A Brief History of the World - Great Courses Modern History

by Peter N. Stearns

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.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, The World, Historical, World History, War

Unknown Binding

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Peter Nathaniel Stearns is a professor at George Mason University, where he was provost from January 1, 2000 to July 2014.
Stearns was chair of the Department of History at Carnegie Mellon University and also served as the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences (now named Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences) at Carnegie Mellon University. In addition, he founded and edited the Journal of Social History. While at Carnegie Mellon, he developed a pioneering approach to teaching World History, and has contributed to the field as well through editing, and contributing to, the Routledge series, Themes in World History. He is also known for various work on the nature and impact of the industrial revolution and for exploration of new topics, particularly in the history of emotions.
He is active in historical groups such as the American Historical Association, the Society for French Historical Studies, the Social Science History Association and the International Society for Research on Emotion.

Reviews

[Hany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should be named Analysis of World History, It doesn't tell any stories, just analyzes and comments on stages of history.

[Cav · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Brief History of the World was a somewhat middle-of-the-road offering from The Great Courses.

Course presenter Peter Nathaniel Stearns is a professor at George Mason University, where he was provost from January 1, 2000 to July 2014. Stearns was chair of the Department of History at Carnegie Mellon University and also served as the Dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University.

Peter N. Stearns:


Stearns has a decent presentation style; for the most part. Although he does tend to stand behind the podium and talk at the viewer for the duration - fortunately, he does so in a decently energetic and engaging fashion.

The presentation of this course is fairly standard for a course from The Great Courses. The material is spread out over 36 lectures; each roughly 30 mins long.

With such a broad scope, the course is obviously a cursory overview, and the professor says as much in the opening lecture.
I felt he did a decent job of covering the material here. The course proceeds in a chronological fashion; starting from the prehistoric era, all the way up to the modern day. A bit of time is spent discussing some major events along the way.

While Stearns does fairly well providing this cursory bird's eye view - he also adds many disclaimers, caveats, if/buts, and other assorted warnings and cautions to virtually everything he says. I felt that some of this was a bit overdone at times...

This started to grate on me as the course progressed. With every new lecture he introduces, he forwards a minor postulate, and then all but completely walks it back with the above-mentioned caveats and disclaimers. This had the effect of leaving the reader completely confused. It sounded like he was afraid of offending the PC crowd with his presentation, and made sure to be as opaque as possible in dealing with much of the material presented here, in an effort to avoid blowback.

The addition of all these walk-backs and caveats had the effect of leaving the course with no overarching theme, or story. Instead, it plays out like a series of presented facts. Names, dates, places: rinse and repeat... Instead of telling an interesting story, the course comes off almost like a long-form encyclopedia article. I think that many customers of the course will not be pleased with this presentation style. I wasn't really...

***********************

For what it was presented as, A Brief History of the World did do just that - provide the viewer/reader a cursory telling of big history.
There was nothing remarkable presented here, however, and my rating will reflect that.
2.5 stars, rounded up to 3.

[Elwin Kline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this.

The first thought when approaching this review, is the understanding and appreciation I have now for the challenge that is the topic of World History. The task of trying to cover the history of the world, flowing together, versus getting too focused on one particular region, society, etc., and then on top of that trying to jam everything together from "start" to "finish" in a single effort... which is exactly what A Brief History of the World by Peter Stearns is.

I've said this many times before, and I'll say it again... for me, I know something is great when I start taking notes. For A Brief History of the World, I have got at least a few pages of bullet points and summarized sentences of the wonderful content the author has provided within this Great Course.

From my perspective and what has been provided by the author, the "History of the World" can be broken down into 10 big pivotal moments:


1. Agriculture (decline/end of hunter-gatherer societies)
2. Writing
3. "Culture"/Religion (religion being a big player in justification of slavery, inequality, sex, power, war, etc.)
4. Metal (the manipulation of, such as tools created, weapons, etc.)
5. War
6. Travel/Trade.
7. Spread of Religion (One of the biggest evils, if not #1. Never has their been more blood, slavery, oppression, hate, and violence... than in the name of books about invisible friends in which individuals think their book/invisible friend is the right one and everyone else got it wrong.)
7. Politics and Law (Birthed with good intentions... can also and has lead down dark paths too).
8. Technology (gun powder being the big 8.1 here, 8.2 being ships/sails)
9. Nationalism/Consumerism.
10. Present day/Wherever we are heading now.

These were my thoughts, opinion, and big takeaways from this Great Course.


