The Renaissance (The Story of Civilization V) [Hardcover]

Will Durant (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 25, 1980

A history of civilization in Italy from the Birth of Petrarch to the Death of Titian - 1304 to 1576.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 776 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (December 25, 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671616005
• ISBN-13: 978-0671616007
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #893,189 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Fifth Volume of The Story of Civilization!, August 30, 2004

By 

Jeffrey Peter A. Hauck "Guerrilla Reader" (Pennsylvania USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Renaissance (Hardcover)

In this, the fifth volume in the series "The Story of Civilization," Dr. Will & Ariel Durant have compiled a magnificent treatise covering the Italian Renaissance.

At over >720 pages, the reader will discover: The magnificent cities of Renaissance Italy (sovereign Florence, Pisa, Venice, etc.). The Great Artists such as Leonardo, Michelangelo, and more. The Great Medici family. Cesare Boria, the model for Machiavelli's master work "The Prince." Rome, briefly resurgent as the "capital of the world," until sacked by French and German mercenaries. And much, much more including plates and maps.

Although written to stand alone, or in the series, the Durants have created a smooth prose that is easily read and understood by both professional and layperson alike. Well done! The prospective reader would do well to purchase this book. I rate it as five stars as part of the Durants authoritative historical Magnum Opus!

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars "A Good Introductory Source to Renaissance Italy", September 18, 2002

By 

Johannes Platonicus (South Bend, Indiana) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Renaissance (The Story of Civilization V) (Hardcover)

Will Durant's fifth volume--The Renaissance--out of his magisterial work the Story of Civilization, is an excellent introductory source to this age of rebirth from Francesco Petrarca (1304 AD) all the way to the death of Titian (1576). Durant's primary focus is to furnish the reader with all the pertinent aspects of life in Renaissance Italy. He accomplishes this with his customary talent for providing the reader with a lively narrative that brings the characters and the stage of history to life. Durant's critiques of renaissance art and architecture, his overviews of the manners and morals of the time, his summaries and comments upon the principle pieces of humanist literature, philosophy, and poetry, are all carried with remarkable brilliance. This work, in short, is the extended version of Paul Johnson's pocket-sized book, "The Renaissance: A Short History." Both are highly recommended.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will Durant is one of my favorite historians..., September 21, 2000

By 

R. Setliff - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Renaissance (The Story of Civilization V) (Hardcover)

I recommend the whole Story of Civilization set. I've got all eleven. Durant is a brilliant writer and macrohistorian. His approach delves deep into the era with more than just a mere political or social history. I bought the set after my history professor recommended it some time ago. He covers Western Civilization and European history with an in-depth clarity that no historian of the 20th century can match. If you like history, don't pass on Will Durant.