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Masterpieces of the Imaginative Mind: Literature's Most Fantastic Works
- Narrated by: Eric S. Rabkin
- Length: 12 hrs and 31 mins
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Publisher's summary
Many of literature's greatest works, from ancient myths to the works of Nobel laureates, rely on fantasy. Even when there has been a dominant preference for realism, generation after generation of readers have been drawn to stories of the fantastic - not only for what they help us learn about ourselves as individuals or as members of society, but also for what they show about our social values. And now one of the world's foremost authorities on the literature of the fantastic and science fiction has created a series of 24 lectures that take you on a journey through some of the most remarkable feats of imagination in all of literature. You'll study strange tales of talking frogs and cannibal witches, from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to Arthur C. Clarke's astonishing 2001: A Space Odyssey and beyond. Ranging from the early 1800s to contemporary times, Professor Rabkin casts a wide net for fantastic works and delves deeply into some of the most astonishing. You'll learn about the works and times of Edgar Allan Poe, the Brothers Grimm, Virginia Woolf, Lewis Carroll, Franz Kafka, Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, J.R.R. Tolkien, Ray Bradbury, Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and many others. And you'll see how artists you might not have even considered in this context - such as writers like Nathaniel Hawthorne, or composers like Offenbach and Tchaikovsky - owe a creative debt to this remarkably vibrant genre.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your My Library section along with the audio.
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- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Original Recording
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Join three literary scholars and award-winning professors as they introduce you to dozens of short masterpieces that you can finish - and engage with - in a day or less. Perfect for people with busy lives who still want to discover-or rediscover-just how transformative an act of reading can be, these 36 lectures range from short stories of fewer than 10 pages to novellas and novels of around 200 pages. Despite their short length, these works are powerful examinations of the same subjects and themes that longer "great books" discuss.
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Stories not included, only discussed
- By Julie Jester on 01-15-16
By: The Great Courses, and others
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The Iliad of Homer
- By: Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Vandiver
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
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For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the
Iliad has enchanted readers from around the world. When you join Professor Vandiver for this lecture series on the Iliad, you'll come to understand what has enthralled and gripped so many people. Her compelling 12-lecture look at this literary masterpiece -whether it's the work of many authors or the "vision" of a single blind poet - makes it vividly clear why, after almost 3,000 years, the
Iliad remains not only among the greatest adventure stories ever told but also one of the most compelling meditations on the human condition ever written.
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Vandiver never disappoints
- By Machteacher on 07-23-13
By: Elizabeth Vandiver, and others
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Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature
- By: Pamela Bedore, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Pamela Bedore
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
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Can literature change our real world society? At its foundation, utopian and dystopian fiction asks a few seemingly simple questions aimed at doing just that. Who are we as a society? Who do we want to be? Who are we afraid we might become? When these questions are framed in the speculative versions of Heaven and Hell on earth, you won't find easy answers, but you will find tremendously insightful and often entertaining perspectives.
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A very enjoyable and educational audiobook
- By NH on 04-06-17
By: Pamela Bedore, and others
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Writing Creative Nonfiction
- By: Tilar J J. Mazzeo, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Tilar J J. Mazzeo
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
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Bringing together the imaginative strategies of fiction storytelling and new ways of narrating true, real-life events, creative nonfiction is the fastest-growing part of the creative writing world. It's a cutting-edge genre that's reshaping how we write (and read) everything from biographies and memoirs to blogs and public speaking scripts to personal essays and magazine articles.
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Not what I expected but useful
- By Nancy on 04-14-14
By: Tilar J J. Mazzeo, and others
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No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life
- By: Robert C. Solomon, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert C. Solomon
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Original Recording
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Performance
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Story
What is life? What is my place in it? What choices do these questions obligate me to make? More than a half-century after it burst upon the intellectual scene - with roots that extend to the mid-19th century - Existentialism's quest to answer these most fundamental questions of individual responsibility, morality, and personal freedom, life has continued to exert a profound attraction.
