The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World

By: Robert Garland, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Robert Garland

Length: 24 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.

The past truly comes alive as you take a series of imaginative leaps into the world of history's anonymous citizens, people such as a Greek soldier marching into battle in the front row of a phalanx; an Egyptian woman putting on makeup before attending an evening party with her husband; a Greek citizen relaxing at a drinking party with the likes of Socrates; a Roman slave captured in war and sent to work in the mines; and a Celtic monk scurrying away with the Book of Kells during a Viking invasion.

Put yourself in the sandals of ordinary people and discover what it was like to be among history's 99%. What did these everyday people do for a living? What was their home like? What did they eat? What did they wear? What did they do to relax? What were their beliefs about marriage? Religion? The afterlife?

This extraordinary journey takes you across space and time in an effort to be another person - someone with whom you might not think you have anything at all in common - and come away with an incredible sense of interconnectedness. You'll see the range of possibilities of what it means to be human, making this a journey very much worth taking.

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

©2012 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2012 The Great Courses

Outstanding

Professor Garland brings The Other Side of History to life! Wonderful course great professor. Worth the investment of time.

Rivetting approach, brings history alive

I have listened to 100+ history books and this is one of the best. The professor brings in the life of the average person in an exciting and meaningful way.

Learned a lot

If you could sum up The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World in three words, what would they be?

interesting, relevant, relatable

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World?

I feel like I learned why Jews are always treated as different. I never knew why. It's because they would only worship one god when many gods were worshiped by others at the time. This simple difference led to issues that seem to continue over centuries.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It's best to have time to think about what you've heard before moving on to another time.

Any additional comments?

Well worth reading although I found the beginning time a little slow. I recommend this book to everyone!

Outstanding

A worthy and excellent investment of your time. Prof. Gardner is a wonderful lecturer and obviously loves his subject matter. Highly recommend.

Excellent all around!

This course is well organized, supremely interesting, and wonderfully performed by Professor Garland! I was sorry to see it end! It's motivated me to learn more about everyday life in both ancient Egypt and Sparta.

In depth, but not tedious

Robert Garland does a very nice job with this course. He's obviously deeply passionate about this type of history and does a great job illuminating daily life from thousands to hundreds of years ago. My only nitpick is that he does have a smidgen of bias toward certain topics or against them. This is understandable. Overall he kept his partiality to a bare minimum. I enjoyed the course and will probably find other courses of his to enjoy.

Great complement to other great courses

I enjoyed the lecture in all its parts. A bit of the professors views are not the same as mine however. For example I don't think women were as 2nd class as he makes them sound. Women I believe naturally enjoy playing the role that they were intended to play. It is in there nature. Also I disagree with the idea that slavery was wrong. Given the choices and conditions of the victors in ancient times, slavery was showing mercy to the defeated conquered masses. I think like a Roman a bit more than the professor, but overall it was well worth the time and cost and would listen again in the future.

Best so far in The Great Courses

I loved these lectures. I could actually picture being in these ancient cultures and the courses were peppered with enough random facts to keep me interested. I highly recommend this book and narrator, especially to someone new to The Great Courses.

Very Enjoyable Listening!

I would recommend this audio book to anyone interested in European history! Not too heady, definitely something I could become interested in, right off the bat!

fantastic lens from which to view Western history

great lecture which provides the listener an alternate albeit important lens to view history and that is through the daily lives of the masses. professor is engaging, a wealth of knowledge and also funny at times.