I started reading the Great Books when I was 21. I am 57 now. I was working construction at the time and would get to the job an hour early to read. Probably the best decision I ever made because so many other good decisions I made in my life I attribute to that simple choice to read great works. The Great Books and Harvard Classics go together well because of the overlaps and differences. Many of the works I’ve read two, sometimes three times.
That is so awesome to hear! I read on my lunch break usually and it brings a joy that I just can’t describe. Glad to hear the reading has paid off over the years. Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
Nice! I like the modern sets as well. I tell people it is actually a great deal. If you buy all these books separate, you are spending way more than what you can find a set for now days. Thanks for watching and have a blessed New Year! Tonight we are going with the third option... something a stronger perhaps!
That's awesome, congrats on completing that journey! Did you have a daily goal to read so many pages or what? I would love to hear your strategy of tackling that series. Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
@The_Cause The university library had a set. I had always wanted to read really great books, classics, etc. So I picked volumes at random, depending on what caught my fancy. I kept a spreadsheet where I tracked my progress. I averaged one volume per month. If I was busy with work or school, I read less. If not, I covered as much material/pages as possible. I loved Plutarch's Lives, and their translation of Virgil's Aeneid. Montaigne was great. Marx was insane and repetitive. Many of the "modern" fiction writers were disappointing. Loved the Syntopicon. FYI, there's a volume/book that isn't a part of the sixty-volume set, that explains the process that Hutchins and Adler went through, the internal politics, of how they decided which works to include.
@@diogenescinico You have all the history you need in the Great Books. Tacitus for the early years of the Roman Empire, Gibbons for the whole story. Remember that history is an explanation of events in a story form. The historian decides what to relate and focus on, what to emphasize or not, based on personal views, philosophy, agenda, politics, along with what the expected readership wants to read. I would recommend Frazer's The Golden Bough, a part of the Great Books, re how humanity's views on mythology and religion developed. As for histories outside of the Great Books, I urge great caution. Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States is written from a Marxist slant, where America is evil. He crafts an engaging story, but, then again, that's the job of a historian. And so on.
Thank you for this! We are using The Robinson Curriculum for our reading list, in a slightly modified way, and these sound perfect. So many books and topics on that list are in these collections.
Great to hear! I am going to have to look up that reading list as I have not heard of it yet. These books are honestly a great deal for the amount of works you get. If you had to buy each classic book separately it would cost much more than just finding one of these sets for a good deal. Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
The shear amount of coffee, gallons upon gallons, that it would take to read through this series is astronomical. But… it is good for business! Read on my dear friend and pour another cup of coffee!
I know, right? The sheer amount of reading is overwhelming and then you add the coffee to stay up late to read it all. Haha! Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed my friend!
I collected my Great Books set over a period of four years. I started with a bunch of random volumes from a used bookstore and library sales, scooping up 7-8 at a time for just a few dollars per bunch. From there, I started looking on ebay to fill in the missing volumes and was able to get most of them for $10 or less (I think the most I paid was about $18 for one volume). I now have a complete set, and they all appear to be in very good to new condition. And it was fun just to be on the lookout to build and complete the collection.
For anyone watching this thinking about investing time or money into the Great Books, without a background in this type of reading I highly recommend Mortimer Adler’s book (actually transcripts from a video series) called, “The Great Ideas.” Very accessible. This book got me into philosophy and I plan on reading it with my daughter soon.
Yes! I am glad you shared that, definitely a great way to get into philosophy. He has some older videos that were uploaded to UA-cam where he goes through this info as well. I love hearing him speak. Such a wise old sage. Thanks for sharing and stay blessed my friend!
I have both sets. Bought off eBay. Took a lot of patience to find a complete set. Not cheap but to me, their value far exceeds what I spent. The Great Books had not really been opened. Most of the pages are stuck together like they just came off the press. You are so right about all you said about them. Yes… sad they set for years without being read. Thanks for your video.
Wow I feel ignorant to have not been familiar with these volumes. And that $2 kindle deal is incredible! Just snagged that. I feel like that’s the greatest power of the kindle, being able to walk around with hundreds of books in your pocket that you can pick up anytime. Thanks for broadening my horizons!
Thank you for this video and all of your commentary and guided reading videos. I am very much space constrained but I have both The Harvard and The Great Books of the Western World on my kindle. I hope to get paper copies some day ... until then I do have access to them. I am following your readings of the Harvard Classics. 🎉
Solid advice on getting books from FB Marketplace. I scored my Great Books set (1st edition) for $100 + $100 shipping. (Media mail is great for such heavy books.) Also, I personally am amazed at the genius that Adler's Syntopicon is. His depth of knowledge of the great books truly shows when you consider he compiled those two volumes without the aid of computers. I honestly only wanted the Great Book set for the Syntopicon as I find other versions of the great books physically easier to read. But Adler's labor of love is a great guide to the great books. Also, thank you for your wonderful breakdown of these two collections! :)
I'm glad you got such a good deal on the set! I agree the Syntopicon is a great companion to the books and Adler is awesome. I listen to some of his old interviews and I just love how genuinely nice he is. I appreciate you watching and stay blessed!
I grew up in a home that had both sets. I personally like the Harvard Classics the best. I love the idea behind them, giving the common man a classical liberal education.
Yes indeed! It is a good way to acquire a liberal education if you are dedicated to putting in the time. Very cool you had access to them growing up. Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
My parents bought a set of the Great Books back when I was 12--- and it arrived on Christmas Eve, which was perfect. This was back many, many years ago, so the colors of the volumes seem to have changed a bit. Still... I loved those books-- reading Gibbon for the first time was one of the great experiences of my life. (I'm one parish over from you, so hi! to a neighbor)
Rob, the message is as inspirational as ever. I would like to own these collections, but strangely, I have been reading them one by one since forever, so I cannot justify the space needed or the cost of the purchase to The Boss. Also, they are two great series, but inevitably there are omitted authors that perhaps should have been included. For me, one omission is Polybius, The Histories (Greek, 2nd century BCE). Another is Horace, Odes and Epodes (Roman, 1st century BC). Polybius is one of the first to recognize the importance of checks and balances in government. I would not be surprised if the Founding Fathers were under his influence since they often had a classical education. Horace brings out the essence of the moment better than almost any other writer that I know of. He is also honest: in one poem he admits that he threw away his shield and ran at the Battle of Phillippi (42 BCE), in which Augustus Caesar (unfortunately, in my view) defeated the senatorial army of Brutus and Cassius. Horace is likewise the guy that said Carpe Diem. When you read Horace, you get the sense that this is a living person, rather than a Dead Poet of long ago. But all this is just my opinion.
Wow! I am actually going to copy and save this comment. I noticed Aristotle is not even in the Harvard Classics as well which I thought was strange. I am going to review these and pick up some copies. This sparked the idea to create a little shelf of other works not included. I truly appreciate you taking the time to share this and I will most certainly ponder on this one. Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed!
@@The_Cause It's the least I could do given your channel. I've been reading all this time and it's inevitable that I've picked up a little trivia along the way. Keep putting out these videos, they're great.
@@greatbooksbigideas GBBI nice to see you again, over on this forum. Lots of good authors are left out, and lots of worthy researchers never win a prize. I personally knew the inventors of Two and Three Stage Least Squares (an advance in statistics) and neither one of them ever won a single award.
I have both sets and I love both. I'm actually working on a PhD in a Great Books program. It has been great after getting a degree in analytic philosophy. It's so much broader and rewarding. And my wife had found the Harvard set at Habitat restore for $40!!!
Wow that’s a great find! I would love to hear more about your pursuit in the Great Books program. Do you work in education or are you going just for personal growth? Very cool experience I imagine. Thanks for sharing! Stay blessed my friend!
@@The_Cause I teach philosophy, religion, and humanities at a community college. So the PhD program will help for work, but my goals are also personal enrichment in living the life of the mind and being classically educated. I also homeschool my kids and it has helped to mold our approach to education. I appreciate your channel! I just found it a couple of days ago.
