Europe and Western Civilization in the Modern Age

By: Thomas Childers, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Thomas Childers

Only three lifetimes ago, Europe was a farming society ruled by families of monarchs. But with two seismic tremors-capitalism and democracy-Europe's economic and royal foundations were shattered forever and modern European history began.

In this series of 48 fascinating lectures, Professor Childers makes the history of Europe from the 1750s to the present-events both horrible and magnificent-as immediate as today's headlines, employing the historian's craft and a storyteller's skill to find the causes of what otherwise could seem to be the march of folly. The result is an intellectually exhilarating journey through a period of three lifetimes such as the world had never experienced. You'll see how in the span of just one life, England became an industrial, urban culture; tens of thousands were guillotined in France; Napoleon's Empire - the greatest since Rome-rose and fell; and revolution swept the capitals of Europe; how in the span of just one more, the Russian serfs were freed; Italy and Germany were created from a loose collection of city-states; European powers divided and conquered Africa; Darwin, Marx, Freud, and Einstein published world-shaking ideas; and millions died in a Great War; and how in that third lifetime, the world was plunged into economic depression, global war, and genocide; Europe abandoned its African colonies; the Soviet Union rose and fell; Fascism and Communism failed as democracy became the dominant form of government; and the same European powers that had bled each other for hundreds of years created a Common Market and unified currency.

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

©1998 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)1998 The Great Courses

Great listen

Informative and thorough. I'm going to miss Prof. Childers on my morning drives! Highly recommend it.

Comprehensive with wonderful analysis

One of the best lectures in this series. I found these lectures to be engaging and reflective- putting context into the events of the past

Great Listen

Professor Thomas Childer's narration is solid. The storybline is good, modern western history. If you enjoy history, I think you'll enjoy this series of lectures. The professor nails the ending! One of the best examples I can think of how to close a class, book, or series of lectures. I'll be looking for more from Thomas Childers.

Modern European History

I can't say enough good things about the course. I've listened to all of Prof. Childers' courses, and they are all excellent.

Pros:
- He's a fascinating, conversational lecturer, A lovely voice and I appreciate these "old school" courses where the professor is allowed to have a natural speaking voice without reading in an overly rehearsed way.
- I found the title somewhat confusing, but this would be wonderful as a college level (but suitable for a homeschooling high schooler) Modern European History.
- I appreciate that he interweaves the current of political and social philosophy with the military and political history more typically covered.
- The connections he draws are helpful to me as I read/view movies/discuss some of the episodes he covers. He helped me see the larger scale and how some events and people are connected to each other.

Cons: (hard to come up with any)
- Sometimes I wished there was more of a focus on countries other than Britain and France, and sometimes Germany.
- this was made in the late 90s, but it doesn't seem at all out of date
- I wish he were still recording courses!

This is hard to stop listening to, and I was sorry when it ended.

I never review anything but this was fantastic

250 years of history in 25 hours seems difficult but this lecture series does a great job

Excellent

Please listen to this audiobook only while wearing a seatbelt because you're in for one heck of a ride! From the storming of the Bastille to the tearing down of the Berlin Wall, you're gonna get all that the title implies. Professor Childers is an expert, with amazing ways of explaining keys concepts and happenings. After listening to these lectures, I'm actually sad it's all over.

I am deeply grateful for this fine work of pedagogy and cannot recommend this series enough.

Fantastic Discussion of Ideologies

This is one of those courses you want to keep listening to one lecture after another.
It provides an excellent historical narrative covering the history and development of European civilization from aprx. 1789 (The French Revolution) to 1991 (the fall of communism), focusing not just on specific countries but the big picture of how the various ideologies (liberalism, nationalism, socialism, fascism, communism, capitalism, etc.) impacted Europe in general.

Professor Childers is excellent at identifying and articulating trends and seeing and describing the big picture but not at the sacrifice of omitting details of specific people or events.

Substantial time is spent specifically on France and Germany, especially the post French Revolution time period for the former and the early 20th century for the latter (the rise of the Nazis). This is time you often don’t see dedicated in other Western Civilization courses that focus heavily on Great Britain and the United States.

