ODYSSEY OF THE WEST II A Classic Education Through the Great Books: From Athens to Rome and the Gospels

Though their focus moves across many different topics, addressing everything from Thucydides to Roman art, the content of these 14 lectures is uniformly strong. All these scholars knows their subjects, and, though their styles differ markedly, each is clearly passionate. The strongest lectures are by Timothy Shutt; he blends a professorial expertise with a lively delivery, often sounding as if exploring these classic ideas were the most fun in the world. There are just two weaknesses here. First, some lecturers' deliveries are not as strong as others, and, second, some transition or framing voice-over would be greatly useful, to reduce the abruptness of moving from one culture, topic, and style to another. G.T.B. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 08]