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The Lessons of History (Hardcover)

by Will Durant (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
This series of 13 essays on the themes and underlying lessons of history was originally written as part of the authors' 11-volume The Story of Civilization (1935-75). The Durants begin by summarizing periods and trends in history. They examine morals and draw conclusions by looking into changes in economics, politics, military customs, and even geographic location. Russ Holcomb reads these essays in a clear, pleasant voice, bringing life and interest to this brief overview of 5000 years of history. For general collections.
Miriam Kahn, Columbus, Ohio
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"Holcomb, a talented reader, makes the discussion by the Durants clear and understandable. His voice makes the text easy to comprehend as each major topic is argued. Students who are familiar with the Story of Civilization series will enjoy this intellectual challenge." -- Kliatt, September 1994

"I would recommend this audio experience to anyone trying to understand our present times for the deep insights and great wisdom they offer. As read by Russ Holcomb, your understanding will grow by quantum leaps." -- Bookviews, June 1994

"I would recommend this audio experience to anyone... for the deep insights and great wisdom they offer." -- Bookview, unknown date

"The Durants banter with their interviewer… in the archived live segments, providing rich and witty counterpoints to Gardner's reading." -- AudioFile 2004

"This production, which features Russ Holcomb as the narrator, is well worth the listen. In fact, the second time around, the essay is even better because the mind's ability to grasp these ideas seems to jump all the way from 50 to 150 watts, much like one of those three-way light bulbs." -- St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 1994 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

  • Hardcover: 117 pages
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster; First Printing edition (August 9, 1968)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0671413333
  • ISBN-13: 978-0671413330
  • Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #248,154 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

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54 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Thought-Provoking, Politically Incorrect Analysis, May 6, 2005
By George R Dekle "Bob Dekle" (Lake City, FL United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)      
This review is from: The Lessons of History (Audio CD)
In one of the interviews that serve as interludes between the chapters of his book, Will Durant says he started his career as a liberal and became more & more conservative during his fifty year career as a historian. If he was a conservative, he was a rather liberal one. Some of the ideas he voices would be anathema to conservatives. E.g. Wealth concentrated into fewer and fewer hands should be redistributed to the have nots. Liberals on the other hand, would be distressed by other of his views. E.g. Once the wealth gets redistributed, government should not attempt to prevent the talented and industrious from re-accumulating it.

The paradox is not really paradoxical at all. Obscene wealth in the hands of a very few causes unrest (and eventually revolution) among the obscenely poor. On the other hand, if industry and talent are not rewarded, culture stagnates. Durant gives the fall of the Roman Republic as an example of an obscenely rich aristocracy committing political suicide by refusing to peacefully redistribute some of their wealth to the poor. The economic stagnation of Communist East Europe serves as an example of what happens when you stop the natural flow of wealth back to the talented and industrious.

Durant makes some statements that would get him lynched in the 21st Century American media. E.g. "Only those who are below average really want equality."

Durant is probably most accurately classified as an agnostic, but he says that on balance, religion has done far more good than harm for civilization. Durant contends that civilizations and cultures decline and die when they lose their moral compass. And they lose their moral compass when they lose their religion. Simply put, those contemplating crime are more likely to be detered by the wrath of God than the long arm of the law.

Durant voices many other thought-provoking opinions. You may not agree with everything he says (his wife doesn't), but you will certainly be stimulated to deep thought by what he says.

I was somewhat amused by the interviews interspersed among the chapters. The reverential awe shown by Durant's interviewer was quite neatly counterbalanced by the sardonic wit of Durant's wife, Ariel. When Durant said something she didn't agree with, she let you know about it and gave excellent reasons for her disagreement. Durant quite wisely did what any intelligent husband would do. He almost always let her have the last word.

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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Insightful, January 13, 2001
By Leonardo Alves (Houghton, Michigan USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Lessons of History (Hardcover)
After finishing the ten volumes of "The History of Civilization", Will and Ariel Durant went back revising and taking notes from their monumental work and produced this insightful essay.

The goal was not to summarize 3,421 years of recorded history in a hundred pages. That would have been silly. The goal was to give some thought to what means to study history; how important is to know our heritage; can we understand our nature and the relations between individuals or between groups or nations just by analysing the past; can the acumulated human experience tell us where are we heading to?

