Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity
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Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity
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Narrated by:
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David Christian
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Written by:
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David Christian
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The Great Courses
About this listen
How is it possible for the disciplines of cosmology, geology, anthropology, biology, and history to fit together? These 48 lectures answer that question by weaving a single story from accounts of the past developed by a variety of scholarly disciplines. The result is a story stretching from the origins of the universe to the present day and beyond, in which human history is seen as part of the history of our Earth and biosphere, and the Earth's history, in turn, is seen as part of the history of the universe.
Like traditional creation stories told by the world's great religions and mythologies, this lecture series provides a map of our place in space and time. But it does so using the insights and knowledge of modern science, as synthesized by a renowned historian. While you may have heard parts of this story before in courses on geology, history, anthropology, biology, cosmology, and other scholarly disciplines, Professor Christian provides more than just a recap of those disciplines. "Because of the scale on which we look at the past, you should not expect to find in it many of the familiar details, names, and personalities that you'll find in other types of historical teaching and writing," he explains. "For example, the French Revolution and the Renaissance will barely get a mention. They'll zoom past in a blur. You'll barely see them. Instead, what we're going to see are some less familiar aspects of the past. We'll be looking, above all, for the very large patterns, the shape of the past.
"Prepare yourself for a journey through time and across space, from the first moments of existence to the distant reaches of the far future."
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2008 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2008 The Great CoursesWhat listeners say about Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Sheri S.
- 2022-05-10
2nd time listening. engaging. undeniable!
Loved this. bought on CD a decade ago. listened through again! keeps you interested through out!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Karl
- 2022-06-08
I’ve never learned so much about so much!
Have an interest in physics? Astronomy? Economics? History? Archeology?
Then you’ve come to the right place!
A surprisingly concise (considering the breadth of the topics) series of lectures that is as enjoyable as it is educational. The lecturer is talented at speaking and without the cringe jokes or awkward humour that is so common with some of these series. I strongly recommend this lecture!
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- R. Sohi
- 2018-01-27
Big History
This is the best Great Courses lecture series I've listened to. I was gripped listening to it over a couple of weeks during my long commute to work. I will listen to it again at some point as there's a lot of ground covered (as you'd expect in a course covering 13+ billion years). I was almost sad when it was over.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Ken S
- 2018-01-04
Flew through them
Excellent lectures. Phenomenally easy to follow along. His accent might have something to do with it. Great nonetheless.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Val
- 2022-07-08
Great book
Great overview of the entire history starting from the big bang. The author did an amazing job at explaining a complex topic in 24 hours. I enjoyed listening and highly recommended this book
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- ryan mcnaughton
- 2022-06-27
Incredible Course!
The professor did an amazing job of condensing a hugely complex topic into a couple dozen hours. Highly recommended.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Elena Kulikova
- 2019-09-03
a good overview but requires further reading
it was a good overview. in the new history section it's skewed towards English-American views and a bit biased to my taste, but for those who like to read and learn and see all points of view this would not be a problem. I would recommend it
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Clifton Corcoran
- 2019-03-31
excellent, loved every minute
excellent narrative , super interesting, no complaints whatsoever. Learned A lot , Will lntice Me to do further reading on several topics that were covered.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Martine
- 2022-03-05
brilliant lecture series
I feel like my brain has been given a much needed adjustment after listening to this lecture. The professor is so easy to listen to. I love the Great Courses, but this is the first to inspire me to submit a review.
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- Carla
- 2024-02-27
Fascinating and thought provoking
An incredible intersection of science and history. Entertaining - and disturbing for current trends. I’m a big fan of the great courses in general but this one is superb.
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