The Story of Civilization
| Author |
Will Durant Ariel Durant |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Subject | History |
| Published | 1935–1975 (Simon & Schuster) |
| ISBN |
The Story of Civilization, by husband and wife Will and Ariel Durant, is an eleven-volume set of books covering Western history for the general reader. The volumes sold well for many years, and sets of them were frequently offered by book clubs. An unabridged audiobook production of all eleven volumes was produced by Books On Tape Inc. and was read by Alexander Adams (aka Grover Gardner).
The series was written over a span of more than four decades. It totals four million words across nearly 10,000 pages, but is incomplete. In the first volume (Our Oriental Heritage, which covers the history of the East through 1933), Will Durant stated that he wanted to include the history of the West through the early 20th century. However, the series ends with The Age of Napoleon because the Durants both died – she in her 80s and he in his 90s – before they could complete additional volumes.
The first six volumes of The Story of Civilization are credited to Will Durant alone, with Ariel recognized only in the Acknowledgements. Beginning with The Age of Reason Begins, Ariel is credited as a co-author.
The series won a Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 with the 10th volume in the series, "Rousseau and Revolution."
In the preface to the first volume, Durant states his intention to make the series in 5 volumes, although this would not turn out to be the case.
This volume covers Near Eastern history until the fall of the Persian Empire in the 330s BC, and the history of India, China, and Japan up to the 1930s.
This volume covers Ancient Greece and the Hellenistic Near East down to the Roman conquest.
The volume covers the history of Rome and of Christianity until the time of Constantine the Great.
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