The book was first published in 1968, the worse phase of the cold war, when any perspective of future seemed rather dark and the uncertainties of the period certainly permeate the book.

The book might be considered biased and conservative but that is fair game since the authors warn us about that on the first chapter, "Hesitations". "Historian are not free from bias and prejudice", they say and "most history is guessing, and the rest is prejudice".

The book was written with great care. The sentences are powerful, elegant, concise and insightful. It brings noteworthy quotes and is itself very quotable. A book to be read and appreciated several times.

Leonardo Alves - January 2001

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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Some lessons learned, December 1, 2002
This review is from: The Lessons of History (Audio CD)
Will and Ariel Durant wrote a massive eleven-volume history, The Story of Civilization. After they finished volume ten -- which was to be the last - they came out with this brief work. (In 1975 they produced the final volume in the series, The Age of Napoleon). Although this series is not considered by professional historians to be a great work of history, the Durants' love of history is evident on every page. I read most of them in high school and college, and they help inspire a life-long interest history.

The Lessons of History consists of a number of short chapters, in which the Durants summarize what their study of history revealed on various themes, such as war, morals, government, religion, etc. Although certainly not a profound work, it contains a number of insights. For example, the discussion of the lineage of communism is quite interesting. On the other hand, the Durants strike me as having been moderately left of center, and some of their arguments in favor of government regulation of the economy don't convince me. They appear somewhat more conservative on morals, and there is a good discussion on how war negatively impacts traditional morality. The discussion of religion is somewhat ambiguous, perhaps reflecting Will Durant, who studied for the priesthood, became an atheist, and died an agnostic.

This work came out in 1968, and the Durants make a couple of predictions which didn't exactly come true. They argue that by 2000 the Roman Catholic Church will be politically dominant in the US. In addition, they expressed the commonplace idea in the 60s that the Soviet Union and the United States were coming closer together and would eventually meet in the middle.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars politically correct lessons of history
There are two problems with this book, as I see it. First, this is not a profound book. There simply aren't the revelations in this book that one might expect from an historian... Read more
Published 2 months ago by C. Rogers

5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting Points Throughout
This book by Will and Ariel Durant was written to present what lessons they saw that history teaches us considering what they learned in the writing of their mammoth series, The... Read more
Published 2 months ago by C. Richard

5.0 out of 5 stars If you only read or listen to one book....
I've listened to most of the Durant's 10,000 page Story of Civilization. When I came across this little gem, I was very pleased. Read more
Published 8 months ago by C. Repp

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for the classical education
Fascinating and worthwhile. An essential read for the classical education. In this slim volume, the Durants distill the essential lessons found in their generously detailed,... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Marynna L. Kerce

5.0 out of 5 stars History distilled
The book in 102 pages provided the most thoughtful and thought provoking insight into history I have ever read. Read more
Published 18 months ago by David Gregory

4.0 out of 5 stars Making Peace with a Biased Reality
This is an ambitious book that should be a capstone to any course in political philosophy. This book seeks to reveal (or at least provoke thinking in the reader) on what history's... Read more
Published 18 months ago by M. Khan

5.0 out of 5 stars The Lessons of History
This is the most important book in my extensive library. I was so impressed by it the first time I read it shortly after its publication in 1968 that I have made a tradition of... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Robert Christie

3.0 out of 5 stars Oscillates between rational thought and the need to belong. At least it's got some good quotable material.
The first thing to understand about this book is that it was written by -old people-. By this, I don't even mean that they were chronologically enhanced; more that they were... Read more
Published 19 months ago by Sarah Straight

5.0 out of 5 stars An Executive Summary
I hadn't really developed much of an interest in History until I turned 50. I probably would have gotten interested in high school or college if I'd encountered this book then.
Published 22 months ago by S. A. Stewart

5.0 out of 5 stars Only Because You Can't Award Six Stars
Pure genius. Along with Durant's multi-volume history of civilization, a must read for anyone who is serious about understanding mankind and history.
Published on June 7, 2007 by Publius Cornelius

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