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Our Oriental Heritage
- The Story of Civilization, Volume 1
- Narrated by: Robin Field
- Length: 50 hrs and 17 mins
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Publisher's summary
The first volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume I chronicles the early history of Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia. In this masterful work, readers will encounter:
- Sumeria, birthplace of the first cities and written laws
- the Egyptians, who perfected monumental architecture, medicine, and mummification more than 3,500 years ago
- the Babylonians, who developed astronomy and physics, and planted the seeds of Western mythology
- the Judeans, who preserved their culture forever in the immortal books of the Old Testament
- the Persians, who ruled the largest empire in recorded history before Rome
- Indian philosophy, Chinese philosophers, and Japanese Samurais
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Who changed the sex of God? This groundbreaking book proposes that the rise of alphabetic literacy reconfigured the human brain and brought about profound changes in history, religion, and gender relations. Making remarkable connections across brain function, myth, and anthropology, Dr. Shlain shows why pre-literate cultures were principally informed by holistic, right-brain modes that venerated the Goddess, images, and feminine values.
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Can't Even Get Started
- By Marie on 02-08-19
By: Leonard Shlain
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Asian Journals
- India and Japan (The Collected Works of Joseph Campbell)
- By: Joseph Campbell
- Narrated by: Fred Stella
- Length: 26 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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At the beginning of his career, Joseph Campbell developed a lasting fascination with the cultures of the Far East, and explorations of Buddhist and Hindu philosophy later became recurring motifs in his vast body of work. However, Campbell had to wait until middle age to visit the lands that inspired him so deeply. In 1954, he took a sabbatical from his teaching position and embarked on a year-long voyage through India, Thailand, Cambodia, Burma, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and finally Japan.
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What a journey!
- By Anonymous User on 08-11-18
By: Joseph Campbell
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A Little History of the World
- By: E. H. Gombrich
- Narrated by: Ralph Cosham
- Length: 9 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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E. H. Gombrich's world history, an international best seller now available in English for the first time, is a text dominated not by dates and facts but by the sweep of experience across the centuries, a guide to humanity's achievements, and an acute witness to its frailties.
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an enlightening book; very well read
- By A.B.Oxford on 06-03-06
By: E. H. Gombrich
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Nostalgia
- Going Home in a Homeless World
- By: Anthony Esolen
- Narrated by: Tom Parks
- Length: 9 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Alone among the creatures of the world, man suffers a pang both bitter and sweet. It is an ache for the homecoming. The Greeks called it nostalgia. Post-modern man, homeless almost by definition, cannot understand nostalgia. If he is a progressive, dreaming of a utopia to come, he dismisses it contemptuously, eager to bury a past he despises. If he is a reactionary, he sentimentalizes it, dreaming of a lost golden age. In this profound reflection, Anthony Esolen explores the true meaning of nostalgia and its place in the human heart.
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Deep and thought provoking.
- By Holly Stockley on 04-24-19
By: Anthony Esolen
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The Great Transformation
- The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions
- By: Karen Armstrong
- Narrated by: Karen Armstrong
- Length: 22 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
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From one of the world's leading writers on religion and the highly acclaimed author of the best-selling A History of God, The Battle for God, and The Spiral Staircase, comes a major new work: a chronicle of one of the most important intellectual revolutions in world history and its relevance to our own time.
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Fills in the blanks
- By Laura on 09-20-06
By: Karen Armstrong
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The Swerve
- How the World Became Modern
- By: Stephen Greenblatt
- Narrated by: Edoardo Ballerini
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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Nearly six hundred years ago, a short, genial, cannily alert man in his late 30s took a very old manuscript off a library shelf, saw with excitement what he had discovered, and ordered that it be copied. That book was the last surviving manuscript of an ancient Roman philosophical epic by Lucretius—a beautiful poem containing the most dangerous ideas: that the universe functioned without the aid of gods, that religious fear was damaging to human life, and that matter was made up of very small particles.
