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The following list of Great Books is based on the Books That Have
Made History: Books That Can Change Your Life course by J. Rufus
Fears who has done a wonderful job of weaving insightful themes
throughout the entire program. Select the online book to have immediate
access to a free online book when available. To order the book, click
on the recommended reading link. The audio portion of the program can
be ordered from the Teaching Company at the audio course link which is
included below each reading selection.
Reading the book and listening to Professor Fear's audio portion with
family, friends or the online community, these Great Ideas are best
integrated, understood and thus lived. In addition to Professor Fear's
selections, we have added illuminating material from the art and music
masters throughout the online course guide.
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1944
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Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers From Prison
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (February 4, 1906 – April 9, 1945) was a
German religious leader and participant in the resistance movement
against Nazism. Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor and theologian, took part
in the plots being planned by members of the Abwehr (Military
Intelligence Office) to assassinate Hitler. He was arrested,
imprisoned, and eventually hanged following the failure of the July 20,
1944, assassination attempt.1
Recommended Reading: Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers From Prison
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775 B.C.
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Homer, Iliad
The liad tells part of the story of the siege of the city of
Ilium, i.e. the Trojan War, and is, along with the Odyssey, one of the
two major Greek epic poems traditionally attributed to Homer, a blind
Ionian poet. Scholars dispute whether Homer existed, and whether he was
one person, but it is clear that the poems spring from a long tradition
of oral poetry. The Iliad and the Odyssey are
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| Homer and His Guide, by William-Adolphe Bouguereau
(1825-1905) |
traditionally dated to the 8th century BC, but many scholars now prefer
a date of the 7th century BC (e.g. Martin West) or even the 6th century
BC (e.g. Richard Seaford). The epics are considered to be the oldest
literary documents in the Greek language, though the classical Greeks
thought that the works of the poet Hesiod were composed earlier. The
word Iliad means "pertaining to Ilion" (Latin Ilium), the name of the
city proper, as opposed to Troy the state centered around Ilium, over
which Priam reigned. However, even classics scholars are unsure of why
the text is called Iliad rather than Ilium. The names are often used
interchangeably. The Iliad documents just 50 days of the tenth year of
the Trojan War. Books 11–18 document events that took place over only a
single day.2
Recomended Reading: Homer,
Iliad
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180 A.D.
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Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Imperator Caesar Marcus Aurelius Antoninus Augustus (April 26,
121 – March 17, 180) was Roman Emperor from 161 to his death in 180. He
was born Marcus Annius Catilius Severus, and at marriage took the name
Marcus Annius Verus. When he was named Emperor, he was given the name
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. He was the last of the Five Good Emperors. 3
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Bust of Aurelius in
the Louvre |
Recommended Reading: Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
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