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The Modern Scholar
- From Here to Infinity: An Exploration of Science Fiction Literature
- Narrated by: Professor Michael D. C. Drout
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
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Publisher's summary
Esteemed professor Michael D. C. Drout traces the history of science fiction in this series of stimulating lectures. From Mary Shelley's Frankenstein to today's cutting- edge authors, Drout offers a compelling analysis of the genre, including a look at hard-boiled science fiction, the golden age of science fiction, New Wave writers, and contemporary trends in the field.
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- Narrated by: Prof. Kimberley Reynolds
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Original Recording
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In the 21st century, many of the best-known and most influential stories have been conceived for juveniles. In "Children’s Literature", Professor Kimberley Reynolds of Newcastle University delves into the phenomenon and “golden ages” of this remarkably diverse literary genre. Throughout the lectures, Reynolds addresses questions of why children’s literature is so popular and how these extraordinary works have both responded to and helped to shape childhood.
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Really valuable information here
- By Carole T. on 08-30-12
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The Modern Scholar: The Iliad and The Odyssey of Homer
- By: Professor Timothy B. Shutt
- Narrated by: Timothy B. Shutt
- Length: 4 hrs and 40 mins
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One of the Modern Scholar’s most popular professors, Timothy B. Shutt, brings his literary acumen and trademark enthusiasm to the study of the epic poems that sit at the very wellspring of Western culture. The earliest surviving works of Greek literature, Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey exert a continuing influence on modern culture, even today shaping people’s values and conduct. In the tales of Achilles and Hector, of Odysseus and Penelope, Homer explored the notion of arête, which translates as "excellence" or "virtue".
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Superb prof
- By customer on 01-22-24
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The Modern Scholar
- Rethinking Our Past: Recognizing Facts, Fictions, and Lies in American History
- By: Professor James W. Loewen
- Narrated by: Professor James W. Loewen
- Length: 8 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Nationalist history by textbook authors and the descendants or biographers of the famous and infamous have given history students a very skewed vision of our true history - indeed, the true history of mankind. This course is designed to enlighten and encourage you to consider the factual basis of many of our most-cherished yet glossed-over stories and the real-life characters who populate them.
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A worthy course
- By Chi-Hung on 04-11-10
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The Modern Scholar
- Shakespeare: Ten Great Comedies
- By: Prof. Raphael Shargel
- Narrated by: Prof. Raphael Shargel
- Length: 8 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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Professor Raphael Shargel channels his passion for teaching and expertise as a Shakespearean scholar into this illuminative study of the Immortal Bard's 10 great comedies. Shakespeare's genius is as readily apparent in these comedies as in his timeless tragedies. Often marked by internal and external conflicts, young lovers struggling for union, mistaken identities, and intertwining plots, Shakespeare's comedies to this day reveal the master's unparalleled insight into the human condition.
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The Modern Scholar
- Literature of C. S. Lewis
- By: Timothy Shutt
- Narrated by: Timothy Shutt
- Length: 7 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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In this course, we will look at Lewis's life and examine the influences that would help to shape Lewis both as a man and as a writer. We will take an in-depth look at Lewis's science fiction trilogy, his Chronicles of Narnia, his apologetic and scholarly works, and his other writings. In doing so, we will come to understand the major thematic elements that mark Lewis's work.
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Worthwhile for anyone interested in Lewis
- By Steve and/or Jodene on 09-28-13
By: Timothy Shutt
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The Modern Scholar
- The American Legal Experience
- By: Lawrence Friedman
- Narrated by: Lawrence Friedman
- Length: 7 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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The legal system in America is the basis of freedom as we know it today. The system is based, ultimately, on the common law of England, but it has grown, developed, and changed over the years. American law has been a critical factor in American life since colonial times. It has played a role in shaping society, but society - the structure, culture, economy, and politics of the country - has decisively shaped the law. Through history, the legal system has been intimately involved with every major issue in American life.
