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Designed to meet the powerful demand for lifelong learning, The Great Courses is an intellectual engaging series of video and audio courses led by the world's best professors and experts in diverse fields such as philosophy, history, literature, science, and the arts. The Great Courses currently maintains a catalog of more than 350 courses delivered by great teachers from universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, Yale, and more.

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  • Customers Choose the Professor:We begin with the most engaging professors—the top 1% as determined by The Great Courses and its customers. In the end, only 1 in 5,000 professors meets the standards set by our customers, who vote on all professors we retain.
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  • Professors Carefully Craft the Course: Months of preparation ensure that a course will satisfy our customers. Long before a word is spoken on stage, our professor outlines and prepares each lecture and writes the extensive Course Guidebook.
  • We Record the Course: Working in our in-house recording studios, we record the video of each lecture on high-definition-quality equipment and media, or record the audio of each lecture on the latest CD-quality equipment and media. We then devote weeks to include dynamic visual elements into the video lectures and to professionally master the sound for the audio lectures.

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New Releases from the Great Courses

Order our newest releases today! Every month, we release new Great Courses on a fascinating wealth of topics chosen by our customers. Each course features the latest scholarship taught by America's top professors.

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Include Sale items only (36)
  • Masters of War: History’s Greatest Strategic Thinkers
    Quick Look
    Masters of War: History’s Greatest Strategic Thinkers Professor Andrew R. Wilson Save up to $225
  • The Art of War
    Quick Look
    The Art of War Professor Andrew R. Wilson Starting at $19.95
  • The First Amendment and You: What Everyone Should Know
    Quick Look
    The First Amendment and You: What Everyone Should Know Professor John E. Finn Save up to $150
  • Mysteries of Modern Physics: Time
    Quick Look
    Mysteries of Modern Physics: Time Professor Sean Carroll Save up to $225
  • The Science of Natural Healing
    Quick Look
    The Science of Natural Healing Professor Mimi Guarneri Save up to $225
  • The Hidden Factor: Why Thinking Differently Is Your Greatest Asset
    Quick Look
    The Hidden Factor: Why Thinking Differently Is Your Greatest Asset Professor Scott E. Page Save up to $225
  • The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
    Quick Look
    The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World Professor Robert Garland
  • Introduction to Nanotechnology: The New Science of Small
    Quick Look
    Introduction to Nanotechnology: The New Science of Small Various Professors
  • Mastering the Fundamentals of Mathematics
    Quick Look
    Mastering the Fundamentals of Mathematics Professor James A. Sellers
  • The Skeptic's Guide to American History
    Quick Look
    The Skeptic's Guide to American History Professor Mark A. Stoler
  • The Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries
    Quick Look
    The Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries Professor Neil deGrasse Tyson Starting at $32.95
  • Strategic Thinking Skills
    Quick Look
    Strategic Thinking Skills Professor Stanley K. Ridgley
  • A Day’s Read
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    A Day’s Read Various Professors Save up to $235
  • Writing Creative Nonfiction
    Quick Look
    Writing Creative Nonfiction Professor Tilar J. Mazzeo
  • Understanding Investments
    Quick Look
    Understanding Investments Professor Connel Fullenkamp
  • Masters of War: History’s Greatest Strategic Thinkers Save Up To $225
Masters of War: History’s Greatest Strategic Thinkers
Professor Andrew R. Wilson

Military strategy matters. Civilizations with the greatest strategists—often coupled with the greatest resources—have had a powerful edge over competing civilizations. From Napoleon’s revolutionary campaigns to the way insurgency, terrorism, and nuclear weaponry have defined the nature of warfare in the 21st century, the results of military strategy have changed the course of history. Masters of War: History’s Greatest Strategic Thinkers gives you an inside look at both the content and historical context of the world’s greatest war strategists. Taught by Professor Andrew R. Wilson, these 24 lectures will instill in you a new appreciation for the subtleties and complexities of strategy.

  • The Art of War Starting at $19.95
The Art of War
Professor Andrew R. Wilson

As a landmark achievement in the evolution of strategic thought, Sun Tzu’s The Art of War has had a powerful and lasting influence on military strategy around the globe. So universal and timeless are its tactics for pursuing a competitive advantage that some of the most notable people in government, sports, and the entertainment world have all quoted from its nearly 2500-year-old pages. Through a precise, historically grounded explanation of the original text and intriguing case studies, the six lectures of The Art of War prove how this classic’s wisdom remains highly relevant in the information age. You’ll examine how the seminal work’s model of leadership has been applied—and misapplied—throughout the realms of war, politics, business, and beyond.