I would also praise the author in the fact that he did a great job of not going too deep into one particular century or society, while at the same time walking the reader though his best effort at world history and doing in my opinion an outstanding job.

All in all, I highly recommend this to any history fan, or anyone who wants to learn something new.

[Casey · Rating 4 out of 5]

These audio lectures were very helpful, since I love history but often can't see the forest for the trees. This series was all about the forest, the big picture, the civilizations, and eras. Now it will be easier to locate the trees in their place and time.

A long listen, but enjoyable to follow along while cleaning house, etc.

Recommended for patient history buffs.

[Alex Timberman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a serious gap in knowledge concerning world history before this course. Now, from agriculture until the present, I have a better sense of where different empires, countries, and secondary powers fit in. It gave me a good appreciation of history and helps me realize where I and others fit on the fascinating time line. It was totally worth the 20 hours of listening I put in, while hiking and commuting.

[wirrow wirrow · Rating 3 out of 5]

(none of my reviews will be eloquent)

i see people complaining that it's not detailed enough. it's the history of the world! do you want to sit through a 40,000 hour reading session? 40 hours isn't enough for you?
i think it gives a great skeleton of human history. i actually think this is something everyone should experience, getting even a brief zoom out and look at the history of civilisations gives some much needed perspective.
there are a lot of fascinating things in this, i zoned out a little with all the economic stuff, and it was (understandably) very heavy on post-19th century. the biggest insight i got from this whole thing? how destructively patriarchal all our civilisations and societies have been.
stearns does a pretty good job of keeping it well balanced, and it was eye-opening just how western-skewed my knowledge of human history is. it is a bit light on sub-saharan african and native american history but he does give some pretty convincing arguments as to why that is.

look it's long and i'm sure you will zone out for large chunks. but you will definitely come out of this with a better perspective of our place on earth.

[Gregory Eakins · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Brief History of the World is a quick stint through human history, starting with the rise of agriculture in the Middle East and jumping around the world and forward through time to the 21st century.

Stearns has a very conventional history presentation style that you'd expect out of a history professor. "This happened, and then this happened, and in this period these cultures did some trading, and meanwhile this technology spread to this region." He tells no stories and makes no effort to make history more interesting. For better or worse, he also does not sensationalize anything, but he does seem to tiptoe around (and perhaps, avoid) issues that might be sensitive to listeners today, which sometimes feels dishonest. He also does not try to be new or controversial at all. This history matches the most mainstream understanding of human history that you learned in school and doesn't try to ruffle feathers with new perspectives.

For what it is, it's a decent big-picture overview of human history that you've likely heard before, but should be a good way to brush up on this perishable knowledge.

[Shalene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This Great Courses lecture series on world history is a winner! The professor provides a thorough exploration of the subject, covering key theories and highlighting their strengths and limitations. His desire to be objective is clear.I found this course particularly helpful after having already learned about many different historical periods since it ties them all together and adds a refreshing new perspective.

One thing I found especially beneficial from a course like this is how it has helped me better understand the roots of our traditions and ideologies, and how we've built up to the present/how historical events continue to influence our present-day cultures. Understanding this can help navigate present-day myths and biases.

Highly recommended for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of world history, although I recommend already having some understanding of a variety of other civilizations first to help distinguish the forest from the trees.

[Vincent · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is the course guide for the Teaching Company course of the same name - it was video not audio CD and I was disappointed in that the utilization of visual support was not good - but I do believe this course was from 2007 when they were just upgrading their video presentations. This seems to be an extension of what I think began in the last quarter of the last century to look as history as global more - not to look at Western Civilization for example without somehow linking the times to other civilizations in the world at the same time.
The links were made - or maybe parallels - and it was educational -if did not seem to have a dynamic link but maybe it doesn't. Also with some of the Teaching Company course I read the book and listen the lectures twice to better understand - the content here did not inspire me to go that route. Also the professor was a bit too polite (in mind) in his presentation that this might upset peoples previous ways of thinking -
It was OK for me and I learned a lot (not a big deal from my base sometimes) - and I will have to mull on it a bit

[Massimo Gioffre · Rating 5 out of 5]

The history of humanity in its global evolution. This interesting approach helps us to understand better the past and the present. And maybe to predict all the possible futures.

