The Lessons of History

Among the better historians the world has known (Medal of Freedom and Pulitzer honoree)..Durant is a passion that need not be left to old age to enjoy. First course in Western Civilization at USC introduced Durant to those of us that attended there (and other ). Durant deals, in this very readable book, with real history and various aspects of life that are revealed thru history. Among those are Morals, History, Biology, Race, Character, Religion, Economics, Socialism, Government, War, Growth and Decay, Progress (is it real?) Concepts and Ideas based on the historical background surrounding almost all key elements that Durant and his wife Ariel researched and wrote mssive tomes surrounding (The Story of Civilization - 10 volumes & perhaps 11,000 pages!!...Beginning in volume I (almost a summary of what is to come for 9 more)) will engage and open our world from before a time when mankind was still just off the savannas and wondering what was over the next hill, mountain, river and ocean. Very readable prose, engaging, humorous and playful in it's dealings with human activity (Volume I sneaks up in so many ways...as in when we encounter the statement "When the Gods became useful they became numerous" Having gifted or loaned the first of Durant's Story of Civilization it soon became apparent that there is a deep yearning for this depth of inquiry and explanation...Since have given this little book (Lessons of History) to many....old and young. Revealing, humorous, challenging, and rewarding.... Lessons of History is such....coupled with Bertrand Russell's The Conquest of Happiness....are Human Nature revealed ... jcmb

Having spent decades writing a massive multi-volume history of the world, Will and Ariel Durant are ideally placed to discern patterns and offer opinions on what to make of it all. With this compact and lively book of only 100 pages, they do exactly that. In short and concise chapters, they range across considerations of geography, biology, 'race', character, morals, religion, economics, socialism, government, war, rise and fall, and progress. They give many historical examples along the way, but the reader should understand that these examples are intended only as illustrations, not 'evidence', since the whole point is that we're asking them to apply their judgment. And even if you don't always wind up agreeing with them, the Durants are people who's opinions are worth considering carefully. Because the book covers such a wide and ambitious scope in such a short space, it's densely packed with insights and opinions, sometimes provocative ones, and in fact there's so much here to digest that I'll need to read this book again before attempting a detailed summary. That's why I say this is a considerable education in just one short book. However, for now, perhaps we can broadly say that history shows humans to be complex at both individual and group levels, and capable of both the highest heights and lowest lows, so it's difficult to find any "lessons of history" which are clear and explicit enough to enable even remotely detailed prediction of how our common future will unfold. That doesn't mean that there are simply no useful lessons, or even worse that we should ignore history, but deciding which lessons to apply in particular circumstances is clearly a subtle art requiring much judgment and easily prone to error. I'll leave it at that for now, along with offering a strong recommendation that all students of history read this book (and the unabridged audiobook is also excellent). Indeed, I would recommend this book to anyone interested in better understanding the human condition. After all, surely the past tells us at least a little about what we are and where we might be going?

A very comprehensive and wise take on the themes of history from expert historians. It reads like a short lecture series from adjunct professors. It's not intended to be a comprehensive historical analysis of events but rather to stream historical anecdotes to reinforce a broad message from each chapter. It felt verbose at times, though you would have difficulty finding any work on history that isn't. Some chapters were flowery with prose and might have instead included a bit more historical hyperlinks or anecdotes. These were refreshing and useful when included. Overall, it's well worth the read and a refreshing "grand narrative" of history. It complements the many historical nonfiction works that focus on a narrow domain.