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Good for even a non-existentialist
- By Gary on 07-24-15
By: Robert C. Solomon, and others
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The Life and Writings of C. S. Lewis
- By: Louis Markos, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Louis Markos
- Length: 6 hrs and 5 mins
- Original Recording
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What can we still learn from C.S. Lewis? Find out in these 12 insightful lectures that cover the author's spiritual autobiography, novels, and his scholarly writings that reflect on pain and grief, love and friendship, prophecy and miracles, and education and mythology.
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Basically a collection of sermons
- By Richard on 11-20-13
By: Louis Markos, and others
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A Day's Read
- By: The Great Courses, Emily Allen, Grant L. Voth, and others
- Narrated by: Arnold Weinstein, Emily Allen, Grant L. Voth
- Length: 18 hrs and 25 mins
- Original Recording
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Join three literary scholars and award-winning professors as they introduce you to dozens of short masterpieces that you can finish - and engage with - in a day or less. Perfect for people with busy lives who still want to discover-or rediscover-just how transformative an act of reading can be, these 36 lectures range from short stories of fewer than 10 pages to novellas and novels of around 200 pages. Despite their short length, these works are powerful examinations of the same subjects and themes that longer "great books" discuss.
-
-
Stories not included, only discussed
- By Julie Jester on 01-15-16
By: The Great Courses, and others
-
The Iliad of Homer
- By: Elizabeth Vandiver, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Elizabeth Vandiver
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For thousands of years, Homer's ancient epic poem the
Iliad has enchanted readers from around the world. When you join Professor Vandiver for this lecture series on the Iliad, you'll come to understand what has enthralled and gripped so many people. Her compelling 12-lecture look at this literary masterpiece -whether it's the work of many authors or the "vision" of a single blind poet - makes it vividly clear why, after almost 3,000 years, the
Iliad remains not only among the greatest adventure stories ever told but also one of the most compelling meditations on the human condition ever written.
-
-
Vandiver never disappoints
- By Machteacher on 07-23-13
By: Elizabeth Vandiver, and others
-
Great Utopian and Dystopian Works of Literature
- By: Pamela Bedore, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Pamela Bedore
- Length: 12 hrs and 27 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Can literature change our real world society? At its foundation, utopian and dystopian fiction asks a few seemingly simple questions aimed at doing just that. Who are we as a society? Who do we want to be? Who are we afraid we might become? When these questions are framed in the speculative versions of Heaven and Hell on earth, you won't find easy answers, but you will find tremendously insightful and often entertaining perspectives.
-
-
A very enjoyable and educational audiobook
- By NH on 04-06-17
By: Pamela Bedore, and others
-
Writing Creative Nonfiction
- By: Tilar J J. Mazzeo, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Tilar J J. Mazzeo
- Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bringing together the imaginative strategies of fiction storytelling and new ways of narrating true, real-life events, creative nonfiction is the fastest-growing part of the creative writing world. It's a cutting-edge genre that's reshaping how we write (and read) everything from biographies and memoirs to blogs and public speaking scripts to personal essays and magazine articles.
-
-
Not what I expected but useful
- By Nancy on 04-14-14
By: Tilar J J. Mazzeo, and others
-
No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life
- By: Robert C. Solomon, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Robert C. Solomon
- Length: 12 hrs and 7 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
What is life? What is my place in it? What choices do these questions obligate me to make? More than a half-century after it burst upon the intellectual scene - with roots that extend to the mid-19th century - Existentialism's quest to answer these most fundamental questions of individual responsibility, morality, and personal freedom, life has continued to exert a profound attraction.
