This final work by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Will Durant offers a deeply personal insight into his thoughts and experiences, revealing aspects of his life and philosophy. Discovered decades after his passing, the book is celebrated for its profound revelations, showcasing Durant's mastery in weaving history with personal reflection, making it a significant addition to his body of work.
Will Durant Book order (chronological)
William James Durant was a prolific American writer, historian, and philosopher, celebrated for making complex ideas accessible. His major works aimed to synthesize vast amounts of human knowledge, exploring the grand narrative of civilization and the evolution of philosophical thought. Durant's writing style was characterized by its clarity and engaging prose, making intellectual history a captivating subject for a broad readership. He sought to illuminate the development of human culture and ideas, offering readers a comprehensive and interconnected understanding of history's great thinkers and movements.







The late, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian and author of The Story of Civilization celebrates the lives, ideas, and accomplishments of the men and women who transformed human civilization, spanning thousands of years of human history, from ancient times to the eighteenth century.
Kultur Geschichte der Menschheit 15
Europa und der Osten im Zeitalter der Aufklärung / Will u. Ariel Durant. [Übers. ins Dt.: Leopold Voelker]. Bd. 15
Kulturgeschichte der Menschheit. Glanz und Zerfall der italienischen Renaissance
- 519 pages
- 19 hours of reading
Kulturgeschichte der Menschheit. Band 5
Weltreiche des Glaubens
Kultur Gechichte der Menschheit 10. Gegenreformation und Elisabethantsches Zeitalter
Gegenreformation und Elisabethanisches Zeitalter
Die Napoleonische Ära
- 567 pages
- 20 hours of reading
Kulturgeschichte. Am Vorabend der Französischen Revolution
- 605 pages
- 22 hours of reading
Kulturgeschichte der Menschheit XVII. Die Französische Revolution und der Aufstieg Napoleons
- 423 pages
- 15 hours of reading
Kulturgeschichte der Menschheit X. Gegenreformation und Elisabethanisches Zeitalter
- 575 pages
- 21 hours of reading
Kulturgeschichte der Menschheit II. Der ferne Osten und der Aufstieg Griechenlands.
- 527 pages
- 19 hours of reading
Kulturgeschichte der Menschheit IV. Der Aufstieg Roms und das Imperium.
- 504 pages
- 18 hours of reading
Weltreiche des Glaubens
- 640 pages
- 23 hours of reading
A history of European civilization from 1789 to 1815.
Our Oriental Heritage
- 1049 pages
- 37 hours of reading
Here is the first volume of this Story of Civilization, Our Oriental Heritage, complete in itself. Dr. Durant worked on it steadily from 1927 to 1932, & the book represents the third complete rewriting. Our Oriental Heritage deals first with the establishment of civilization, then takes up, not in rapid review but in richly fascinating detail, the colorful, complex dramas of the Near East, India & her neighbors, & the Far East. The story is carried up to mid-30s. The Story of Civilization represents the most comprehensive attempt in our times to embrace the vast panorama of human history & culture.
The Reformation (The Story of Civilization VI)
- 1040 pages
- 37 hours of reading
A history of European civilization from Wyclif to Calvin: 1300-1564.
A wise and witty compendium of the greatest thoughts, greatest minds, and greatest books of all time—listed in accessible and succinct form—by one of the world's greatest scholars.From the “Hundred Best Books” to the “Ten Greatest Thinkers” to the “Ten Greatest Poets,” here is a concise collection of the world’s most significant knowledge. For the better part of a century, Will Durant dwelled upon—and wrote about—the most significant eras, individuals, and achievements of human history. His selections have finally been brought together in a single, compact volume. Durant eloquently defends his choices of the greatest minds and ideas, but he also stimulates readers into forming their own opinions, encouraging them to shed their surroundings and biases and enter “The Country of the Mind,” a timeless realm where the heroes of our species dwell.From a thinker who always chose to exalt the positive in the human species, The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time stays true to Durant's optimism. This is a book containing the absolute best of our heritage, passed on for the benefit of future generations. Filled with Durant's renowned wit, knowledge, and unique ability to explain events and ideas in simple and exciting terms, this is a pocket-size liberal arts and humanist curriculum in one volume.
