Our Oriental Heritage

The Story of Civilization, Volume 1

By: Will Durant

Narrated by: Robin Field

Length: 50 hrs and 17 mins

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

©2013 Will Durant (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Great book. Audible part needs a bit of polishing

A little too slow. I had to accelerate it which made the voice sound a bit mechanic. Also, the continuous reading of "quote, end quote, note, end note" is quite irritating and unnecessary. I love the book and I wish it could be reread more fluidly. Quotation marks should not be enunciated any more than periods and commas should. Otherwise the reading would have been well intoned. I would like an updated version without the irritations. I hope the rest of these magnificent books is read without the above mentioned.

a marathon of listening

Wow, that was a lot of information! What I learned was that, 1, or thoughts are ancient but our technology and respect for life are modern. 2, there is more in common between civilizations than different. 3, did I mention human life and suffering? We know nothing of strife. Finally, really nice ties between simultaneous civilizations.

Excellently written

this is an excellent book, im very excited to continue the series, but my only trouble is the narrator. hes not bad per se, but the wordiness of the writing doesnt really lend itself to his somewhat sleepy narration. makes cerfain parts hard to focus on

1930s View of Civilization

Great work that was the first book in the Durants’ civilization series of works. Impressive in scope. The views of China, Japan, and India are from the 1930s before World War II, which is very fascinating to me. He indicated that war with Japan was coming soon to the Western powers. Mr. Durant’s discussion of Oriental culture may not be modern PC, but they were the views of the West at the time this work was written. Highly recommended to historians and those interested in how civilizations change and are influenced by trade and cultural exchange. Mr. Durant writes with humanistic humor in some of his commentaries, which gives the work personality and makes it seem less academic.

Influencial ancestry

How amazing the influence of the orient on Europe and North America. It proves the latter lacks originality and identity. And today's politicians talk about unity and future... Such farce.

Voluminous, the story telling is well composed and deliberate. The insights are properly accentuated for a good learning experience.

A must to history enthusiasts.

It would be nice if the chapters were shorter and that they are titled since there is so much to listen too.

fascinating history

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

it's a very authoritative history of many pre-historic civilizations in an easily consumable format.

How could the performance have been better?

the narrator's voice is rather high pitched and not terrific to listen to over the [long] course of this a-book.

Will Durant never disappoints

Durant is my favorite historian. He is objective, yet generous and covers all aspects of a culture. I particularly enjoyed "Elements of Civilization," in this book. Will Durant is every bit philosopher in tandem with historian. I read Caesar and Christ first. Now onto The Life of Greece. We are fortunate to have much of his work.

Spectacular

it is quite astonishing not only that one man put into writing the knowledge contained in this book, but that this is volume one of 10 more just like it. This book is not only packed with historical knowledge but it's also written in an easy to understand way with language that is very quotable and true.

Amazing book. I highly recommend and look forward to adding the rest of this series to my collection.

Amazing

Best book I have ever read. It takes some time to get finished but worth every second. I'm can't wait to read the next volume.

Where it all began

I have carried 40+ years of skepticism about this series, having felt there was no way an author (or two) could provide a credible look at such an expanse of time. Based on this first volume I am convinced I was wrong. My only wish is that I had started Durant's volumes decades earlier. Incredibly insightful!