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The Long 19th Century: European History from 1789 to 1917

By: Robert I. Weiner, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Robert I. Weiner
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Summary

Few periods of history offer such captivating complexity as Europe in the long 19th century between 1789 and 1914. From the idealism of the French Revolution to the power of the Industrial Revolution to the chaos of World War I, this fascinating whirl of events, personalities, and forces formed the foundation for the modern world.

Over the course of 36 engaging lectures Professor Weiner leads you on a spirited journey across an ever-changing European landscape, examining the forces and personalities that reshaped the continent's physical borders, diplomatic relationships, and balance of power. Assuming no prior knowledge of this era and no professional vocabulary, he explores this turbulent and important era with interest, curiosity, and passion.

You'll look at what the transition to modernity meant for peasants, workers, the middle class, aristocrats, women, and minorities. And you'll consider the political and diplomatic moves of the great powers - Great Britain, France, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Russia, and Italy - in the context of the deeper economic, social, and cultural forces at work and how they reflect the impact of some of history's most significant names, including Napoleon Bonaparte, Otto von Bismarck, and Kaiser Wilhelm II.

With this ambitious look at the evolution of the environment that ultimately made World War I possible, Professor Weiner explores more than factual history - the dates, battles, and treaties. He repeatedly steps back from on-the-ground events to clarify historical trends or patterns, providing a comprehensive look at this engaging era.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2005 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2005 The Great Courses
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What listeners say about The Long 19th Century: European History from 1789 to 1917

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Excellent survey of the Long 19th Century

Really enjoyed this. Not sure where the gripes about the delivery come from, as I found Robert Weiner to be an engaging speaker. Definitely recommend this as an introduction to this period of history. The supplementary materials are excellent, too.

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Decent value when it's free

Some interesting lectures. Some less interesting. Not as interesting as some topics I've listened to but worth the time if you have it.

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Interesting but nothing terribly new

Having previously enjoyed the Great Course on the Italian Renaissance I was expecting a similarly insightful and enjoyable listen with this series. While I was not wholly disappointed the course is not of a standard with my previous one for a number of reasons.

First and foremost Professor Weiner's delivery is not suited to an audiobook. I suspect his odd emphases (particularly overstressing the last word of a sentence seemingly regardless of context) work well in a lecture room when accompanied by visual aids and body language but after a few hours it really started to grate.

Secondly the content seemed a little thin at times. I would have preferred a more detailed look at more events rather than repeated half hour skims across 30 years of a given nation's history.

That said there are some excellent chapters where I learnt much, especially in the mid-century period around Metternich and Bismarck and I would say this is an interesting listen for those with an interest in the subject matter but definitely not for the casual listener who will be confused and irritated.

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8 people found this helpful

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Lecturer’s style spoils the content

I found this very difficult to listen to because of the lecturer’s style.
Almost every sentence was delivered with an excitable inflection as if each one was an astonishing revelation.
Grating and very off-putting.

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Why oh Why

Why do these Americans not bother to learn the correct pronunciation of European words. For example, how about Adolf instead of Ay-doff. I won't bother to list the multitude of others such as ant-eye instead of anti and as for the pronunciation of some of the European place and proper names, he nearly had me screaming with rage.
Just because there are so many American lecturers in this Great Courses series, it gives them no excuse for Americanising traditional European pronunciations set over many years of history.
Such a sing-song voice made it very irritating and it was difficult to overcome this and take in the content which was excellent.
I lost count of the number of times he says "quote unquote", what is the point of saying this when he also says "so and so says".
Positively the very worst lecturer to listen to that I have come across in this series.

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interesting

I found the professors vocal inflections quite distracting and so found it hard to hear his message. and from a personal note, I am researching my family history and had a particular interest in Scandinavia in mid-19th century ...this book barely mentions but is more about the build up over the century toward WW1. I'm a bit disappointed in this book if I'm honest

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Really very good

Engrossing from beginning to end. Highly focused on the diplomacy (as advertised) which was a nice change from one battle followed by another.

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3 people found this helpful

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fantastic

really well put together - erudite, detailed, academic and entertaining. That's all I want to say

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American book!

Probably the worst Great Courses book I have listened to.
A patronising reader and a clear American bias to this history.
Beware if you are English.

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What a disappointment!

I was so looking forward to this - as another Great Courses set of talks was brilliant. But this was truly awful. The lectures didn’t really go anywhere - just a long ramble about very little. And unfortunately the narration was equally dire.

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