That is so awesome! I have felt a call to teach but I am so far down a different path of work that I just do not see how I could make it work anytime soon. I may go back to school one day as I would love to teach history or philosophy in college one day. Sounds like you are on a good path! Truly happy to have you here and stay blessed my friend!
I’m a big believer in life long learning. It’s great having the structure of the Harvard Classics and the Great Books., but I’m on a personal journey of learning and reading a variety of subjects that are meaningful to me. This includes great literature, history, languages and religion. Life is only so long. Rob, thank you for another inspiring and informative video.
It’s truly inspiring to hear about your journey of learning and reading as well! We are all on a similar path and it the destination seems to be wisdom. Thank you so much for watching and stay blessed my friend!
I acquired my set of the Great Books in perhaps an usual way. My local library was selling a set that was around 2/3 complete. I was able to get it for about $20. I have since been buying individual volumes off eBay to complete it. I actually have every volume now but there are a couple that are in rough shape and I'd like to replace them before saying I have a complete set.
A still wrapped set can be pretty valuable. I would get another cheap more worn set to go through. I would have a hard time making the call of unwrapping that set as well! haha Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
@ it’s an 1987 edition, which was a gift from my wife, and I’m not sure how many editions there were. It looks like it was expanded from a 54 volume set to a 60 volume set in 1990. With that, I have been watching for a deal so I can have a readable set, and at this point, I have more books than I have time. I inherited my dad’s massive collection a few years ago.
Going to check out that Harvards reading list. This was a good video. I don’t own either set because they are too expensive, but hope to one day. I have the syntopicon of the Great Ideas; and own some great books. The introduction to authors is something that seems very useful, and the lecture notes from the Harvard classics seem great. That’s cool you own both sets. Great video, God bless
I have both. GBWW is the best bang for your buck. Includes more works by each author, and fewer abridged versions of texts. Also has texts for five of the seven classical liberal arts, and many from higher philosophy.
I agree. If I had to pick one and to take to another world and start over I would bring the Great Books. It is a great balance of literature, philosophy, science and more. Great deals to if you can wait and find one selling close by online. Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
I have been using individual books from the great works for a while. Because they are separated from sets, I have no qualms about underlining and marginelia. Once I get a full set, it will stay pristine. I think I would prefer the Great Books, but would happily take either I come across in good condition. My home is already in need of more book shelves. May as well exacerbate the situation!
Yes! That is a great option! I forgot to mention local book stores and thrift stores! Thanks so much for the suggestion and I truly appreciate you watching. Stay blessed!
Those are amazing, especially the Great Books but I decided at last to create my own custom collection (based mostly on Adler's recommendation from How to Read a Book) of the editions I really enjoy (mostly Everyman, Landmark and Oxford World Classics). In the end the font and the overall feeling of the book matters quite a lot if you're about to spend so much time reading them.
I completely agree with the feel and font. That is one reason I like the Harvard Classic is because of the quality of the paper. It is thick. I have been eyeing the Everyman series but came to the conclusion that I need to finish one at least before I go and add another. lol Truly appreciate you watching and sharing. Stay blessed my friend!
@@The_Cause Sure, I'm trying to limit my purchases too and read probably ~70% of books I buy. I observed that with too many books on my TBR i got overwhelmed and struggle to finish anything, chasing novelty. Thank YOU for sharing, you're one of my main influences that introduced me to those great works of humanity!
I thank you for your videos and for introducing me to these wonderful works. My only regret is that I didn't find them sooner. I am 62 years old now and fear I will not have time to complete either of these since I am currently in remission with cancer. But I will try to purchase them so I can at least pass this knowledge on. Thank you again for everything you do.
You are never too old to learn and it's never too late to start. If you set a goal of reading 21 pages a day for 5 years you would be able to complete the entire 37,000 pages of the great books. All before the age of 67! Hopefully, the cancer stays in remission and I will keep you in my prayers. Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
Bag designers came back with a bunch of requests for changes. Going to be a few weeks for print production to complete. Shooting for December. Fingers crossed no more issues! Hope all has been well and glad to hear you are enjoying the coffee. Stay blessed brother!
My wife launched my Great Books of the Western World journey by complete chance. She discovered a nearly complete set at a work book exchange. She brought them home and my life was drastically changed. Reading ‘The Great Conversation’ made me believe I could actually self-guide my learning. Wonderful stuff Rob!
That is amazing! What a great wife to gift something like the Great Books! Have you completed them already? Thanks for watching and stay blessed buddy!
Dammit. I should have bought the entire set of TGBOTWW at my local used bookstore when I had the chance. I was going to come back the next day not thinking anyone would buy them. They were priced at a little over $100 😔
I think the Great Books series will appeal more to science nerds, whereas the Harvard Classics focuses more on classical literature and the humanities. That's my impression anyway.
I wonder if Bill Watterson has the Great Books set at home, when you look at Vol. 20 next to Vol. 21 on the shelf, you see Calvin and Hobbes on the spines of the two volumes..
Probably so! I don’t know any other sets that would match up. I see this set of books in so many back drops in videos and lectures. Many people use them as a prop more so than reading I believe. Haha
You can tell youre a well cultivated mind man. Reading is incredible. Always read but drifted away in late teens and esrly 20s due to phones etc. Made a point to get back into the practice in my mid 20s. 30 now. Reading is like magic, what you need to know in life is always provided to you thru books. Incredible gift giving things books are, and so accessible these days, yet not rwad at all. U csn see the furure nearly when u rrad a lot. Like God speaks to you thru books
I'm about to launch Year 2 of the 10-year reading guide to the Great Books of the Western World program. One thing I found interesting as I made my way through the year 1 materials was finding which works matched up between the Harvard Classics and the GBWW set. Year 1 - Reading 1 in the GBWW was Plato's Apology and Crito, which are both found in Vol. 2 of the Harvard Classics. Year 1 - Reading 2 was Aristophanes' Clouds and Lysistrata, neither of these are found in the Harvard Classics, but HC Vol. 8 does contain The Frogs. Year 1 - Readings 4 and 5 are selections from Aristotle's Ethics and Politics, curiously the Harvard series has nothing from Aristotle at all. There is a good amount of overlap though, by the time I've finished the 10-year reading guide I'll also have made a strong sampling of the Harvard list. I think it's worth nothing too, the Harvard Classics series was created in the early 1900s, and the GBWW series was designed much later, releasing first in 1952, and then later getting an update in the 1990s.
Thanks for the detailed breakdown and analysis! It is great to see the overlap and how the different programs complement each other. I was curious as to why Aristotle is not in the Harvard Classics as well. As you kind of mentioned after I finish the Harvard Classics I plan to start on the Great Books and just read the ones that were not included in the HCs until I complete them. It will be a couple decades down the road I imagine before I cross the finish line on both! haha Thanks so much for sharing and I truly hope you stay blessed!
I have both and personally the Harvard Classics has more of an interesting variety however the Great Books has some very important canon unabridged and going through it provides a very good view into the evolution of the Western mind. The Great Books is probably more diverse overall but there is some really rare and interesting stuff in the Harvard Classics that is sometimes hard to find elsewhere. What I mean by this is most well-read people are probably familiar with almost all of the titles (or at least authors) in the Great Books, however how many are familiar with say The Journal of John Woolman? I'm happy having both but I do prefer having some of the Great Books titles separate from the series from other publishers where you can get pictures, maps, small pages and bigger fonts, etc. One of my gripes with the Great Books is that the set-up of the pages and having just wall after wall of plain text makes digesting the material more laborious than it should be. I'm not asking for a picture book but the originals of a lot of these works often came with images, maps, etc. to provide more context.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I agree that the Harvard Classics offers an interesting variety and maps definitely come in handy. That would be a nice addition to the sets a volume with maps and references. Truly appreciate you sharing and thanks for watching. Stay blessed my friend!
