Quote: (11-04-2013 11:12 PM)poutsara Wrote:
Quote: (11-03-2013 11:07 PM)Quintus Curtius Wrote:
The best book list I've seen is historian Will Durant's "100 Best Books For An Education." You won't read all of them, of course, but even if you can knock out a few of these, you'll be doing well:
http://www.listsofbests.com/list/52411-w...-education
I started reading Will Durant's Story of Civilization. It's 11 volumes:
1.1 I. Our Oriental Heritage (1935)
1.2 II. The Life of Greece (1939)
1.3 III. Caesar and Christ (1944)
1.4 IV. The Age of Faith (1950)
1.5 V. The Renaissance (1953)
1.6 VI. The Reformation (1957)
1.7 VII. The Age of Reason Begins (1961)
1.8 VIII. The Age of Louis XIV (1963)
1.9 IX. The Age of Voltaire (1965)
1.10 X. Rousseau and Revolution (1967)
1.11 XI. The Age of Napoleon (1975)
I got through The Age of Faith, and I need to continue. Really amazing reads. Western history is damn interesting. Durant recounts it beautifully. There are a lot of common threads that run through. I wish I remembered what I read more now. Definitely recommend this. Especially "The Life of Greece" and "Cesar and Christ." I could see how the Greeks of the classical times viewed the world, and its surprisingly similar to many of us. The story of the Roman empire - we forget but it lasted until the 1400s (Constantinople) - it is as compelling as any fiction ever written. These books should be a part of everyone's reading list, if only we had more time.
________
Congratulations, Poutsara. You have chosen the best American historian, in my opinion. I can't tell you how much I love Durant. He mixes history with philosophy and a real human understanding that no one else has.
I'd rep you just for that, but I'm out of points for today and will do it tomorrow!
QC