the story of civilization by will durant

Durant and his wife once remarked, ''is above all else the creation and recording of the intellectual, moral and aesthetic heritage of mankind progress is the increasing abundance, use, preservation and transmission of that heritage. Another was its emphasis on man's achievements in art, literature, science and philosophy rather than on the follies and crimes of mankind or on military, political and economic events. One explanation for the success of ''The Story of Civilization'' was the clarity and wit of its prose. Durant's in bulk, did not attain such popularity. Toynbee, whose 120-volume ''A Study of History'' rivaled Dr. This meant total sales of more than two million copies in nine languages, a readership enjoyed by few historians. ''Rousseau and Revolution,'' which won the Pulitzer Prize for general nonfiction in 1968 and was a Book-of-the-Month Club choice, was a best-seller, as were the 10 other volumes. Durant's 90th birthday, they released ''The Age of Napoleon.'' Two years later, they announced the publication of a joint work, ''A Dual Biography,'' on their own lives. Durant, then 81, and his 69-year-old wife had planned to leave the next two centuries to ''fresher spirits.''īut in 1975, in the week of Dr. With the publication of the 10th volume, Dr. The 10th volume, ''Rousseau and Revolution,'' brought the chronicle up to the dawn of the 19th century. The aim, he said, is ''to portray in each period the total complex of a nation's culture, institutions, adventures and ways.'' Published in 1935, the first volume, ''Our Oriental Heritage,'' traced the beginnings of man and the story of Eastern civilization.

''It may be of some use,'' he went on, ''to those upon whom the passion for philosophy has laid the compulsion to try to see things whole, to pursue perspective, unity and understanding through history in time.'' Durant's design, he said later, was ''to tell as much as I can, in as little space as I can, of the contribution that genius and labor have made to the cultural heritage of mankind.''

The story of civilization by will durant