  • The First Amendment and You: What Everyone Should Know Save Up To $150
The First Amendment and You: What Everyone Should Know
Professor John E. Finn

A mere 45 words, the First Amendment to the Constitution stands as a pillar of our democracy and has had an incalculable influence on the development of human freedom in the United States and the Western world. By defining the relationship between the people and the state and placing checks on governmental power to silence its populace, its protections have important ramifications for every American. The First Amendment and You: What Everyone Should Know is a practical guide to understanding the protections and limitations implied by this fundamental constitutional provision. This 12-lecture course will help you fully grasp why we have a First Amendment, what and whom it protects, and why it matters to you personally.

  • Mysteries of Modern Physics: Time Save Up To $225
Mysteries of Modern Physics: Time
Professor Sean Carroll

Time rules our lives. From the rising and setting of the sun to the cycles of nature, the thought processes in our brains, and the biorhythms in our day, nothing so pervades our existence and yet is so difficult to explain. Time seems to be woven into the very fabric of the universe. But why? In 24 riveting half-hour lectures, Mysteries of Modern Physics: Time shows how a feature of the world that we all experience connects us to the instant of the formation of the universe—and possibly to a multiverse that is unimaginably larger and more varied than the known cosmos.

  • The Science of Natural Healing Save Up To $225
The Science of Natural Healing
Professor Mimi Guarneri

What is the most effective way to nurture your own optimal health? Are there sound alternatives to the drugs so common in our health-care system, which can carry unwanted consequences and side effects? In the 24 lectures of The Science of Natural Healing, board-certified cardiologist Dr. Mimi Guarneri, founder of the Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine, leads you in a compelling and practical exploration of holistic approaches to healthcare, introducing you to the many nature-based treatments and methods that are both clinically proven and readily available to you.

  • The Hidden Factor: Why Thinking Differently Is Your Greatest Asset Save Up To $225
The Hidden Factor: Why Thinking Differently Is Your Greatest Asset
Professor Scott E. Page

From technology to business, two (or more) heads often prove to be better than one—but only if those heads are cognitively diverse. Diverse perspectives are a powerful tool for maximizing productivity and enhancing collective performance. Now, in The Hidden Factor: Why Thinking Differently Is Your Greatest Asset, you can learn the strategies that make you a more diverse thinker and position you to break down institutional silos and build robust, effective teams. Delivered by Professor Scott E. Page of the University of Michigan—a pioneering researcher in his field—these 24 thought-provoking lectures are packed with case studies, cautionary tales, and formal mathematical methods that prove the case for cognitive difference.

  • The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
Professor Robert Garland

Take this chance to get beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts in The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World. In 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Robert Garland of Colgate University covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages. The past truly comes alive in this ambitious course, as Professor Garland takes a series of imaginative leaps to put you inside the world of history’s anonymous citizens, providing you with a fuller understanding of the distant past.

  • Introduction to Nanotechnology: The New Science of Small
Introduction to Nanotechnology: The New Science of Small
Various Professors

Nanotechnology is today’s most powerful engine of innovation, turning cutting-edge research into applications at an astonishing rate. Now, in the 24 accessible and visually rich half-hour lectures of Introduction to Nanotechnology: The New Science of Small, get an in-depth explanation of this groundbreaking, interdisciplinary science that operates at the level of atoms and molecules. You’ll learn about once-fantastical applications that are transforming tools, products, and services in the communications, technology, medical, energy, and engineering worlds, and that hold great promise for meeting some of society’s greatest challenges.

  • Mastering the Fundamentals of Mathematics
Mastering the Fundamentals of Mathematics
Professor James A. Sellers

Whether you’re a high-school student preparing for the challenges of higher math classes, an adult who needs a refresher in math to prepare for a new career, or someone who just wants to keep his or her mind active and sharp, there’s no denying that a solid grasp of arithmetic and prealgebra is essential in today’s world. In Professor James A. Sellers’ engaging course, Mastering the Fundamentals of Mathematics, you learn all the key math topics you need to know. In 24 lectures packed with helpful examples, practice problems, and guided walkthroughs, you’ll finally grasp the all-important fundamentals of math in a way that truly sticks.

