Notorious London

A City Tour

De: Paul Deslandes, The Great Courses

Narrado por: Professor Paul Deslandes

Duración: 5 h y 59 m

Resumen del Editor

London began as a Roman outpost more than 2,000 years ago. Since then, it has become one of the most vibrant and notable cities in the world. This capital city has witnessed centuries of history and has been a crossroads of culture and transformation. It has also seen its fair share of sensational events and bizarre occurrences. With such a storied history, it should be unsurprising that many fascinating and notorious stories, places, and personalities are part of its legacy. It’s not hard to see why this city has gripped the imagination of people - residents and visitors alike - for generations.

In the 12 lessons of Notorious London: A City Tour, you will experience a rich sampling of some of the city’s most shocking stories and infamous personalities. Taught by Professor Paul Deslandes of the University of Vermont, Notorious London dips into various regions and eras of London’s past to give you a multifaceted look into this remarkable metropolis. From the destruction of St. Paul’s Cathedral and the dark history of the Tower of London to the decadence of the fin de siècle and the chaos of World War II, and beyond, these stories bring London to life across the centuries and illuminate the darker corners of a complex and contradictory city.

Rather than present a simple chronology of events, Professor Deslandes acts as a tour guide, sharing the many stories of Notorious London as you traverse the city through iconic locales and lesser-known areas alike. However, instead of a simple tourist map of the city, you will experience a brilliant mosaic of places and personalities across time that will show you London as you have rarely seen it before.

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

©2021 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2021 The Great Courses

Not what I expected

Disappointing to me. I love the history of London. I expected to like this but it was much less interesting than I thought it would be. Part of it was the presenter’s delivery. It was much more like reading an essay than delivering a lecture. I’m very disappointed in how the great courses have become more readings and less of college lectures. But this one was even more challenging than most to keep my attention.

Superb stories

Thoroughly enjoyed listening to the various stories being told. I will seek out more in the series.

Wonderful

Wonderful and fascinating. I had the pressure of being in one of Dr. Deslandes’s classes almost 20 years ago. He still is engaging.

A great tour of important London moments!

Every city has its stories. In his tour of Notorious London, Paul Deslandes take us on a tour of time and space that concentrates on place rather than chronology. We learn about love life and night life in 19th-century London, but also the resilience and symbolism that united a nation during WWII. Fun, inspiring, poignant, and sad, this tour of the city invites us to envision - and to visit. I cannot wait to go back.

Too woke

This course should have been called "A Woketivist Guide to London." I don't need the political agenda with everything.

Do not recommend - worst ever

Notorious London is the worst Great Courses lecture series that I’ve ever listened to. It’s clear that the author holds a different worldview than me, but the content would be considered perverse by anyone of any faith. If you meet someone new and listen to them, after a short while, you start learning what is important to them. The logical man concludes, "This sounds like something this person really loves."

Paul Deslandes focuses on male homosexual sex throughout the lectures, even leading with praise of Oscar Wilde in the first lecture (“one of London’s most compelling personalities”). He goes on to talk about poop, rape, and disease. There is no redemption in any of the lectures. Certainly nothing lovely or praiseworthy. How about the notorious slave trade, followed by abolition efforts led by William Wilberforce? I find that a more compelling and worthwhile story for “Notorious London.”

Beyond the distasteful content, the audio experience gets sickening after a few minutes, and it goes on for hours. The author reads his own written lectures in an invariable cadence, which is all the more disturbing considering the content. It’s monotonously rhythmic and needs some ebb and flow. In today's world of technology, there are AI voices that are far more pleasing.

Not a "great course"

I found this really boring coverage of a beloved topic. I love London and briefly lived there for university. Both the writing and performance put my to sleep. The pacing is also very slow. I'd recommend listening at 1.4X if you must.

Lackluster

This course could have been so much more. While there are occasional snippets of material that couldn’t be gleaned from a wiki article or a tourist pamphlet and - rarer still - glimpses of real analysis, the vast majority of the lectures are dull repetitions of basic facts, sometimes totally unrelated to the focus of the lecture. I listened to this course for free and still regret the time spent on it.

Total Junk

this is a course? Not one worthwhile fact. This was the first and last time I will pay for Great Courses. Do Not Buy.

to focused on homosexual history in the city

could not finish, not what I thought the course would cover. would not recommend