His well-planned and well-executed lectures introduce a period of history in Western thought not easy for a novice to grasp without a guide. This audio tour of the period 300-1000 C.E. won't overwhelm beginners nor insult experts. The professor drops occasional words and phrases into mumbles, but his conversational management of a subject as difficult as St. Augustine bespeaks his blue-ribbon skill at interpretation and communication. Course graduates will know what it means to call a tax structure "Byzantine" and where Islam was born. J.A.H. (c) AudioFile 2005, Portland, Maine [Published: FEB/ MAR 05]