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There's always a sale at The Great Courses. We call it The Great Deal, and here's how it works:

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History

Travel back in time with these comprehensive courses and investigate the defining events, iconic figures, and revolutionary ideas that shaped your world.

Classical World 28, American History 24, Other Modern History 23, Other Ancient History 9, Medieval History 10, Renaissance & Early Modern History 11, Civilization & Culture 14, Special Sets 3

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	Great Tours: Greece and Turkey, from Athens to Istanbul Professor John R. Hale Join Professor John R. Hale as he guides you through the fabulous civilizations of the Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, and Ottomans, and to the natural wonders surrounding them. The Great Tours: Greece and Turkey, from Athens to Istanbul is a journey unlike any other, giving you the chance to experience important sites—such as the Acropolis of Athens, Ephesus, and Sardis—through the eyes of a scholar whose depth of insight goes far beyond any ordinary travel narrative. Featuring vibrant commentary and extensive field footage, these 24 lectures are a rich resource for travelers and a cultural journey that can also be enjoyed from the comfort of home.
Save Up To $450	Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity Professor David Christian The history of everything—from the beginning of the universe to the modern day—is a monumental story you explore in Big History: The Big Bang, Life on Earth, and the Rise of Humanity. Taught by award-winning Professor David Christian, this course offers you a unique opportunity to view human history in the context of the many histories that surround it. In 48 thought-provoking lectures, you traverse the sweeping expanse of cosmic history as seen through the conventional scale of history, the larger scales of biology and geology, and the universal scale of cosmology. With its awe-inspiring scope, Big History provides you with a new way to understand history and our place in the universe.
	History of Ancient Egypt Professor Bob Brier Ancient Egyptian civilization is so grand that our minds sometimes have difficulty adjusting to it. If you're awed by the Great Pyramid, amazed by the magnificent golden mask and other treasures of Tutankhamen, curious about how this longest-lived of all ancient cultures has influenced us, or just intrigued by the mysterious hows and whys of all things Egyptian, then you must own this comprehensive and entertaining course by one of our most popular professors.
Save Up To $325	Story of Medieval England: From King Arthur to the Tudor Conquest Professor Jennifer Paxton Explore the remarkable story of a tumultuous thousand-year period in British history. Delivered by award-winning Professor Jennifer Paxton, The Story of Medieval England: From King Arthur to the Tudor Conquest is a tour de force that shows how—in the midst of war and the struggle to balance royal power with the rights of the governed—medieval Britain laid the foundation for much of what we know today. Richly detailed, these 36 lectures are essential to a complete understanding of the modern Western world.
	Understanding the World's Greatest Structures: Science and Innovation from Antiquity to Modernity Professor Stephen Ressler Experience the engineering genius that makes works such as the Giza pyramids, Brunelleschi's dome, and the Brooklyn Bridge possible with Understanding the World's Greatest Structures: Science and Innovation from Antiquity to Modernity. Delivered by award-winning Professor Stephen Ressler, these 24 lectures take you on a richly illustrated tour that deftly blends history and science to create an unforgettable survey of our world's most remarkable structural masterpieces. This course is a marvelous learning experience that takes you around the world and reveals the stories behind the most famous bridges, churches, skyscrapers, towers, and other structures from thousands of years of history.
	Fall and Rise of China Professor Richard Baum How did modern China become one of the most important global powers of the 21st century? Join China expert and Professor Richard Baum as he brings to life the human struggles, political upheavals, and spectacular speed of this nation's rebirth in The Fall and Rise of China. Offering multilevel insights into one of the most astounding real-life dramas of modern history, his 48 lectures weave together the diverse developments and sociopolitical currents that created the China of today's headlines.
	History of Ancient Rome Professor Garrett G. Fagan Rome's span was vast. In the regional, restless, and shifting history of continental Europe, the Roman Empire stands as a towering monument to scale and stability. At its height, the Roman Empire, unified in politics and law, stretched from the sands of Syria to the moors of Scotland, and it stood for almost 700 years. This course draws on a wealth of primary and secondary sources, including recent historical and archaeological scholarship, to introduce you to the tale of Rome's rise and decline. You learn about famous events and personalities as well as deeper sources of Rome's greatness and continuing influence.
