Online Great Books Podcast

Scott and Karl are back after a brief hiatus to finish their discussion of Dean Koontz's 2003 thriller, Odd Thomas.  While the ending might make you emotional, this book satisfies its genre— it's suspenseful, memorable, and thoroughly entertaining. Still, Scott points out that reading this type of fiction in the present times is getting harder and harder.  Tune in for Part Two of the duo's conversation. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com 

This week, Scott and Karl begin their discussion of Dean Koontz's Odd Thomas, a best-selling thriller novel published in 2003. Koontz is known for being a masterful storyteller with a talent for creating richly drawn characters. While this novel is definitely a thriller, Scott points out it reads like a noir detective story.  If you are looking for an entertaining read, this book checks all the boxes for the duo. As Karl points out, "[Koontz] appears to have reasonably good metaphysics. Evil is evil, it's understandable, and the good guys are actually good."  Tune if for Part One of Scott and Karl's conversation. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

Scott and Karl finish their discussion of the first novel in Isaac Asimov’s classic science-fiction masterpiece, Foundation. The novel is set in the future, when the world is barely remembered, and humans have colonized the galaxy. While this series helped to redefine the science-fiction genre, the duo takes issue with the ways this make-believe society responds to the problems Asimov lays out and the use of mathematics and probability to predict the future. As Karl points out, "Scientific progress as a moral good makes no sense."  Tune in to hear Part Two of Scott and Karl's conversation. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

This week, the duo tackles Karl's pick— the first novel in Isaac Asimov’s classic science-fiction masterpiece.  Largely regarded as a launch pad for space-age science fiction, Foundation is a collection of five short stories which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951. The series tells the story of the Foundation, an institute founded by psychohistorian Hari Seldon to preserve the best of galactic civilization after the collapse of the Galactic Empire. Scott says, "Asimov and all that stuff from this era is one of the reasons the boomers are the way they are. They were inculcated with a worldview that is out of fiction. They think everything is always going to improve, that science has the answer, and they see that history and the scope of time is a character and acts in and of itself so they don't have a responsibility."  Tune in to hear Part One of the duo's conversation and learn why Karl calls this "a good bad book." Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

Scott and Karl finish their discussion of Dorothy M. Johnson’s Indian Country, a collection of some of the greatest short stories about the American West. Scott says, "I don't want to talk about the book too much because it's that good. I love the characters, I love the setting, I love Dorothy Johnson, I love the themes, I love the style."  While this work is out of print, the duo agrees it is worth your while to hunt down a used copy and have a read. Each of the eleven tales shines with implicity, Karl calls them "iceberg stories" because there is so much in them that isn't written.  Tune in to hear the rest of Scott and Karl's conversation about Dorothy Johnson's skillful presentation of early frontier life. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

This week, Scott and Karl read Dorothy M. Johnson’s Indian Country, a collection of eleven stories showing a frontier alive with complex struggles. You may be familiar with two of her most famous stories, “A Man Called Horse” and “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance” which are included in this collection.  Johnson, a Montana-based author, brings to western fiction a clear ideal of individuality and honor. Scott says, "The sense of life that comes out of this book and right into your face is astounding to me. The character of the author is all over the thing, I couldn't imagine her writing anything other than a western.” Tune in to learn more about a book that Karl classifies as "desert literature"— set in a mysterious, forgotten place where all of one's actions become magnified. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

This week, Scott and Karl finish their discussion of Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire which follows the Roman Empire over thirteen centuries - its rulers, wars and society, and, of course, the events that led to its collapse. Towards the beginning of the show, Karl asks, "how do lasting emporiums last?" The duo unpacks thought-provoking questions about the idea of an empire whose history touches on nearly any imaginable type of human occurrence and serves up parallels for modern events.   Tune in for Part Two of the duo's conversation. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

This week, Scott and Karl tackle a massive narrative of one of the world's greatest civilizations. Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire follows the Roman Empire over thirteen centuries - its rulers, wars and society, and, of course, the events that led to its collapse. Published between 1776 and 1788 in six volumes, Gibbon gained himself the reputation of being the first modern historian of ancient Rome. But does he belong on the Great Books list? Scott says, "If you are putting together this list, there are things that have happened that you must have books about. The fall of Rome, there needs to be something that covers it. What would it be? I guess this."  Gibbon, who devoted most of his life to this project, scored immediate success that was resounding. Speaking about Gibbon's influence, Karl says, "This is a sellout book informing educated Europeans about ideas of empire."  Scott adds, "I think modern people carry ideas about the Romans that came from Gibbon even if they haven't read this book. He's very influential."  Tune in for Part One of the duo's conversation. Brought to you by onlinegreatbooks.com. 

Scott and Karl test out an alternative format, and enjoy huge success! Also, enrollment is open, now through this weekend. Visit OnlineGreatBooks.com to learn more.