Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

Sample
  • Worth Dying For

  • The Power and Politics of Flags
  • By: Tim Marshall
  • Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
  • Length: 10 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (584 ratings)

£0.00 for first 30 days

Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Worth Dying For

By: Tim Marshall
Narrated by: Ric Jerrom
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
activate_samplebutton_t1

Listeners also enjoyed...

Shadowplay: Behind the Lines and Under Fire cover art
Invisible Countries cover art
The Isles cover art
The Fate of Abraham cover art
The Promise of Israel cover art
The Anarchy cover art
Bully of Asia cover art
Language of War, Language of Peace cover art
The Birth of Classical Europe cover art
Superforecasting cover art
A Classical Education cover art
Jerusalem cover art
History's Most Mysterious Secret Societies cover art
Great Catastrophe cover art
A History of Modern Britain cover art
The Origins of Political Order: From Prehuman Times to the French Revolution cover art

Summary

When you see your nation's flag fluttering in the breeze, what do you feel? For thousands of years flags have represented our hopes and dreams. We wave them. Burn them. March under their colours. And still, in the 21st century, we die for them. Flags fly at the UN, on the Arab street, from front porches in Texas. They represent the politics of high power as well as the politics of the mob.

From the renewed sense of nationalism in China, to troubled identities in Europe and the USA, to the terrifying rise of Islamic State, the world is a confusing place right now and we need to understand the symbols, old and new, that people are rallying round.

In nine chapters (covering the USA, UK, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa, Latin America, international flags and flags of terror), Tim Marshall draws on more than 25 years of global reporting experience to reveal the histories, the power and the politics of the symbols that unite us - and divide us.

©2016 Tim Marshall (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"This might be the comprehensive flag volume we've all been waiting for - a slick yet detailed and well-researched journey through some of the world's most infamous and interesting flags…. Marshall guides us through this myriad of stories admirably." ( Geographical Magazine)
"A fascinating tour of the world's ensigns, their histories and meanings...a sobering lesson in just how silly we human beings can be." ( Daily Mail)
"Marshall points out that we often forget the aggressive symbolism of established flags...[they] are a quick, visual way of communicating loyalties, power and ideas." (Robbie Millen, The Times)

What listeners say about Worth Dying For

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    233
  • 4 Stars
    227
  • 3 Stars
    89
  • 2 Stars
    24
  • 1 Stars
    11
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    254
  • 4 Stars
    144
  • 3 Stars
    70
  • 2 Stars
    26
  • 1 Stars
    30
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    232
  • 4 Stars
    174
  • 3 Stars
    83
  • 2 Stars
    24
  • 1 Stars
    12

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertained and Informed across Continents

Great narration, brilliant content as always. Covers every continent and the relevant geopolitics in an entertaining way.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

So interesting

Loved this book, full of interesting facts and historical information. The African and Middle Eastern chapters especially added so much context to where the world is now. I do wish audiobooks could have illustrations.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good book, with some interesting history

really liked this one, however it's nothing compared to prisoners of geography another tim Marshall book. if enjoyed this one give that one ago.

the book is well thought out and explains some fascinating history behind some of the key flags in the world, however most will recognize that certain flags have more meaning to certain groups already.

that being said you are bound to find something you did not know about certain cultures and flags, which will help your understanding of geo politics.

the book is well read and laid out, would definitely recommend to anyone.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good content, dodgy accents!

The content is great, however I struggled with the narrator's accents, Russian and Portuguese stand out as particularly bad. The accents aren't necessary.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Bad narration

I really like Tim Marshall but when I heard the narrator i cringed as I've already experienced 20+ hours in a Daniel Todman book so I knew what was coming. It's a shame the narrator indulges in accents and emphasis where none are needed.
Sadly I have another 40+ hours in another Dan Todman book to look forward to.....

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fantastic book, so-so narration

Another fascinating book by Tim Marshall,only let down by the narrator’s poor attempts at various accents. If he just read it normally it would have been fine as he has a good narration voice generally but his distractingly bad accents undermine his overall performance.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Good content, average narration

Great variety in content but the fake accents are a real turnoff and pretty hard to listen to

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Arrgh - the Narrator

Subject matter is fascinating; the author's writing is sublime, the research is of a high quality, though in no way academic. But the flipping narrator is beyond annoying. If the narrator had only maintained his normal speaking voice through, this book would be wonderful. But the faux put on attempts at accent are beyond bad. It's difficulty to know whether the fake American, the appalling Trump impression, the cringeworthy Scots accent or the incredibly grating Northern Irish attempts are worse. I haven't mentioned the Slavic attempts, or the countless others (though I am conscious I just did) which detract from the author's hard work and craftsmanship. Narrator hang your head in shame - you are ruining this wonderful book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

17 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Accents

The accents were quite frustrating/inaccurate, which made it hard to listen to at times.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Another educational book by T Marshall

I love the way Tim takes you to a fascinating history of the world, its nations and most prominent international organisations.

This is also another fantastic performance of Ric Jerom for whom I have a lot of respect and admiration as a narrator. His delicate tuning of tone, pace, pitch, rhythm and intonation make Listening to this book a even more enjoyable journey. Fine tuning his pronunciation of Spanish and Spanish accent in English would give him a 5 star next time :-)

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!