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36 Books That Changed the World  By  cover art

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
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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

What listeners say about 36 Books That Changed the World

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    4 out of 5 stars

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.

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9 people found this helpful

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really good to know! makes you want to read more

some of these books are never mentioned today, so it's definitely useful to learn what else is out there scattered through the centuries of human civilization.

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  • Overall
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    4 out of 5 stars

Informative and Educational

I liked the variety of books covered in this course. The lectures were well done.

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Informing my new reading list

Interesting and extremely informative, this course will be my guide to reading most, if not all of the featured books discussed in this lecture series.

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    5 out of 5 stars

Always a great course to go back to.

Because of the great range of topics and fantastic set of authors, this is a course that you can start at any point. Each of the books is unique and each lecture is self-contained and complete. Highly recommend this course.

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    4 out of 5 stars

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.

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24 people found this helpful

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A Few Chapters Were Worth It for Me

I was already familiar with many of the books and authors covered, but personally I gained new insight into, and respect for, Francis Bacon, Diderot, John Stewart Mill, and even Ben Franklin. I also found many new examples of Continued Universal Human Cluelessness (even from philosophers that I had not examined yet, such as Heidegger),

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4 people found this helpful

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Better than expected!

This is well presented and interesting. I recommend it for everyone, and for all ages. The addition of a Guidebook would make it near perfect.

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1 person found this helpful

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Very good lectures

Great lectures, interesting choice of titles. A little focused on the USA at the end, but this is mostly justified. I wo definitely come back to this title for the interpretations and historical background of chosen titles.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Very entertaining and enlightening

Some of the books were excellent and others a bit dull, but overall an excellent Great Course.

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