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Very compelling history, a less compelling thesis
- By A reader on 05-01-12
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Pagans
- The End of Traditional Religion and the Rise of Christianity
- By: James J. O'Donnell
- Narrated by: David Drummond
- Length: 7 hrs and 52 mins
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Pagans explores the rise of Christianity from a surprising and unique viewpoint: that of the people who witnessed their ways of life destroyed by what seemed then a powerful religious cult. These "pagans" were actually pious Greeks, Romans, Syrians, and Gauls, who observed the traditions of their ancestors. To these devout polytheists, Christians who worshiped only one deity were immoral atheists who believed that a splash of water on the deathbed could erase a lifetime of sin.
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19th Century Scholarship
- By Marianne on 10-16-18
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Ancient Civilizations: A Captivating Guide to Mayan History, the Aztecs, and Inca Empire
- By: Captivating History
- Narrated by: Duke Holm
- Length: 5 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Explore the captivating history and mythology of three ancient civilizations. Three captivating manuscripts in one audiobook! In the first part of this captivating guide, you will discover why Maya have gained such worldwide admiration over the many other civilizations that existed in Mesoamerica at the time. You will learn how the Maya civilization developed, the major turning points in their 3,000-year-long history, the mysteries surrounding their demise, some of the unique places where Maya exist to this day, and much more!
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Low quality
- By Jonathan Enterline on 06-24-20
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Durant lucidly describes the philosophical systems of such world-famous “monarchs of the mind” as Plato, Aristotle, Francis Bacon, Spinoza, Kant, Voltaire, and Nietzsche. Along with their ideas, he offers their flesh-and-blood biographies, placing their thoughts within their own time and place and elucidating their influence on our modern intellectual heritage. This book is packed with wisdom and wit.
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Fantastic and insightful book
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Clouds gathering on the horizon in Europe
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A cerebral quest and a physical test.
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"Mens cuiusque is est quisque“ or "Mind is the Man”
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Fantastic and insightful book
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This is a must for every Educated Person
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In the autumn of 1988, Michael Palin set out from the Reform Club with an ambitious plan: to circumnavigate the world, following the route taken by Jules Verne's fictional hero Phileas Fogg 115 years earlier. The rules were simple. He had to make the journey in 80 days using only forms of transport that would have been available to Fogg.
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music incredibly distracting and annoying
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At Will Durant's death at 96, in 1981, his personal papers were dispersed among relatives, collectors, and archive houses. Twenty years later, scholar John Little discovered the previously unknown manuscript of Heroes of History in Durant's granddaughter's garage. Written shortly before he died, these 21 essays serve as an abbreviated version of Durant's best-selling, 11-volume series, The Story of Civilization.
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Nice overview
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“Question your assumptions; lean far into the unknown. Question it all.” So says Adyashanti in The Most Important Thing, Volume 1 - an invitation to look past the surface of our personal stories to discover the timeless truths within. Across eight hours of intimate talks, Adyashanti encourages you to open to the possibility of grace, embrace those aspects of life that call you to serve, and discover the innate vitality in every single moment.
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Inspires direction and clarity for deep progress
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What's blocking your from wealth?
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Kant to John Dewey
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seriously with the sleepy elevator music
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The liberation of Europe and the destruction of the Third Reich is a story of courage and enduring triumph, of calamity and miscalculation. In this first volume of the Liberation Trilogy, Rick Atkinson shows why no modern learner can understand the ultimate victory of the Allied powers without a grasp of the great drama that unfolded in North Africa in 1942 and 1943. That first year of the Allied war was a pivotal point in American history, the moment when the United States began to act like a great power.
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Fascinating book, great performance
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The final and most personal work from Pulitzer Prize - winning author and historian Will Durant - discovered 32 years after his death - is a message of insight for everyone who has sought meaning in life or the council of a wise friend in navigating life's journey. From 1968 to 1978, Will Durant made four public allusions to the existence of Fallen Leaves. One, in 1975, hinted at its contents: "a not very serious book that answers the questions of what I think about government, life, death, and God."
