36 Books That Changed the World

By: The Great Courses, Brad S. Gregory, Charles Kimball, Daniel N. Robinson, Jerry Z. Muller, John E. Finn, Andrew R. Wilson

Narrated by: Andrew R. Wilson, Brad S. Gregory, Charles Kimball, Daniel N. Robinson, Jerry Z. Muller, John E. Finn

Length: 18 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.

A hodgepodge of lectures thrown together

I usually enjoy the great courses. Here they have just recycled a bunch of lectures from other courses and thrown them together.

Best of the Best

I have purchased literally dozens of Great Courses, but this one is a knockout because each book is analyzed by an expert in his or her field. So not only is there a fresh "take" on how to look at an important book in each chapter, there is also a variety of voices and delivery styles to keep the course fresh from start to finish.
There has been more than one occasion where the droning, monolithic presentation by a completely un-charismatic lecturer has all but killed my interest in a topic, let alone my desire to plough on. I applaud The Teaching Company for using this outstanding format.

Cut and Paste version will disappoint!!

This and its companion 36 Revolutionary Figures that Changed the World, is a compilation of material created for clearly different purposes and then pasted together under a flimsy rationale. I bought both, excited by the potential, but was very disappointed. GREAT COURSES has produced many excellent, educational and informative lecture series - this is NOT one.

I learned much & added Books to my TBR list.

I miss college. I will always miss college. I miss listening to professors share their passions about people of history, places in time, concepts, and books. This collection of short lectures were intriguing and I enjoyed each one. If I were to create my own list of 36 books it would vary somewhat, but that may be due to the fact that I know little to nothing about some of these. For me that made this set of lectures even more compelling. This is my first Great Courses book, but it will not be my last. I have already purchased two more.

I highly recommend that you listen to each lecture in a separate sitting -- giving yourself time to absorb it much the way that you would if you were in the classroom with the professor.

Great course, good food for the intellectual mind.

It is a great course, helps learn about the origins of literature and some of the other great ideas and writings that we have in our society today.

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.

Good Start, Refresher or Hole Filler of a "Classic" College Education

The 36 books varied widely. The lecturers did too. For the most part lecturers well structured and interesting. Felt I did learn new things and was reminded of things I used to know.

If you have not had a classic college education this is a very good place to start. If you have these lectures are a good refresher. Or if your education was something in-between these lectures will begin to help you fill in the holes.

What constitutes changing the world?

Quite liked it, thought the selections for the late 19th and 20th centuries veered too much toward books that had sociological impact rather than intellectual, psychological or philosophical impact. Would have liked Freud. Wittgenstein, Einstein.

Good Except One Lecture

Would you consider the audio edition of 36 Books That Changed the World to be better than the print version?

Print version is not available so cannot comment on this.

What did you like best about this story?

I liked the lectures from the Great Courses of TTC. Some lectures are excellent. The language clear and soothing.

What three words best describe the narrators’s voice?

The first five lectures soothing, clear, authoritative

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Little upset with the 6th lecture, as the presenter was reading the text breathlessly, instead of narrating, unlike other lecturers. I could hear her labored breathing. Yet she wouldn't stop.

Any additional comments?

Never thought hearing could be so tiresome until I heard the lecture of Dr. Elezabeth Vandiver. Stopping after every sentence is very important in audio books and lectures as it takes time to take-in what is heard and make sense of it.

Mixed bag keep listeners informed and entertained

As with any compendium, there are good bits and bad bits to this rag bag assortment of book lectures from the Great Courses stable. Most people would anticipate this as, lets face it, it is exactly the same with, say, a collection of pop hits from the 1980, for every Depeche Mode there will be a Pepsi and Shirely and there is no one who has ever lived who can honestly claim to like every one of the confectionery items in a packet of Revels; yes everyone likes the Maltesers but it takes a special person to find any enjoyment in those little toffee ones that get stuck in your teeth or those sickeningly sweet orange jobbies.
This audio book is no different. 36 books that changed the world. Ask most people to come up with a list of what they think will be in and nearly everyone will select the Bible, Holy Koran, Shakespeare, an encyclopedia, and a dictionary. They are all in here. It then starts becoming a bit more subjective and I suspect that the compilers of this compendium were, to an extent, restricted by what was actually in the Great Courses back catalogue that they could use. It is US biased. How many people outside of America would select Thomas Jefferon's autobiography as one of the 36 books to put in here? And it is very male dominated. All the readers are men and 35 of the 36 book are written by men. And it is a little dated too. At one point one of the lecturers states "you might be able to find a copy of the film to this book on VHS tape". How quaint.
I'm not complaining to much though. I found the best way to enjoy this was to listen to one book a day which is about half an hour listening time. Right, now where is that pack of Revels, I want to see if I can find the chocolate button.

Wonderful but overwhelmingly American

This book could improve by adding African, Japanese, Australian, etc contributions. Somehow fell short of world perspective.