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The Lessons of History
The Lessons of History | Will Durant, Ariel Durant
In this illuminating and thoughtful book, Will and Ariel Durant have succeeded in distilling for the reader the accumulated store of knowledge and experience from their four decades of work on the ten monumental volumes of The Story of Civilization. The result is a survey of human history, full of dazzling insights into the nature of human experience, the evolution of civilization, the culture of man. With the completion of their life's work they look back and ask what history has to say about the nature, the conduct and the prospects of man, seeking in the great lives, the great ideas, the great events of the past for the meaning of man's long journey through war, conquest and creation -- and for the great themes that can help us to understand our own era. To the Durants, history is "not merely a warning reminder of man's follies and crimes, but also an encouraging remembrance of generative souls...a spacious country of the mind, wherein a thousand saints, statesmen, inventors, scientists, poets, artists, musicians, lovers, and philosophers still live and speak, teach and carve and sing...." Designed to accompany the ten-volume set of The Story of Civilization, The Lessons of History is, in its own right, a profound and original work of history and philosophy.
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pr.alm
The Lessons of History | Will Durant, Ariel Durant
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Pickpick

A fountain of knowledge, thousands of years' worth of lessons distilled elegantly in a single short book. It does, however, expect the reader to have a fundamental familiarity with particular historical events and characters. Also, the authors get extra points for adding a touch of sarcasm to the narrative. Definitely a must read!

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magiczhao
The Lessons of History | Will Durant, Ariel Durant
Pickpick

Essays of history

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Kell1
The Lessons of History | Will Durant, Ariel Durant
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Pickpick

This was a freebie on audible this month. I highly reccomend it, the author is unapologetic and clear on his view of the lessons from history. I found some similarities with Sapiens by Yuval, but this one is a bit more phylosofical. The audiobook includes an interview with the couple. It's a delight to hear the experience that comes with an old age filled with research and personal contemplation.

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rmvanderpool7
The Lessons of History | Will Durant, Ariel Durant
Pickpick

If you don't have the time for the complete Story of Civilization series.

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BestDogDad
The Lessons of History | Will Durant, Ariel Durant
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Pickpick

When visiting my dad's house in Arizona I always pull something off the right-wing bookshelf. This was written in 1968 and was a short, fun read! And it wasn't *really* right wing. Authors Will and Ariel Durant wrote a monumental series of ten books called The Story of Civilization. This book is actually a distilling down of what was in the ten volumes, in a 100 page book! Reading this in 2020 I realized that human nature never changes.

SamAnne LOL. I grew up with that multi-volume set on the family bookshelves. 5y
BestDogDad @SamAnne Did you read it? We had encyclopedias as a kid in the 70s and I devoured them. 5y
SamAnne @BestDogDad I read parts of the books. I did attempt other books as a 9, 10 year old: Saul Bellow, William Faulkner. 5y
Crazeedi @BestDogDad I read our Colliers encyclopedias as a child for fun, and I waited for the yearly updates! 5y
Suet624 My parents had that collection too! 5y
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CaseyMoore
The Lessons of History | Will Durant, Ariel Durant
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Pickpick

I really enjoyed this book and found it surprisingly open for a book written in 1968.

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GoneFishing
The Lessons of History | Will and Ariel Durant

Ideally parentage should be a privilege of health, not a by-product of sexual agitation.

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GoneFishing
The Lessons of History | Will and Ariel Durant

Utopias of equality are biologically doomed, and the best that the amiable philosopher can hope for is an approximate equality of legal justice and educational opportunity.

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GoneFishing
The Lessons of History | Will and Ariel Durant

The historian always oversimplifies, and hastily selects a manageable minority of facts and faces out of a crowd of souls and events whose multitudinous complexity he can never quite embrace or comprehend.

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GoneFishing
The Lessons of History | Will and Ariel Durant

It has been the one song of those who thirst after absolute power that the interest of the state requires that its affairs should be conducted in secret... But the more such arguments disguise themselves under the mask of public welfare, the more oppressive is the slavery to which they will lead... Better that right counsels be known to enemies than that the evil secrets of tyrants should be concealed from the citizens...

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GoneFishing
The Lessons of History | Will and Ariel Durant

it was fear that first made the gods--fear of hidden forces in the earth, rivers, oceans, trees, winds, and sky. Religion became the propitiatory worship of these forces through offerings, sacrifice, incantation, and prayer.

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GoneFishing
The Lessons of History | Will and Ariel Durant

Generally religion and puritanism prevail in periods when the laws are feeble and morals must bear the burden of maintaining social order; skepticism and paganism (other factors being equal) progress as the rising power of law and government permits the decline of the church, the family, and morality without basically endangering the stability of the state.

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GoneFishing
The Lessons of History | Will and Ariel Durant

The present is the past rolled up for action, and the past is the present unrolled for understanding.

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GoneFishing
The Lessons of History | Will and Ariel Durant

Normally and generally men are judged by their ability to produce—except in war, when they are ranked according to their ability to destroy.

Mommamanzi Truth. 7y
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GoneFishing
The Lessons of History | Will and Ariel Durant

In the last 3,421 years of recorded history only 268 have seen no war.

Leniverse 😞 7y
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GoneFishing
The Lessons of History | Will and Ariel Durant

The fear of capitalism has compelled socialism to widen freedom, and the fear of socialism has compelled capitalism to increase equality. East is West and West is East, and soon the twain will meet.

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GoneFishing
The Lessons of History | Will Durant, Ariel Durant

You can‘t fool all the people all the time, but you can fool enough of them to rule a large country.

jpmcwisemorgan Very relevant. 7y
Sydsavvy Evidently 7y
Sydsavvy 😂😂😂😭 7y
riversong153 Ouch, so true it hurts! 7y
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GoneFishing
The Lessons of History | Will Durant, Ariel Durant

History reports that the men who can manage men manage the men who can manage only things, and the men who can manage money manage all.

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GoneFishing
The Lessons of History | Will Durant, Ariel Durant

In progressive societies the concentration[of wealth] may reach a point where the strength of number in the many poor rivals the strength of ability in the few rich; then the unstable equilibrium generates a critical situation, which history has diversely met by legislation redistributing wealth or by revolution distributing poverty.

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