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Old Man’s Book
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Your Deceptive Mind: A Scientific Guide to Critical Thinking Skills
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No skill is more important in today's world than being able to think about, understand, and act on information in an effective and responsible way. What's more, at no point in human history have we had access to so much information, with such relative ease, as we do in the 21st century. But because misinformation out there has increased as well, critical thinking is more important than ever. These 24 rewarding lectures equip you with the knowledge and techniques you need to become a savvier, sharper critical thinker in your professional and personal life.
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Same Material Different Title
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This memoir is an autobiographical account of the events as witnessed by Bernal Diaz - a Conquistador on that journey - a man from Spain who desperately hoped to carve out a life of riches for himself in the new world and instead found himself on an epic journey of conquest, whilst desperately fighting to stay alive, in previously unknown and unimagined lands. This is a true tale written in his own hand and translated into English. It is a gripping account of the events from the soldiers' viewpoint as each day becomes a battle for survival against incredible odds.
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First hand account of the Conquest of Mexico
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Most of us still live by the motto, “No pain, no gain.” But this approach to life is actually a prescription for fear, frustration, and self-doubt. Much of what we learn about success is based on the pain/gain idea: in essence, work harder, be more persistent, and develop greater willpower. The New Psycho-Cybernetics formula is anything but painful. It will allow you to achieve all your goals, faster, easier, and with less strain than you ever thought possible.
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NOTE: This version is Dan Kennedy's Interpretation
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Movies (And Other Things)
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Movies (And Other Things) is a book about, quite frankly, movies (and other things). One of the chapters, for example, answers which race Kevin Costner was able to white savior the best, because did you know that he white saviors Mexicans in McFarland, USA, and white saviors Native Americans in Dances with Wolves, and white saviors Black people in Black or White, and white saviors the Cleveland Browns in Draft Day? Another of the chapters creates a special version of the Academy Awards specifically for rom-coms, the most underrated movie genre of all.
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...nah...
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What listeners say about Our Oriental Heritage
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Michael
- 11-30-13
Wonderful
I read this series years ago, then listened to them on cassette tape, and have begged for them on Audible for many years. Finally, the first two have appeared. No history is perfect, and history written in the forties cannot help but be dated, yet the authors’ presentation, tone, and focus seem surprisingly up to date. I really like the authors’ quirky sense of humor and matter of fact tone. This series is eleven big volumes totaling something like 500 hours. This history is very easy to listen to and it is hard for me to imagine anyone who would not find a lot of it interesting. Some people dislike the somewhat thematic instead of chronological approach, but I found it engaged me more than most histories. Persians and Chinese may be rightfully chagrined at the short shrift given their influential cultures and I agree with those who argue that the authors focus on exceptional individuals and deemphasize the importance of randomness in history. Nevertheless this is a series that I would recommend to anyone over twelve that wants to learn about western history. For me this was hundreds and hundreds of hours of fun and I did a little dance when I saw these were now available on Audible. Frankly none of the narration is perfect, but Robin Field does a good job in this volume. This volume covers pre-history and the invention of language and art up to the ancient eastern influences on western civilization. Selfishly I want to encourage people to listen to these first two so Audible will get the rest of the series.
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141 people found this helpful
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- Jeff
- 12-28-13
MASTERPIECE KILLED BY NARRATION
This 11 vol. World history is without peer- and is one of the greatest works by any measure In history - and on history. I had asked audible to get it when I saw it became available and it wasn't anywhere on their radar. I assumed they (the one who just released the first book-recorded books I think) would either use the one that was around on tape - that had already been done by the incomparable Grover Gardener or at least use someone else of his caliber and suitability for the material as well as being appropriate for such a stunningly important work. What we got was a huge disappointment. The narrator was not suited to the material-at all, and I should know seeing as( very roughly) 300 of my 900 books are history.
Ive been after this series in audible format for 5yrs and while I sincerely thank audible for their efforts in bringing these titles on board It has been a huge let down. Its not audibles fault though.
Audible has really been great, not just for getting this(despite it being a disaster) but also other things Ive requested like the 2 missing books from Robert Caro's years of lyndon johnson biography which by the way was done marvelously by them. If you havnt read that multi-volume biography your life is incompleate!