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sound, with portons that are extremely interesting
- By Darkcoffee on 08-28-09
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The Modern Scholar: The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
- By: Thomas F. Madden
- Narrated by: Thomas F. Madden
- Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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In this informative and lively series of lectures, renowned history professor Thomas F. Madden serves as the ultimate guide through the fall of ancient Rome. Professor Madden correlates the principles of Roman conduct that would forever change the world. Rome was an empire unlike the world had ever seen, and one that will likely never be duplicated. Peopled with personages of great distinction and even greater ambition, the Roman Empire contributed many of history's proudest advancements.
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A great set of lectures
- By Chi-Hung on 01-22-09
By: Thomas F. Madden
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The Modern Scholar
- History of Ancient Greece
- By: Eric H. Cline
- Narrated by: Eric H. Cline
- Length: 8 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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In this series of lectures, professor Eric H. Cline delves into the history of ancient Greece, frequently considered to be the founding nation of democracy in Western civilization. Ancient Greece lives on in modern culture, evidenced by an ever-present fascination with the tales of Homer, Greek drama, and the stories associated with Greek mythology. In the rise of Sparta and Athens, people today find a wealth of material for understanding not only ancient Greece, but the modern world.
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Excellent survey
- By David on 09-14-11
By: Eric H. Cline
What listeners say about The Modern Scholar
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Timothy
- 08-27-09
Nerdy? Probably... Enjoyable? Yes
I sometimes listen to audiobooks as I try to fall asleep. The books drown out other noises, and are something I can use to relax at night without leaving lights on. Lectures often work well for this since they are calm, studious rather than enrapturing, and since there is no plot, I can nod off and wake up later without spoiling the story. However, "From Here to Eternity" is a terrible nighttime book. It was so interesting, and Prof Drout was so enthusiastic that it significantly disrupted my sleep over the course of a several (actually very few; I went through it pretty quickly) days.
I am a casual science fiction fan, but "From Here to Eternity" raised my opinion of the genre. It also provided numerous book suggestions; aiding in my continuing quest to use my Audible credits efficiently.
"From Here to Eternity" probably will not appeal to everyone, but if you enjoy science fiction and wouldn't mind a little litterary education, I highly recommend "From Here to Eternity."
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19 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Jens
- 12-15-08
Really interesting, engaging lecture
As an avid Science Fiction reader, I am already pretty excited about the genre, but professor Drout got me even more excited. Although the lecture is rather concise and a few things could have been explored in more detail (I personally missed more information about Arthur C. Clarke, as I do not know that much about him), no major writer is missing and the whole lecture follows a well thought-out plan. What makes this audiobook better than any other recording of a lecture I have listened to, is a) that it obviously was conceived as an audio book and not a lecture and b) professor Drout is actually a very good narrator. He seems to improvise some times, adds some jokes here and there, but most importantly for a recorded lecture, you can hear his enthusiasm all the time.
I will definitely get his Fantasy lecture next month and I recommend this Science Fiction lecture to anyone who does have at least a slight interest in the genre or literature in general.
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18 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Tim
- 01-30-09
Excellent Scope and Excellent Analysis!
This is my second lecture series by Dr. Drout. His pleasant personality comes through in the way he communicates with you. He is knowledgeable and articulate, but yet brings things down to a level everyone can understand.
This is a great overview of Science Fiction literature. He hits all the biggies (Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Heinlein, Asimov, Clarke, Lovecraft, Bradbury) and some lesser knowns as well.
His analysis of some of the underlying themes and the effect of culture on the genre (and vice versa) was really insightful. I also appreciate that he appears to have read a boatload of science fiction, but yet is also a student of the classics, which gives him a broader perspective when offering literary criticism and stylistic observatiions.
The only authors I was suprised to see missing were Ben Bova and Michael Crichton. However, even so, this is a great primer for those just getting their feet wet in Science Fiction, and those who have been reading for years! I even picked up 10-12 new books that I'd like to read.
