The Foundations of Western Civilization

By: Thomas F. X. Noble, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Thomas F. X. Noble

Length: 24 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

What is Western civilization? According to Professor Noble, it is "much more than human and political geography," encompassing myriad forms of political and institutional structures - from monarchies to participatory republics - and its own traditions of political discourse. It involves choices about who gets to participate in any given society and the ways in which societies have resolved the tension between individual self-interest and the common good.

Within this series of 48 lectures, you'll discover the many ways in which Western civilization has addressed those questions, from its first stirrings in the great river valleys of Iraq and Egypt in 3000 B.C to the beginning of the 17th century and the dawn of the modern world. Your learning will cover vast amounts of territory and thousands of years, beginning in the ancient Near East and moving to Greece and then Rome. You'll explore ancient empires, including those of Persia, Alexander the Great, and Rome.

You'll watch as western Europe gradually expands, both physically and culturally. And you'll examine the globalizations of Western civilization with the Portuguese and Spanish voyages of exploration and discovery.

This broad and panoramic series, ripe with the telling detail on which history can turn, will help you pull an enormous sweep of history together into one coherent - though by no means closed - framework as you watch history develop under the influence of such critical factors as ecology and environment, geography, and climate; government and economics; technology; religion; work and leisure; philosophy; literature; art and architecture; and virtues, values, and aesthetics.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2002 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2002 The Great Courses

Highly recommended

Where does The Foundations of Western Civilization rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

top 10
I loved the material but a history major may already know all this stuff.
I will proceed directly to Vol 2.

Who was your favorite character and why?

n/a

What about Professor Thomas F. X. Noble’s performance did you like?

This is the weakness. The Prof is a good lecturer but his dynamic range is large so the audio volume varies greatly making it at times a difficult listen in the car. I frequently needed to replay sections that had fallen to a near whisper.
A *dynamic range compressor* add-on to the audible app would be a great idea! This same problem appears in many other recordings.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

n/a

Any additional comments?

I thoroughly enjoyed this.

Dan Carlin-esque

If you could sum up The Foundations of Western Civilization in three words, what would they be?

This is a good summary course of a western development from early civilization up through late antiquity.

Any additional comments?

I'm not sure who influenced whom, or if it's simply a coincidental speaking style, but Professor Noble comes off like Dan Carlin in his start-stop, sometimes manically-rapid delivery and tone. It's not for everyone because it doesn't sound much like a lecture recorded in a lecture hall, nor is it going to delve deep enough into any one subject to enlighten true scholars, but fans of Carlin's "Hardcore History" will feel right at home with this course. I found it plenty entertaining and worth listening to.

Not a fan of FX Noble's Voice and Delivery

I feel very scattered after listening to this...a LOT of history...yes I managed to take plenty in but I found FX Noble's voice and delivery off-putting, sometimes hesitant and difficult to follow because one line of thought is interrupted with name dropping outside of the sequence and maybe it's something about his syntax...pushed my way through it but i would look for a different lecturer next time.

Fascinating

I enjoy the study if history and this pulled together so many other components that i have read about.

Great journey through western civilization

The instructor has a great knowledge of the subject and presents it in a way that keeps your interest.

Amazing

The series redefined my perception of the past. Did a great job contextualizing movements of people and ideas over the ages and helped me understand how the great ideas of democratic society came into existence and have exploded across nations. Loved every bit of this.

Where was this course when I was 19?

Or, perhaps, why wasn’t I ready for this course when I was 19? At any rate, glad I discovered this gem when I was 40. :-)

Nicely broken into 30-minute lectures. Easy to listen to and thought provoking. No agenda other than education.

WOW! What a keen mind this Professor has!

What did you love best about The Foundations of Western Civilization?

Professor Noble rips through this 48 lecture series in such a way that almost defies my ability to reason. His knowledge on the subject matter covered, which is massive, is complete. He never misses a beat. His command of languages is impressive as well. I honestly do not have the words to adequately describe how much I enjoyed this because of this man's intellect. Be amazed!

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

My extreme reaction was one of amazement. How does one speak thoroughly and intelligently on such a wide variety of subject matter? Whether it's Greek philosophy,
early European architecture, or religion this professor did not stumble over his words. He spoke with authority.

Any additional comments?

I will be trying to find more courses and material on this professor. When you find a great teacher, don't you want to learn more from him?

Brilliant

I highly recommend this course. My previous study of history has been of set times or events and there has been little understanding of the continuity of historical development or on how one period impacted on another. In this overview Professor Noble skilfully and in a very interesting way traces history from the earliest known times until the sixteenth century. He explains not only what happened at different times but also the influences one period had one another. He also has a way of making rather difficult concepts in philosophy and theology easy to grasp. He has a relaxed manner in his presentation which make the lectures enjoyable to listen to

Western Perspective Explained

I am an IT professional and I highly recommend this series. I have done a number of these Great Courses and they are consistently excellent and approachable even for folks like myself who are sometimes only tangentially aware of the subject matter. Noble does a great job in balancing his approach to the topic and warns early on that he is not an apologist or a promoter. He is merely explaining the subject matter. I would stop short of saying something pithy like it was "fair and balanced" because that would require an incredibly long series. But Noble realizes that things must be understood in context, so context is provided for that purpose.

I especially like Noble's handling of the Middle Ages. He brings the listener through that time in European history and dismantles the reductionist trope of the "darkness" of the time being the fault of the Church.