History's Greatest Voyages of Exploration

By: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius

Mutiny. Disease. Starvation. Cannibals. From the ancient wayfarers to modern astronauts, world explorers have blazed trails fraught with danger. Yet, as History's Greatest Voyages of Exploration vividly demonstrates, exploration continues to be one of humanity's deepest impulses.

Across 24 lectures that unveil the process by which we came to know the far reaches of our planet, you'll witness the awe-inspiring and surprisingly interconnected tale of global exploration. An award-winning history professor from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, revolutionizes how you view the world as he introduces you to some of the greatest and most influential explorers ever known-successful as well as unsuccessful, admirable as well as flawed. You'll be spellbound as you learn of the treacherous, at times fatal, expeditions into the unknown these adventurers embarked upon, whether to the frozen Poles, Asia, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the ocean's depths, or the final frontier of space.

Through it all, you consider what drove these intrepid individuals, from proselytizing and pilgrimage to the lure of wealth, conquest, fame, and new lands, as evidenced by the Vikings' arrival in North America; Marco Polo's journey along the Silk Road to China; Christopher Columbus' "Enterprise of the Indies"; the conquistadors' ravages in Latin America; and the tiny kingdom of Portugal's triumphant circumnavigation of Africa to seize control of trade in the Indian Ocean.

In every lesson, you'll follow these fascinating figures - including several remarkable women - as they venture into uncharted territory and put themselves, and often their crews, in dire peril. With Professor Liulevicius' uniquely global approach, you also get a meaningful portrait of the travels of non-Westerners, as well as the perspectives of discovered people.

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

©2015 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2015 The Great Courses

So much fun!

The author achieves a great story arc even though each lectures tackles a different explorer, a different time. I learned about well known travelers and obscure trail blazers. Easy to listen to. Clear sentence structure, almost conversational.

Great review

Any additional comments?

Excellent review of important voyages of exploration from antiquity to modern times. My only (minor) complaint is the professor's determination to pronounce every name in the language of that person rather than English. At times sounds forced and is annoying.

Worth Exploring

I was not sure exactly what to expect with this course, but I previously listened to the same professor's course on World War I and decided to give this a shot. In full disclosure, I'm a huge history buff, so I generally like anything related to history. This course did not disappoint. The professor covered an extraordinarily wide range of stories from very early, barely historic voyages of exploration through modern space exploration. Every lesson contained some aspect of history that I did not know before. Each lesson was interesting and kept my attention as the professor told of great voyages of exploration, some incredibly famous and others obscure. The professor did a good job organizing and condensing the materials. The professor also did a good job explaining why some of the famous voyages of exploration are still relevant today.

Around the World in Twenty-four Lectures

Useful and engaging. Of course, as with the format for so many Great Courses (which I love, so this is not a slam), limited time means limited information. But what was there was fascinating and Prof. Liulevicius, whose World War I lectures I have heard, is a capable and erudite teacher!

fantastic read!

this is a fantastic course; I'll be listening to it again and again! and gifting it!