 A set of all eleven volumes | |
| Author | |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Subject | History |
| Published | 1935–1975 |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 13,549 |
| ISBN | 978-1567310238 |
The Story of Civilization (1935–1975), by husband and wife teamWill Durant andAriel Durant (known as "the Durants"), is an eleven-volume set of books covering both Eastern and Western civilizations for thegeneral reader, with a particular emphasis on European (Western) history, written over a span of four decades.
The first six volumes ofThe Story of Civilization are credited to Will Durant alone, with Ariel recognized only in theacknowledgements. Beginning withThe Age of Reason Begins, Ariel is credited as a co-author. In the preface to the first volume, Durant states his intention to make the series in five volumes, although this would not turn out to be the case.[1]
The series won aPulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 with the tenth volume in the series,Rousseau and Revolution.[2]
The volumes were best sellers and sold well for many years.[citation needed] Sets of them were frequently offered bybook clubs. An unabridged audiobook production of all eleven volumes was produced by theBooks on Tape company and was read by Alexander Adams (also known asGrover Gardner).[3]
This volume coversNear Eastern history until the fall of theAchaemenid Empire in the 330s BC, and the history ofIndia,China, andJapan up to the 1930s.
Full title: The Story of Civilization ~ 1 ~ Our Oriental Heritage ~ Being a History of Civilization in Egypt and the Near East to the Death of Alexander; and in India, China and Japan from the Beginning to Our Own Day; with an Introduction on the Nature and Foundations of Civilization.
This volume coversAncient Greece and theHellenistic Near East down to the Roman conquest.
Full title: The Story of Civilization ~ 2 ~ The Life of Greece ~ A History of Greek Government, Industry, Manners, Morals, Religion, Philosophy, Science, Literature and Art from the Earliest Times to the Roman Conquest.
The volume covers the history ofRome and ofChristianity until the time ofConstantine the Great.
Full title: The Story of Civilization ~ 3 ~ Caesar and Christ ~ This Brilliantly Written History Surveys All Aspects of Roman Life ~ Politics, Economics, Literature, Art, Morals. It Ends with the Conflict of Pagan and Christian Forces and Raises the Curtain on the Great Struggle between Church and State.
This volume covers theMiddle Ages in both Europe and the Near East, from the time ofConstantine I to that ofDante Alighieri.
Full title: The Story of Civilization ~ 4 ~ The Age of Faith ~ A History of Medieval Civilization ~ Christian, Islamic, and Judaic ~ from Constantine to Dante ~ A.D. 325 - 1300.
This volume covers the history of Italy from c.1300 to the mid 16th century, focusing on theItalian Renaissance.
Full title: The Story of Civilization ~ 5 ~ The Renaissance ~ A History of Civilization in Italy from the Birth of Petrarch to the Death of Titian ~ 1304 to 1576.
This volume covers the history of Europe outside of Italy from around 1300 to 1564, focusing on theProtestant Reformation.
Full title: The Story of Civilization ~ 6 ~ The Reformation ~ A History of European Civilization from Wyclif to Calvin ~ 1300 - 1564.
This volume covers the history of Europe and the Near East from 1559 to 1648.
Full title: The Story of Civilization ~ 7 ~ The Age of Reason Begins ~ A History of European Civilization in the Period of Shakespeare, Bacon, Montaigne, Rembrandt, Galileo and Descartes ~ 1558 - 1648.
This volume covers the period ofLouis XIV of France in Europe and the Near East.
Full title: The Story of Civilization ~ 8 ~ The Age of Louis XIV ~ A History of European Civilization in the Period of Pascal, Molière, Cromwell, Milton, Peter the Great, Newton and Spinoza: 1648-1715.
This volume covers the period of theAge of Enlightenment, as exemplified byVoltaire, focusing on the period between 1715 and 1756 in France, Britain, and Germany.
Full title: The Story of Civilization ~ 9 ~ The Age of Voltaire ~ A History of Civilization in Western Europe from 1715 to 1756, with Special Emphasis on the Conflict between Religion and Philosophy.
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This volume centers onJean-Jacques Rousseau and his times. It received thePulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968.[4]
The Durants originally expectedRousseau and Revolution to be the final volume of the series.[5]
Full title: The Story of Civilization ~ 10 ~ Rousseau and Revolution ~ A History of Civilization in France, England, and Germany from 1756, and in the Remainder of Europe from 1715 to 1789.
This volume centers onNapoleon I of France and his times.
After having previously concluded the series, the Durants decided to create a new volume after finding their initial retirement unfulfilling.[6]
Full title: The Story of Civilization ~ 11 ~ The Age of Napoleon ~ A History of European Civilization from 1789 to 1815.
Editors on the series includedM. Lincoln ("Max") Schuster andMichael Korda.[7]
The tenth volume,Rousseau and Revolution, won thePulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968.[1]
All eleven volumes wereBook-of-the-Month Club selections and best-sellers with total sales of more than two million copies in nine languages.[1]
James H. Breasted's review of the first volume (Our Oriental Heritage) was highly negative.[8] W. N. Brown was hardly more impressed.[9] Henry James Forman, reviewing forThe New York Times, found the first volume to be a masterpiece, as did theNew York Herald Tribune.[10][11]
Michael Ginsberg was favorably disposed to the second volume (The Life of Greece),[12] as was Edmund C. Richards.[13] Reviews of the second volume fromTime andBoston Evening Transcript were very positive.[14][15]
J.W. Swain noted in reviewing the third volume (Caesar and Christ) that the book was written for a popular audience rather than scholars, and was successful at that.[16] A review of the third volume inTime was positive.[17] John Day published a mixed review of the third volume.[18] Ralph Bates posted a negative review of the third volume forThe New Republic.[19]
Sidney R. Packard, professor emeritus of history atSmith College, found the fourth volume (The Age of Faith) to be quite good.[20] Norman V. Hope had a similar impression.[21] L.H. Carlson, for theChicago Tribune, compared it toJacob Burckhardt's works.[22]
Wallace K. Ferguson published a review of the fifth volume (The Renaissance).[23]Geoffrey Bruun published a positive review of the fifth volume forThe New York Times.[24]
Bruun also had a positive review of the sixth volume (The Reformation).[24]Garrett Mattingly, forThe Saturday Review, lambasted the sixth volume, but went on to say that Durant was widely-read and a capable storyteller.[25]
D. W. Brogan had a highly favorable impression of the seventh volume (The Age of Reason Begins).[26] A review inTime of the seventh volume was positive.[27]
J.H. Plumb found the eighth volume (The Age of Louis XIV) to be very poor,[28] as didStanley Mellon.[29]
Alfred J. Bingham found the ninth volume (The Age of Voltaire) to be a "thoroughly enjoyable semi-popular history".[30]
Bingham was also effusive in his praise of the tenth volume (Rousseau and Revolution).[31][32][33]
John H. Plumb was scathing in reviewing the eleventh volume (The Age of Napoleon).[34] Joseph I. Shulim took a similar view.[35] Alfred J. Bingham had a mixed yet favorable opinion.[36] A review inThe Saturday Review of the eleventh volume was, however, very positive.[37]
This is the concluding volume of that Story of Civilization to which we devoted ourselves in 1929, and which has been the daily chore and solace of our lives ever since.
Why add to the heap [of Napoleon books]? We offer no better reason than to say that the Reaper repeatedly overlooked us, and left us to passive living and passive reading after 1968. We grew weary of this insipid and unaccustomed leisure.
