A Brief History of the World
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A Brief History of the World
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Narrated by:
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Peter N. Stearns
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Written by:
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Peter N. Stearns
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The Great Courses
About this listen
The construction of the great pyramids of Egypt, the development of democracy in ancient Greece, the glories of ancient Rome - these stories are familiar to students of history. But what about the rest of the world? How do the histories of China and Japan, or Russia, India, and the remote territories of Sub-Saharan Africa and South America fit in with commonly known accounts of Western traditions?
Learn the rest of the story with these 36 riveting lectures that survey the expanse of human development and civilization across the globe. From the invention of agriculture in the Neolithic era to the urbanized, technologically sophisticated world of the 21st century, you'll apprehend "the big picture" of world history. You'll examine and compare the peoples, cultures, and nations of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas to understand how, throughout history, peoples all over the world have connected and interacted, traded goods and technology, and conquered and learned from each other.
As you travel around the world and through time, Professor Stearns provides surprising insights that will overturn many of your assumptions about history. For instance, you'll see how the invention of agriculture brought with it a number of drawbacks, such as a new inequality between men and women and greater exposure to epidemic diseases. Fascinating episodes like these will give you a deep appreciation for the human experience as it was lived throughout the centuries.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2007 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2007 The Great CoursesYou may also enjoy...
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What listeners say about A Brief History of the World
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- ZAK Khan
- 2022-07-17
Around The Historical World in a Few Days
Every lecture offered great historical discussions, from different Civilizations that impacted the world, religion, woman’s rights movement to current day
Will definitely listen again to catch parts I missed
Highly recommend this course for anyone interested in gaining knowledge on major historical events around the world and how it has shaped our lives
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- LJD
- 2024-05-18
Getting the overall picture
Really enjoyed it. Hard to catch every detail but an excellent intro to world history.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- CalltheDoctor
- 2018-09-13
World History should be mandatory. great course
Amazing course. Puts history and current events in a new context. Couldn't recommend this course more. #Audible1
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6 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 2022-01-31
All Around Fantastic
Who knew one could have a favorite historian?
Great content, audio quality and delivery.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Devansh K.
- 2020-09-23
A must listen to understand our world
Professor Stearns has done an excellent job of sharing a descriptive yet succinct understanding of the history of the world as we know it. This audibook should be made essentially learning for everyone for the balanced and objective way of presenting facts as well as sharing varied opinions of various historians.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ann
- 2020-01-03
Great Summary of the World
This book provided a greater understanding of different past cultures/histories and how they still have an impact to the present day. Well worth the 19 hours in listening.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nick Overduin
- 2021-12-23
Competent, concise, no wasted words, brilliant!
The history of the entire world is a vast topic, but this presenter made it very interesting. He was clearly familiar with all the side-trails down which researchers could disappear, but kept bringing us back to the focus of the course on the big, overall picture. How to detect patterns and trajectories! There were no wasted words! This was brilliantly done! If you are skeptical that such a course could even be possible, try it... you will really like it!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- PL Pallister
- 2023-08-03
Obviously Annoying!!
I couldn’t listen any longer. I got through 4 lectures, but just could not hear the word ‘obviously’ again. Used every 3-5 sentences. Sometimes twice in one sentence. Could there not have been some constructive criticism given to the lecturer?
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Niran al mutwelli
- 2023-09-18
A brief knowledge of history
Amazing course by Dr. Peter Stearn. Very well put, explained, lectured. I genuinely enjoyed these lectures.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- MJ SALMERON GARCIA
- 2024-02-17
Good world history overview
Good world history overview. Explanation of main countries history relationships, dependencies and impacts. Main pieces the the world history puzzle are put together.
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