A Sense of History

Profoundest apologies for the lateness of the post.

Recently, I acquired most of the volumes of the monumental Story of Civilization history series by Will and Ariel Durant. These eleven volumes record the history of Western Civilization from its beginnings until the reign of Napoleon.

The worldview of these volumes (which I have by no means read thoroughly yet) seems to be humanistic and yet somewhat sympathetic to religion, which is refreshing next to modern-day atheists like Christopher Hitchens or Richard Dawkins.

However, probably the best thing about this series is the view of history they present. Not only do the Durants chronicle all of the events, but they set them in the context of the culture and philosophy of their time. Thus, not only do they chronicle the Thirty Years War, but the prevalent ideas in Germany at the time of the war.

They also present history as, well, a story. The Durants present history not as just dates and dead people, but as a progression of events that eventually produces the modern world.

In short, while the worldview of The Story of Civilization is flawed, most of the facts are accurate and the approach is interesting, well-written, and informative.

~Roccondil