Books That Have Made History: Books That Can Change Your Life

By: Rufus J. Fears, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Rufus J. Fears

Length: 18 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Why do "Great Books" continue to speak to us hundreds and even thousands of years after they were written? Can they deepen our self-knowledge and wisdom? Are our lives changed in any meaningful way by the experience of reading them?

Tackle these questions and more in these 36 engaging lectures. Beginning with his definition of a Great Book as one that possesses a great theme of enduring importance, noble language that "elevates the soul and ennobles the mind," and a universality that enables it to "speak across the ages," Professor Fears examines a body of work that offers extraordinary wisdom to those willing to receive it.

You'll study dozens of works, from the Aeneid and the book of Job to Othello and 1984 - works that range in time from the 3rd millennium B.C. to the 20th century, and in locale from Mesopotamia and China to Europe and America. Professor Fears approaches each of these works from an entirely different direction, considering philosophical and moral perspectives that superbly complement a purely literary understanding.Grasping these philosophical and moral perspectives is crucial to the education of every thoughtful person. These works that have shaped the minds of great individuals, who, in turn, have shaped events of historic magnitude. You'll study the underlying ideas of each great work to see how these ideas can be put to use in a moral and ethical life."History is our sense of the past," Professor Fears says. "And these Great Books are our links to the great ideas of the past. They educate us to live our lives in a free and responsible way."

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

©2005 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2005 The Great Courses

Books about great teachers

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I listened to this almost straight through over several days. One theme/arc is about what great teachers from the past can tell us about how to live and face death. I don't know much about Dr. Fears' circumstances at the end of his life but his three-word conclusion at the end jibs with our American way of facing end-of-life issues.

I may well listen again and again and, no doubt, get other insights.

What other book might you compare Books That Have Made History: Books That Can Change Your Life to and why?

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Which scene was your favorite?

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

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Any additional comments?

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Great Books, Weak Professor

The professor is peachy and annoying, not to mention clueless (read the Philosophy of Broader Survival for the details). As for the books, they are, from this broader perspective, products of the Clueless Era of Humanity (which humans are still in) (again, read the philosophy).
Listening on, it gets worse - the book is really a Christian evangelist book in disguise. The professor keeps sneaking in Christian precepts that originally were not there, the kicker being "science doesn't amount to anything". The professor nearly turns this book into a distorted waste of time.

A great overview of historic books and messages

Presented through a series of interrelated themes, this course covers various historic texts with relevant passages. The professor does a nice job of presenting different ways these texts have impacted our world and how they can help us think differently.

Excellent in every way.

I couldn't stop listening. Professor Fears was entertaining and funny, but also sincere and passionate about his subject. He was often strongly opinionated, but in a very ethical and non-threatening way. I highly recommend this lecture series. I am encouraged to seek out the books he has reviewed.

What a marvelous course! The professor is stellar.

This is one of the finest courses I have listened to on The Great Courses. Prof. Fears is such a gifted teacher and communicator that I cannot imagine anyone being better. I loved each leecture and learned a great deal. I will listen to these lectures more than once. Highly recommend this course.

Great lessons here

Highly recommend this course to all of you out there. Professor fears is truly a great teacher.

Such a great teacher

I have a couple of Rufus J. Fears lectures and I simply fell in love with his enthusiasm. What a great teacher. Super sad to hear of his passing. My condolences go out to his family.

It is a Joy to Listen to Dr. Fears

I have listened to this course three times over the last several years, and it is a treat to listen to the late Dr. Rufus Fears provide his thoughts and survey of the great ideas of Western civilization by way of vignettes of a selection of great books. The surveys sometimes cover the books in great detail, and sometimes in very brief overview as a spring board to talk about history and great ideas in general. If you are looking to get a Cliffs Notes version of the selected books, that is not what this course is about. if you enjoy sitting down with a great professor for an intimate and wide-ranging conversation told in inimitable style, then this is for you. I have enjoyed all of Dr. Fears' Great Courses recordings, but I think this is my favorite. Highly recommended.

A Beautiful, If Somewhat Biased, Lecture Series

I loved this series of lectures, though it is somewhat problematic, and I urge anyone who wants to give a fair assessment of it to finish it in its entirety. It is, like life, a journey through different ideas and pieces of wisdom, and sometimes the whole point of the lecture— Or, two lectures in the case of Goethe's Faustus— aren't fully revealed until the very last statements. It is clear that Professor Fears made a great effort to be fair and understanding of the various authors, cultures, and messages, as well as show why these works and individuals are so influential. I also appreciated the inclusion of philosophy and history, and these works, of course, were thoughtfully chosen and do indeed have moral impacts. And, for the most part, I agree with Professor Fears’s messages and selections. But there are some problems with his selections, conclusions, emphases, and biases. There is not enough space here to give enough attention to the defense of my substantial objections, such as: the exclusion of any works by female authors without a good cause or explanation, the bias for the religious over the atheistic, the disproportionate emphasis on Western works, the relative dismissal of the accomplishments of science, and the omission of the best aspects of some of these books (for the works I had already read, that is). If it were a lecture solely on Ancient Greek philosophy, for instance, it would make perfect sense to omit these other groups, because as far as we know, they are irrelevant to that exact study. But this is a lecture on great books that can change your life, of which the included groups certainly do not have sole dominion. So I find the survey lacking in diversity at the very least, and as for our current culture as “lacking values?” This is not an idea I accept. As the world becomes more global and self-aware, we are reflecting more on our behavior, standards, and relationships and re-evaluating what we believe. For some, that will mean a return to their own traditions, and for others, it will mean a critical examination of everything we believe and which values to keep and which to reject based on their intents and effects. But I digress. Overall, I recommend it as one source, with many merits, of a survey of great ideas. But it is still flawed in some crucial ways. But the best message I took from these lectures is empowering: Have the courage to speak and live your truths. And in that, Professor Fears and I are in total agreement.

Classic

Work on getting the whole series of books. Best advice you’ll ever get in these great works