"The Lessons of History" is a collection of short essays based on Will and Ariel Durant’s acclaimed eleven volume "The Story of Civilization". It begins with a great disclaimer: "Only a fool would try to compress a hundred centuries into a hundred pages of hazardous conclusions. We proceed." And they succeed! The book packs a wealth of insights into a hundred pages. The authors discuss, in turn, the forces that have shaped history. The forces considered include natural (geography, biology), human behavior (character, morality), and human constructs (religion, economic systems, and government). The last essay considers the question "Is progress real?". The essay on economics argues that wealth inequality is a natural and inevitable consequence of the "concentration of ability" within a minority of a society, and this has occurred regularly throughout history. The authors state: "The relative equality of Americans before 1776 has been overwhelmed by a thousand forms of physical, mental, and economic differentiation, so that the gap between the wealthiest and the poorest is now greater than at any time since Imperial plutocratic Rome." This leads into the essay on socialism, which strives to counteract the forces that drive wealth inequality. The authors survey "socialist experiments" in ancient Sumeria, Egypt, Rome, China, and South America - all centuries before the industrial revolution. It was fascinating to read this history which contains a mixture of failures and successes. The authors argue that the trend is towards a synthesis of capitalism and socialism (rather than one system winning outright). The next essay discusses the various forms of government and descibes the special circumstances that enabled democracy to take root and flourish in the American colonies. The authors argue that many of the favorable conditions that were present in the years following the American Revolution have disappeared. The essay ends with the haunting warning: "If race or class war divides us into hostile camps, changing political argument into blind hate, one side or other may overturn the hustings with the rule of the sword. If our economy of freedom fails to distribute wealth as ably as it has created it, the road to dictatorship will be open to any man who can persuasively promise security to all; and a martial government, under whatever charming phrases, will engulf the democratic world." Hopefully this review has provided a flavor for how the authors have distilled the insights they have gained from years of study. It should not come as a surprise that the lessons gleaned from several thousand years of recorded history continue to ring true today. This is a book that I wish I'd read in high school or perhaps Freshman year of college. It's a wonderfully written study of how we got to where we are today.

A must read. The Lessons of History is a masterclass synthesis of human history with compelling insights into human nature, the rise and fall of civilizations, and the purpose of progress. Among a myriad of intellectual commentary, notable points include: 1. The present is the past rolled up for action, and the past is the present unrolled for understanding. 2. When the universe has crushed him man will still be nobler than that which kills him, because he knows that he is dying, and of its victory the universe knows nothing – Pascal 3. Competition is not only the life of trade, it is the trade of life – peaceful when food abounds, violent when the mouths outrun the food. 4. Society is founded not on the ideals but on the nature of man, and the constitution of man rewrites the constitution of states. 5. History in the large is the conflict of minorities; the majority applauds the victor and supplies the human material of social experiment. 6. Insecurity is the mother of greed. 7. I do not know what the heart of a rascal may be; I know what is in the heart of an honest man; it is horrible. 8. Democracy is the most difficult form of government, since it requires the widest spread of intelligence, and we forgot to make ourselves intelligent when we made ourselves sovereign. 9. Though men cannot be equal, their access to education and opportunity can be made more nearly equal. 10. In organic periods men are busy building; in critical periods they are busy destroying. Anyone interested in furthering their knowledge of the past and obtaining actionable principles for the future would benefit from reading the book. It is truly one of a kind.

The book is good and touches a lot of historical points and facts across most major civilizations from thousands of years ago to modern-day America. Perhaps the biggest challenge about the book is the fact that remains in the shallow end of the pool, so to speak, never delving too much into any particular civilization in any particular subject. Overall, it feels and reads more like a sociology book.

One of the best works of history that I have ever read. Wakes me up to how much of a a moral , religious, educated, and disciplined decline the West is experiencing. We shall become just like the great civilizations that have died before us : from corruption, socialism, victimization, class and race hatred , etc.

Understanding history is essential for the future. This short book covers a broad scope of history. The book deals with major shifts throughout man's time on earth. The authors understand history well, so can piece together significant themes that have flowed through the world. The authors trace major ideas like morals, religion, race, socialism, economics, etc. What is interesting is that man's thinking on these topics have not changed much. There are always cycles of thinking along​ these lines. It seems that humans are always going to an extreme, rebalancing, and moving to the other side of the extreme over and over again through history. There are some interesting insights too. "​So the conservative who resists change is as valuable as the radical who proposes it—perhaps as much more valuable as roots are more vital than grafts." There are also warning for the future. Here is one that is concerning. "​...strife. If race or class war divides us into hostile camps, changing political argument into blind hate, one side or the other may overturn the hustings with the rule of the sword. If our economy of freedom fails to distribute wealth as ably as it has created it, the road to dictatorship will be open to any man who can persuasively promise security to all; and a martial government, under whatever charming phrases, will engulf the democratic world." We have had a time of peace, but the conflict is always underneath the surface because of human's desire for power. This book is good, not amazing, but a needed read for those who care about the world around us.