@@The_Cause From what I've seen, I have found your channel to be beautiful and thought-provoking and a wonderful contribution to the BookTube community and UA-cam in general. I very much look forward to watching more thank-you and stay blessed as well!
@أفلاكالأفكار As someone who is just starting out and looking for books to read to expand my knowledge, which series would you recommend? I want a collection like this. If it helps to answer the question, I am mainly interested in philosophy and theology, but that is not the only reason I want such a collection.
I try to read when I can. This not only distracts, but also helps to maintain common sense and not to go crazy. I bought books that I plan to read in the future: "The Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann, "King Lear" and "Hamlet" by Shakespeare, I also bought several books by Ukrainian authors. It may seem silly, because right now I hear explosions, but on the other hand, by buying books and planning to read them, I am thus confirming my faith in the future... The fact is that I live in Ukraine and our city has been shelled by Russian troops almost every day for more than two months, they are killing the civilian population. For example, three Russian drones hit a hospital, and another hit a residential building. As a result, 9 civilians were killed, 21 people were injured, and houses were destroyed. Last night, the Russian army, using ammunition prohibited by the Geneva Convention, set fire to the forest around our city - it is impossible to breathe. So they try to kill peaceful people. Therefore, in order not to lose my mind, I try to read. Thanks for the video and great tips!
I’m so sorry to hear about what you are going through. I hope you and your family stay safe. Thank you for sharing your story; I pray this bloodshed will end soon. Please stay safe, my friend, and find peace where you can. Hopefully decisions next week help solve the issue. We can only pray.
@@The_Cause Thank you for such a meaningful answer. You are right, we must pray. So I really appreciate your prayers. About twenty minutes ago there were two explosions. Russian invaders hit a residential building... I have subscribed to your channel and will try to watch your videos. As you can see, I believe in the future again.
Well, I truly appreciate you subscribing. I do not know how our current administration that was elected will affect you but hopefully, it will be for the better. We have some trying times ahead and hopefully, Ukraine can undergo peace again. Hope all has been well since we chatted last!
I know of one collection in public domain, called "Sacred Books of the East", that has scholarly translations of Chinese and Indian classics. It's available online but I don't know whether it has been published again. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Books_of_the_East
Thanks for the amazing video Rob! You're keeping the Great Books alive and I'm glad to see that. Another friend of mine, Benjamin McEvoy, does the same and you both are my hiding places on UA-cam when I am not reading the books themselves. I have an uncomplete set of the Harvard and Great Books sets which I am hoping to read soon on my own custom syllabus. I was wondering if you have any thoughts on the upcoming books involving fairy tales and sacred works, such as the Qu'ran or Bhavad Gita in the Harvard? Can't wait for your next video and my God bless you. Love and Peace.
I'm a firm believer in autodidacting and highly recommend it to everyone. I want both sets. I'll need to budget for them and find them. What's the difference between the red harvard books vs the green harvard books? I think it's just the exterior color, but I have never seen a red one in person. Now, I'm off to go book shopping and see what the sets are going for.
haha yes indeed! It took me a while to find both sets in a good price range. I will say be in the center of the country you may have some better luck than I did with the Gulf of Mexico just south of me. Hope all has been well and I trust you all are enjoying Fall! Stay blessed!
I recommend calling every bookshop you can and you'd be surprised what you can find. Some of these older guys don't bother to advertise online. I called a random one owned by a sole proprietor and my jaw dropped when they said they had the whole Harvard Classics for only $50! (I of course rushed over there)
@@أفلاكالأفكار Thank you. I'll check around . I know I don't have any used bookstores near me, so I'll need to check the major city, but I really appreciate the suggestion. 🤗
Rob, love these videos. Have you ever read "The Roots of American Order" by Russell Kirk? You would love it. Kirk traces the origins of America's civic and moral orders back to four old-world cities: Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, and London. In doing so, Kirk goes through much of the history of all these civilizations from a very easy-to-read, bird's-eye-view. This book should be required reading for all American students. You should also check out Eric Voegelin's 5-volume series "Order and History." Much more difficult to read, but he was an encyclopedic thinker for sure, and someone who anticipated America's present-day struggle with Marxist-gnosticism.
I have not read nor heard of either. I will most definitely add them to my list though. I am very curious about the first one you mentioned (Kirk). I have been looking for a book that covers something like this. I truly appreciate you sharing and thanks so much for watching my friend! Stay blessed!
@@The_Cause Thank you! Kirk's book is a real treat. His other claim to fame (if interested in his politics) is "The Conservative Mind," which is a history of conservatism from Edmund Burke to T.S. Eliot.
I will add it as well! Truly appreciate the help! I checked out your Lord of the Rings helmet video and now I want one in the background of my videos! haha
I discovered the great books of the western world in a library from my campus and immeadietly fell in love, sadly i had to drop out and never managed to go through them, i still dream of reading these one day before i die, my heart bleeds for this set more than anything else in the world. I could slave for these
You know I am not sure. I just looked inside and can’t tell. The Harvard Classics print I have is from the 1950s so I don’t know if that even existed back then. Good question though.
Would you consider making a series for "The Great Books of the Western World," in the same way you did with the Harvard Classics? Kinda funny how i found out your channel through that series.
I plan to in the future. Or if this could ever turn into a full time venture I would start going through them as well. It honestly just comes down to time. I only have so much time to read and then work on these videos. It will happen though! Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
My local bookstores have sets. Unfortunately I need to stay mobile so Kindle it is... For now. The kindle version I have is not great. The entire, massive series is treated like one book.
I just found your channel, I love what you are doing here! I have a question-what is the benefit of a Christian reading the Great Books? I am in my first year of homeschooling and I’m leaning heavily towards a classical model of education. From what I’ve read, it seems the Great Books are a large component of the high-school years for that model so I’d love to hear opinions from other Christians about the benefits of becoming familiar with some of the greatest minds of the western world, especially when you consider how futile even the greatest minds are. Thank you!
The Great Books will provide you with a vast knowledge of Christianity. The Summa Theologica is in there, Aquinas, Calvin, Luther and many more. Once Christianity enters the scene in volume 16 the remaining volumes will touch on it in some way. The Bible in my opinion is required reading to fully understand the literature that makes up these sets. You will have a philosophy and theology degree by the time you finish. Hope my rambling answers your question. Stay blessed!
Got that sucker at a "Lids" back in 2008. The old thing is pretty old at this point. It is just a fitted LSU hat. Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
haha yes indeed! I constantly have to look up words. I actually started writing the definitions at the top of the page to help remember. Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed!
I was gifted the Great Books on my 18th birthday! Loved most of them and will definitely read them all again at least once. I'd never read anything associated with Harvard except for a laugh, but that's just me.
haha The Great Books are an amazing set. I think it perfected what Elliot tried to do with the Harvard Classics. Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
It's been quiet around here. Well, except for that there police guy had a bit of a fluke. Out driving his SUV in the pouring rain recently when a semi flew by and splashed him with a tsunami-like wave of water that practically washed him off the road and flooded out his engine. I can't even imagine. I mean it totaled his vehicle. The only remaining rental that day was a Dodge. You know, a tiny, no room for children, speedster with its butt in the air and huge horsepower gas guzzling engine. 😅
I would encourage everyone to donate their books to their local library as opposed to selling them. It's a tragedy that so much knowledge must be held behind a paywall and the Great Books are no exception.
The great books are scanned on a few databases. One is the internet archives which you can access for free. The problem with donating to libraries is many are discarding these types of books and sets. Libraries hold discard sells where they sell books that are not wanted. Great place to find some cheap books. I definitely get your perspective but these books can be accessed free online. Most are out of copyright domain. If you do donate to a library it may be worth while researching if they will actually keep them or remove them. Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed my friend!