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Good for even a non-existentialist
- By Gary on 07-24-15
By: Robert C. Solomon, and others
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London in the Time of Dickens
- By: Lillian Nayder, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Lillian Nayder
- Length: 6 hrs and 8 mins
- Original Recording
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In London in the Time of Dickens, you’ll get the unique opportunity to experience the British capital through the eyes of a literary master whose work is inextricably tied to the city and its rich history. Throughout 12 lectures taught by Professor Lillian Nayder of Bates College, you’ll tour the city of London in a time of rapid transformation through the life and work of Charles Dickens, uncovering the history of the metropolis, while also witnessing the everyday experiences of Londoners from all walks of life as Dickens represents them.
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The book read like an interesting Biography and at the same time it painted what was going on in London at that time !😊
- By miriam wismar on 12-02-23
By: Lillian Nayder, and others
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The Story of Human Language
- By: John McWhorter, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: John McWhorter
- Length: 18 hrs and 15 mins
- Original Recording
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Language defines us as a species, placing humans head and shoulders above even the most proficient animal communicators. But it also beguiles us with its endless mysteries, allowing us to ponder why different languages emerged, why there isn't simply a single language, how languages change over time and whether that's good or bad, and how languages die out and become extinct.
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You'll Never Look at Languages the Same Way Again
- By SAMA on 03-11-14
By: John McWhorter, and others
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Elements of Jazz: From Cakewalks to Fusion
- By: Bill Messenger, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Bill Messenger
- Length: 5 hrs and 59 mins
- Original Recording
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Jazz is a uniquely American art form, one of America's great contributions to not only musical culture, but world culture, with each generation of musicians applying new levels of creativity that take the music in unexpected directions that defy definition, category, and stagnation. Now you can learn the basics and history of this intoxicating genre in an eight-lecture series that is as free-flowing and original as the art form itself.
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A Disappointingly Distorted, Myopic View Of Jazz
- By Parallax View on 08-18-13
By: Bill Messenger, and others
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1066: The Year That Changed Everything
- By: Jennifer Paxton, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Jennifer Paxton
- Length: 3 hrs
- Original Recording
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With this exciting and historically rich six-lecture course, experience for yourself the drama of this dynamic year in medieval history, centered on the landmark Norman Conquest. Taking you from the shores of Scandinavia and France to the battlefields of the English countryside, these lectures will plunge you into a world of fierce Viking warriors, powerful noble families, politically charged marriages, tense succession crises, epic military invasions, and much more.
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History brought to life
- By Joshua on 07-10-13
By: Jennifer Paxton, and others
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The Brontës: Romantic Passion and Social Justice
- By: Deborah Morse, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Deborah Morse
- Length: 5 hrs and 39 mins
- Original Recording
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Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Brontë created some of the greatest works of 19th-century English literature. How did these three young women, born into a humble parsonage on the isolated moors of Northern England, write such striking work? What influenced them? How did they get their stories out into the world? Why do their novels continue to grip readers to this day? These and other questions are what you will explore in The Brontës: Romantic Passion and Social Justice.
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Outstanding…
- By Jo C. on 08-29-21
By: Deborah Morse, and others
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Being Human: Life Lessons from the Frontiers of Science
- By: Robert Sapolsky, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: The Great Courses
- Length: 5 hrs and 53 mins
- Original Recording
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Understanding our humanity - the essence of who we are - is one of the deepest mysteries and biggest challenges in modern science. Why do we have bad moods? Why are we capable of having such strange dreams? How can metaphors in our language hold such sway on our actions? As we learn more about the mechanisms of human behavior through evolutionary biology, neuroscience, anthropology, and other related fields, we're discovering just how intriguing the human species is.
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Somewhat Interesting but not Quite as Advertised
- By Adam J Duhame on 10-05-13
By: Robert Sapolsky, and others
What listeners say about Masterpieces of the Imaginative Mind: Literature's Most Fantastic Works
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Orange Monkey
- 07-14-22
A look under the hood of our shared subconscious
This is not my first book or lecture on the symbolic meaning in fairy tales and other literary works, but it is the best.
A wonderfully researched, knowledgeable journey through how ideas from our pre-history are still shaping us today. Just like we still react to snakes without any prior experience, as it's pre-wired, what else is?
