Gregory S. Aldrete is a treasure

I've been looking forward to this since I listened to The Rise of Rome. He makes history relatable, presents opposing viewpoints, and gives a great perspective on the subject. I love all of Aldrete's Great Courses audiobooks. Even my husband, who generally dislikes audiobooks, enjoys his work.

10 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

good information but narration poor

good information but left out much of the horrors of the Muslim regime and part in decline of welll....everything in the mediteranin . narration is annoying with inflection on first of every word and slow....listened at 1.25 and felt barely normal.

6 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

A Good Listen but Incomplete

20 lectures on the 500 years of the western empire and one lecture on the 1000 years of the Eastern Roman empire makes the series very unbalanced for those interested in history. The lecture style can be best described as 'forced conversational' in that it's clear that the professor is reading, but he tosses in a style to make it seem conversational' which ultimately leads to it being more distracting than easy listening. The four stars is based on the fact that what is presented is of good quality and we'll prepared.

5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Good overview of Roman History

Gregory Aldrete takes us by the hand from the times of Augustus to the fall of Rome. Though sometimes complacent with main stream history of the Empire, there are some special chapters in which Professor Aldrete gives take a deep focus on certain parts of Roman history that are notably interesting. In particular, I enjoyed his analysis of the fall of the Empire and his various passages on everyday life and spectacles of the inhabitants of the city of Rome. I would have liked more mentions about the sources and their reliability.

1 personne a trouvé cela utile

History comes alive!

Gregory S. Aldrete has done an amazing job! Great amount of information and so captivating! Many thanks from Russia.

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Eh...its OKAY,,though seemed a bit monotone/boring

This "Course" is just a quick overview/ relisting of all the major "stories" of the fall of the Roman Empire from Augustus onwards. I didn't think it was a bad listen, though , I have listened to far better and more exciting/interesting courses/books. The voice narration of the professor seemed also different than in previous other Great Courses that I have listened to. Mainly it seemed more kind of monotone and like it had been re-recorded and edited and was not a real passionate, enthusiastic (thinking engaged with speaking) "speech" type of course.

5 personnes ont trouvé cela utile

Not well structured

There's too much emphasis on the Roman emperors as a cult of personalities rather than as executives of economic and social policy. Why, for example, was Augustus such a great emperor? If you listen to this series, the answer is: "he ended the civil war [i.e., killed off belligerents] and didn't piss off the elites." Really?! That's it?! What about founding one of history's first ever fire brigades? What about his welfare policies? Bread and circuses? Admittedly, this stuff does come up in one of the later lectures, but it should have been a running theme throughout. If you like to think of Roman history as a Hollywood action film, this might be for you. If you're looking for some depth in constitutionalism and what made Rome, by the standards of its own time (emphatically not by the standards of ours), a relatively enlightened and prosperous empire, this does not deliver.

Excellent and engaging lectures

This is another awesome lecture put out by a the Great Courses. As it goes, some of this producers courses are going to be better than others. And this is one of the better ones. Greg Aldrete is very knowledgeable. He is a good teacher in the way his lessons are organized. And he is an enthusiastic narrator. These are the elements that make for an exciting and engaging lecture. Copying the PDF files to IBooks, and reading a little behind the audio gave me another chance to digest all the information. Two thumbs up. I only wish I had gone through the precursor historically in his lecture of the Roman republic (which I’m about to start now), but I don’t feel like it’s an absolute prerequisite if you also end up starting here. He gives a quick backstory to catch the listener up.

Good synopsis

Good for what it is as a quick outline for those just wanting a basis or dipping their toes in before further readings. Lecturer is clearly knowledgeable and picks out the most important facts for an broad understanding of an even more broad era in time. Love the last few chapters. Aldrete analyzes the historical debate between opinions on our understanding of Rome. Also he breaks down how Rome’s legacy lives through till this day. Definitely should pair with his lecture series on the era of the republic to get a better sense of the overall story.

Great information

This is a great follow up course to his previous course on Rome. You will learn a lot.