@@The_Cause I agree. My library is horrible, as they seem to retain books based on popularity (yet have so much spare floor space for more shelves). What's popular right now? Romantasy and similar genres. I appreciate that reading romantasy is a better use of a 30 year old woman's time than bingeing Netflix or scrolling social media, but libraries should be preserves of easy access knowledge and wisdom, not economising on entertainment materials (they can be that too, but not just that). The philosophy section is paltry at my library, yet there's nearly an entire floor of copy and paste fiction, the Marvel movies of literature. I like a good Marvel movie myself, but it shouldn't be everything the theater is showing.
That would be amazing. The only one I know that does is Easton Press but it cost a fortune brand new. It would be awesome if Pinguin or some other publishing house put them out at an affordable price. Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
@@The_Cause Interesting. I've just picked up both sets in a week, but the Harvard Classics is the registered edition at 20/22 volumes. The GBWW definitely is superior though Pax Christi.
Don't buy any of them! The Great Books ... lists 151 authors, of whom there are 49 (!) English or American authors, 27 Frenchmen, 20 Germans, 15 ancient Greeks, 9 ancient Romans, 4 Russians, 4 Scandinavians, 3 Spaniards, 3 Italians, 3 Irishmen, 3 Scots, and 3 Eastern Europeans. Prejudices and preferences are self-evident. The Harvard Classics are even worse.
@, writing like a true WASP! … and totally ignoring that “Western” is not equal to Anglo-American at all. This is a list of 150 Western authors of literature, philosophy, and psychology: 10 English or American, 10 Frenchmen, 20 Germans, 20 ancient Greeks, 20 ancient Romans, 20 Russians, 10 Scandinavians, 10 Spaniards, 20 Italians, 10 other European.
How am I ignoring something I never brought up? You seem to be very angry over something. I am not sure why or who it is directed towards, but I hope you find the peace you deserve my friend.
@@The_Cause, your friend isn't angry. Yet, you seem to be very arrogant over something, regarding "That most be what they mean by 'of the Western World.'" So, again, “Western” is not equal to Anglo-American at all.
You can but it would be costly compared to finding a set of these for a good price. There are over 500 works alone in the great books so if you find a set for $500 it comes out to about a dollar a book. Penguin will put you in the thousands to order them all. But at least you only get the ones you want and are willing to read. I wish Penguin would republish both sets and sell them as a package. Now that would be awesome. Thanks for watching and stay blessed.
1: “The Final Theory: Rethinking Our Scientific Legacy “, Mark McCutcheon for proper physics including the CAUSE of gravity, electricity, magnetism, light and well.... everything, 2: “The Unique and Its Property “, Max Stirner,1844/2017 Landstreicher translation for the end/ destruction of philosophy/ metaphysics. 3: “The Bible Came from Arabia “, Kamal Salibi,1985 plus his 3 other bible study books and blog for facts not fantasies- NOT what you think. 4:”No Treason: the Constitution of No Authority, 1, 2 and 6”, Lysander Spooner,1867-1870 again for facts not fantasies. Unfortunately very few other authors/ books are worth reading.
Charles Eliot, who developed Harford Classics in 1910 and Mortimer Alder who created Great Books in 1954 were unique individuals, and the collections reflect their idiosyncrasies. It might be a good idea to take a look at some more recent attempts to create a list of great books. These lists will include more books by women and a wider variety of perspectives.
Great points! I actually think the variety of perspectives these books already make up are amazing. The mixing of the Greek and Roman world with the Christian view of morality, formatted in plays, poems, novels, and letters created a diversity in literature that goes beyond anything I have read in modern culture. We often get so focused on the exterior of someones looks to add value that we forget that, within anyone, can be a thought that changes the view of how we see the world. Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed!
I am not sure. Both are already very European centric in my opinion as most of the works prior to 1700s will be from Europe. The first 39 volumes of the Great books alone is basically European. Europe is well represented in both sets. Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed!
If you have one of these sets or both, let me know what your thoughts are on each! I would love to hear your opinions on these two great series. If you need coffee look no further my friends... go here -> cedarotacoffee.com/ I love you all and stay blessed! PICK UP A BOOK!
I have both sets (a first edition of the Harvard Classics, second edition of the Great Books). I couldn't tell which one I Like most. Although they cover the same material to a certain extend, they are complementary; GB have more science, HC focus more on religion. GB have to be read at a desk (or in bed) because of their size, het HC are easier to take along on the train. I love both sets!
I have a set of Great Books that were gifted to me when a library was downsizing. My only complaint about them is the covers. As they were library books, there are stickers everywhere and you can't tear them off without tearing off the cover. But, the contents are great!
I started reading the Great Books when I was 21. I am 57 now. I was working construction at the time and would get to the job an hour early to read. Probably the best decision I ever made because so many other good decisions I made in my life I attribute to that simple choice to read great works. The Great Books and Harvard Classics go together well because of the overlaps and differences. Many of the works I’ve read two, sometimes three times.
That is so awesome to hear! I read on my lunch break usually and it brings a joy that I just can’t describe. Glad to hear the reading has paid off over the years. Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
"Coffee, tea, maybe something stronger perhaps?" Great video. Proud owner of The Great Books, 1998 version, and I like the organization .
Nice! I like the modern sets as well. I tell people it is actually a great deal. If you buy all these books separate, you are spending way more than what you can find a set for now days. Thanks for watching and have a blessed New Year! Tonight we are going with the third option... something a stronger perhaps!
What a great video. I am not familiar with you, sir, but you did a super job introducing these series. Humble, clear, friendly -- excellent!
Well I truly appreciate the kind words and feedback! Truly means a lot. Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed my friend!
Agree, just subscribed
I've read all sixty volumes of The Great Books. It took me five years.
That's awesome, congrats on completing that journey! Did you have a daily goal to read so many pages or what? I would love to hear your strategy of tackling that series. Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
@The_Cause The university library had a set. I had always wanted to read really great books, classics, etc. So I picked volumes at random, depending on what caught my fancy. I kept a spreadsheet where I tracked my progress. I averaged one volume per month. If I was busy with work or school, I read less. If not, I covered as much material/pages as possible. I loved Plutarch's Lives, and their translation of Virgil's Aeneid. Montaigne was great. Marx was insane and repetitive. Many of the "modern" fiction writers were disappointing. Loved the Syntopicon. FYI, there's a volume/book that isn't a part of the sixty-volume set, that explains the process that Hutchins and Adler went through, the internal politics, of how they decided which works to include.
@JohnVKaravitis Do you recommend any history books to read alongside the classics?
@@diogenescinico You have all the history you need in the Great Books. Tacitus for the early years of the Roman Empire, Gibbons for the whole story. Remember that history is an explanation of events in a story form. The historian decides what to relate and focus on, what to emphasize or not, based on personal views, philosophy, agenda, politics, along with what the expected readership wants to read. I would recommend Frazer's The Golden Bough, a part of the Great Books, re how humanity's views on mythology and religion developed. As for histories outside of the Great Books, I urge great caution. Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States is written from a Marxist slant, where America is evil. He crafts an engaging story, but, then again, that's the job of a historian. And so on.
Total respect.
Thank you for this!
We are using The Robinson Curriculum for our reading list, in a slightly modified way, and these sound perfect. So many books and topics on that list are in these collections.
Great to hear! I am going to have to look up that reading list as I have not heard of it yet. These books are honestly a great deal for the amount of works you get. If you had to buy each classic book separately it would cost much more than just finding one of these sets for a good deal. Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
The shear amount of coffee, gallons upon gallons, that it would take to read through this series is astronomical. But… it is good for business! Read on my dear friend and pour another cup of coffee!
I know, right? The sheer amount of reading is overwhelming and then you add the coffee to stay up late to read it all. Haha! Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed my friend!
I collected my Great Books set over a period of four years. I started with a bunch of random volumes from a used bookstore and library sales, scooping up 7-8 at a time for just a few dollars per bunch. From there, I started looking on ebay to fill in the missing volumes and was able to get most of them for $10 or less (I think the most I paid was about $18 for one volume). I now have a complete set, and they all appear to be in very good to new condition. And it was fun just to be on the lookout to build and complete the collection.
