Turning Points in Modern History

By: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius

Length: 12 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

This lecture series takes you on a far-reaching journey around the globe - from China to the Americas to New Zealand - to shed light on how two dozen of the top discoveries, inventions, political upheavals, and ideas since 1400 have shaped the modern world. In just 24 thought-provoking lectures, you'll get the amazing story of how life as we know it developed.

Starting in the early 15th century and culminating in the age of social media, you'll encounter astounding threads that weave through the centuries, joining these turning points in ways that may come as a revelation. You'll also witness turning points with repercussions we can only speculate about because they are still very much in the process of turning.

Professor Liulevicius doesn't merely recount the greatest events of history, but rather has selected true catalysts in provoking changes in worldview. Some of the events you'll investigate, including the discovery of the New World and the fall of the Berlin Wall, will immediately resonate as watershed moments. The global significance of other pivotal events may only become apparent through the detailed analysis contained in these lectures, such as the publication of the Enlightenment-era Encyclopédie and the Russo-Japanese War - which has been historically overshadowed by the two world wars that followed.

As you discover how turning points such as the discovery of penicillin and the opening of East Berlin hinged on chance, accident, and, in some cases, sheer luck, you'll realize how easily history might have played out differently.

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

©2013 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2013 The Great Courses

Excellent throughout

One of the best courses I've listened too. Great job. Didn't want it to end! I was a little worried that he would have an accent from the sound of his last name but there was no accent at all.

The Greatest Person to Reside in Tennessee since Elvis

If Prof. Liulevicius had taught at my school, I would have gotten up extra early just to make sure to register in time for every one of his classes. I'm sure that all of these instructors are geniuses, but this man loves teaching and you can hear it in his voice and in the way he structures his lecture. I'll admit, I'm now a total fangirl and I'll throw my money at anything that has his name on it.

Great course by a great professor...

I've said it before, anything done by Prof. Liulevicius is worth listening to. This lives up to being a great course for the Great Courses.

One of the better syntheses by Great Courses.

one of the better or best syntheses by Great courses. certainly in the top five that I have listened to. very well done connecting previous lectures to the current one

Thought of a thinker

I liked it because it was for wise people. It shows how important it is to be an individual with ideas that can be worked on. Anybody that can read or listen should . I recommend this book because it proves the equality byforce is wrong because it is not reality. You don’t settle for almost you show the value of the most.

Interesting, well-done

I've become a groupie of this lecturer. i like his style and delivery very much. This is an interesting course. Two nits. 1. Enough about HG Wells, already! 2. The habit of trying to connect prior turning points is forced and does not add to the analysis.

Truely a great course

This is an excellent, informative, thought-provoking series of lectures by a clear expert in both history and in instruction. He traces a series of turning points to illustrate the growth of modernity as viewed by our society. While I agree with other reviews that a less Euro-centric view would have improved the course, that is a minor weakness given the depth and clarity of these lectures. The speaker used his voice excellently to inform and to invoke the sense of wonder and change associated with the turning points. It was never boring, never repetitious, and always involving to listen to.

What events shook the world?

Comprehensive with details of people and places in World History. Easy to comprehend with key dates places and changes. It charts transitions for society including great leaders in governments science and literature

Great Information

Having lived through most of the turning points this was an amazing walk through history.

impressive

I particularly like how the course kept incorporating turning points from previous lectures into the later lectures, giving a real sense of accumulation of knowledge and the longstanding impact of earlier turning points.