Neil Oliver Audiobooks

The Story of the World in 100 Moments turns popular history into a hundred short listens

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Who is Neil Oliver?

Neil Oliver is a Scottish television presenter and author who became a familiar face through documentary series on archaeology and history, among them A History of Scotland, Vikings and Coast. Alongside the broadcasting he has written popular history books and historical fiction, and from 2017 to 2020 he was president of the National Trust for Scotland.

His public profile has shifted considerably since. In April 2021 he became a presenter on GB News, the news and opinion channel, where he has aired contrarian views on COVID-19 and climate change, along with conspiracy theories about world government. That makes him a rather more divisive figure than the gentle coastal walks once suggested – worth knowing before you press play, though listeners can fairly judge the history writing on its own terms.

Neil Oliver in audiobooks

The Story of the World in 100 Moments is the Oliver title in our catalogue, and its format plays to the strengths that made his documentaries watchable: an eye for the single vivid scene that stands for something larger. A hundred moments is a shape made for audio – each one a self-contained listen, easy to pick up between other things, with history delivered as story rather than syllabus. Listeners who enjoyed his archaeology and history series will recognise the register: enthusiastic, narrative-first popular history that wears its learning lightly. Even those cool on his newer punditry may find the storytelling here is where he is at his best.