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.
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Not suitable as an audio book
- By SPN on 03-29-22
By: Brian Cox, and others
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How Dogs Love Us
- A Neuroscientist and His Adopted Dog Decode the Canine Brain
- By: Gregory Berns
- Narrated by: LJ Ganser
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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How Dogs Love Us answers the age-old question of dog lovers everywhere and offers profound new evidence that dogs should be treated as we would treat our best human friends: with love, respect, and appreciation for their social and emotional intelligence.
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misleading title
- By Cindy on 08-06-15
By: Gregory Berns
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Cosmic Queries
- StarTalk’s Guide to Who We Are, How We Got Here, and Where We’re Going
- By: James Trefil, Lindsey N. Walker - editor, Neil deGrasse Tyson
- Narrated by: Neil deGrasse Tyson, Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 6 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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In this illuminating audiobook, Tyson and coauthor James Trefil, a renowned physicist and science popularizer, take on the big questions that humanity has been posing for millennia - How did life begin? What is our place in the universe? Are we alone? - and provide answers based on the most current data, observations, and theories.
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Not worth it
- By Daniel Earl on 03-15-21
By: James Trefil, and others
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Plant Science: An Introduction to Botany
- By: Catherine Kleier, The Great Courses
- Narrated by: Catherine Kleier
- Length: 12 hrs and 13 mins
- Original Recording
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Dr. Catherine Kleier invites us to open our eyes to the phenomenal world of plant life and to the process she calls “Natura Revelata”, the joy of celebrating and learning from the secrets of nature. As Dr. Kleier shares her knowledge with contagious excitement for her subject, she emphasizes the middle ground: Instead of focusing on cell microbiology or the study of ecosystems and habitats, she stresses the basic biology, function, and the amazing adaptations of the plants we see all around us.
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Needs accompanying documentation and visual aides
- By Ryan on 04-04-19
By: Catherine Kleier, and others
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Nothing has had a more profound impact on the development of modern civilization than thermodynamics. Thermodynamic processes are at the heart of everything that involves heat, energy, and work, making an understanding of the subject indispensable for careers in engineering, physical science, biology, meteorology, and even nutrition and culinary arts. Get an in-depth tour of this vital and fascinating science in 24 enthralling lectures suitable for everyone from science novices to experts who wish to review elementary concepts and formulas.
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Excellent Course; Particularly as Review
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In 20 captivating lectures, Professor Suzanne Pilaar Birch shares her expertise and passion for discovery as she peels back the years to expose the emergence and lives of early humans. You will learn about their environmental challenges, the methods they used to meet their basic needs, cultural development, and the fascinating advances in our own technologies that have allowed us to take their few physical remains and develop a much fuller picture.
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Terrific overview of prehistoric hominids
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Charles Darwin's theory of organic evolution-the idea that life on earth is the product of purely natural causes, not the hand of God-set off shock waves that continue to reverberate through Western society, and especially the United States. What makes evolution such a profoundly provocative concept, so convincing to most scientists, yet so socially and politically divisive? These 12 eye-opening lectures are an examination of the varied elements that so often make this science the object of strong sentiments and heated debate.
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Little mistakes here and there
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Not Engaging or Very Interesting
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Terrific overview of prehistoric hominids
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Tantalizing time trip
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Based on material from 2009
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At the end of his career, Albert Einstein was pursuing a dream far more ambitious than the theory of relativity. He was trying to find an equation that explained all physical reality - a theory of everything. Experimental physicist and award-winning educator Dr. Don Lincoln takes you on this exciting journey in The Theory of Everything: The Quest to Explain All Reality. Suitable for the intellectually curious at all levels and assuming no background beyond basic high-school math, these 24 half-hour lectures cover recent developments at the forefront of particle physics and cosmology.
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Audible’s Best Science Offering, A Gem
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Release date!
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The Science of Energy
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Great Overview
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As recently as 1990, it seemed plausible that the solar system was a unique phenomenon in our galaxy. Thanks to advances in technology and clever new uses of existing data, now we know that planetary systems and possibly even a new Earth can be found throughout galaxies near and far.
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Fun across the universe
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The American Civil War
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Between 1861 and 1865, the clash of the greatest armies the Western hemisphere had ever seen turned small towns, little-known streams, and obscure meadows in the American countryside into names we will always remember. In those great battles, those streams ran red with blood-and the United States was truly born.
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Excellent Series
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We understand the stars at a much deeper level, not as legendary figures connected with constellations, but as engines of matter, energy, and the raw material of life itself. The Life and Death of Stars introduces you to this story in 24 half-hour lectures that lead you through the essential ideas of astrophysics - the science of stars. Your guide is Professor Stassun, an award-winning teacher and noted astrophysicist. He provides lively, eloquent, and authoritative explanations at a level suitable for science novices as well as for those who already know their way around the starry sky.
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Stassun keeps referring to visual material
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Consider these commonly held scientific beliefs: Planetary orbits are fixed ellipses; we only use 10 percent of our brains; nothing travels faster than light; a thrown object’s trajectory is a parabola. They seem correct, but they’re all misconceptions that aren’t entirely accurate. There’s much more to the story than you think. These magnificent 24 lectures are devoted to busting myths, clearing up confusion, and giving you scientific epiphanies that could change how you think about your everyday world.
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This title may do more harm than good for some readers.
