The Course of Human Events

Forty years after his first book, David McCullough wrote and presented his speech, The Course of Human Events, in the 2003 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, in which he divulges his philosophy on writing, speaking, and history in his masterful storytelling style.

In this Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities, David McCullough draws on his personal experience as a historian to acknowledge the crucial importance of writing in history’s enduring impact and influence, and he affirms the significance of history in teaching us about human nature through the ages.©2005 David McCullough; (P)2005 Simon & Schuster Inc. AUDIOWORKS is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Inc.

A must listen to:

A beautiful read by the author himself, this speech pertains to all of us working and living today. He speaks to the human heart and our need to live outside of ourselves, to connect with each other, and to realize the support of our past as inspiration for building our future. Inspiring, uplifting, and real.

Value the time the servants for history gave us.

McCullough looks carefully into times served for humans, not just humanity. He brings the scattered tangents of many lives to define the shape of our common time, and reassures us that we may leave a tangent because by definition: a tangent is a single point on a line (straight between two points) touching a circle at a single point. The several tangents may have nothing else in common with each other than the circle they define.

Great reminder

David McCullough does a great job to remind us all of the ongoing benefits that were earned for us so many years ago. And the ongoing responsibilities that we have to learn about them and defend them. So, on we go…

Outstanding!

I was not sure what to expected from this reading since it was so short. The speech was excellent and ignited a desire in me to read more of the author’s works about the founding of our country. It really articulated the reasons we study history.

The Course of Human Events

David himself is a great and compassionate man at least in part because of the writings he has read of others. An American treasure.