I came across this podcast about, well, the Life and Times of Frederick the Great. The style isn't always to my taste as it seems very much read from a script - I prefer the more discursive style of podcast*. But it's a good way of covering the subject in a brief period of time and there's some interesting pieces in there that I hadn't thought about before**.
I listened to a couple of the later episodes initially, but jumped back to the beginning on a flight back from holiday on Saturday, and learned lots of new stuff about Brandenburg-Prussia in the 17th century.
* I'm a big fan of We Have Ways of Making You Talk, which is hosted as a double-header and the hosts have enough heft to get lots of interesting guests on. And of course, one of them is a professional performer, so it's unfair to compare the podcasts. I've listened to a couple of episodes where the host (Alex Avdakov) has guests on, including one with Doctor Alexander Burns (Kabinettskriege blog), and these were very interesting. Alex Burns edited the Changing Face of Old Regime Warfare: Essays in Honour of Christopher Duffy.
** Such as the episode on why Frederick invaded Silesia, where it's suggested that if he didn't, then Saxon Elector (and Polish King) Augustus III might, pushing Prussia further down the pecking order.
Anyway, the Life and Times of Frederick the Great is well worth listening to. A good accompaniment to painting. Especially SYW figures.
No comments:
Post a Comment