Understanding the Inventions That Changed the World

By: W. Bernard Carlson, The Great Courses

Narrated by: W. Bernard Carlson

We’re surrounded by inventions. Clocks, appliances, cars, televisions, cell phones...the list goes on and on. Where did all these inventions come from? How do they work? And how do they reflect - even define - the values of our culture?

Now, you can learn the remarkable stories surrounding monumental inventions - and how consequential these inventions were to history. Taught by Professor W. Bernard Carlson of the University of Virginia, who is an expert on the role of innovation in history, these 36 enlightening lectures give you a broad survey of material history, from the ancient pottery wheel to the Internet and social media. Along with recounting the famous inventions you might expect, such as the steam engine, the airplane, and the atomic bomb, this course explores a number of surprising innovations, including beer, pagodas, and the operating room.

From ancient China to 21st-century America, from the English coal mines to the high-tech companies of Silicon Valley, this course takes you around the world and across the ages to introduce you to some of the most innovative moments in human civilization. This unique approach to history will boost your technology literacy and give you a completely new appreciation for the everyday objects around you.

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

©2013 The Great Courses (P)2013 The Teaching Company, LLC

Interesting and well performed, lacking visual support

I gave the story and performance five stars and would have given the overall five stars as well except that the PDF that comes along with the Audible file is highly lacking. What is needed is accompanying visuals, the illustrations alluded to in the lectures.

Very Interesting and Informative.

Well structured in classroom lecture form. I it was more than just the facts of the origins of inventions, but the bigger picture of the common theme among humanity.

Informative and interesting

Informative and interesting. Had me googling topics to see pictures and to verify. Instructor spoke well and kept me interested. Piqued my curiosity.

Not suited for audio

This is the first Great courses that I just couldn’t finish, despite my interest in the subject! The professor speaks monotonously. There is also quite a bit of visual demonstrations which you can’t get from audio. It’s probably better experienced as a video, but as audio it just doesn’t work.

Ultimately Engaging, with Shortcomings

Others note the key challenges with this title: 1) frequent references to models and photographs which cannot be seen by the audiobook listener 2) Less than professional delivery which includes mispronunciations, missed words and sometimes wrong words. These both annoy, but ultimately you can get past them when the content becomes engaging. Which it does. Eventually.

One of my biggest criticisms comes in the use of the word "Inventions" in the title. Ultimately this is NOT a series of stories about individual developments. Rather it is an economic history of humankind. Most of the items discussed had no inventor and no breakthrough moment. What they do share is that they evolved to become important aspects of how humans interact and exchange value. Some of these are quite mundane (Shopping malls), others, ultimately, hew closer to popular imagination: computers, the Internet, etc.

If my experience of the book stopped there, I would certainly have rated it higher. However, one relatively early chapter happened to deal with a subject which I have studied professionally most of my life. In that chapter, statements are made which are utterly incorrect and grossly misleading. (Some I have never heard from any source, ever.) After listening to that chapter I really considered returning the book for a refund. And from then on, I viewed the book as far less authoritative. But after setting it aside for awhile and listening to another chapter that was of interest, I came around to this presentation of "economic history as entertainment" approach. It became more of a title to fall asleep to rather than one for prime-time listening (and learning).