I'm finding it difficult to spit out the qualitative content of the 'depth' I feel hidden in this Great Courses. (Eric S. Rabkin doesn't though.) It shines lights under the hood of each and every one of us, our shared social constructs (even when those things that are not social constructs are made into social constructs, which is becoming the most threatening social construct of them all), and in essence: how our minds work. Ultimately, we experience the world through our minds. We create the world around us. When we look around, it's looking increasingly ugly, volatile, vengeful and hateful. Not just in the US, but globally.
This is a course with so much to give. I highly, highly recommend it.
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- Cliente Kindle
- 07-05-15
Fantastic!!!
One of the best courses I have ever had the pleasure to listen to. This is an experience. Professor Rabkin knows his stuff, but most importantly - knows how to pass on that information. Loved it !!!!!
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2 people found this helpful
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- JC Tuck
- 06-10-21
Wish the Course Would Never End!
I would register for any class taught by Eric S. Rabkin. Each lesson is comprised of unique standalone content that holds the listener's attention. As the lessons progress, Rabkin successfully weaves the information into a cohesive learning experience.
I cannot wait to read (or re-read) the books and stories referenced in this exceptional course.
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1 person found this helpful
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- scottie
- 04-06-18
I had a really hard time following these
His line of thought was confusing. But I'm not college educated either. It's probably my problem not him.
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- front of the man 123
- 04-16-23
Exactly what the title says
A very informative overview of fantasy and science fiction, including many works new to me.
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- Eusebio
- 08-15-15
Literature appreciation
I quite liked this course. The approach reminded me of other books from The great Courses by prof Robert Greenberg - presenting works and authors in a historical and artistic context. After listening to the course I am encouraged to explore further specific books or authors and read the books. Also, reading them after the course is more enjoyable compared to not having as much context.
If you're looking for concentrated learning about literature this is not the course to get, if instead you like fantasy as a genre and are would like a good foundation from where to explore new authors, then this course is a very enjoyable way to do it.
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13 people found this helpful
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- jagitzes
- 01-20-16
Highly Recommend
Would you listen to Masterpieces of the Imaginative Mind: Literature's Most Fantastic Works again? Why?
I have already listened to this lecture twice. The professor is knowledgeable and provides multiple theoretical view points. The subject matter ranges widely enough to keep you on your toes.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Masterpieces of the Imaginative Mind: Literature's Most Fantastic Works?
I thoroughly enjoyed his treatment of early fairy tales, Edgar Allan Poe, and Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass. These were by far the best parts of the discussion. Detailed and thought provoking, these discussions challenged the listener to reread many of these stories with a new perspective.
I also very much enjoyed his discussion and treatment of J.R. Tolkien as well as the Sci Fi genre.
Any additional comments?
Fantasy is a wonderful genre because it allows us to pull back from our assumptions about the world, examine issues and concepts we wouldn't normally question, and take a deeper look at our own selves.
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9 people found this helpful
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- The rod
- 02-14-16
Science Fiction Defined
This is a very interesting course. The lecturer is well read and very knowledgable. His speaking voice is easy on the ears and his enthusiasm for the topic is quite evident and infectious. I came away looking at books I've read in a different way and a list of seminal science fiction works I want to read in the future.
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5 people found this helpful
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- Negar
- 01-28-23
I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed listening to these lectures!
I stopped reading fiction in college and stuck to science for over a decade, but recently, I have found a new interest to this side of the literature and it’s all thanks to these amazing lectures.
Thank you Dr. Rabkin and The Great Courses!
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- Ari@The Bookish Coven
- 04-12-23
Lectures on how fantasy evolved
Take a lovely journey through the ages with prof. Eric as he analyzes great works of fantasy. From well known fairy tales all the way to Clark, Asimov and LeGuin. I felt that some authors were overlooked; there is no mention of Octavia Butler for example which I found disappointing.
But overall, this was a very interesting series of lectures!
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