  • The Skeptic's Guide to American History
The Skeptic's Guide to American History
Professor Mark A. Stoler

Sorting through misconceptions, myths, and half-truths about America’s past is a chance to revisit some of the country’s greatest episodes, figures, and themes from a fresh perspective and an opportunity to hone the way you think about and interpret the past, the present, and even the future. The Skeptic’s Guide to American History examines many commonly held myths and half-truths about American history and prompts you to think about what really happened in the nation’s past—as opposed to what many believe happened.

  • The Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries Starting at $32.95
The Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries
Professor Neil deGrasse Tyson

What is our latest picture of some of the most inexplicable features of the universe? What still remains to be uncovered? What are some of the next avenues of exploration for today’s chemists, physicists, biologists, and astronomers? Professor Neil deGrasse Tyson’s course The Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries is a marvelous journey to the frontiers of the known (and unknown) universe and introduces you to tantalizing questions being addressed by the world’s top scientists. Undeniably engaging and fascinating, this lecture series is a wonderful entrée to scientific pursuits that lie at the very heart of the history and nature of our universe.

  • Strategic Thinking Skills
Strategic Thinking Skills
Professor Stanley K. Ridgley

Strategic thinking is a powerful and invaluable skill, one that leads to greater chances of success in whatever professional and personal projects you’re involved in. It involves setting goals, developing long-range plans, anticipating the unexpected, analyzing your environment, and even cooperating with your competitors. With Strategic Thinking Skills, you’ll get a simple and comprehensive guide to the skills, tactics, techniques, tools, case studies, and lessons behind this all-important process. Award-winning Professor Stanley K. Ridgley of Drexel University has crafted these 24 lectures as an accessible way for you to engage with thinking that will help you think—and act—more strategically in business and in your own life.

  • A Day’s Read Save Up To $235
A Day’s Read
Various Professors

"Great books" such as Don Quixote, War and Peace, and Bleak House constitute a grand reading list that many of us, with our busy lives, can't easily manage. But there's another strategy for reading the "great books" that is truly manageable; one that allows you to get all the power of brilliant authors in a single day. Join three literary scholars and award-winning professors as they introduce you to dozens of short masterpieces that you can finish—and engage with—in a day or less with A Day’s Read. Together, all three offer you their unique scholarly perspectives on short books from across time and around the world.

  • Writing Creative Nonfiction
Writing Creative Nonfiction
Professor Tilar J. Mazzeo

The 24 lectures of Writing Creative Nonfiction by award-winning writing instructor and Professor Tilar J. Mazzeo of Colby College, a New York Times best-selling author, are a chance for you to explore the entire process of writing creative nonfiction, from brainstorming for the perfect idea to getting your final product noticed by literary agents and publishers. Filled with helpful tips and techniques, memorable examples from well-known writers, and engaging exercises, it’s a learning experience that proves that—with the right instructor—writing creative nonfiction can be mastered, practiced, and enjoyed by anyone with a desire to share his or her personal story.

  • Understanding Investments
Understanding Investments
Professor Connel Fullenkamp

Learn how to invest with skill and confidence to attain your financial goals with the 24 timely and informative lectures of Understanding Investments. Economist and Professor Connel Fullenkamp explains the fundamentals of investing to those new to the subject while broadening and deepening the knowledge of more experienced investors. He clearly explains the various kinds of financial markets, the different kinds of investments available to you, and the pros and cons of each—and shows you how to evaluate each of these in terms of your own financial situation and goals.

