Will Durant
William James Durant (/dəˈrænt/; November 5, 1885 – November 7, 1981) was an American writer, historian, and philosopher. He is best known for The Story of Civilization, 11 volumes written in collaboration with his wife Ariel Durant and published between 1935 and 1975. He was earlier noted for The Story of Philosophy (1924), described as "a groundbreaking work that helped to popularize philosophy".
He conceived of philosophy as total perspective, or, seeing things sub specie totius, a phrase inspired by Spinoza's sub specie aeternitatis. He sought to unify and humanize the great body of historical knowledge, which had grown voluminous and become fragmented into esoteric specialties, and to vitalize it for contemporary application.
Will and Ariel Durant were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1968 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.
Books Will Durant has authored
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The Story of Civilization, Part XI
by Will Durant and Ariel Durant • October 1, 1975 • History
A comprehensive, integral account of European life, society, politics, arts, science, philosophy, economics, manners, and moral...
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The Lessons of History
by Will Durant and Ariel Durant • February 16, 2010 • History
A concise survey of the culture and civilization of mankind, The Lessons of History is the result of a lifetime of research f...
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The Story of Civilization, Part XI: The Age of Napoleon
by Will Durant • October 1, 1975 • History
A comprehensive, integral account of European life, society, politics, arts, science, philosophy, economics, manners, and moral...
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The Story of Civilization: Our Oriental Heritage
by Will Durant • July 1, 1997 • History
The Story of Civilization, Volume I: A history of civilization in Egypt and the Near East to the Death of Alexander, and in Ind...
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The Life of Greece: The Story of Civilization
by Will Durant • November 25, 1980 • History
The Story of Civilization, Volume II: A history of Greek civilization from the beginnings, and of civilization in the Near East...
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The Story of Civilization: The Age of Louis XIV
by Will Durant • December 25, 1980 • History
A history of European civilizations in the period of Pascal, Moliere, Cromwell, Milton, Peter the Great, Newton and Spinoza: 16...
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The Story of Civilization: The Reformation
by Will Durant • July 1, 1997 • History
The Story of Civilization, Volume VI: A history of European civilization from Wyclif to Calvin: 1300-1564. This is the sixth vo...
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The Story of Civilization: The Age of Voltaire
by Will Durant • July 1, 1997 • History
The Story of Civilization, Volume IX: A history of civilization in Western Europe from 1715 to 1756, with special emphasis on t...
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Story of Civilization: Rousseau and Revolution
by Will Durant • January 1, 1967 • History
Rousseau and Revolution: A history of civilization in France, England, and Germany from 1756, and in the remainder of Europe fr...
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The Story of Civilization: The Age of Reason Begins
by Will Durant • June 7, 2011 • History
The Story of Civilization, Volume VII: A history of European civilization in the period of Shakespeare, Bacon, Montaigne, Rembr...
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The Story of Civilization: Caesar and Christ
by Will Durant • June 7, 2011 • History
The Story of Civilization, Volume III: A history of Roman civilization and of Christianity from their beginnings to A.D. 325. T...
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The Story of Civilization: The Renaissance
by Will Durant • December 25, 1980 • History
A history of civilization in Italy from the Birth of Petrarch to the Death of Titian - 1304 to 1576.
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The Story of Civilization: The Age of Faith
by Will Durant • December 25, 1980 • History
Covers the economy, politics, law, science, philosophy, and the art of the Christians, Moslems, and the Jews during medieval times
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The Story of Philosophy
by Will Durant • September 9, 2021 • Biographies & Memoirs
A brilliant and concise account of the lives and ideas of the great philosophers, from Plato to Dewey.
Few write for the non...
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Fallen Leaves
by Will Durant • December 22, 2015 • History
The culmination of Will Durant’s sixty-plus years spent researching the philosophies, religions, arts, sciences, and civilizati...
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