Fantastic experience.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes. I've listened to a lot of history courses, understandably, most of them cover the big events of the era, and follow the succession of kings and emperors. This really fills in the gaps for what it was like to live there at the time. The small details and facts that are invariably left out of the 'Great man' narratives.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Me. Though this is still structured mostly as an exposition, I could still close my eyes and imagine myself in these times and places, as a worker in ancient egypt decorating the pharaoah's tomb, or drinking at a symposium with fellow Greeks, discussing politics and philosophy.

Any additional comments?

I noted that Robert Garland plugged his other Great Course: "Greece and Rome: An Integrated History of the Ancient Mediterranean". I spent my next credit on that one, and it didn't disappoint.

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6 people found this helpful

How to enjoy history

Professer Garland delivers a thoughly entertaining series on history of the ordinary person in the ancient world.
I bought this audible book to learn a little something and was suprised at how much I enjoyed it.
I looked forward to spending time each day listening to this and will go through it again for more to sink in.
Now I know what they used crocodile dung for in ancient Eygpt. It has this and other fun interesting facts scattered thoughout.
His voice was very soothing to listen to.

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2 people found this helpful

History comes alive

Robert Garland paints a rich picture, providing compelling insights into the lives and likely mindsets of our predecessors.

His consideration of how people saw the world provides context and helps us to make sense of historical events, the rise and fall of civilisations and plain old daily life.

His sensitivity to the plight of society’s most vulnerable across the centuries, and general sense of humanity, is also worth calling out.

Loved every minute.

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End at the Celts, ignore the rest

The information that was presented on the ancient cultures was by far the most interesting and informative in this. The model that the lecturer used to present the info was also novel.

It was severly let down by the material on the Dark and Middle ages which was a basic review of medieval history at the best of times and delved into pure misinformation at the worst (no, knights didn't bludgeon each other with heavy weapons; they wouldn't have written books on their techniques it'd they did). A very painful end to an otherwise informative listen.

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Fanfare to the commoner

Written records have been used to inform our understanding of history for the past four thousand years. Because they have been formulated by the literate, and therefore by definition, the elite, it is often hard to imagine life for the ordinary person. Since 80% or more of these people were slaves, peasant farmers or urban poor, these records have given us a falsely grandiose picture of the past. In presenting this series of lectures illustrating the lives of the the non elites, Robert Garland challenges us to see history from a more comprehensive perspective. While kings and emperors were murdering each other, it was up to the poor to hold society together in the face of chaos.
However, while not wishing to discourage people from enjoying these brilliant lectures, I do have one point of logical disagreement. In summing up at the end, the lecturer strays from his theme to make the now expected platitudes of how history has repeatedly mistreated women. He may have also continued with the hackneyed additions of minorities, people of colour etc. Surely, the point of lectures was that if you were outside the elite ruling class, life was pretty tough regardless of your gender etc. Considering the subject, this seems a pointless bit of woke PC. These lectures cover thousands of years of history and yet miss the most obvious observation in the conclusion. Even in the developed world, we are less than a century removed from societies that were mostly agrarian. Urbanisation as we know it might have begun its first tentative steps in late 18th Century Britain, but barely three or four generations ago, the majority of the populations in industrialising countries were also agrarian. In Asia, this is still the case. If the family unit is to be successful, both parents must share the burden. Child labour, despite modern education, must also be expected if the family was and is to survive.
Although a wealthy property owning class, sometimes less than 2% of society, did skew the rules in favour of the dominant males, this was seldom reflected in the lives of working majority. The commonly taught and parroted doctrine of a 49% conspiratorial male elite oppressing women is logically unsustainable when honestly examining how societies functioned. It was only in nineteenth century Victorian Britain when these kind of general social expectations and morality became the widely propagated as normal.

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Fantastic, well presented and knowledgeable.

Love it. Every chapter was well written and very interesting. The author, Robert Garland, was a great narrator. Highly recommended.

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Brilliant

An insightful and interesting look into human history from a viewpoint I had not thought much about prior to discovering The Great Courses. Will absolutely be listening to more of these!

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Great Human Story

Gifting insight to the human experience through ancient times and across place. Povides a good cross-section for each civilisation desribed, covering diverse groups, classes and religions. Mainly a Western World focus. I really came to enjoy the narration and found his style as entertaining as the fascinating histories entailed.

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A time machine

Professor Garland takes the listener on a time traveller's tour throughout history. This lecture series brings to life eras that might otherwise be remembered as a string of remote and uninteresting dates, turning them instead into living stories. Brilliant.

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Excellent and enjoyable

What did you like most about The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World?

I appreciated the care and attention given to the lives of women in these lectures. In my opinion, Professor Garland has made a great effort to be as inclusive of their daily struggles and social contexts as the subject and current evidence allows. He also devotes chapters on the sick, disabled, the poor and refugees. All together I found it very immersive and Professor Garland's passion and enthusiasm for this very broad subject helps to give the listener a sense of what ancient life was like. I found it fascinating to learn how much we differ from the social mindsets of different ancient cultures, and in what ways we are still very much the same.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Despite the obvious hardships that the people in these lectures had to endure on a daily basis, there are moments that make you smile. These are the moments that I feel that we today can relate too all too well. Dealing with your in-laws, tolerating a boring drunk at a party, falling in love, etc. There are also areas where the social behaviours of an ancient culture could be seen as shocking and utterly horrifying to us today.

Any additional comments?

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who is fascinated with the ancient world and wants to get a taste of what life was like for ordinary people.

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15 people found this helpful