Description: The first volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prizewinning series, Our Oriental Heritage:The Story of Civilization, Volume I chronicles the early history of Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia. In this masterful work, readers will encounter the ancient civilization of Sumeria; the mummies and pyramids of Egypt; the astronomy and physics of the Babylonians; the religion of the Judeans; the great Persian empire; and the culture of China, Japan, and India.
Brief description:
Will Durant (1885-1981) was an award-winning American writer, historian, and philosopher. He and his wife were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 for Rousseau and Revolution, and he was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Durant spent over forty years writing the critically acclaimed eleven-volume Story of Civilization, the later volumes with the help of his wife, Ariel. He sought to revitalize history by unifying and humanizing the great body of historical knowledge, which had become voluminous and fragmented into esoteric subcategories. He also strove to bring philosophy to the common man. Durant was a champion of human rights, social reform, and the brotherhood of man long before they became well-known issues.