Outstanding Survey of Pre-1776 America

This is an outstanding course covering the colonial period in America. If the course has a weakness, it is that it only briefly discusses the colonial period of areas other than the original thirteen states with the exception of one lecture dedicated to Spanish settlement in New Mexico. That being said, this course was exactly what I hoped and expected it would be—a discussion about the origins and development of the original thirteen states and the lead-up to the American Revolution. The course did a particularly good job describing the causes and events surrounding the famous Salem Witch Trials. The course stops on the verge of the Revolution and only touches on a few of the events that are directly part of the Revolution. It left me wanting to take the course on the American Revolution next to pick-up the story where this course stopped.

The professor is clearly very knowledgeable and well-prepared. The professor is obviously interested in the material and does a good job conveying the history in a concise and informative manner. This is what a Great Courses class should be.

18 people found this helpful

Subject Matter is wonderful, Narrator no so much

Would you consider the audio edition of Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies to be better than the print version?

N/A

What other book might you compare Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies to and why?

This is a lecture series, but the first 1/4 of The History of the United States, 2nd Edition from The Great Courses might be considered to be comparable.

What three words best describe Professor Robert J. Allison’s voice?

So very slow.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

There were no big gotcha moments. However, I did learn quite a lot that I did not know before. This was especially true in the sections on the non-British efforts to colonize various sections of America.

Any additional comments?

Professor Allison's narration was nearly unlistenable on x1.0 speed. There is no nice way to put it, his delivery was slow and ponderous. Under normal circumstances would not recommend listening to this particular series while driving. The good news is, the Audible.com playback speed can be adjusted. Sped up to x1.5 speed, the lecture series was enjoyable and scarily normal sounding. This made me wonder of the issue lies not with Allison, but with the postproduction process. Either way, once the speed was adjusted I found the lectures extremely interesting, bordering on riveting. I feel I must inform readers that I am a huge nerd when it comes to American history and my bias may be showing with the riveting comment, but nevertheless, I standby it. The lecture summaries and transitions were smooth, and they did not detract from the body of each lecture. I would wholeheartedly recommend the series, just don't forget to speed that player up.

33 people found this helpful

One of the best of the Great Lectures series

What made the experience of listening to Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies the most enjoyable?

Dr. Allison brings the American colonial period alive with fascinating and revealing details that creates a clear pictures of the times and events leading to the American Revolution. This is truly one of the most interesting, engaging, and well-presented lecture series I have ever heard, either in person or recorded. Dr. Allison's expertise and depth of knowledge on the subject is powerfully evident, yet delivered in a most approachable manner. It was both enjoyable and deeply informative. I am sure I will be listening to it again to tap into the wonderful stories that led to the formation of the United States as an independent country. My thanks to Dr. Allison for a wonderful series of lectures.

Which character – as performed by Professor Robert J. Allison – was your favorite?

Benjamin Franklin, followed closely by Cotton Mather. I learned much about the lives and contributions of these formative giants I had not appreciated before.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The story of the Boston smallpox outbreak was particularly fascinating, given the tragedy of unnecessary deaths and the seminal experiment that was carried out during the epidemic that confirmed the effectiveness of inoculation..

8 people found this helpful

New Perspectives and great insights

What made the experience of listening to Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies the most enjoyable?

I am researching the family tree in America from 1625 in Virginia and 1640 in New Hampshire. This series does a great job of describing each colony's progression and has explained migration issues and how native American blood lines entered the tree

Who was your favorite character and why?

Ben Franklin and Cotton Mather interactions

What about Professor Robert J. Allison’s performance did you like?

I could stay awake through his lectures any day

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

36 1/2 hour sessions

Any additional comments?

I have been through the material twice and still picking up info

14 people found this helpful

Over elaborative

Could have been done in less time by at least an hour by cutting down on the excessive elaborating. Quite informative for the most part.

3 people found this helpful

A GREAT course !! Really makes sense of history.

Would you consider the audio edition of Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies to be better than the print version?

This audio edition brought a lot meaning to the many of the "stories" and facts of colonial life that were told to us in school. By using short term, tangent explanations of his main themes, he really makes sense of why things happened the way they did. Just an awesome job. I wish I would have come across this years ago. I see why his audience applauds his performance.

3 people found this helpful

Now I know!!!

Such a fascinating listen. I learned so much and was totally entertained. You need to hear this! The great migration

3 people found this helpful

Excellent Teacher ! Great Course!

This series presented a lot of information in an easy to absorb and interesting way. Loved it.

6 people found this helpful

First Rate and Plenty Of It + free read see below

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Thirty six chapters and could do with 36 more. I even searched for orher presentations by Allison but found none.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Before 1776: Life in the American Colonies?

The captivity narratives.

Even discovered a free audio book "Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson" at librivox which was a treat. Done by volunteers. Not professional reading but well worth the time.

What about Professor Robert J. Allison’s performance did you like?

Animated

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Captivity narative.

Any additional comments?

All told quite a value.

1 person found this helpful

Enjoyable and informative.

Enjoyed the lectures, never boring, learned lots more in-depth history than I ever learned in school. The author/narrator has an excellent voice and speaking style. His commentary, from a modern perspective, were interesting and good at reminding us of the social morals and mores of the times. I was particularly interested in his comments describing how the British and the American views of social order came to be so different that the separation of the two became inevitable. I think those differences remain even now.