Download History Courses Online

Download Over 20 History Courses

At LearnOutLoud.com we're very excited to now be offering on audio download courses from the Modern Scholar Series which are recorded lecture courses taught by university professors. Each course has 14 lectures with each lecture lasting approximately 35 minutes, and each course comes with a book-length course guide in PDF format.

To introduce their course offerings, we're starting with over 20 history courses released by the Modern Scholar. Browse courses by award-winning professors and historians such as Margaret MacMillan, Joseph J. Ellis, H.W. Brands, Robert Dallek, and numerous other historians and college professors awarded for their teaching excellence.

And to prove the excellence of these teachers, we are offering for free the first lecture as the audio sample for each course! Browse and listen to samples of all of these history courses along with a few other Modern Scholar courses right here:

Browse All Modern Scholar Courses

Here are of some the new outstanding history courses we feature:

American Inquisition: The Era of McCarthyism Taught by Prof. Ellen Schrecker

The American Presidency Taught by Prof. Robert Dallek

Brotherhood of the Revolution Taught by Prof. Thomas F. Madden

The Catholic Church in the Modern Age Taught by Prof. Thomas F. Madden

Christianity At the Crossroads: The Reformations of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries Taught by Prof. Thomas F. Madden

Epochs of European Civilization: Antiquity To Renaissance Taught by Prof. Geoffrey Hosking

History of Ancient Greece Taught by Prof. Eric H. Cline

A History of Ancient Rome Taught by Prof. Frances Titchener

A History of the English Language Taught by Prof. Michael Drout

A House Reunited: How America Survived the Civil War Taught by Prof. Jay Winik

Icons of the Iron Age: The Celts in History Taught by Prof. Susan A. Johnston

Jerusalem: The Contested City Taught by Prof. F. E. Peters

Liberty and its Price: Understanding the French Revolution Taught by Prof. Donald M.G. Sutherland

Masters of Enterprise Taught by H.W. Brands

People and the Ballot: A History of American Party Politics Taught by Prof. Joshua Kaplan

Six Months That Changed the World Taught by Prof. Margaret MacMillan

Take Me Out to the Ballgame: A History of Baseball in America Taught by Prof. Timothy B. Shutt

The Tiber and the Potomac: Rome, America, and Empires of Trust Taught by Prof. Thomas F. Madden

Understanding the Holocaust Taught by Prof. David Engel

Winston Churchill: Man of the Century Taught by Prof. John Ramsden

At LearnOutLoud.com we plan to listen to all of these Modern Scholar courses! Join us in listening to the classes of some of the best teachers in the world.

Top 20 Free History Resources

Listen and learn about history for free on audio & video with these 20 great free educational resources. From popular history podcasts to lectures from top historians, we've collected top 20 free history audio books, lectures, and podcasts. You can check them all out by clicking the link below:

20 Best Free History Audio & Video Resources

Here's the top ten resources from the list:

1. History According to Bob Podcast

For over a year, Bob Packett has serviced the world with his podcast, History According to Bob. This retired history professor operating out of Kansas explores a large canvas - from the smallest historical artifacts to decade-spanning cultural upheaval- with the sort of down-home, approachable style that is the earmark of a great teacher.

2. The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

In this inspiring conversation released on digital download by WGBH, Pulitzer prize-winning historian Doris Kearns Goodwin talks about Abraham Lincoln, the success of his presidency, and the men that made up his cabinet. Kearns discusses her take on Lincoln's thought processes, what led him to make hard decisions, and why this soft spoken, physically gangly man was ultimately able to command the respect of a nation. Kearns speaks of her subject like she would a friend and gives equal attention to Lincoln's cabinet, a group of one-time rivals that would later become committed loyalists at a time when the country needed his singular leadership. This lecture is available on MP3 download as well as streaming audio and video.

3. 12 Byzantine Rulers: The History of The Byzantine Empire Podcast

With the History of the Byzantine Empire Podcast, Lars Brownworth examines the 12 rulers that have come to represent a unique era in Roman history; a period marked by decline. With an excellent handle on the subject and concise delivery, Brownsworth devotes each episode to an Emperor; describing the man, how he came to power, how he ruled, and what his legacy was thereafter. When taken as a whole, each bite-sized character profile tells the overall story of the Roman Empire as it struggled to survive during the middle ages.

4. David McCullough's Biography of a Year: 1776

In this lecture from the Cambridge Forum David McCullough delivers anecdotes from his bestselling American history work "1776". McCullough expresses how remarkable of a story this year in American history was and draws us in with details from the comprehensive research he conducted on this era. At the end of the lecture he answers a number of questions from the audience. This lecture is offered online from the WGBH Forum Network and is available on streaming audio and video as well as MP3 download.