[Lene · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best history courses I have ever taken. It takes a very large perspective, seeing history since the end of the Neolithic in context and looking for the overarching patterns. As such, you will find very few stories in this course, few biographies of rulers or battle accounts - but you can get those elsewhere, in as much detail as you like. This course is about the abstract principles that turn up in history again and again - the history, if you wish, behind the stories. Professor Stearns discusses those principles in depth, but understandably and engagingly - he even manages to piss off an MRA tosser in the goodreads reviews who is disappointed this course does not give justifications for the oppression of women, and anything MRAs hate is interesting in my book. In conclusion I might say that this course is for anyone wanting to understand history, in opposition to just learning it.

[Bruce Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first foray into "world history" as opposed to classical history of western civilization. The inclusion of the non-European civilizations was enlightening and certainly a better learning experience, especially since Stearn still recognizes and includes western civilization history as part of the whole. A more accurate title would be "An Analysis of a Brief History of the World", because there is a general feeling that the reader is already familiar with fundamental world history. In other words, don't expect to learn about Alexander the Great or what is was like to live in the Roman civilization, or the Crusades, or on-and-on. The lectures analyzed the impact of historical events and eras and the hows and whys of major trends. So I am still in search of a good world history book that does not presume that I already know world history.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of the Great Courses series, this is a little over 18 hours of material that gives a nice overview of world history from basically the invention of agriculture through present day. Because of that, it's about trends and characteristics for intervals anywhere from 30 to 200 years at at time or so. This is not a source for any kind of detail, but on such a macro level, one can see how countries all over the world (I love that he gets into Asia and Africa, not just Western civilization) progressed or regressed throughout the eras.

[Jonathan Grant · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this made me realize that the more general the history is, the less interesting it is for me. Also because this was covering so much ground it felt like it was constantly racing. Like in the gunpowder/early modern period the lecturer mentions how Western Europeans were good at creating guns because they were used to working with casting metal in creating church bells... and it sounds like there could be an interesting story there but we're already on to the next point.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might be my least favorite of the history great courses I’ve listened to. The topic is extremely high level, so general that I fear I will remember little from it. Most of the points just seemed obvious, and often focused on the field of “world history”, as opposed to say “western civilization”.

[John Rae · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't finish this book. A more appropriate title would have been "A Brief Analysis of the History of the World". Extremely scholarly work; not inherently bad but simply not what I expected.

[Edward ott · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed it and learned a lot only felt there was a lot of time spent explaining why or why not something was being taught or why something was being discussed in the way it was.

[Brett Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

George Mason University world historian Peter Sterns highlights shifts in the framework of human experience over time. He notes key changes in belief systems with different accommodations to change and continuity of local identities with rising influence from other civilizations in a shrinking world. Reassuring was his remark that we’ll study history here, not political dogmas regarding history, Right or Left.

A sampling of gems include: the agricultural revolution involved more work, increasing work expectations. (Feel like you spend too much time at the office?) Inequality increased with each step from hunter-gatherer to ag (especially between men and women due to higher birth rates) to civilization as a form of order-keeping; animal husbandry invited disease; the world environment met its most significant human impact—farming (after hunting so many game animals into extinction). Gender inequality was more pronounced, not less, with wealth because wealth allowed it, while all among the poor scrambled for survival. Sterns brackets the Late Bronze Age Collapse (LBAC) from about 1200 B.C. to 800 B.C. when Jasper’s Axial Age commences, but utters not a word about Jasper or any connection between the LBAC and Axial, like, were people so desperate to find a way out they invented our world religions? Ancient India used the caste system to control large numbers of people; the Mediterranean used slavery (different from Atlantic slavery); China used obedience to “rule of the wise.” Despite Rome’s aqueducts, slavery reduced labor-saving innovation found in non-slave civilizations. Greco-Rome adopted polytheism of invading Indo-Europeans and used them as literary models of ethics and its violation, which Sterns claims, developed into abstract thought, philosophy, and science. With the Axial Age, all classical systems aim at ethical systems of right behavior, underwritten by religion, Confusion group obligations, or individual Greco-Roman virtue. All drifted away from polytheism, magic, and divinity of rulers (until Trump), toward greater tolerance (until Trump). The West emphasized youth and vigor; the East old age wisdom and ancestors. Han China and the Roman Empire serve as interesting comparisons between the rule of bureaucracy vs. law. With neither able to provide spiritual sustenance emerged the similar religions of Buddhism and Christianity, which crossed borders without the usual military conquest. By the Renaissance and Enlightenment, the key to truth was seen to lie in science, not faith, and religion as a cultural engine appeared spent, meeting absolutism as a counter-response. With 1700s birth of consumerism, the theft of things wanted, not needed, appears. While the U.K. reached 50% urbanization in 1850, the world didn’t get there until 2006. Public health, as a worldwide program by 1900, was more responsible for overpopulation than any other factor. An informative course.

