The Lessons of History Paperback – February 16, 2010

Among the better historians the world has known (Medal of Freedom and Pulitzer honoree)..Durant is a passion that need not be left to old age to enjoy. First course in Western Civilization at USC introduced Durant to those of us that attended there (and other ).Durant deals, in this very readable book, with real history and various aspects of life that are revealed thru history.Among those are Morals, History, Biology, Race, Character, Religion, Economics, Socialism, Government, War, Growth and Decay, Progress (is it real?)Concepts and Ideas based on the historical background surrounding almost all key elements that Durant and his wife Ariel researched and wrote mssive tomes surrounding (The Story of Civilization - 10 volumes & perhaps 11,000 pages!!...Beginning in volume I (almost a summary of what is to come for 9 more)) will engage and open our world from before a time when mankind was still just off the savannas and wondering what was over the next hill, mountain, river and ocean.Very readable prose, engaging, humorous and playful in it's dealings with human activity (Volume I sneaks up in so many ways...as in when we encounter the statement "When the Gods became useful they became numerous"Having gifted or loaned the first of Durant's Story of Civilization it soon became apparent that there is a deep yearning for this depth of inquiry and explanation...Since have given this little book (Lessons of History) to many....old and young. Revealing, humorous, challenging, and rewarding....Lessons of History is such....coupled with Bertrand Russell's The Conquest of Happiness....are Human Nature revealed ... jcmb

Having spent decades writing a massive multi-volume history of the world, Will and Ariel Durant are ideally placed to discern patterns and offer opinions on what to make of it all. With this compact and lively book of only 100 pages, they do exactly that.In short and concise chapters, they range across considerations of geography, biology, 'race', character, morals, religion, economics, socialism, government, war, rise and fall, and progress. They give many historical examples along the way, but the reader should understand that these examples are intended only as illustrations, not 'evidence', since the whole point is that we're asking them to apply their judgment. And even if you don't always wind up agreeing with them, the Durants are people who's opinions are worth considering carefully.Because the book covers such a wide and ambitious scope in such a short space, it's densely packed with insights and opinions, sometimes provocative ones, and in fact there's so much here to digest that I'll need to read this book again before attempting a detailed summary. That's why I say this is a considerable education in just one short book.However, for now, perhaps we can broadly say that history shows humans to be complex at both individual and group levels, and capable of both the highest heights and lowest lows, so it's difficult to find any "lessons of history" which are clear and explicit enough to enable even remotely detailed prediction of how our common future will unfold. That doesn't mean that there are simply no useful lessons, or even worse that we should ignore history, but deciding which lessons to apply in particular circumstances is clearly a subtle art requiring much judgment and easily prone to error.I'll leave it at that for now, along with offering a strong recommendation that all students of history read this book (and the unabridged audiobook is also excellent). Indeed, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in better understanding the human condition. After all, surely the past tells us at least a little about what we are and where we might be going?

A very comprehensive and wise take on the themes of history from expert historians.It reads like a short lecture series from adjunct professors. It's not intended to be a comprehensive historical analysis of events but rather to stream historical anecdotes to reinforce a broad message from each chapter.It felt verbose at times, though you would have difficulty finding any work on history that isn't. Some chapters were flowery with prose and might have instead included a bit more historical hyperlinks or anecdotes. These were refreshing and useful when included.Overall, it's well worth the read and a refreshing "grand narrative" of history. It complements the many historical nonfiction works that focus on a narrow domain.

The best book i own- cant beat 50 years of research by an husband and wife team

Will Durant combine excellent, often witty, writing with sage insights. This is a short book. I enjoyed it immensely. I'd highly recommend any of his period histories. You won't be able to put the book down.

The book is good and touches a lot of historical points and facts across most major civilizations from thousands of years ago to modern-day America. Perhaps the biggest challenge about the book is the fact that remains in the shallow end of the pool, so to speak, never delving too much into any particular civilization in any particular subject. Overall, it feels and reads more like a sociology book.

I love it for carrying around and I can read a little at a time and not loose the train of thought they are writing about,