Great job Dr. Drout!
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15 people found this helpful
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- Bradford
- 03-25-11
An Amazing Introduction to Science Fiction!
As a lifetime SF fan and writer, I was amazed to learn there was so much more out there and where all the sf stories I love came from. Professor Drout has a very engaging voice and speaking style and seems to have read every SF story ever published! The structure of his lectures and the broad canvas of his topics make me want to listen to this lecture many times. He single-handedly tripled the size of my to-read book list. Well worth the listen for anyone interested in learning more about the history of SF literature and how it has developed over the past 200 years.
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12 people found this helpful
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- Robert
- 09-20-12
All Things SF... Outstanding
This is another wonderful installment in The Modern Scholar series in general, and another great installment by Michael Drout. I have read / listened to several of Professor Drout’s contributions now and all have been exceptional. Michael D.C. Drout is the William and Elsie Prentice Professor of English at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts, where he teaches courses in Old and Middle English, medieval literature, Chaucer, fantasy, and science fiction (SF) .
It always seemed strange to me that science fiction and fantasy were often considered within a common genre: science fiction / fantasy. After all, one seemed to be connected with an imaginary past and the other an imaginary future; one with magic and the other technology. Fair enough, unless one sees the connection in Arthur C. Clarke’s Third Law: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”
Unlike his book on fantasy literature which focuses primarily on a single work with little more than references to comparing and contrasting with other books in the genre, Drout examines the chronology of nearly the entire pantheon of major contributors to SF literature from Mary Shelley, Jules Verne and H.G. Wells to Frank Herbert, Neal Stephenson and Philip K. Dick. I was amazed that not only was Drout able to talk about a rather large group of authors, he was able to summarize most of their major works and many of their minor ones too within the covers of this one selection. Aside from speaking fast, which he definitely does, he narrates all of his books rather rapid-fire, his narration here is as clear, exciting and engaging as always.
Drout posits that SF asks some rather essential questions: “What does it mean to be human? What are the consequences of human progress? Are we alone in the universe, and what does it mean if we’re not?” He illustrates how each of the SF authors answers these question. He offers an analysis of hard-boiled science fiction, the golden age of science fiction, New Wave writers, and contemporary trends in the field. It might be helpful to provide an outline for how Drout categorizes the various masters of SF and the works he analyzes:
The Roots: Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley’s Frankenstein, Jules Verne’s Journey to the Center of the Earth, and H.G. Wells’s The Island of Dr. Moreau.
The 1930’s: L. Sprague de Camp’s Divide and Rule; H.P. Lovecraft’s The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories and The Lurking Fear and Other Stories; and Kim Mohan’s (ed.) More Amazing Stories.
The 1940’s: Isaac Asimov’s The Big and the Little and I, Robot; John W. Campbell’s Who Goes There? and (as editor) The First Astounding Science Fiction Anthology; Lester del Rey’s Nerves; and Theodore Sturgeon’s Killdozer!
The 1950’s: Robert A. Heinlein’s The Past Through Tomorrow, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, The Rolling Stones, Starship Troopers (and other “juvenile” novels), and Stranger in a Strange Land. Also in this decade: Walter M. Miller, Jr.’s A Canticle for Leibowitz; Cordwainer Smith’s The Rediscovery of Man: The Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith; and The Majesty of Kindness: The Dialectic of Cordwainer Smith.
The “New Wave” of the 1960’s and 70’s: Samuel R. Delaney’s Babel-17; Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?; Thomas Disch’s Camp Concentration; and Michael Moorcock’s New Worlds: An Anthology.
The World Builder: Frank Herbert’s Dune and Dune Messiah.
The Surrealists: J.G. Ballard’s The Best Short Stories of J.G. Ballard and Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles.
Cyberpunk and the 1980’s: William Gibson’s Burning Chrome, Count Zero, and Neuromancer and Rudy Rucker’s Software.
Post-Punk: Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon, The Diamond Age, and Snow Crash.