Kulturgeschichte der Menschheit: Das Zeitalter Voltaires. Band 14
- 590 pages
- 21 hours of reading
Kulturgeschichte der Menschheit. Europa im dreissigjährigen Krieg
- 487 pages
- 18 hours of reading
Eine Geschichte der europäischen Zivilisation in der Zeit von Shakespeare, Bacon, Montaigne, Rembrandt, Galileo und Descartes: 1558-1648
Umfassende Studie der Geschichte der Renaissance im Rahmen eines größeren Werkes, das die gesamte Zivilisation untersucht.
Das hohe Mittelalter und die Frührenaissance
- 536 pages
- 19 hours of reading
Europa im Zeitalter der Könige
- 528 pages
- 19 hours of reading
Untertitel: Eine Geschichte der europäischen Zivilisation im Zeitraum von Pascal, Molière, Cromwell, Milton, Peter dem Großen, Newton und Spinoza 1648-1715. Im 8. Band ihrer Geschichte der Zivilisation untersuchen die Durants den Höhepunkt der europäischen Zivilisation bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt, die Jahre 1648-1715. Es ist die Ära des "Sonnenkönigs" Ludwig XIV., eines der mächtigsten Herrscher der westlichen Geschichte. Es ist auch der Höhepunkt der niederländischen Kultur, die Blütezeit von Vermeer und Wilhelm von Oranien, später König von England. All dies bildet den Hintergrund für den eigentlichen Fokus der Durants: den intellektuellen Charakter der Epoche. Umfasst Newton und Leibniz, unter anderen, kennzeichnet DAS ZEITALTER LUDWIGS XIV. einen bedeutenden Übergang: den Übergang von Aberglauben und Intoleranz zu Wissenschaft und Philosophie. Dies ist der Zeitraum, auf dem das Fundament der Moderne ruht.
Vom Aberglauben zur Wissenschaft
- 543 pages
- 20 hours of reading
Der Aufstieg Roms und das Imperium
- 504 pages
- 18 hours of reading
Kulturgeschichte der Menschheit: Weltreiche des Glaubens. Band 5
- 640 pages
- 23 hours of reading
Caesar and Christ
- 752 pages
- 27 hours of reading
Volume 3 of the monumental Story of Civilization, CAESAR AND CHRIST depicts the rise of Rome from a crossroads town to empire. The world's first republic, Rome spread its civilization over the Mediterranean and western European world. Its long, slow crumbling and final collapse plunged Europe into darkness and chaos.The Pax Romana broke some heads. Jews felt the scourge in Judea, where Jesus of Nazareth met a dissident's death. His agony foreshadowed the Empire's over the next few centuries."Lively, stimulating and accurate." (Saturday Review of Literature)
The Lessons of History
- 117 pages
- 5 hours of reading
Includes material on the influence of biology, race, character, morals, religion, economics, socialism, government, and war on history.
The Age of Voltaire
- 898 pages
- 32 hours of reading
The Age of Voltaire (Volume 9): A biography of a great man and the period he embodied. We witness Voltaire's satiric work in the salons and the theater as well as his banishment to England. With him we view the complex relationships between nobility, clergy, bourgeoisie and peasantry in the France of Louis XV. We explore the music of Bach and the struggle between Frederick the Great and Maria Theresa of Austria. And finally we hear an imaginary discussion between Voltaire and Pope Benedict XIV on the significance and value of religion.
The Story of Philosophy
- 543 pages
- 20 hours of reading
This endlessly inspiring & instructive chronicle of the worlds greatest thinkers, from Socrates to Santayana, describes not only their ideas but their place in history & their influence on our modern intellectual heritage.
The Life of Greece
- 768 pages
- 27 hours of reading
A history of Greek civilization and culture from Crete's Aegean empire to the Roman conquest of Greece.





































































