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London: A Short History of the Greatest City in the Western World

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London: A Short History of the Greatest City in the Western World

By: Robert Bucholz, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Robert Bucholz
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About this listen

No city has had as powerful and as enduring an impact on Western civilization as London. But what made the city the perfect environment for so many great developments? How did London endure the sweeping historical revolutions and disasters without crumbling? Find the answers to these questions and more in these 24 fascinating lectures.

Professor Bucholz takes you through the history of this magnificent metropolis, from its birth as an ancient Roman outpost to its current status as a global village. You'll study the many epic chapters in British and world history - including the English Renaissance, the turmoil of the English civil war, and the epic conflicts of World Wars I and II - through the lens of this amazing capital.

What makes the course unique is that it takes you deep into the streets of London during formative periods in its history. Professor Bucholz continuously emphasizes the importance of understanding and experiencing the sights and sounds of London as it was lived by its residents. You'll come to know what daily life was like in historical London, learning the secret histories behind places such as Westminster Abbey, Piccadilly Circus, and London Bridge.

This unforgettable look at an unforgettable city will undoubtedly delight and surprise you. By the final lecture, you'll come to realize just what Samuel Johnson meant when he famously declared, "there is in London, all that life can afford."

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

©2009 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2009 The Great Courses
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Editor reviews

Profoundly detailed and riveting in its delivery, London: A Short History of the Greatest City in the Western World is a series of essential lectures by The Great Courses and narrated by Professor Robert Bucholz. This historical audiobook gives a wholly informative look at the history, culture, noteworthy figures and influence this vast city has had. From the very beginnings of tribal inhabitants to the sprawling metropolis it is today, in this book Bucholz paints a wonderfully accurate picture of London through the ages. A necessary component to a historical audio library. Available now from Audible.
All stars
Most relevant  
The book was good and had lots of detail. It came from a different perspective than most
London history books. I particularly liked the personal story he told at the end of being here for Diana’s death

Nice overview

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I enjoy listening to The Great Courses series and was drawn to this one as being a native Londoner, I enjoy learning more about this wonderful city. This gave a very concise and detailed history of London, and included interesting little nuggets of information about certain monuments, buildings and details about the human side of history too. Professor Bucholz presents this course in a very engaging way, although his accent did start to niggle at me after a while. Overall though a very good listen.

Wonderful overview of historical London

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This course was entertaining, unbiased, and interesting.

As a lady born and living half my life in London, l enjoyed it very much. There was so much I could relate to, especially the effects of the two world wars upon the city, the building programmes, more recent bombings, politics, and the lives of the rich and poor alike. My family, most of whom are dead now, would talk about their lifetime historical events, many included in this course, and the author was spot on in many of his observations about Londoners.

The author's love of London shines through in his affectionate homage and is well worth a credit.

Great course!

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The performance is very good as well as the story. I recommend it if you would like to have a general idea of London history

Good, well performance and easy to follow

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What a ride from start to end a an insightful, well researched and superbly delivered piece of work.

Robert Bucholz is a great storyteller

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Read as a lecture. Really interesting, I am a Londoner and didn't know half of the history in this book. Just for the record the Dave Clark Five introduced the Tottenham sound not the Tooting sound.

Really format

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I enjoyed listening to these lectures which have a brief history of London England UK.

Enjoyable

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Would you listen to London: A Short History of the Greatest City in the Western World again? Why?

Yes. I have worked in London for 35 years and was interested to learn more about the places I know.

What did you like best about this story?

Learning about the history of all the familiar places.

What about Professor Robert Bucholz’s performance did you like?

His enthusiasm and personal knowledge of London.

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

No idea.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this until the last couple if episodes when a number of factual errors made me doubt the veracity of the whole thing. So The Dave Clark 5 were from Tottenham not Tooting, the Labour election victory in 1964 was not a landslide, the O2 is not the O squared and so on.

Enjoyable until..

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I loved his series on Tudor and Stuart England. I didn't realise he'd made one about London - the city I've lived in for the past 30 years. I inhaled it in a week. Fascinating, charming, beautiful. Can't recommend highly enough.

Can't recommend highly enough

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As a Brit, I was worried about someone else describing a city I knew well. I needn't have been. I learnt a lot, appreciated the lecturer's affection for the city, and agreed with him on the rare occasions he taught me something I already knew. informative, absorbing, satisfying stuff. Really excellent.

Excellent history

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