Audible if your listening-this 11 vol masterpiece is out there on tape by grover gardiner(though he uses anouther name- Alex Alexander or something like that) Just waiting for you to pick it up re-master it and put it out there. Tongues are hanging out in anticipation of someone doing this!
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80 people found this helpful
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- Gary
- 01-26-14
A path towards wisdom by way of history
One of the great books on Eastern Civilizations. This book is a perfect listen for those who don't like history with all of its dates since he tells the story functionally not chronologically. The book looks at history by each civilization and by function (philosophy, poetry, prose, people's language, government and so on). The author seems to excel when he's talking about a country's philosophy and uses it to describe the country's culture. The section on Buddhism, Hinduism, and Confucianism are the best I have ever read.
It's hard to condense 2000 or more years into a digestible understandable format, but the author does it and the listener really gets to understand our place in the universe a little bit better because of it. The author magically takes random events, turns it into information, processes it into knowledge by giving it narrative and then gives the listener wisdom he didn't have before. I did smile out loud when we were told about Akbar the "illiterate intellectual". He would have the great works of his time read aloud to him. After having listened to this work, I too feel like the illiterate intellectual (since reading puts me to sleep and listening does not. Thank you Audible for making this book available!).
I will give a bit of advice to any potential listener that I know I wouldn't follow myself (my favorite kind of free advice). Don't listen to the first eight hours or so of the book on prehistoric man and early prehistory. He's just wrong and full of prejudices of the time. I did listen to it because I have a linear personality and just can't bring myself to not listen to it all, but the only value I got is that how little they knew about that period of man in 1935 and how they would extrapolate falsely and a boatload of the author's Western prejudices sneaked through.
I would be amiss to not comment on some of the incredibly absurd statements that permeate the book (meat eaters stink, "the average Japanese man today has the sensitivity and shrewdness of the Jew", Hindus are a superstitious people, and so on). I would recommend just ignore such statements and take the book as the masterpiece it is. I have yet to find any other book that covers Eastern Civilizations better and I definitely will read the other volumes in the series.
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78 people found this helpful
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- Scott
- 12-01-13
Living, Breathing History
Two caveats. This first volume was written in the 1930’s so some of its information is inevitably dated. Secondly, this book is really more about giving the Eastern context necessary for understanding Western civilization than a comprehensive guide to Eastern civilization.
That being said, it is a beautifully written history, alive with detail, with generous amounts of quoted literature giving the testimony and mindset of the people who lived through these times. One thing I like about Durant’s approach is that while he is always lively and opinionated, he doesn’t create strawmen. He is always sure to present the best case for differing points of view. It would be nice to see more of that quality in these polarized times.
This was thoroughly enjoyable to listen to.
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34 people found this helpful
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- jason
- 12-12-13
excellent! I'm excited for the entire series!
This is the only book in the series I've had time to read, so listening was a review for me. That being said, I loved it as much the second time as the first. Durant is my favorite author because of the lyrical way he writes history. Some of the many highlights for me are his explanation of Japanese poetry, the gruesome and barbaric ways people have tortured and killed one another (death by boats!), the plunder of India, how civilization creates and morphs religions, and random historical mistakes that travel through time and are a part of our current speech. (jehovah) It's a joy to be able to listen to this series because I will never have the time to read it, but can listen all day long at work. If you love history, this is the gold standard.
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- Kindle Customer
- 05-20-14
I wish I could see this book differently
What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?
Primarily my problem was the book's approach to prehistory and history, as a synthesis rather than a linear timeline. Kudos for looking at things from a big picture - but for me, it didn't add anything other than supposition. Maybe if I hadn't read so much history and archeology already I would have had a different response. Maybe if this had been updated to include current findings I would have been more engaged. I found the first several chapters sounded antiquated in information. The language in several cases came across as opinionated and unbalanced to my ears.The author does strive for balance overall. I understand he is writing with the mind-set of 1935, and from that point of view, you could say his verbiage was practically liberal; instead my overall impression was 'stop with the lists already!' I needed more citations for things that sounded like guesses and loose assumptions. In essence the effect of the first 6 chapters accumulated into my stopping the book and going on to another audio book. With that in mind, I would say my review is unfair, based on incomplete information.
