Heroes of History: A Brief History of Civilization from Ancient Times to the Dawn of the Modern Age

Durant (1885-1981), the principal author of The Story of Civilization, saw history as a branch of philosophy, and he peppered his stories of great historical actors and events with moral lessons and observed patterns ("One of the most regular sequences in history is that a period of pagan license is followed by an age of puritan restraint and moral discipline"). These brief lectures, touching on leaders and innovators, such as Buddha, Marcus Aurelius, Leonardo da Vinci, and Martin Luther, afford him plenty of opportunity to reflect on the meaning of the past and to offer models for his readers to study and emulate.

Like Durant's other work, this book has an old-fashioned air about it: it is Eurocentric to the core, and it makes almost no mention of women, who surely contributed to the rise of civilizations. Still, fans of Durant's brand of sweeping narrative history will enjoy having these final words from the master. --Gregory McNamee

Product Description
In the tradition of his own bestselling masterpieces The Story of Civilization and The Lessons of History, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Will Durant here traces the lives and ideas of those who have helped to define civilization, from its dawn to the beginning of the modern world.

Four years before his death, Will Durant began work on an abbreviated version of his highly acclaimed eleven-volume series, The Story of Civilization. The project was conceived as a series of audio lectures, but Durant soon realized that the dialogues could be developed into a book that would serve as a wonderfully readable introduction to the subject of history.

Durant completed twenty-one of a proposed twenty-three chapters before his death in 1981, at the age of ninety-six. Those chapters span thousands of years of human history -- from Confucius to Shakespeare, from the Roman Empire to the Reformation, finally ending in the eighteenth century. The manuscript was recently found by Will Durant scholar John Little -- twenty years after Durant finished it -- and its discovery is a major event, not only for lovers of his prose, but for students of history and philosophy the world over.

Heroes of History is a book of life-enhancing wisdom and optimism, complete with Durant's wit, knowledge, and unique ability to explain events and ideas in simple, exciting terms. It is the lessons of our heritage passed on for the edification and benefit of future generations -- a fitting legacy from America's most beloved historian and philosopher.

Will Durant's popularity as America's favorite teacher of history and philosophy remains undiminished by time. His books are accessible to readers of every kind, and his unique ability to compress complicated ideas and events into a few pages without ever "talking down" to the reader, enhanced by his memorable wit and a razor-sharp judgment about men and their motives, made all of his books huge bestsellers. Heroes of History carries on this tradition of making scholarship and philosophy understandable to the general reader, and making them good reading, as well.

At the dawn of a new millennium and the beginning of a new century, nothing could be more appropriate than this brilliant book that examines the meaning of human civilization and history and draws from the experience of the past the lessons we need to know to put the future into context and live in confidence, rather than fear and ignorance.

Will Durant's work is marked by his own special quality as a writer -- he is tough-minded, optimistic, courageous, and convinced that without a knowledge of the past there is no wisdom to guide us to the future. Heroes of History was his last word on the subject, and much of it has been aimed directly at the doubts and fears of people today. It is a major, and unexpected, literary and historical event.

This book is also available on audio tape and CD format, read by Will and Ariel Durant. If you would like more information on this and other products featuring Will Durant's life-enhancing philosophy, we encourage you to visit the web site at www.willdurant.com.

This makes excellent reading for the would-be history-buff or for someone who wants to understand how the human race has gotten to the point it's at today.

I cannot emphasize enough how easy-to-read this text is and, yet, the details that bring history alive have not been boiled down into pablum.


Even Easier   March 18, 2003
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is a great short version of the history of civilization by Will Durant who was probably the most outstanding historian/philosopher of the 20th century. If you would enjoy a review or a quick education, this is the book to read. I enjoyed it immensely. And, for an even easier education on what I would call the "philosophy of history", I know I enjoyed, and think you will also enjoy, Norman Thomas Remick's "West Point: Character Leadership Education, A Book Developed From The Readings And Writings Of Thomas Jefferson".


Unchained to the past   November 30, 2001
10 out of 14 found this review helpful

One does not read Will Durant; one feels him. So vividly do the heroes come alive through words that one senses their presence, their vitality, their verve. Throw stones at some generalizations, but still take away images of history that put some ashcan writers of today in their proper receptacles.
One yearns for more. Indeed, Heroes of History is an introduction, a précis, an anchoring preamble to meet those heroes in the real, in their own words and images. It will be good to return to the poignant poetry of Tagore, the sufferings of Job, the sensuous colors of artists, the corridors of philosophy, too long laid aside in the rush of living. Durant does that to you: his semantic cadences reawaken the desire to read more.
One can only pause and say of this book: authentic tidings of persons who for good or evil, have left their mark.


Must Read   April 12, 2007
Publius Cornelius (Columbus, Ohio)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful

Profound and thought-provoking. A really wonderful read, particularly for those who are well-read in the underlying topics he covers. Immersing yourself in his thought process is more important than accepting his conclusions.