion against Italian unification to the rise of the Mafia, the story of Sicily is rich with extraordinary moments and dramatic characters. Writing with his customary deftness and humor, John Julius Norwich outlines the surprising influence Sicily has had on world history and tells the story of one of the world's most kaleidoscopic cultures in a galvanizing, contemporary way.

About the author

John Julius Norwich is the New York Times bestselling author of many books, including A History of Venice, Absolute Monarchs, and Sicily. He has also written on architecture, music, and the history plays of Shakespeare, and has presented approximately thirty historical documentaries on BBC television.

Michael Healy is an award-winning actor and audiobook narrator who trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He has appeared Off-Broadway and on national TV, most notably on Saturday Night Live for three years, and has also appeared in several national commercials.