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History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective  By  cover art

History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective

By: Gregory S. Aldrete, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Gregory S. Aldrete
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Publisher's summary

The ancient world has cast a long shadow, influencing our customs and religious beliefs, our laws, and the form of our governments. It has taught us when and how we make war or pursue peace. It has shaped the buildings we live and work in and the art we hang on our walls. It has given us the calendar that organizes our year and has left its mark on the games we play.

Grasping the full scope of your bequest from the ancient world can't help but give you a more nuanced base from which to make decisions and choose pathways in your own life. These 48 lectures take you on a multidisciplinary journey that ranges across not only the traditional domains of politics and war that are normally the province of history courses, but also those of religion, philosophy, architecture and the visual arts, literature, and science, and more.

You'll examine the ancient world's greatest civilizations from the Mediterranean, Asia, and the Americas - including those of Rome, Greece, China, Persia, India, and the Maya - not in isolation but in the full context of where they came from, the cultures that flourished around them at the same time, and the civilizations that were to come from them. Taking a comparative approach, Professor Aldrete's course includes in-depth analyses of not only key individuals and historical moments, but also history's most important themes, from the nature of rulership and the evolution of religion and philosophy to the practice of warfare and the expression of power through art and architecture.

With its mix of nuanced interpretation, vivid description, and constant attention to exploring history as a coherent whole, this is sure to be one of the most informative and thought-provoking history courses you have ever taken.

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

©2011 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2011 The Great Courses

What listeners say about History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Learned a lot.

Learning is good. As a science fiction writer, i found these lectures interesting. Nothing more needs to be said.

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Great lecture

Professor Aldrete is charismatic and clearly very knowledgeable. I especially enjoyed his comparing of different nations.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Just Started Course, Downloaded Course Syllabus

I really like the 30 minute lectures, did download course syllabus PDF, but now it has disappeared from it’s heading position. Not sure where it went....hopefully, I won’t need to download it again....Clear and upbeat lectures that are enlightening and enthusiastically delivered. Glad I took the plunge....now, I’m on a roll to really learning in a fun, exciting way!

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Excellent

Excellent summary of ancient history by a great lecturer, and it is very well recorded

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    5 out of 5 stars

fun lectures!

Professor Aldrete is fun to listen to, keeps you engaged, and makes the history interesting!

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    5 out of 5 stars

perfect and full of information

I'm so happy to hear a perfectly non-biased account of historical events. these lectures use what we have and they only make few presumptions. I love he admits the shortcomings of the different types of evidence or lack of evidence from the different civilizations. if you are looking for an honest presentation where the narrator is himself is doing his own exploration and using other pieces of evidence, old and new, then this book is for you.

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very informative

very informative!! I would absolutely recommend this to anyone interested in ancient human culture.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Not so Great

Aside from Aldrete using the word "retarded" to describe an entire group of people, this clown couldn't get Alexander's junk out of his mouth. Alexander is basically a God who could do no wrong in his eyes. Not historically accurate and not recommended at all.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Wow

One of my favorite books ever. Such an incredibly encompassing book on ancient history. Fantastic.

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    5 out of 5 stars

A very great course

I really enjoyed every lecture and found everything discussed well laid out and interesting. This is a great overview, review, or introduction, for those interested in ancient civilization.

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