![Cover of The Story of Civilization [complete]](https://covers.hackerbooks.org/c/15070150.webp)
The Story of Civilization [complete]
by Will Durant, Ariel Durant · first published 1935
50% recommend50% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Beautifully written, sweeping narrative history of human civilization, praised for its humanist outlook and Durant's concise, insightful observations; suits anyone wanting a broad overview from the ancient world onward.
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…reading The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire I realized how sketchy my view of history really was. So at the ripe old age of 35 I set off on a course of study centered on two series of books, The Story of Civilization, by Will and Ariel Durant, and Timeframe, a Time-Life series focusing on a timeframe in human history and what was going on in all parts of the world inhabited by man: lots of pictures and of course superficial,…
on “PG's Rarely Asked Questions” ↗The Story of Civilization; 11 volumes of pure joy. Will and Ariel Durant will make you fall in love with mankind. The most humanist take on history I have read. I read them over 6 years and I still live under the Durants' spell.…
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗…philosophy like it's a bad neighborhood (he really didn't hide his distaste for mysticism and metaphysics at all.) A better read might be Will Durant's "The Story of Philosophy". And Durant's masterpiece, The Story of Civilization is unparalleled in its scope and lucidity, though not philosophy. I have such a huge attachment to the Durants, they kept me company on many a long night. I read about seven or eight of their dozen volumes.
on “Ask HN: Best Philosophical Books?” ↗History rhymes. Read Thomas Piketty's Capital and Will Durant's Story of Civilization to understand the cause and recurring nature of economic inequality.
on “People Want Fairness, Not Economic Equality” ↗The Story of Civilization - Will and Ariel Durant Reading this so far has been one of the most rewarding learning experiences of my life. If you are interested in how philosophy, religion, and civilization has emerged and grown…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite non-fiction books of all time?” ↗Random book with no justification: Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume 1 by Will Durant It's in the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.61276/page/n15 The Story of Civilization is an 11-volume set of books[1], by the way. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_Civilization
on “Ask HN: Recommend one book I need to read this summer?” ↗…general history. After graduating college, I didn't really have a sense of how to continue learning about historical events sans Google. I recently started reading Will Durant's historical series "The Story of Civilization", as I greatly enjoy his writing style. However, upon reading reviews of his work on Amazon I became aware of the (obvious) issues inherent with a work that was produced in the middle of the 20th century;…
on “Ask HN: How would you go about learning history?” ↗The 11 volume set “The Story of Civilization” by Will and Ariel Durant You can find it on audiobook. This will bring you up to speed from the dawn of pre-civilization through the era of Napoleon.
on “What history books would you recommend?” ↗I have been reading and enjoying The Story of Civilization by Will Durant. It's not 100% up-to-date, but it's beautifully written and has lots of Durant's wisdom and observations in it. I often find myself wanting to write down and save passages because they…
on “Ask HN: Book recommendations for worldly knowledge?” ↗I'm sure this is lacking, but I am attempting to assemble an alternative curriculum for entrepreneurship and would appreciate thoughts or assistance. Part I: Foundational Knowledge 1. Story of Civilization by Will Durant, History Provides and encompassing digestible narrative of all of human civilization in chronological order. Assists entrepreneurs to better predict the future by studying the past. 2.…
on “Alternative Entrepreneurial Curriculum” ↗…Neil Patrick Harris. As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales from the Making of The Princess Bride, by Cary Elwes. Compleated Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin, by Mark Skousen. The Book of Mormon. The Story of Civilization Series, by Will Durant. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams. Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux. My Bondage and My Freedom, by…
on “Ask HN: Favorite audio book for long drives?” ↗…about a problem (it rids of you of the narrow problem-solving methods we use today). Reading about history in general also opened up my perspective to think about problems in new ways -I recommend the Story of Civilization by Will Durant.
on “Ask HN: Which books have made you a better thinker and problem solver?” ↗tl;dr If I recall correctly Will Durant writing in The Story of Civilization stated this as a fact many decades ago. Since his work was based on a lot of research, he must have read it somewhere.
on “Did Vikings navigate by polarized light?” ↗I'd love to see a full list of all the books you read and the order in which you read them. I recently started reading The Story of Civilization and augmenting it with other works seems like a wonderful idea.
on “PG's Rarely Asked Questions” ↗…isolated opinion. Most historians appear to share similar viewpoints. Here's a quote from Will Durant. " „The Islamic conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history.“ — Will Durant, book The Story of Civilization Will Durant, The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage page 459. The Story of Civilization (1935–1975), I - Our Oriental Heritage (1935) " Interestingly enough, there is written history on this,…
on “When Mongols Set Out to Conquer the World, There Was One Limiting Factor: Grass” ↗