For anyone watching this thinking about investing time or money into the Great Books, without a background in this type of reading I highly recommend Mortimer Adler’s book (actually transcripts from a video series) called, “The Great Ideas.” Very accessible. This book got me into philosophy and I plan on reading it with my daughter soon.
Yes! I am glad you shared that, definitely a great way to get into philosophy. He has some older videos that were uploaded to UA-cam where he goes through this info as well. I love hearing him speak. Such a wise old sage. Thanks for sharing and stay blessed my friend!
My wife and I are homeschooling our kids and will definitely need to get these series’ to draw from!
I have both sets. Bought off eBay. Took a lot of patience to find a complete set. Not cheap but to me, their value far exceeds what I spent. The Great Books had not really been opened. Most of the pages are stuck together like they just came off the press. You are so right about all you said about them. Yes… sad they set for years without being read. Thanks for your video.
Wow I feel ignorant to have not been familiar with these volumes. And that $2 kindle deal is incredible! Just snagged that. I feel like that’s the greatest power of the kindle, being able to walk around with hundreds of books in your pocket that you can pick up anytime. Thanks for broadening my horizons!
Agreed, mate.
It’s a great resource for sure, and I am glad you found it helpful. You’ll find the Great Books incredibly rewarding. Stay blessed my friend!
A really accessible and pragmatic approach to these sets of books, Rob! Well done!
Glad you found it helpful! Stay blessed my friend and I truly appreciate you watching!
This was great!!! Your analysis and explanation of these two sets is incredibly well done.
I am glad you found it helpful and truly appreciate the kind words! Thanks for watching and as always, stay blessed my friend!
Amazing, now I would like the entire collection. Thanks for the great video to go along with the great books :)
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
Thank you for this video and all of your commentary and guided reading videos.
I am very much space constrained but I have both The Harvard and The Great Books of the Western World on my kindle. I hope to get paper copies some day ... until then I do have access to them.
I am following your readings of the Harvard Classics. 🎉
This..!! Exactly what I wanted now !! Thanks a lot Rob!!
Glad it helped and thanks for watching! Stay blessed my friend!
Solid advice on getting books from FB Marketplace. I scored my Great Books set (1st edition) for $100 + $100 shipping. (Media mail is great for such heavy books.)
Also, I personally am amazed at the genius that Adler's Syntopicon is. His depth of knowledge of the great books truly shows when you consider he compiled those two volumes without the aid of computers. I honestly only wanted the Great Book set for the Syntopicon as I find other versions of the great books physically easier to read. But Adler's labor of love is a great guide to the great books.
Also, thank you for your wonderful breakdown of these two collections! :)
I'm glad you got such a good deal on the set! I agree the Syntopicon is a great companion to the books and Adler is awesome. I listen to some of his old interviews and I just love how genuinely nice he is. I appreciate you watching and stay blessed!
I grew up in a home that had both sets. I personally like the Harvard Classics the best. I love the idea behind them, giving the common man a classical liberal education.
Yes indeed! It is a good way to acquire a liberal education if you are dedicated to putting in the time. Very cool you had access to them growing up. Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
Both are phenomenal. I’ve read from different volumes of the Great Books.
I agree, they are both great! It is nice to compare the two and understand the differences. Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
My parents bought a set of the Great Books back when I was 12--- and it arrived on Christmas Eve, which was perfect. This was back many, many years ago, so the colors of the volumes seem to have changed a bit. Still... I loved those books-- reading Gibbon for the first time was one of the great experiences of my life. (I'm one parish over from you, so hi! to a neighbor)
Rob, the message is as inspirational as ever. I would like to own these collections, but strangely, I have been reading them one by one since forever, so I cannot justify the space needed or the cost of the purchase to The Boss. Also, they are two great series, but inevitably there are omitted authors that perhaps should have been included. For me, one omission is Polybius, The Histories (Greek, 2nd century BCE). Another is Horace, Odes and Epodes (Roman, 1st century BC). Polybius is one of the first to recognize the importance of checks and balances in government. I would not be surprised if the Founding Fathers were under his influence since they often had a classical education. Horace brings out the essence of the moment better than almost any other writer that I know of. He is also honest: in one poem he admits that he threw away his shield and ran at the Battle of Phillippi (42 BCE), in which Augustus Caesar (unfortunately, in my view) defeated the senatorial army of Brutus and Cassius. Horace is likewise the guy that said Carpe Diem. When you read Horace, you get the sense that this is a living person, rather than a Dead Poet of long ago. But all this is just my opinion.
Wow! I am actually going to copy and save this comment. I noticed Aristotle is not even in the Harvard Classics as well which I thought was strange. I am going to review these and pick up some copies. This sparked the idea to create a little shelf of other works not included. I truly appreciate you taking the time to share this and I will most certainly ponder on this one. Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed!
@@The_Cause It's the least I could do given your channel. I've been reading all this time and it's inevitable that I've picked up a little trivia along the way. Keep putting out these videos, they're great.
Will do my friend! I enjoy making them to much to quit anytime soon!
The big head scratcher for me is why GBWW left out Ovid. Metamorphoses is foundational and great fun to read!
@@greatbooksbigideas GBBI nice to see you again, over on this forum. Lots of good authors are left out, and lots of worthy researchers never win a prize. I personally knew the inventors of Two and Three Stage Least Squares (an advance in statistics) and neither one of them ever won a single award.
I have both sets and I love both. I'm actually working on a PhD in a Great Books program. It has been great after getting a degree in analytic philosophy. It's so much broader and rewarding.
And my wife had found the Harvard set at Habitat restore for $40!!!
Wow that’s a great find! I would love to hear more about your pursuit in the Great Books program. Do you work in education or are you going just for personal growth? Very cool experience I imagine. Thanks for sharing! Stay blessed my friend!
@@The_Cause I teach philosophy, religion, and humanities at a community college. So the PhD program will help for work, but my goals are also personal enrichment in living the life of the mind and being classically educated. I also homeschool my kids and it has helped to mold our approach to education. I appreciate your channel! I just found it a couple of days ago.
That is so awesome! I have felt a call to teach but I am so far down a different path of work that I just do not see how I could make it work anytime soon. I may go back to school one day as I would love to teach history or philosophy in college one day. Sounds like you are on a good path! Truly happy to have you here and stay blessed my friend!
I’m a big believer in life long learning. It’s great having the structure of the Harvard Classics and the Great Books., but I’m on a personal journey of learning and reading a variety of subjects that are meaningful to me. This includes great literature, history, languages and religion. Life is only so long. Rob, thank you for another inspiring and informative video.
It’s truly inspiring to hear about your journey of learning and reading as well! We are all on a similar path and it the destination seems to be wisdom. Thank you so much for watching and stay blessed my friend!
I do a similar thing. I like to buy very indepth literature on random topics I'm interested in.
I acquired my set of the Great Books in perhaps an usual way. My local library was selling a set that was around 2/3 complete. I was able to get it for about $20. I have since been buying individual volumes off eBay to complete it. I actually have every volume now but there are a couple that are in rough shape and I'd like to replace them before saying I have a complete set.
Thank you, this was a good overview
Glad you enjoyed it and thanks so much for watching! Stay blessed!
I have a set of the GBOTWW still in the original wrapping… I feel like in need to buy an open set so I can read them.
A still wrapped set can be pretty valuable. I would get another cheap more worn set to go through. I would have a hard time making the call of unwrapping that set as well! haha Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
@ it’s an 1987 edition, which was a gift from my wife, and I’m not sure how many editions there were. It looks like it was expanded from a 54 volume set to a 60 volume set in 1990. With that, I have been watching for a deal so I can have a readable set, and at this point, I have more books than I have time. I inherited my dad’s massive collection a few years ago.
