FeuchtBlog

Understanding the World’s Greatest Structures: Science and Innovation from Antiquity to Modernity, by Stephen Ressler (Teaching Company) ★★★★

This is a fascinating tour of structures mostly built within the last 100-200 years throughout the world, with an orientation around first bridges, and then buildings. Ressler is a civil engineer, and so the orientation of the course was entirely around the design and mechanical features of bridges and buildings that have allowed for their great length or height. It is a most fascinating story of design failures, learning curves, and serendipitous success.  Ressler is reasonably non-technical, though I wish he would have included at least one lecture on the real mathematics of design–not all of us are science dummies. Ressler has an interesting style of teaching, but most effective. His personality struck both Betsy and myself as a cross between a close friend R.B. and Mr. Know-it-All Bullwinkle Moose. Both Betsy and I enjoyed this lecture set tremendously both because of the topic and the teacher, and recommend it to our friends.

Espionage and Covert Operations (Teaching Company), by Vejas Liulevicius ★★★★

This is an enjoyable set of 14 – 1/2 hour lectures on the history of spying from earliest records until the year 2011. There is much to like about these lectures. Liulevicius is quite entertaining as a speaker, and covers the topic of spying fairly broadly, from episodes of international intrigue, to states spying on their own citizens, and ending the series offers a solemn warning about care with the state spying on you. What I find intriguing is how often spy craft gets it wrong, often leading to worse consequences than if there were no spies, a recent example being intelligence evidence for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The few spying successes were found in WWII with the code-breaking of the German and Japanese communication signals. Our eagerness to maintain an international spy network has been troubled by numerous moles, leading to probably more deaths from spy activity than lives saved. Interestingly, misinformation given to spies has been quite effective at creating international pandemonium, and when international news alleges certain things, a strong aura of disbelief is healthy. I had wished that Liulevicius had spent more time talking about actual spy craft, perhaps even just a lecture on the nature of actually being a spy. One lecture did delve into spies in the literature and movies, and interestingly, many of these books, such as the books by Ian Fleming and LeCarre, were written by ex-spies. So, enjoy these at your own risk.

History of the United States (Teaching Company Series), by Allen Guelzo, Gary Gallagher, and Patrick Allitt ★★★★

It is impossible in the course of 84 – 1/2 hour lectures to give a detailed history of the United States. Yet, Guelzo, Gallagher and Allitt do a fine job of reviewing the high points of the American experience. Starting from its discovery by the Europeans and settlement, all the way to early George W. Bush, these three lectures provide a delightful summary of the last few hundred years of the United States. It is entertaining, and gives their perspective, typically respectfully, of their view of the American experiment. I don’t always agree with their analysis and conclusions, but that doesn’t distract from their ability to give a fairly balanced discussion of America throughout the years. The most contemporary discussions on matters such as the new world order, environmentalism, women’s rights movements, etc. did not deserve full 1/2 hour lectures, but are too charged of topics to glance over briefly. All in all, the lecture series works well as all the instructors are masters at the art of teaching.