Has Our Oriental Heritage turned you off from other books in this genre?
No.
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
The performance was even, but lacked energy. I've 'read' more complex books with narrators that have kept me very engaged.
What character would you cut from Our Oriental Heritage?
Not appropriate.
Any additional comments?
none.
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- Andrew
- 07-07-15
From Origin to Industrial Revolution
I imagine this volume had to be the most difficult for Will Durant to produce because of its timeline. He begins his work brilliantly by explaining mankind's apparent need for familial safety and how a family grew to a tribe, from a tribe to a village, village to city, city to state, state to nation, etc. As more people join a culture, though, tasks can be distributed evenly among the citizens, giving some folks a leisurely time to create what came to be known as art or science and, since they were the possessors of such beautiful things, they came to be set at a higher standard, creating caste systems and such cultural labels that are still seen today.
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the role of women and how they were the rulers of their families in ancient (or, as Durant calls them, Oriental) days but, with the evolution of castes and religion, they came to be thought of as property (especially in the last century which is a time he called Occidental.)
Robin Field is an amazing narrator with no misunderstanding of sentence structure or diction. I understood him quite clearly and his telling of quotes and notes was fantastic! I can already tell that I'm going to very much enjoy these volumes by Will Durant as well as anything else Robin Field narrates in the future! This book is a prized possession!
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The Eighth Wonder of the World is This Series.
If you could sum up Our Oriental Heritage in three words, what would they be?
Valuable information no person should have to live without. Ignorance when one is part of civilization, about the civilization one lives in, is an unnecessary burden. One does not have the big picture until they understand the cultures one has risen from. Your understanding of mankind just grows in leaps and bounds as you are taken through this marvelous adventure of our beginnings.
What did you like best about this story?
I read the series when it was introduced as a book club incentive in the mid 80's. It was just a great read. Magical! Not like reading a history book at all. Hugely entertaining. When they were published on cassette I had to listen again. Now on audio book, it has been just as great the third time though! The best yet!
Have you listened to any of Robin Field’s other performances before? How does this one compare?
No.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
There is humor and wit in the writing that is very subtle.
Any additional comments?
Don't deny yourself this extraordinary adventure of mankind!
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- leif
- 04-19-14
A must listen by anyone.
Any additional comments?
This book was written in the 1930's and it needs to be updated. Other than that, this book is one of the best history books ever written.
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- Dr. Amen-Ra
- 04-06-14
UNIVERSAL HISTORY AT ITS HIGHEST
I am no historian, though I aspire to be a competent student of this distinguished discipline. Despite my self-declared dilettante status, I will defend my declaration that Durant’s opus is among the richest contributions to historical literature that has ever been offered to humankind. I have heard, read, and thoroughly enjoyed Thucydides, Herodotus, Gibbon, Volney, Van Sertima, Zinn, Diop, Massey, and more. Durant surpasses all these scholars in form, content, clarity of exposition, breadth and depth of knowledge, and (even more poignantly than Plutarch) his persistent emphasis on extracting from history ideas inclining us to mental edification and moral elevation. Admittedly, errors abound in the author’s exposition on ancient Egypt. However, I can claim some competence in this area and, confessedly, persons possessed of uncommon competence are often inclined to unjustly overemphasize the errors of less learned individuals. I therefore urge interested readers to overlook such minor matters, for they do not mar the magnificence of Durant’s masterpiece. Analogously, Durant’s work cannot be compared to Lord Russell’s monumental “History of Western Philosophy”. Russell’s work is an expert analysis of seminal philosophical systems and ideas emerging over the course of history and assiduously undertaken by a professional philosopher of the first rank. Durant’s opus encompasses aspects and epochs of universal history having had an indelible influence upon the ideational and material evolution of the Western World. In this respect his research stands alone. Though this review pertains particularly to “Our Oriental Heritage”, I would be surprised if the subsequent segments are not similarly superb. I look forward to finding out. Only ten more to go! (If indeed Audible can be persuaded to produce the complete corpus.)
Dr. Nun Sava-Siva Amen-Ra
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