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36 Books That Changed the World
- Narrated by: Andrew R. Wilson, Brad S. Gregory, Charles Kimball, Daniel N. Robinson, Jerry Z. Muller, John E. Finn
- Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins
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Publisher's summary
Certain works of literature, history, science, philosophy, political theory and religion offer powerful examples of how books can spark revolutions, birth great religions, spur scientific advancements, shape world economies, teach us new ways of thinking, and much more. And with this fascinating collection crafted from our extensive library of courses, you can now get a single course that represents 36 of our best lectures on literary works that changed the world.
In the company of an unparalleled roster of award-winning professors from a range of disciplines, you'll get fresh perspectives on books you only thought you knew - and intriguing introductions to some works you may not have known played key roles in getting us to where we are today. These include The Analects, the Liber Abaci, A Dictionary of the English Language, The Jungle, The Feminine Mystique, and more.
If you've taken another course with these professors before, get a reminder of just why you enjoyed them. And if you've never heard some of them before, who knows? You may just discover your next favorite Great Courses professor. More than that, you'll rediscover just how powerful the printed word can be. You'll also learn how the mark of a truly great book isn't that it just changes the lives of individual readers-but the lives of entire civilizations.
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This is a nine-book bundle on the Pacific War, the theatre of World War II that was fought in Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean and Oceania. The Pacific War saw the Allies pitted against Japan, aided by Thailand and its Axis allies, Germany and Italy. Fighting included some of the largest naval battles in history, and the war culminated in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
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Good collection, great bargain well worth a credit
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Black Elk Speaks
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Widely hailed as a spiritual classic, this inspirational and unfailingly powerful story reveals the life and visions of the Lakota healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863–1950) and the tragic history of his Sioux people during the epic closing decades of the Old West. In 1930, the aging Black Elk met a kindred spirit, the famed poet, writer, and critic John G. Neihardt (1881–1973) on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
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Tale of tears
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Fingerprints of the Gods
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Fingerprints of the Gods is the revolutionary rewrite of history that has persuaded millions of listeners throughout the world to change their preconceptions about the history behind modern society. An intellectual detective story, this unique history audiobook directs probing questions at orthodox history, presenting disturbing new evidence that historians have tried - but failed - to explain.
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Classic in Historical Mysteries
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The Secret History of Christmas
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Christmas is the single biggest annual event on the planet, a time for merry-making, over-indulgence, peace, goodwill, and the occasional family row. It’s as comfortable and familiar as a pair of old shoes and yet still glittery and exciting. But what do you really know about it? It’s stuffed full of traditions and rituals that most of us have been observing all our lives without having the slightest idea of where they come from.
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Fascinating and Entertaining
- By Laura Carrington on 11-23-22
By: Bill Bryson
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Whether taken as a book of faith or a cultural artifact, the New Testament is among the most significant writings the world has ever known, its web of meaning relied upon by virtually every major writer in the last 2,000 years. Yet the New Testament is not only one of Western civilization’s most believed books, but also one of its most widely disputed, often maligned, and least clearly understood, with a vast number of people unaware of how it was written and transmitted.
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What listeners say about 36 Books That Changed the World
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Jim
- 02-19-17
Great course, good food for the intellectual mind.
It is a great course, helps learn about the origins of literature and some of the other great ideas and writings that we have in our society today.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Iannis
- 04-28-17
really good to know! makes you want to read more
some of these books are never mentioned today, so it's definitely useful to learn what else is out there scattered through the centuries of human civilization.
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- Kenneth
- 05-17-16
Informative and Educational
I liked the variety of books covered in this course. The lectures were well done.
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- F. Elizabeth Hauser
- 05-26-17
Informing my new reading list
Interesting and extremely informative, this course will be my guide to reading most, if not all of the featured books discussed in this lecture series.
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- Glen
- 04-28-23
Always a great course to go back to.
Because of the great range of topics and fantastic set of authors, this is a course that you can start at any point. Each of the books is unique and each lecture is self-contained and complete. Highly recommend this course.
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- Hada Pixie
- 08-06-18
sometimes you gotta take notes
the thing i love about the great courses, is that sometimes i have to bookmrk things so i can go back when i have the time and look up something that was referenced in these courses: its a great way to get an overview and figure out what books will really be a good read for me!
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2 people found this helpful
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- Brennan
- 01-23-17
Not bad, but I'm biased
Some of the narrators were dreadfully boring and it was only the topic which kept me awake. Not sure how the New Testament was not listed, as there was another multiple author book. But many of the books in this list are on my wishlist and renewed my interest in them.
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Overall
- Anonymous User
- 12-01-21
Thoroughly enjoyed!
Enjoyed the wide variety of professors. Lovely introductipn to many books & topics I will never have time to read myself.
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- Steven
- 10-15-20
Excellent
Simply an excellent collection of various narrators, all excellent, that represent a wide swath of our civilization. Now on to read a few of these on my ever growing list.
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- K. Alexander
- 07-31-22
Overall, worth a listen
Most of the chapters, I felt, were worth their inclusion. There was seemingly a bias towards European males, but it also seems there was an effort to advocate for anti-supremacy -- a good thing. It was heavily weighted towards topics of literature, society and philosophy: "Western Civilization." Perhaps volume 2 could start with aesthetics, move through practical knowledge and mathematics and finally conclude with the sciences and engineering. Overall, worth a listen, even though the continuity of reading was a bit analogous to the listening of a jukebox musical -- a bit froggy!
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