Great video, Rob.
I’m glad you liked it! Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
I got both sets on my kindle for a whopping 7 dollars ... saved several thousands of dollars.
That’s awesome! Doing the same.
Going to check out that Harvards reading list. This was a good video. I don’t own either set because they are too expensive, but hope to one day. I have the syntopicon of the Great Ideas; and own some great books. The introduction to authors is something that seems very useful, and the lecture notes from the Harvard classics seem great. That’s cool you own both sets. Great video, God bless
Awesome 30,000ft view of these classic sets. Once I move into my house, I plan to buy Great Books of the Western World.
I am sure you won’t regret buying a set! Thanks for watching. Stay blessed my friend!
@@The_Cause You do the same!
Very informative. Great job 👏
Thanks so much buddy! I truly appreciate you tuning in and stay blessed!
I have both. GBWW is the best bang for your buck. Includes more works by each author, and fewer abridged versions of texts. Also has texts for five of the seven classical liberal arts, and many from higher philosophy.
I agree. If I had to pick one and to take to another world and start over I would bring the Great Books. It is a great balance of literature, philosophy, science and more. Great deals to if you can wait and find one selling close by online. Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
I have been using individual books from the great works for a while. Because they are separated from sets, I have no qualms about underlining and marginelia. Once I get a full set, it will stay pristine. I think I would prefer the Great Books, but would happily take either I come across in good condition.
My home is already in need of more book shelves. May as well exacerbate the situation!
Bookshelves always seem to be in short supply! Lol Thanks for sharing and watching my friend. Stay blessed!
You can also find some at Used Bookstores such as Half Price Books.
Yes! That is a great option! I forgot to mention local book stores and thrift stores! Thanks so much for the suggestion and I truly appreciate you watching. Stay blessed!
Those are amazing, especially the Great Books but I decided at last to create my own custom collection (based mostly on Adler's recommendation from How to Read a Book) of the editions I really enjoy (mostly Everyman, Landmark and Oxford World Classics). In the end the font and the overall feeling of the book matters quite a lot if you're about to spend so much time reading them.
I completely agree with the feel and font. That is one reason I like the Harvard Classic is because of the quality of the paper. It is thick. I have been eyeing the Everyman series but came to the conclusion that I need to finish one at least before I go and add another. lol Truly appreciate you watching and sharing. Stay blessed my friend!
@@The_Cause Sure, I'm trying to limit my purchases too and read probably ~70% of books I buy. I observed that with too many books on my TBR i got overwhelmed and struggle to finish anything, chasing novelty. Thank YOU for sharing, you're one of my main influences that introduced me to those great works of humanity!
Well you all inspire me as well! I appreciate that brother!
I thank you for your videos and for introducing me to these wonderful works. My only regret is that I didn't find them sooner. I am 62 years old now and fear I will not have time to complete either of these since I am currently in remission with cancer. But I will try to purchase them so I can at least pass this knowledge on. Thank you again for everything you do.
You are never too old to learn and it's never too late to start. If you set a goal of reading 21 pages a day for 5 years you would be able to complete the entire 37,000 pages of the great books. All before the age of 67! Hopefully, the cancer stays in remission and I will keep you in my prayers. Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
They have the Great Books collection in my uni's library and I've read some of them in my spare time.
Nice! Glad to hear they are still in libraries. I know some local libraries have removed them. Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
@@The_Cause thank you from Chile
Wonderful session.
Glad you enjoyed it, my friend! Stay blessed!
Thank you for the most recent coffee shipment. Still delicious!
Any updates on the Plato and the Cave (light&dark) roast release date Sir?
Bag designers came back with a bunch of requests for changes. Going to be a few weeks for print production to complete. Shooting for December. Fingers crossed no more issues! Hope all has been well and glad to hear you are enjoying the coffee. Stay blessed brother!
My wife launched my Great Books of the Western World journey by complete chance. She discovered a nearly complete set at a work book exchange.
She brought them home and my life was drastically changed. Reading ‘The Great Conversation’ made me believe I could actually self-guide my learning.
Wonderful stuff Rob!
That is amazing! What a great wife to gift something like the Great Books! Have you completed them already? Thanks for watching and stay blessed buddy!
Both are excellent in physical form or electronic, as long as you USE them 😀 Cheers
Absolutely! The important thing is to read and enjoy them! Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
Dammit. I should have bought the entire set of TGBOTWW at my local used bookstore when I had the chance. I was going to come back the next day not thinking anyone would buy them. They were priced at a little over $100
😔
Oh man! That is a bummer. 100 dollars is a great price. Maybe they will have another set pop up. Stay blessed!
I think the Great Books series will appeal more to science nerds, whereas the Harvard Classics focuses more on classical literature and the humanities. That's my impression anyway.
I would agree with that! The Great Books are dense indeed. Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
@@The_Cause You too, mate. You're doing great work 👍
I wonder if Bill Watterson has the Great Books set at home, when you look at Vol. 20 next to Vol. 21 on the shelf, you see Calvin and Hobbes on the spines of the two volumes..
Probably so! I don’t know any other sets that would match up. I see this set of books in so many back drops in videos and lectures. Many people use them as a prop more so than reading I believe. Haha
You can tell youre a well cultivated mind man. Reading is incredible. Always read but drifted away in late teens and esrly 20s due to phones etc. Made a point to get back into the practice in my mid 20s. 30 now. Reading is like magic, what you need to know in life is always provided to you thru books. Incredible gift giving things books are, and so accessible these days, yet not rwad at all. U csn see the furure nearly when u rrad a lot. Like God speaks to you thru books
I bought my set of the Great Book Of The Western World (54 volume edition) and the Great Ideas Program for $250 on Facebook Market place.
Wow that's a great deal! Much better than pay the retail price! Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
I'm about to launch Year 2 of the 10-year reading guide to the Great Books of the Western World program. One thing I found interesting as I made my way through the year 1 materials was finding which works matched up between the Harvard Classics and the GBWW set. Year 1 - Reading 1 in the GBWW was Plato's Apology and Crito, which are both found in Vol. 2 of the Harvard Classics. Year 1 - Reading 2 was Aristophanes' Clouds and Lysistrata, neither of these are found in the Harvard Classics, but HC Vol. 8 does contain The Frogs. Year 1 - Readings 4 and 5 are selections from Aristotle's Ethics and Politics, curiously the Harvard series has nothing from Aristotle at all. There is a good amount of overlap though, by the time I've finished the 10-year reading guide I'll also have made a strong sampling of the Harvard list. I think it's worth nothing too, the Harvard Classics series was created in the early 1900s, and the GBWW series was designed much later, releasing first in 1952, and then later getting an update in the 1990s.
Thanks for the detailed breakdown and analysis! It is great to see the overlap and how the different programs complement each other. I was curious as to why Aristotle is not in the Harvard Classics as well. As you kind of mentioned after I finish the Harvard Classics I plan to start on the Great Books and just read the ones that were not included in the HCs until I complete them. It will be a couple decades down the road I imagine before I cross the finish line on both! haha Thanks so much for sharing and I truly hope you stay blessed!
Can you share the guide?
I have both and personally the Harvard Classics has more of an interesting variety however the Great Books has some very important canon unabridged and going through it provides a very good view into the evolution of the Western mind. The Great Books is probably more diverse overall but there is some really rare and interesting stuff in the Harvard Classics that is sometimes hard to find elsewhere. What I mean by this is most well-read people are probably familiar with almost all of the titles (or at least authors) in the Great Books, however how many are familiar with say The Journal of John Woolman?
I'm happy having both but I do prefer having some of the Great Books titles separate from the series from other publishers where you can get pictures, maps, small pages and bigger fonts, etc.
One of my gripes with the Great Books is that the set-up of the pages and having just wall after wall of plain text makes digesting the material more laborious than it should be. I'm not asking for a picture book but the originals of a lot of these works often came with images, maps, etc. to provide more context.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I agree that the Harvard Classics offers an interesting variety and maps definitely come in handy. That would be a nice addition to the sets a volume with maps and references. Truly appreciate you sharing and thanks for watching. Stay blessed my friend!
