Ronald B. Herzman has narrated 3 audiobooks on Listento.it by 3 authors, with an average listener rating of 5★ across 102 ratings. The most-rated is Dante's Divine Comedy.
Dante's Divine Comedy
Summary
Professors Cook and Herzman provide you with an illuminating introduction to one of the greatest works ever written. One of the most profound and satisfying of all poems, The Divine Comedy (or Commedia) of Dante Alighieri is a book for life. In a brilliantly constructed narrative of his imaginary guided pilgrimage through the three realms of the Christian afterlife, Dante accomplished a literary task of astonishing complexity. But the full achievement of the Commedia goes beyond anything merely literary. In these twenty-four lectures, as you follow Dante on his journey, you'll learn how medieval literature offers insights into fundamental questions: What is the quality of our moral actions? How does spiritual transformation come about? What is the nature of good and evil, virtue and vice, sin and sanctity? Why is the world so full of strife? How do we go on when we lose the things we love? You'll discover why, in the centuries since the Commedia was written, not one of these questions has lost its force. Moreover, you'll hear Dante address them in a demanding and innovative Italian verse form (terza rima) that makes the Commedia one of the great virtuoso pieces of world literature. With the guidance of these two master professors, you'll learn invaluable background information on Dante's life and times; why Dante wrote the Commedia; how to approach the various English editions available; and how each part of the poem is connected to what has come before. But above all, you'll understand why the Commedia is not a puzzle to be solved or a book to be read and put aside-but a mystery whose beauty and richness is to be constantly savored. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2001 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2001 The Great Courses
St. Augustine's Confessions
Summary
How should parents raise children, and how should schools educate children? Why are we attracted to things that are forbidden? What is time? How can we understand God, or the nature of evil? What is true friendship? To answer these questions, Professors Cook and Herzman look to the Confessions of St. Augustine of Hippo. Over the course of 24 fascinating lectures, you'll study this great book's staggering influence on Christianity and Western civilization, seeing how it provided a source of inspiration for such noted thinkers and writers as Petrarch, Dante, and Martin Luther. Even though the Confessions is more than 1,500 years old, it still speaks to us and has the capacity to change our lives. The professors trace the narrative of Augustine's early life and the key events that led to his Christian conversion at age 31. In a succession of stories that are as powerful as any in world literature, Augustine seeks to understand the same issues in his life that many people try to understand in theirs, arriving at profound conclusions that offer stunning insight into our psychology and morality and challenge us to become wiser and better people. This course is a superb springboard and companion guide to your reading and rereading of one of history's singular books: one that will challenge and stimulate your mind and provide a framework through which to find true understanding, value, and meaning in your life. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2004 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2004 The Great Courses
Francis of Assisi
Summary
These 12 lectures by Professors Cook and Herzman will give you a rounded, fully informed introduction to the luminous Francis of Assisi and will tell the intellectually and spiritually rewarding story of how his influence has glowed across the centuries. Just who was Assisi? Despite his continuing influence and the fairly ample writings about him that date from his own time, Francis remains somewhat elusive in history. It is not easy to meet the man who, at about the age of 25, renounced his family and inheritance to serve his God in poverty, simplicity, and obedience. Yet these lectures, with their mastery of history, theology, art, and literature, expertly unlock two sources that are the most revealing and plentiful-written narratives of Francis's life and the images created for Franciscan churches. In charting the life, times, and legacy of Francis, Professors Cook and Herzman include a great deal about the world around Francis as well as on the artwork, the ministries, and the religious communities that he inspired. But through it all shines their deeply human sense of the man himself and what he stood for-things which, they argue, are needed as much today as ever they were when Francis trod the byways of Italy to show what it means to live life to the full in faith, hope, and love. By the time you finish the last lecture, you'll find yourself in agreement that, whatever your background or beliefs, Francis of Assisi remains as fascinating and inspiring a man today as he was more than 800 years ago.
©2000 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2000 The Great Courses