	Foundations of Western Civilization Professor Thomas F. X. Noble You can discover the essential nature, evolution, and perceptions of Western civilization from its humble beginnings in the great river valleys of Iraq and Egypt to the dawn of the modern world. This broad, sweeping series helps you cover an enormous amount of historical material as you see how Western civilization evolved. Concentrating on the period 3000 B.C. to A.D. 1600, Professor Thomas F. X. Noble unfolds for you the fascinating story of how the global reach of the West came to exist, what makes it distinctive and unique, and its possible future.
	Medieval World Professor Dorsey Armstrong What was it like to live during the Middle Ages? Find out with The Medieval World, which offers you a different perspective on this period: one that entrenches you in the experiences of everyday men and women. Medievalist and Professor Dorsey Armstrong draws on history, literature, the arts, technology, science, and more for this 36-lecture tour that will expand your understanding of both the Middle Ages and everything that came afterward: the Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and even our modern world.
Save Up To $215	The Cathedral Professor William R. Cook Tour the world's most captivating cathedrals from the comfort of your own home with these 24 lavishly illustrated lectures by Professor William R. Cook. An exciting, immersive, and multidimensional learning experience, The Cathedral brings you closer to cathedrals like Notre Dame in Paris and those in Amiens, Chartres, and Canterbury than any on-site tour could hope to do. With high-definition 3-D modeling and imagery, you'll travel around and inside the world's great Gothic cathedrals from fascinating new perspectives.
Save Up To $450	History of England from the Tudors to the Stuarts Professor Robert Bucholz Explore the Tudor-Stuart era: a captivating examination of the 229-year period from 1485–1714 during which England transformed itself from a minor feudal state into what has been called the first modern society. In making that transformation, England became the wealthiest and most powerful nation on Earth. Award-winning Professor Robert Bucholz of Loyola University of Chicago presents a sweeping, 48-lecture course on one of the most intriguing times in modern history.
Save Up To $215	London: A Short History of the Greatest City in the Western World Professor Robert Bucholz London's impact on Western civilization is nothing short of profound, and its greatness continues to this day. London: A Short History of the Greatest City in the Western World reveals everything you need to know about the riveting history behind this magnificent metropolis. Discover this amazing city as it was lived and felt during various stages in its history, from the city's founding as a Roman outpost to its current status as a 21st-century global village. Taught by Oxford-trained historian Professor Robert Bucholz, these 24 encyclopedic lectures are your unforgettable look at an unforgettable city.
	The World Was Never the Same: Events That Changed History Professor J. Rufus Fears Join storyteller and award-winning Professor J. Rufus Fears as he presents what he considers to be the 36 defining moments in our past with The World Was Never the Same: Events That Changed History. This course is an intriguing tour of history, from the creation of the Code of Hammurabi to the opening battles of the American Revolution to the terrorist attacks of September 11th. Using his impressive ability to draw lessons from the past, Professor Fears gives you new insights into familiar and unfamiliar events.
Save Up To $225	Pompeii: Daily Life in an Ancient Roman City Professor Steven L. Tuck In the 24 enthralling lectures of Pompeii: Daily Life in an Ancient Roman City, eminent classicist and Professor Steven L. Tuck resurrects the long-lost lives of aristocrats, merchants, slaves, and other individuals from this imperial Roman city—made famous for its demise after the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in A.D. 79. The result is an unprecedented view of life as it was lived in this ancient culture and an opportunity to discover intriguing details that lay buried for centuries.
	Espionage and Covert Operations: A Global History Professor Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius Take a detailed tour of the millennia-long history and enduring legacy of a top-secret subject in Espionage and Covert Operations: A Global History. Delivered by master historian and Professor Vejas Gabriel Liulevicius, these 24 thrilling lectures survey how world powers have worked in the shadows to gain information or subvert enemies. Filled with stories that are both marvelous and mysterious, and insights that will change the way you think about some of world history's most defining events, this course lets you peer inside a subject whose truths most of us are unaware of.

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