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The Real History of Secret Societies
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Welcome to The Real History of Secret Societies, a historical look at the true-life groups which, if you believe the myths, are the unspoken power behind some of the world’s major turning points, from controlling the British crown to holding back the electric car and keeping Martians and Atlantis under wraps. Prepare yourself. In this course brought to you in partnership with HISTORY®, you will be visiting some of history’s deepest rabbit-holes, across centuries and continents, in search of secret societies in all their varieties.
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Far more politics than fraternity.
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Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior
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Every day of your life is spent surrounded by mysteries that involve what appear to be rather ordinary human behaviors. What makes you happy? Where did your personality come from? Why do you have trouble controlling certain behaviors? Why do you behave differently as an adult than you did as an adolescent?Since the start of recorded history, and probably even before, people have been interested in answering questions about why we behave the way we do.
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I wanted to like this course
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No Excuses: Existentialism and the Meaning of Life
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What is life? What is my place in it? What choices do these questions obligate me to make? More than a half-century after it burst upon the intellectual scene - with roots that extend to the mid-19th century - Existentialism's quest to answer these most fundamental questions of individual responsibility, morality, and personal freedom, life has continued to exert a profound attraction.
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Good for even a non-existentialist
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What listeners say about Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Luke
- 04-25-14
The start of every thing.
Would you consider the audio edition of Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity to be better than the print version?
Not sure I do not have a printed version of this book.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity?
It was all memorable, I will be listening to this again
What does Professor David Christian bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
He brings real life to the audio version.
If you could give Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity a new subtitle, what would it be?
I think the title does not need to be changed.
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3 people found this helpful
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- Clyde
- 02-09-16
Long Journey but worth it.Changes your Thinking
Covers all aspects of knowledge. Science, History, Politics, Philosophy,
Very Skimpy on the details of it all, especially in science. Presents a new way of looking at all of science, history and humanity. therefore it can change the way that you think of each.
I definitely recommend this lecture series, a bit outdated but still very relevant and very important.
I recommend viewing the pdf that comes with the audiobook, or at lest take a look at "The Great Courses" Website, for an outline on the lectures
The lecturer is every knowledgeable overall, but not a specialist an any of the topics covered, but he does not need to be, with this specific presentation. He has a great voice and presents the material brilliantly.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-11-21
Thorough
the narrator is a professor so there's a sort of charm that comes with his performance. It's informative, thought-provoking. the end is as enticing as the beginning, with some anecdotes spliced in through the mountain of information. I'll re-read this. the only issue i have with the book is that he doesn't know what communism is so he doesn't talk about that topic accurately, he thinks russia was communist which it never was if you interpret communism as Karl Marx described it and how a lot of communists would describe it. soviet russia was totalitarian wheras communism was about worker's being in control of the workforce to benifit workers not like what the soviet government did.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 05-01-23
One of my all time favorites
I wish I had a course like this as a younger lad. I have listened to many books on history, astronomy, cosmology, archeology, and so on and this one course felt like a quick summary of everything I had ever learned, but with a few important missing pieces mixed in. I would recommend it wholeheartedly to anyone with a scientific and enquiring mind, no matter where you are in your life’s journey.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Life Enthusiast
- 07-29-17
Great intro to Big History
I very much enjoyed this. Had been reading a lot of little history and this was a nice change of pace.
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- Frank
- 05-24-16
Excellent!
Very interesting material and the presenter is a great public speaker. Recommended for the curious mind.
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- Seth
- 02-20-20
Great historical points of view
This really put things into perspective from the big picture of things, especially the importance and history of agriculture!
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- Hector
- 10-16-24
A Radical and Unifying Perspective on the Story of the Universe and Humanity
David Christian’s Big History presents an expansive view of the world’s history, merging cosmology, biology, anthropology, and human history into a single, coherent narrative. By situating humanity within the universe’s 13.8 billion-year timeline, Christian offers a fresh perspective on the evolution of life and civilization.
Starting with the Big Bang, the book explores the formation of stars, life on Earth, and human societies. Christian’s multidisciplinary approach connects diverse fields like physics and sociology, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all things. His unifying narrative challenges us to see humanity as part of a larger cosmic process, inspiring reflection on our place in the universe.
Big History provides a fascinating and humbling view of humanity’s role in the broader history of the cosmos.
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- Carole T.
- 10-13-14
Perfect Title for an Enlightening Experience
Thank you Great Courses!
I loved this listen! I bought it because I had read about Bill Gates' suggestion that this set of lectures be adapted for High School use. He thought it a brilliant new way of looking at the structure and content of the basic history course.
Well, I think he and Professor Christian are absolutely right. This course begins with the real beginning - progresses through the formation of our universe, our solar system, and our planet to the eruption of life, division of species, and, finally, the development of human civilizations.
It's all here and presented in a fascinating way. The Professor is a wonderful speaker, and his enthusiasm for this material is evident and contagious. My husband and I listened during many drives and found ourselves several times going out of our way to avoid arrival before a lecture ended!
I hope Gates can help encourage more school systems to consider "Big History" as a high school course. It's high time for a more inclusive approach to history.
"Big History" is a long trip, but it's a total pleasure. Embrace it!
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27 people found this helpful
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- Travis
- 11-30-16
An epic narrative of our universe
In essence, this is an extraordinary journey to embark on. It will make your spine tingle as it explains where we sit in the long and complex story of our creation. It deals with incredible large scales of time, space and complexity with relative ease and knits the whole time sequence of 13.7 billion years into an elegant narrative.
This is a story everyone should hear.
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