  • Masters of War: History’s Greatest Strategic Thinkers SALE
  • The Art of War SALE
  • The First Amendment and You: What Everyone Should Know SALE
  • Mysteries of Modern Physics: Time SALE
  • The Science of Natural Healing SALE
  • The Hidden Factor: Why Thinking Differently Is Your Greatest Asset SALE
  • The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World
  • Introduction to Nanotechnology: The New Science of Small
  • Mastering the Fundamentals of Mathematics
  • The Skeptic's Guide to American History
  • The Inexplicable Universe: Unsolved Mysteries SALE
  • Strategic Thinking Skills
  • A Day’s Read SALE
  • Writing Creative Nonfiction
  • Understanding Investments
  • Understanding the Mysteries of Human Behavior
  • History of the Ancient World: A Global Perspective SALE
  • Apocalypse: Controversies and Meaning in Western History SALE
  • The Everyday Guide to Spirits and Cocktails: Tastes and Traditions SALE
  • Analysis and Critique: How to Engage and Write about Anything
  • Secrets of Mental Math
  • Meaning of Life: Perspectives from the World’s Great Intellectual Traditions
  • Story of Medieval England: From King Arthur to the Tudor Conquest SALE
  • Medical Myths, Lies, and Half-Truths: What We Think We Know May Be Hurting Us
  • Art of Conflict Management: Achieving Solutions for Life, Work, and Beyond SALE
  • Neuroscience of Everyday Life SALE
  • Holy Land Revealed
  • Art of Public Speaking: Lessons from the Greatest Speeches in History
  • The Cathedral SALE
  • Music of Richard Wagner
  • Great Thinkers, Great Theorems
  • The World Was Never the Same: Events That Changed History
  • Thinking like an Economist: A Guide to Rational Decision Making
  • Major Transitions in Evolution
  • Stress and Your Body
  • Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad
  • Pompeii: Daily Life in an Ancient Roman City SALE
  • World’s Greatest Paintings
  • Power of Mathematical Thinking: From Newton's Laws to Elections and the Economy
  • Myth in Human History
  • Lifelong Health: Achieving Optimum Well-Being at Any Age
  • Our Night Sky
  • Modern Intellectual Tradition: From Descartes to Derrida
  • Why Economies Rise or Fall
  • Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Empire
  • Shape of Nature
  • The Everyday Guide to Wine
  • Impossible: Physics beyond the Edge
  • Art of Teaching: Best Practices from a Master Educator
  • Fall and Rise of China
  • Origins of the Human Mind
  • Understanding Calculus: Problems, Solutions, and Tips
  • Dead Sea Scrolls
  • Origin of Civilization
  • Meteorology: An Introduction to the Wonders of the Weather
  • Art and Craft of Mathematical Problem Solving
  • Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies SALE
  • Skeptics and Believers: Religious Debate in the Western Intellectual Tradition SALE
  • Understanding the Human Factor: Life and Its Impact
  • Nutrition Made Clear
  • Medieval World
  • Algebra I
  • String Quartets of Beethoven
  • The Catholic Church: A History
  • Black Holes Explained
  • Rise and Fall of the British Empire
  • War and World History
  • Philosophy, Religion, and the Meaning of Life
  • Exploring the Roots of Religion SALE
  • Earth at the Crossroads: Understanding the Ecology of a Changing Planet
  • Discrete Mathematics SALE
  • Art of Reading
  • Science of Self SALE
  • Chemistry, 2nd Edition SALE
  • Ancient Empires before Alexander
  • Mathematics, Philosophy, and the "Real World"
  • Understanding Complexity
  • Physics of History SALE
  • Museum Masterpieces: The National Gallery, London SALE
  • Conservative Tradition SALE
  • Long Shadow of the Ancient Greek World SALE
  • Great American Bestsellers: The Books That Shaped America
  • Art of Critical Decision Making
  • Quantum Mechanics: The Physics of the Microscopic World
  • Biblical Wisdom Literature SALE
  • London: A Short History of the Greatest City in the Western World SALE
  • Experiencing Rome: A Visual Exploration of Antiquity's Greatest Empire
  • Mathematics from the Visual World SALE
  • Life Lessons from the Great Books SALE
  • Darwinian Revolution
  • Making History: How Great Historians Interpret the Past SALE
  • Thinking about Capitalism
  • Cosmology: The History and Nature of Our Universe
  • Masterworks of American Art SALE
  • Rights of Man: Great Thinkers and Great Movements
  • Late Antiquity: Crisis and Transformation SALE
  • History of Christian Theology SALE
  • Games People Play: Game Theory in Life, Business, and Beyond SALE
  • Understanding Linguistics: The Science of Language SALE
  • America and the World: A Diplomatic History
  • America and the New Global Economy
  • History of World Literature
  • Art across the Ages
  • Consciousness and Its Implications
  • Understanding the Fundamentals of Music
  • How to Listen to and Understand Great Music, 3rd Edition
  • Museum Masterpieces: The Louvre
  • Argumentation: The Study of Effective Reasoning, 2nd Edition
  • A History of European Art
  • History of the Bible: The Making of the New Testament Canon
  • Books That Have Made History: Books That Can Change Your Life
  • Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition
  • Lost Christianities: Christian Scriptures and the Battles over Authentication
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