The Satirists: Douglas Adams’s The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle.
I offer this list to give some idea of the span of great SF literature and its contributors that this book covers. And yet there are some who are, at least for me, conspicuously absent such as two of my favorites: Dan Simmons and Peter F. Hamilton. So this is not an exhaustively complete treatise on SF literature but it is much more than just an introduction.
The Story, the Narration and the Production are all top notch. I read a lot of SF but I learned a huge amount from Professor Drout’s book and got lots of great ideas for future reading.
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11 people found this helpful
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- Damian
- 07-14-09
Mostly accurate history of science fiction
This lecture series was a lot of fun to listen to, and gives a good sense of the importance of science fiction as literature. It's not a perfect intro to SF, but has lots of good stuff. There are some mis-steps and mis-statements along the way, such as listing Ray Bradbury as a new wave author, or veering away from Campbell's golden age Astounding SF to spend too much time on HP Lovecraft, etc.
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10 people found this helpful
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- RKR
- 09-27-12
Get your reading list ready!
My go-to genre for literature as a teen was fantasy. Escaping into fantastical worlds was my way of coping with middle school and high school life. It wasn't until high school, however, that I began to get into science fiction as well. I've always enjoyed sci-fi as a genre for movies and television. Star Trek and Doctor Who were my usual entertainment. But it wasn't until I realized that some science fiction could not only transport me into other realms, but it could make me THINK as well. Science fiction so many more questions other than "What if..." that I believe it is the richest genre of literature on bookshelves. I started with some of the classics like ENDER'S GAME and STARSHIP TROOPERS. But had I not listened to this lecture, I might have missed several incredible novels.
Listening to Dr. Drout is an easy task. His lectures are well researched, his delivery is conversational, and the content is full of great suggestions for reading. I discovered so many authors from this lecture that I am still working through the stack next to my bed. I even teach a couple of the short stories mentioned in my literature classes because of this lecture. He breaks science fiction down into sub-genres, focuses on the early days, and even throws some new names into the pot.
Available along with the download is the .pdf file for the course. This is a great way to keep a checklist of books to find after listening.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Alberto Dominguez
- 06-22-10
Awesome!
Professor Drout is informative and entertaining. I have listened to a number of lecture series - both from Modern Scholar and other vendors. This one is the best one I've heard to date.
The overall course outline is very well thought out (although of course I might have done things slightly differently - e.g., less Lovecraft), the individual lectures are well-organized and packed with information as well as entertainment, and most important of all his enthusiasm is contagious.
Clearly Prof. Drout loves the subject, and this results in an immensely enjoyable presentation. I highly recommend this course to anybody with even a passing interest in science fiction.
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9 people found this helpful
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- Mark
- 09-01-12
Interesting anecdotes, plot summaries, ideas
Any additional comments?
Thoroughly loved this and listened quickly to it over two days. He added depth to books I knew well and gave me tons of new recommendations to try out. I also liked that he described books he thinks are great well enough that I could tell which ones I'd hate ("Dune," and much of Greg Egan's and JG Ballard's works, for example).
If there's a fault, it's that the lecture could've been twice as long to cover twice as many authors.
I found myself jotting down ideas every few minutes such as the lecturer's theory that much of Frank Herbert's work is about the idea that the definition of human is "like me."
Another part of what made it so good is that even though I'm not a big science fiction fan, he talks about how the plots help us examine our current world — and then explains how the ideas and even technology have indeed come to play out in reality.
Oh, and the PDF download is very helpful because it contains all of the names and works mentioned so I didn't have to keep stopping to write them down myself.
Now if only Audible would finally get Ursula K. Le Guin's classic "The Left Hand of Darkness."
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Thad
- 10-27-09
Lively, interesting
Drout delivers his lecture in a lively and interesting manner. I found myself writing down the names of Science Fiction books I wanted to check out. I am buying his fantasy lecture next.
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6 people found this helpful