They Saw It Happen

by Matthew Lewin (Editor), Kerry Shale (Narrator), Tim Pigott-Smith (Narrator)

Here are more than 60 eyewitness accounts of notable historical events, such as the Battle of Thermopylae, the Black Death of the 1340s, The Great Fire of London in 1666, the 1793 Execution of Louis XVI, The Death of Vice Admiral Nelson during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, The American Civil War (1861-1865) and the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. But there are also snapshots of more ordinary life - no less memorable for all that - including working conditions during the Industrial Revolution of the late 1700s and early 1800s, views of slaves and their owners, Pau Gauguin (1848-1903; one of the leading French painters of the Postimpressionist period), who choose a bride on Tahiti, and the 1910 arrest and death of Dr. Crippen. It is a fascinatingly unique and absorbing collection, bringing the past alive as only direct memories like these can do.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, War

Audio CD

First published September 29, 2003

Reviews

[Don Heiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

The audio book “They Saw It Happen” was released by Naxos in 2003. The 60 episodes audio book was compiled by Mathew Lewis and narrated by four exceptional readers. Their voice inflections, tonal changes, and dramatic pauses help listeners experience first-hand important historical events. The historic narrations are based on diary accounts, eye witness notes, journals, and first person newspaper accounts. The episodes are 5 to 7 minutes long. The audio presentations begin with the Spartans battle at Thermopylae (480 BC), Nero’s fire in Rome, Crusaders liberation of Jerusalem, and the execution of Charles 1 in 1649. I especially liked the eyewitness portrayals of the Boston Tea Party, Wright Brothers first flight, and Lindberg’s flight to Paris. The presentations about American Civil War events, Pearl Harbor attacks, and Hiroshima (1945) are gripping. The audio book is available on Hoopla from many public libraries. (L)

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fascinating glimpse into history!

I am not given to audiobooks, preferring to read paper copies, but this seems to only be available as an audio, and in this case I think it worked to the book's advantage. The various voices employed served to draw the listener in and really bring to life the personal anecdotes being told.

This series of vignettes takes the reader/listener on a real journey through time and does so in a very personal way, given that each one is taken directly from sources of the time and place. It is real, raw, and quite intriguing. Because it is done in snippets, it is not hard to follow, nor does it get too heavy or textbook-ish. This is how history ought to be told.

[Kenneth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easily one of the very best audio CDs that I will listen to in 2018. These eyewitness accounts of 60 people into a fascinating chimera of historical events....Whether you're with Charles Lindbergh looking for the Paris airport at night or Samuel Pepys watching the Great Fire of London, The Black Death in Europe, The Charge of the Light Brigade, to the factories and working conditions in England as told by Charles Dickens, the retelling of these events will grip you. Beautifully read and straight from the sources. Totally unfiltered history.

[Elin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad but a little underwhelming. I guess I wanted more of a human impression of the events that an eyewitness could provide. Many of them were dry factual accounts the likes of which I could find on Wikipedia. For example, the legal statement of a Nazi is factually interesting, but it's not an eyewitness account - it's not an honest and personal account of what was seen and felt in a particular instance.

[Gregory · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good overall, accept for two dumb chapters.

It has interesting accounts from the Roman times, to the Crusades, to the French Revolution, the First World War on to the atomic bomb. Each part has corresponding music and brief introductions.

I have a problem though with it randomly covering stuff like London prostitutes. There is no need for that. After deleting those two parts, you can enjoy the book in peace.

[Melinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not exactly what I was expecting. This was literally someone reading a series of different letters/journal entries...etc from people who were witness to various points in history. It was interesting to be sure but strangely disconnected.

[Katelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice mix of the gruesome and the fascinating, but some were really uninteresting to me. Probably important to history, but we're outside of my interests and I found those parts boring. The really striking ones balanced it out.

[Ru4repeat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great narration. There were some interesting accounts from events I hadn't heard before. Several notable events from a different perspective provided additional insights. Of course, there are a few stories that I would have been okay not knowing about and lived just fine.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable little audiobook. Wide range of subjects from ancient Greece and Rome to the charge of the light brigade

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of eyewitness events from history along with how we know even this much.

[MacWithBooksonMountains Marcus · Rating 2 out of 5]

No narrative, just a wild selection of eye witness accounts. Without much context and disconnected, it is more like an encyclopedia than a proper book

[TC Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dry but it's all handwritten accounts of what happened.

[Bonnie]

"They Saw It Happen," by Matthew Lewin, is a collection of eye witness accounts of some of the most famous moments in world history. These events also seem to be the most horrific. Nearly all have to do with death in some form or another: battles, beheadings, mass suicide, genocide, assassinations, murder and the plague. Others with such cheerful topics as slavery, witch trials, cock fighting,a mustard gas attack and the exploitation of children. Even the pilgrims landing on the shores of New England involves the discovery and ransacking of a grave. Then there are the natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, fires and earthquakes.
The more pleasant stories include sightings of famous people such as Queen Victoria, Napoleon and Marie Antoinette, and first flights by balloon,by the Wright Brothers and Lindberg's crossing of the English Channel.
Despite the preponderance of grim topics, the accounts are fascinating. They include opinions that don't usually make the history books, such as the Indian's side of the Little Big Horn Battle and the Japanese view of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Sensations are described that hopefully will never be experienced, such as the effects of mustard gas and opium upon the body. All in all, it was an eye-opening glimpse not just of historical periods and moments, but of how people were affected by them.

[Rebecca Budd]

Powerful words that transported me back in history. Better than a time machine.

[Quincy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little more context for each excerpt would have been helpful, but all-in-all I enjoyed it.

[Mick Pletcher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book because it gives perspectives from common people on historic and extraordinary events. It is refreshing to hear history being told from a non-historian.