5. History of the United States, Volume 1

History of the United States, Volume 2

History of the United States, Volume 3

History of the United States, Volume 4

History of the United States, Volume 5

Download the first 5 volumes of the History of the United States by Charles Austin Beard and Mary Ritter Beard. As stated in the preface, this book is for mature students of American history and it does not contain the mini-biographies and dramatic battle descriptions often contained in histories for younger audiences. It examines major trends in economics, politics, religion, and other social institutions that characterized the development of the United States. Volume 1 examines the Colonial period, Volume 2 looks at the American Revolution, Volume 3 covers the U.S. Constitution, and Volume 4 examines the settling of the West and Jacksonian Democracy, and Volume 5 covers Sectional Conflict including The Civil War and Reconstruction. This audio book was recorded by the volunteers at LibriVox. Currently Volumes 6 & 7 are in works and we'll feature those when they are completed. You can download Volumes 1-5 from LibriVox.org on MP3.

6. At Canaan's Edge by Taylor Branch

In this downloadable lecture presented by the WGBH Forum Network, historian Taylor Branch introduces us to the major players and events that shaped the modern Civil Rights movement. Branch takes great pains to identify some of the unsung heroes of the cause; people that were as instrumental in pushing the movement forward as higher profile names like Martin Luther King, Jr. Branch feels this area of history is woefully unexamined, and demonstrates to listeners how vital it was within the greater fabric of social upheaval that rocked the 60's.

7. Crash Course on Jewish History by Rabbi Ken Spiro

This is a free course on Jewish History from a Jewish perspective taught by Rabbi Ken Spiro. In over 30 lectures, Spiro covers everything from Abraham to modern Israel always pointing out the lessons that Jews can learn from their history. All the lectures are free to listen to on streaming audio and many of them are free to download on MP3 from SimpleToRemember.com.

8. War and Democracy in the Ancient and Contemporary Middle East by Victor Davis Hanson

In this streaming video lecture from UCTV, military historian Victor Davis Hanson steps back from the current conflicts in the Middle East and examines them from the perspective of classical conceptions of war. He displays his encyclopedic knowledge of military conflicts throughout history and provides many thought-provoking reflections on the current state of affairs in Iraq, Israel, and the rest of the Middle East. This lecture is offered through YouTube on streaming video.

9. Hardcore History Podcast by Dan Carlin

In his own irreverent style Dan Carlin attacks the historical record in the Hardcore History Podcast. Each month, Carlin selects a different topic or person in history, spanning from the ancient to the present depending upon his mood, and brings his humorous and sometimes provocative opinion to bear on it. The editorial tone Carlin takes is usually funny, and while some of what he argues is controversial, his command of the subject can never be questioned.

10. Andrew Jackson by H.W. Brands

In this lecture from the Miller Center of Public Affairs, H.W. Brands lectures on his latest book Andrew Jackson: His Life and Times. Professor Brands focuses on the way that American public opinion regarding Andrew Jackson has changed since Jackson was thought of as "the hero" of his day to his demonization in contemporary America for his policies such as Indian removal. Brands probes deeper into the character of Jackson, pointing out his admirable qualities and crediting Jackson for twice saving the Union. This lecture is available on MP3 download.

Great Speeches of the 20th Century

LearnOutLoud.com has partnered with the Gordon Sound Collection which features thousands of hours of original audio recordings from the 20th century!

We now offer over 50 downloadable audio programs from the collection:

Gordon Sound Collection Downloads

One of the major collection of 20th century speeches we've put up is entitled:

Great Speeches Of The 20th Century

This comprehensive work of 20th century original recordings features excerpts from over 60 famous speeches.

This 4-volume set is also organized by theme and each volume may be purchased separately:

Volume 1: The Political Arena
Volume 2: The Changing World
Volume 3: The Dreams, The Inspirations, The Accomplishments
Volume 4: Best Of Times, Worst Of Times

The other major collection of 20th century speeches we've put up is entitled:

The Incredible Century: 1900-1999

This collection of 20th century original recordings features excerpts from 200 speeches and broadcasts.

This 3-volume set is organized by the years they covered and may be purchased separately:

The Incredible Century, Vol. I: 1900-1953
The Incredible Century, Vol. II: 1953-1969
The Incredible Century, Vol. III: 1970-1999

And we're also featuring a free Cold War documentary from the Gordon Sound Collection that was broadcast on February 25, 1950:

-Cold War Documentaries - "Atomic City: USA"