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
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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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 21-03-2021
This really put things in perspective!
Absolutely loved this! Great to get some answers about how and why we came to be here
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- Anonymous User
- 20-08-2021
Incredible!
Utterly incredible - highly recommend. Should be a prerequisite for all tertiary undergraduate courses. Finally an integrated history that addresses global multidisciplinary questions.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Wong
- 05-06-2018
Absorbing and enjoyable
Enjoyed a historians perspective on our origin from the big bang to now. Great delivery and content, nothing new but nicely presented.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 09-12-2017
Quite dry but still enlightening at times
I knew very little about the origin of our solar system, planet, and our species, and i knew very little about our pre modern history as a species. If you already have a basic knowledge of these things this may not be for you as it covers the basics of a wide range of subjects including those above aswell as cosmology, geology, biology, anthropology and some I may have missed.
It does not try to explain any of the above in detail, but rather it gives a big picture of the relationship between the disciplines above and it does it in a very straightforward, no frills manner.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Duncan Macfarlane
- 05-10-2017
Profound course
This course changed my view of the world and made it interesting again. In a media landscape dominated by trivia, scare mongering and conflict, to step back and consider the history of the universe and our place in it was incredibly stimulating. It definitely encouraged me to think outside my own cultural box and regard myself more as a member of the broader human race. Taking the longer view, it is a very positive story. It was also refreshing, in this era of poor quality and agenda driven communication, to listen to a genuine intellectual who has put a lot of thought into teaching us clearly and honestly. This course has really stimulated my interest in science and the history of other civilisations and I thoroughly recommend it.
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- PJ Hornhardt
- 22-07-2023
just brilliant
should be compulsory reading for all adults..amazing spring boards for discussion...and three extra words as required.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 16-03-2019
Very comprehensive
As massive as the topic is I felt that the lectures we're very will prepared. They are eye opening, definitely open up alot more questions. Should have been called introduction to history or history 101. Probably my next few books would be history books
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- Tim
- 27-01-2015
Entertaining all the way through
Enjoyed this from start to finish. The history - and science - of the universe from its beginning to end.
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5 people found this helpful
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- ali abolhassani
- 21-10-2020
A must read
A must read for every humankind , informative, the author narrates very well. Looking forward to other books from David Christian
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