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The lessons of history, (Hardcover)

~ Will Durant (Author)

4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)

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Hardcover Available from these sellers. Published August 8, 1968	Hardcover, August 8, 1968	--	$38.74	$1.95
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Audio, CD, Bargain Price $11.18 In Stock. Published May 31, 2004	Audio, CD, Bargain Price	$11.18	$11.18	$23.76
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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 the Audio Cassette edition.

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 the Audio Cassette edition.

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Product Details

Hardcover: 117 pages
Publisher: Simon and Schuster; First Printing edition (1968)
Language: English
ASIN: B0006BV23M

Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,261,555 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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	66% buy the item featured on this page: The lessons of history, 4.4 out of 5 stars (36)
	15% buy The Story of Philosophy: The Lives and Opinions of the World's Greatest Philosophers 4.6 out of 5 stars (83) $7.99
	8% buy The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time 3.7 out of 5 stars (25) $18.81
	7% buy How to Read a Book (A Touchstone book) 4.6 out of 5 stars (117) $11.89

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Customer Reviews

36 Reviews

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4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

4.4 out of 5 stars (36 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

58 of 60 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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33 of 35 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 (REAL NAME)

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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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of the best.., December 23, 2001

By	reason (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Lessons of History (Hardcover)

Will and Ariel Durant were to history what Carl Sagan was to science: They breathed life into a subject considered lifeless by too many, and clothed the skeleton of recorded history in a garment rich in colorful detail and vast in perspective. "Lessons Of History" is, in my opinion, the finest 100 page non-fiction book ever written, and represents the capstone and encapsulating work of two authors who gave the world their ten thousand page "Story Of Civilization" over a period of 50 years.

Within this delightful book, one can view the enormous panorama of human civilization as it developed from, and was formed by, the matrices of geography, religion, science, war, and a host of other factors. The Durant's, in a writing style that should have been copyrighted, provide the reader with an engaging view of humanity that few readers will come away from without being touched and awed. To be sure, the Durant's works have had a few (very few) detractors, but they were almost entirely high-browed academics in narrow research areas who most likely envied them their commercial success. If I could give this synopsis of 100 centuries of history more than 5 stars I'd do it in a nanosecond.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Careful Thought Vs. Convenient History
Ariel Durant (1898-1981) and Will Durant (1885-1981) were two of the most productive historians of the 20th century. Read more

Published 3 months ago by James E. Egolf

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 6 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 6 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 12 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 17 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 22 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 22 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 22 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 24 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 on September 5, 2007 by S. A. Stewart

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