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Rousseau and Revolution: A History of Civilization in France, England, and Germany from 1756, and in the Remainder of Europe from 1715 - 1789 (The Story of Civilization X)

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...continues the excellence of the series. Originally intended as the final book of the series, "The Story of Civilization", in ended up being the penultimate volume.

The Durants lucidly and eloquently summarize the philosophy, life and influence that Rousseau had on the 18th century and, indeed, continues to have to this very day. Rousseau may be regarded as the creator of the Left-wing sensibility. This may seem anachronistic and, in a sense, it is. Rousseau died before the French Revolution, which created the modern political division of Right and Left. Nevertheless, it is accurate to see him as the Fountainhead for relativism, communism, and the worship of feeling as opposed to reason (debased and emptied of all intellectual content this is now called building "self-esteem" by the modern leftist).

Rousseau created most of the modern ills of political fanaticism and airy, absurd idealism as the Durants so ably note.

The rest of the period is not neglected and vivid portraits are made of Frederick the Great, Catherine the Great, the Elder Pitt, Diderot, D'Holbach, Samuel Johnson and many, many others help this book to shine.

Awarded the Pulitzer Prize--which should have gone to the entire series as opposed to just this volume--this book gives the reader a complete (if necessarily synopsized) account of the End and Failure of the Enlightenment and how what Rousseau and Voltaire intended in their attacks on the social structure (Rousseau) and religion (Voltaire) lead to disastrous consequences in the French Revolution.

The writing sparkles with vivid wit, pith and lucid beauty. It is a book to be read for a lifetime and bequeathed to children. In an age where smarmy, intellectually empty, political fanaticism is attempting to erase the past in favor of the PC fantasies of the moment, the Durants offer a vivid account of the Truth. European civilization is presented here in all its glory and with all its warts. Slavery, religious fanaticism, exploitation and the horrors of the penal system and warfare are all presented here, in their proper place and in context. The modern academic community has attempted to destroy the ideal of context and balance. As long as these books are around, REAL history and historiography are available to anyone who simply opens a copy and reads it.

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In this, the tenth volume in the critically acclaimed series "The Story of Civilization," Dr. will & Ariel Durant have compiled a masterful dramatic exploration of the European climate and the events which paved the way for the French Revolution.

The reader will be exposed to a vivid recount of the acts of: Rousseau, who confessed his most embarassing sexual and emotional episodes. England and the rise of her overseas empire. Catherine The Great of Russia. Frederick The Great of Prussia. The German Enlightenment. Marie Antoinette. France's impotent and frustrated King Louis XVI. And much, much more including plates and maps.

Written to stand alone or within the series, the Durants have composed an unparalleled historical prose in smooth flowing narrative that is easy to read and understand by both professional and layperson alike. In short, this book is for everyone. I rate it as five stars. Bravo!