@@The_Cause From what I've seen, I have found your channel to be beautiful and thought-provoking and a wonderful contribution to the BookTube community and UA-cam in general.
I very much look forward to watching more thank-you and stay blessed as well!
@أفلاكالأفكار
As someone who is just starting out and looking for books to read to expand my knowledge, which series would you recommend? I want a collection like this. If it helps to answer the question, I am mainly interested in philosophy and theology, but that is not the only reason I want such a collection.
I try to read when I can. This not only distracts, but also helps to maintain common sense and not to go crazy. I bought books that I plan to read in the future: "The Magic Mountain" by Thomas Mann, "King Lear" and "Hamlet" by Shakespeare, I also bought several books by Ukrainian authors. It may seem silly, because right now I hear explosions, but on the other hand, by buying books and planning to read them, I am thus confirming my faith in the future...
The fact is that I live in Ukraine and our city has been shelled by Russian troops almost every day for more than two months, they are killing the civilian population. For example, three Russian drones hit a hospital, and another hit a residential building. As a result, 9 civilians were killed, 21 people were injured, and houses were destroyed.
Last night, the Russian army, using ammunition prohibited by the Geneva Convention, set fire to the forest around our city - it is impossible to breathe. So they try to kill peaceful people. Therefore, in order not to lose my mind, I try to read.
Thanks for the video and great tips!
I’m so sorry to hear about what you are going through. I hope you and your family stay safe. Thank you for sharing your story; I pray this bloodshed will end soon. Please stay safe, my friend, and find peace where you can. Hopefully decisions next week help solve the issue. We can only pray.
@@The_Cause Thank you for such a meaningful answer.
You are right, we must pray. So I really appreciate your prayers.
About twenty minutes ago there were two explosions. Russian invaders hit a residential building...
I have subscribed to your channel and will try to watch your videos.
As you can see, I believe in the future again.
@@РоманПаляниця-к5эGod bless you and your Ukranian countrymen, my friend. From the USA.
Well, I truly appreciate you subscribing. I do not know how our current administration that was elected will affect you but hopefully, it will be for the better. We have some trying times ahead and hopefully, Ukraine can undergo peace again. Hope all has been well since we chatted last!
05:10 amazing
Yes indeed! Thanks so much for watching my friend and stay blessed!
They compliment each other very well in my opinion
They do indeed! Thanks for watching buddy and stay blessed!
I got an old complete set of the Great Books just yesterday for $60!
That is an amazing deal! I am jealous. Whoever was selling must not have know the worth. Good find! Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
is there anything equivalent to western classics but eastern(both east europe and asia)
I know of one collection in public domain, called "Sacred Books of the East", that has scholarly translations of Chinese and Indian classics. It's available online but I don't know whether it has been published again.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacred_Books_of_the_East
@@gcjalotoI found this set in electronic form. Obviously hard copy would be better but I’ll take what I can get.
I like the Harvard classics more, but I like the diversity of genres in GBotWW
I agree! The Great Books is definitely a more complete set. Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed!
Thanks for the amazing video Rob! You're keeping the Great Books alive and I'm glad to see that. Another friend of mine, Benjamin McEvoy, does the same and you both are my hiding places on UA-cam when I am not reading the books themselves. I have an uncomplete set of the Harvard and Great Books sets which I am hoping to read soon on my own custom syllabus.
I was wondering if you have any thoughts on the upcoming books involving fairy tales and sacred works, such as the Qu'ran or Bhavad Gita in the Harvard?
Can't wait for your next video and my God bless you.
Love and Peace.
I'm a firm believer in autodidacting and highly recommend it to everyone. I want both sets. I'll need to budget for them and find them. What's the difference between the red harvard books vs the green harvard books? I think it's just the exterior color, but I have never seen a red one in person. Now, I'm off to go book shopping and see what the sets are going for.
haha yes indeed! It took me a while to find both sets in a good price range. I will say be in the center of the country you may have some better luck than I did with the Gulf of Mexico just south of me. Hope all has been well and I trust you all are enjoying Fall! Stay blessed!
I recommend calling every bookshop you can and you'd be surprised what you can find. Some of these older guys don't bother to advertise online.
I called a random one owned by a sole proprietor and my jaw dropped when they said they had the whole Harvard Classics for only $50! (I of course rushed over there)
@@أفلاكالأفكار Thank you. I'll check around . I know I don't have any used bookstores near me, so I'll need to check the major city, but I really appreciate the suggestion. 🤗
Rob, love these videos. Have you ever read "The Roots of American Order" by Russell Kirk? You would love it. Kirk traces the origins of America's civic and moral orders back to four old-world cities: Jerusalem, Athens, Rome, and London. In doing so, Kirk goes through much of the history of all these civilizations from a very easy-to-read, bird's-eye-view. This book should be required reading for all American students.
You should also check out Eric Voegelin's 5-volume series "Order and History." Much more difficult to read, but he was an encyclopedic thinker for sure, and someone who anticipated America's present-day struggle with Marxist-gnosticism.
I have not read nor heard of either. I will most definitely add them to my list though. I am very curious about the first one you mentioned (Kirk). I have been looking for a book that covers something like this. I truly appreciate you sharing and thanks so much for watching my friend! Stay blessed!
@@The_Cause Thank you! Kirk's book is a real treat. His other claim to fame (if interested in his politics) is "The Conservative Mind," which is a history of conservatism from Edmund Burke to T.S. Eliot.
I will add it as well! Truly appreciate the help! I checked out your Lord of the Rings helmet video and now I want one in the background of my videos! haha
@@The_Cause Do it, man! Blessings to you and yours also.
Instant Subscriber 👍
Thanks so much for subscribing. Truly happy to have you here and thanks for watching. Stay blessed!
I discovered the great books of the western world in a library from my campus and immeadietly fell in love, sadly i had to drop out and never managed to go through them, i still dream of reading these one day before i die, my heart bleeds for this set more than anything else in the world. I could slave for these
The Paradise though... ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Great video. Is the paper in both versions acid free?
You know I am not sure. I just looked inside and can’t tell. The Harvard Classics print I have is from the 1950s so I don’t know if that even existed back then. Good question though.
I agree with "The Great Books"... ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Yes indeed! Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed!
Would you consider making a series for "The Great Books of the Western World," in the same way you did with the Harvard Classics?
Kinda funny how i found out your channel through that series.
I plan to in the future. Or if this could ever turn into a full time venture I would start going through them as well. It honestly just comes down to time. I only have so much time to read and then work on these videos. It will happen though! Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
My local bookstores have sets. Unfortunately I need to stay mobile so Kindle it is... For now.
The kindle version I have is not great. The entire, massive series is treated like one book.
I just found your channel, I love what you are doing here! I have a question-what is the benefit of a Christian reading the Great Books? I am in my first year of homeschooling and I’m leaning heavily towards a classical model of education. From what I’ve read, it seems the Great Books are a large component of the high-school years for that model so I’d love to hear opinions from other Christians about the benefits of becoming familiar with some of the greatest minds of the western world, especially when you consider how futile even the greatest minds are. Thank you!
The Great Books will provide you with a vast knowledge of Christianity. The Summa Theologica is in there, Aquinas, Calvin, Luther and many more. Once Christianity enters the scene in volume 16 the remaining volumes will touch on it in some way. The Bible in my opinion is required reading to fully understand the literature that makes up these sets. You will have a philosophy and theology degree by the time you finish. Hope my rambling answers your question. Stay blessed!
@ thank you!
What version are your Harvard classics book? What print, year and make and so on
Bro where can i get that cap
Got that sucker at a "Lids" back in 2008. The old thing is pretty old at this point. It is just a fitted LSU hat. Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
@The_Cause ditto king 🙏🏼
But I have been praying for the Great Books since I was in college... ❤
I am sure if you give it some time you can find a set close by for a good price. Good luck!
