I just finished The Story of Civilization, Vol. 1 (1976) by Will Durant. It’s a fantastic read; Durant is eloquent, witty, and surprisingly relevant today. Below are some of my personal highlights of his writing, mixed with some quotes-of-quotes I found interesting.

Sections: Introduction | Communism | Government | Women | Morals | Language | Appearance | Sumeria Egypt | Babylon | Assyria | Judea | Persia | India | China | Japan | Conclusions

Introduction

“the provincialism of our traditional histories, which began with Greece and summed up Asia in a line, has become no merely academic error, but a possibly fatal failure of perspective and intelligence”