Sample

Access a growing selection of included Audible Originals, audiobooks, and podcasts.
You will get an email reminder before your trial ends.
Audible Plus auto-renews for $7.95/mo after 30 days. Upgrade or cancel anytime.

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
Try for $0.00

$7.95 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $25.00

Buy for $25.00

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

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

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    326
  • 4 Stars
    245
  • 3 Stars
    117
  • 2 Stars
    27
  • 1 Stars
    10
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    290
  • 4 Stars
    205
  • 3 Stars
    96
  • 2 Stars
    25
  • 1 Stars
    8
Story
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    289
  • 4 Stars
    185
  • 3 Stars
    102
  • 2 Stars
    29
  • 1 Stars
    14

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Informative and Educational

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

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    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.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

sometimes you gotta take notes

the thing i love about the great courses, is that sometimes i have to bookmrk things so i can go back when i have the time and look up something that was referenced in these courses: its a great way to get an overview and figure out what books will really be a good read for me!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Not bad, but I'm biased

Some of the narrators were dreadfully boring and it was only the topic which kept me awake. Not sure how the New Testament was not listed, as there was another multiple author book. But many of the books in this list are on my wishlist and renewed my interest in them.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyed!

Enjoyed the wide variety of professors. Lovely introductipn to many books & topics I will never have time to read myself.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent

Simply an excellent collection of various narrators, all excellent, that represent a wide swath of our civilization. Now on to read a few of these on my ever growing list.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Overall, worth a listen

Most of the chapters, I felt, were worth their inclusion. There was seemingly a bias towards European males, but it also seems there was an effort to advocate for anti-supremacy -- a good thing. It was heavily weighted towards topics of literature, society and philosophy: "Western Civilization." Perhaps volume 2 could start with aesthetics, move through practical knowledge and mathematics and finally conclude with the sciences and engineering. Overall, worth a listen, even though the continuity of reading was a bit analogous to the listening of a jukebox musical -- a bit froggy!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!