Would still choose the Paradise
I miss the intro music.
I will start adding it back. I have been forgetting to add it. Lol Thanks for reminding me. Stay blessed!
@@The_Cause by His grace
Get a dictionary as well.
I have a pretty decent vocabulary, but I ran across words I never heard before. Great fun!
haha yes indeed! I constantly have to look up words. I actually started writing the definitions at the top of the page to help remember. Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed!
I was gifted the Great Books on my 18th birthday! Loved most of them and will definitely read them all again at least once. I'd never read anything associated with Harvard except for a laugh, but that's just me.
haha The Great Books are an amazing set. I think it perfected what Elliot tried to do with the Harvard Classics. Thanks for watching and stay blessed my friend!
It's been quiet around here. Well, except for that there police guy had a bit of a fluke. Out driving his SUV in the pouring rain recently when a semi flew by and splashed him with a tsunami-like wave of water that practically washed him off the road and flooded out his engine. I can't even imagine. I mean it totaled his vehicle. The only remaining rental that day was a Dodge. You know, a tiny, no room for children, speedster with its butt in the air and huge horsepower gas guzzling engine. 😅
Thankfully no one was hurt except the SUV. The semi never even slowed down. He was gone, real gone. Probably eats losers for breakfast.
Mom obtained the Great books because someone wanted to throw them in the trash brand new😂 as well as a set of spanish literature.
But if I would be given the chance between the Harvard Classics and the Great Books...
I'd choose both... 👌👌
I would too! LOL. It is hard to choose! You can't go wrong with either one.
"...you will then travel through the works of Augusteen, Quenis, and Donté."
Haha yes indeed! Sometimes what comes out is not how you want it to sound. Lol thanks for watching and stay blessed!
I just use the library
I would encourage everyone to donate their books to their local library as opposed to selling them. It's a tragedy that so much knowledge must be held behind a paywall and the Great Books are no exception.
The great books are scanned on a few databases. One is the internet archives which you can access for free. The problem with donating to libraries is many are discarding these types of books and sets. Libraries hold discard sells where they sell books that are not wanted. Great place to find some cheap books. I definitely get your perspective but these books can be accessed free online. Most are out of copyright domain. If you do donate to a library it may be worth while researching if they will actually keep them or remove them. Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed my friend!
@@The_Cause I agree. My library is horrible, as they seem to retain books based on popularity (yet have so much spare floor space for more shelves). What's popular right now? Romantasy and similar genres. I appreciate that reading romantasy is a better use of a 30 year old woman's time than bingeing Netflix or scrolling social media, but libraries should be preserves of easy access knowledge and wisdom, not economising on entertainment materials (they can be that too, but not just that). The philosophy section is paltry at my library, yet there's nearly an entire floor of copy and paste fiction, the Marvel movies of literature. I like a good Marvel movie myself, but it shouldn't be everything the theater is showing.
I'll swap my 1200+ books for these two sets.
haha yes indeed! Both sets combined most likely have close to that many books. Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
Surely we can convince someone to republish both of these sets? There is obviously demand for them.
That would be amazing. The only one I know that does is Easton Press but it cost a fortune brand new. It would be awesome if Pinguin or some other publishing house put them out at an affordable price. Thanks for watching and stay blessed!
@@The_Cause Interesting. I've just picked up both sets in a week, but the Harvard Classics is the registered edition at 20/22 volumes. The GBWW definitely is superior though
Pax Christi.
Don't buy any of them! The Great Books ... lists 151 authors, of whom there are 49 (!) English or American authors, 27 Frenchmen, 20 Germans, 15 ancient Greeks, 9 ancient Romans, 4 Russians, 4 Scandinavians, 3 Spaniards, 3 Italians, 3 Irishmen, 3 Scots, and 3 Eastern Europeans. Prejudices and preferences are self-evident. The Harvard Classics are even worse.
That most be what they mean by “of the Western World.” Thanks for clearing that up for us Claudio! Truly appreciate you watching and stay blessed!
@, writing like a true WASP! … and totally ignoring that “Western” is not equal to Anglo-American at all. This is a list of 150 Western authors of literature, philosophy, and psychology: 10 English or American, 10 Frenchmen, 20 Germans, 20 ancient Greeks, 20 ancient Romans, 20 Russians, 10 Scandinavians, 10 Spaniards, 20 Italians, 10 other European.
How am I ignoring something I never brought up? You seem to be very angry over something. I am not sure why or who it is directed towards, but I hope you find the peace you deserve my friend.
@@The_Cause, your friend isn't angry. Yet, you seem to be very arrogant over something, regarding "That most be what they mean by 'of the Western World.'" So, again, “Western” is not equal to Anglo-American at all.
I never said they were the same. Do you only see the arrogance in others?
Just buy the penguin penguin 🐧 paperbacks!
You can but it would be costly compared to finding a set of these for a good price. There are over 500 works alone in the great books so if you find a set for $500 it comes out to about a dollar a book. Penguin will put you in the thousands to order them all. But at least you only get the ones you want and are willing to read. I wish Penguin would republish both sets and sell them as a package. Now that would be awesome. Thanks for watching and stay blessed.
Ok, I am corrected but definitely an older "American made" model with power.
❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Thanks for the love!
1: “The Final Theory: Rethinking Our Scientific Legacy “, Mark McCutcheon for proper physics including the CAUSE of gravity, electricity, magnetism, light and well.... everything, 2: “The Unique and Its Property “, Max Stirner,1844/2017 Landstreicher translation for the end/ destruction of philosophy/ metaphysics. 3: “The Bible Came from Arabia “, Kamal Salibi,1985 plus his 3 other bible study books and blog for facts not fantasies- NOT what you think. 4:”No Treason: the Constitution of No Authority, 1, 2 and 6”, Lysander Spooner,1867-1870 again for facts not fantasies. Unfortunately very few other authors/ books are worth reading.
Charles Eliot, who developed Harford Classics in 1910 and Mortimer Alder who created Great Books in 1954 were unique individuals, and the collections reflect their idiosyncrasies. It might be a good idea to take a look at some more recent attempts to create a list of great books. These lists will include more books by women and a wider variety of perspectives.
Great points! I actually think the variety of perspectives these books already make up are amazing. The mixing of the Greek and Roman world with the Christian view of morality, formatted in plays, poems, novels, and letters created a diversity in literature that goes beyond anything I have read in modern culture. We often get so focused on the exterior of someones looks to add value that we forget that, within anyone, can be a thought that changes the view of how we see the world. Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed!
Should have more works from Northern Europe. The Mediterranean is woefully over represented.
Is there a less America centric equivalent for Europeans ?
I am not sure. Both are already very European centric in my opinion as most of the works prior to 1700s will be from Europe. The first 39 volumes of the Great books alone is basically European. Europe is well represented in both sets. Thanks so much for watching and stay blessed!
If you have one of these sets or both, let me know what your thoughts are on each! I would love to hear your opinions on these two great series.
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I love you all and stay blessed! PICK UP A BOOK!
Both sets pair well with a trough filled with coffee… lots of sipping and lots of reading!
Book shelves full and coffee cup fuller! haha
I have both sets (a first edition of the Harvard Classics, second edition of the Great Books). I couldn't tell which one I Like most. Although they cover the same material to a certain extend, they are complementary; GB have more science, HC focus more on religion. GB have to be read at a desk (or in bed) because of their size, het HC are easier to take along on the train. I love both sets!
Great points!! Thanks for sharing!
I have a set of Great Books that were gifted to me when a library was downsizing. My only complaint about them is the covers. As they were library books, there are stickers everywhere and you can't tear them off without tearing off the cover. But, the contents are great!
Thank you. This was very helpful.
I am so glad to hear it was helpful! Thanks for watching and have a blessed New Year!