For me there were many highlights but these lectures stood out where the professor was his best:
o 2 (social and political life at the end of the 18th century)
o 6 (The terror of the French Revolution)
o 8 (Napoleonic era)
o 9 (France post-Napoleon)
o 25-27 (build up to World War I)
o 28-29 (World War I)
o 42 (early stages of World War II)


A few minor quibbles with Professor Childers' delivery style:

1- While he does a good job of winding down lectures and summarizing the main points, his actual closing sentence or two often seemed awkward (No information on what would be covered in the next lecture or a natural concluding line to the current lecture) leading to a sudden applause signifying the unexpected end of the lecture

2- There are long pauses between some of his sentences to the point that I have to check my phone to see if I may have accidentally paused it!

While of course most of the course focused on Great Britain, France, Germany, and Russia (and deservedly so) it would’ve been nice to have some additional insight into the progression of some of the other countries such as Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, etc.

All in all though it was hard to find flaws. This is a good listen and should enrich anyone's knowledge of this subject. I would love to hear more courses from the professor.

For the longest time I held off on purchasing this course because I already owned "Foundations of Western Civilization II" by Professor Bucholz and thought it did a great complete job on the topic. What else could I be missing or want? However, if I never had decided to give Professor Childers a chance I would've missed out on so much. He covers many of the same events but with a different perspective and style that complements Professor's Bucholz's course perfectly. I would highly recommend both if you have interest in western civilization. You will take away much from both. If you are somewhat new to the subject and can only purchase one I may recommend "Foundations of Western Civilization II" but if you are more seasoned you may find "Europe and the Development of Western Civilization" more engaging because it goes deeper into the ideologies of the time period.

Either way you really can't lose with either in my opinion! So glad the Great Courses provide such quality products.

Brilliant, polished History

The Span of this is perfect
begins in 1600 with post plague Europe and ends before 911. Thomas Childers points the reader to exquisite details. It is like studying that Bruegel knowing the jokes depicted in each vignette. Reading this, lit areas of (my) perennial confusion like the fine splits of Communists, why Chamberlain capitulated, why Yalta mattered .. My vision of this period has been neatly readjusted ... The view is spectacular. Thanks

Excellent lectures

Finished all 48 lectures and wanted more. This is an excellent overview of european history. I highly recommend.

Oh my, where do I begin? A fantastic listen.

If you could sum up Europe and Western Civilization in the Modern Age in three words, what would they be?

A must listen.

What did you like best about this story?

I selected this audio series because I'm planning a trip to France and wanted to brush up on France's modern history. I ended up racing through all 24 riveting hours, covering Europe from the Enlightenment and French Revolution through the Cold War.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes! Though at 24 full hours that would have been impossible. As the course continued, I found myself racing through it, listening wherever and whenever I could.

Any additional comments?

This course overlaps substantially with another outstanding title from The Great Courses by Professor Robert Bucholz, Foundations of Western Civilization II, which I listened to last year and loved. I could not begin to tell you which course is better.

Bucholz's course ("Foundations") covers a wider geography and time period, and is memorable particularly for his rich descriptions of life under the great pre-enlightenment monarchies (particularly that of Louis XIV of France), and for the vivid portrait he painted of the mood in Europe through the industrial revolution leading up to World War I.

Professor Childers is an equally gifted historian and storyteller, and listening to this course was a similar experience in that once it got going, I couldn't stop listening.

More than the "foundations" course, this course -- particularly the first half -- focused much more on the political and philosophical evolution within the era covered. There is ample discussion of the contributing forces and evolution of nationalism, conservatism, imperialism, capitalism, liberalism, communism, socialism, fascism, and more. But make no mistake -- this is not simply a philosophy class. Childers paints vivid pictures of the leaders of the day, and of the many circumstances and turning points that propelled Europe through the last 200 years. Highlights for me included the several lectures which offered a detailed dissection of the rise, reign, and philosophy of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers ("Nazi") party in Germany in the 1930s.

It was not until the final lecture that I realized this course was recorded a good 15 years ago. Childers ends his accounting of history as the new millennium is dawning. While it would be nice to hear Childers' take on the 21st century, it's to his credit that his summation in lecture 48 remains meaningful, and in the end the age of the course is irrelevant. Loved it.