[Matthew Bee · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite being one of the longest Great Courses series I’ve listened to, I feel like I learned and internalized far less than usual.

I am unsure who the target demographic for this series is, as if you know enough to follow along with what he’s saying in any given lesson, you probably won’t learn any new information from that section.

From the onset of the series, Stearns warns that a lot of detail will have to be overlooked in order to attempt and cover an overview of all of humanity. But truthfully at least half of the content just felt like him reiterating how not everything can be covered and more detail would come later.

I think my issues with this series can be highlighted when he spends have a lesson going over how world history text books and professors tend to skim over and not discuss in detail the civilizations of South Africa of South America as he then proceeds to lightly mention a couple facts about them and just about never cover it again.

If he used half the time he spent talking about what he should tell us actually teaching about those things a LOT more could have been covered in my opinion.

[Jonathan Crabb · Rating 4 out of 5]

The audiobook is one of the Great Courses taught by leading professors in their fields. This lecture series was highly fascinating and honestly showed how little context I had ever been taught relative to world history. Most of my education must have been focused on Western Civ or US-based history with a church-based upbringing. Having a wider view of history and what was going on in different parts of the world during different periods was very interesting and helped fill out a broader sense of trends and cultures. I will likely do more of these.

[Lena · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found a lot of interesting books when I discovered all the free audio books from The great courses on Audible! This was one of them.

It was interesting but Peter Stearns didn't follow a clear line. He started talking about something (A)instead of continuing to B) it was like he was reminded about something and had to talk about that first. (Sorry if it sounds confusing!) If he wanted to talk about A, he shouldn't have started with A4, jumped back to A2, A3 and A1. It would have been so much easier to follow if he went from A1 to A4!

[Bob Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

A comprehensive study of world history. A third of the course reviews various topics in the last two centuries. It's not designed to be entertainment and it's not. But Mr. Stearns has an excellent understanding of the subject and an excellent presentation. The audio course consists of 36 lectures of about one-half hour each. Listening to it reminded me of my college friends telling how dry a class it was. I get it now

[John Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

 an interesting overview of world history as a backdrop to the authors general analysis of world history.  the book proposes many engaging insights and early on the author does a nice job of differentiating alternative perspectives along with his perspectives.  this would have extended the book by many hours, which perhaps would have exceeded the target length.   luckily he has another 134 books to fill in the gaps :)

[Debbie Legault · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought I knew history but this book blew my mind! So glad I listened to all 32 hours of it! What a great perspective to help me to understand the world I'm living right now. Spoiler alert...the three falls of the greatest empires were all preceded by an outbreak of DISEASE!!! Well worth my time!

[Eva · Rating 4 out of 5]

In conjnction with the accompanying series of lectures, this guidebook did a very good job at examining various civilizations / historical periods and highlighting commonalities / variations, without favoring any particular one. It helped put many things in perspective and shift my (sadly) eurocentric / western-centric perspective of history. I will definitely dip back into it in the future.

[Ian Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most engaged courses I've listened to from The Teaching Company. The instructor comes at world history from different angles - comparative, thematic, etc. But his focus on larger patterns rather than minutiae ensures that he doesn't miss the forest for the trees. Excellent course well worth another listen.

[Thomas Beard · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel that the title is meant to be ironic. This lecture series is brief compared to world history as a whole, but it's still one of the longest Great Courses I've listened to. It's full of enlightening research and great, complex ideas, but I find it to easy to tune out.

[Roman · Rating 5 out of 5]

It should be called "A Brief Analysis of the History of the World" but it doesn't detract anything from the quality of it. All I can say is that this lecture course is a straightforward and concise investigation of the major events and tendencies in the world history.

[Cathi Parish · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been listening to this on and off for 6 months; it's a series of half-hour lectures and is quite concise and informative. I've learned so much about ancient and early history. Looking forward to (hopefully) finishing it when it comes back into my listening queue.

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just read parts. Most of the book but hope to revisit. Interesting framing of some events and a useful text for primary sources. Seems on the surface to be anti-communist and almost pro-imperialist/capitalist. Leaves lots of important (in my opinion) stuff out. Not sure I’ll come back to it.