36 Books That Changed the World

Certain works of literature, history, science, philosophy, political theory and religion offer powerful examples of how books can spark revolutions, birth great religions, spur scientific advancements, shape world economies, teach us new ways of thinking, and much more. And with this fascinating collection crafted from our extensive library of courses, you can now get a single course that represents 36 of our best lectures on literary works that changed the world.

In the company of an unparalleled roster of award-winning professors from a range of disciplines, you'll get fresh perspectives on books you only thought you knew - and intriguing introductions to some works you may not have known played key roles in getting us to where we are today. These include The Analects, the Liber Abaci, A Dictionary of the English Language, The Jungle, The Feminine Mystique, and more.

If you've taken another course with these professors before, get a reminder of just why you enjoyed them. And if you've never heard some of them before, who knows? You may just discover your next favorite Great Courses professor. More than that, you'll rediscover just how powerful the printed word can be. You'll also learn how the mark of a truly great book isn't that it just changes the lives of individual readers-but the lives of entire civilizations.

©2014 The Great Courses (P)2014 The Teaching Company, LLC

too many trees not enough forest

Would you recommend 36 Books That Changed the World to your friends? Why or why not?

The 36 different lectures and lecturers is a bit patchy -- some hold up as informative and delightful individual excerpts, while too many are obviously meant to be connected to the larger course. Too many are not actually about the book but rather fill in sideline tangents and other minutia. I think it is the format. I was expecting more about the actual texts and the writers. A few stand outs -- Francis Bacon, The King James Bible, The Confessions.

great summaries

exactly what I had hoped when I purchased it, engaging but succinct 30 min lectures on various books. some I feel inspired to read, others where perfect summaries for which I will gladly now skip the effort of actually reading. all in all great buy

Quite heavily Western-centric (ish)

Alternative title:

36 Books that changed the United States and the developed world, and their perception of the rest of it.

Interesting Choice of books

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would mostly to hear their opinion of it. Other then that not really because I was expecting something a little more.

Any additional comments?

Honestly, when I first looked this up and read the description I will admit that my hopes were high but after I listened to it my hopes diminished a bit because I found myself skipping more rather then listening to them, it was mostly because of their book choices either because I hadn't heard of the book or the book didn't interest.

Heavy emphasis on American history

First of all, listening to these lectures was a treat - no dispute there. I had read many of the books when I was attending high school and college, and it was refreshing to hear them discussed by leading professors. Listening to the audiobook made my commute to and from university (where I teach) much more pleasant.

However - I found that several of the 'books that changed the world' were from the USA. Now, I have nothing against the US, but this would have been a far *richer* variety of lectures if there were inclusions from Africa, or Latin America, or Asia.

Nevertheless, I still recommend this delightful, 18+ hour audiobook for the knowledge that it provides, the gaps that it fills, and the delightful interpretations from the experts who discuss these books. This audiobook is time richly well spent.