Fallen Leaves

November 15, 2014

After a long career of summarizing the events and views of others, in the 1960s and 1970s, Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Durant (The Story of Philosophy; The Story of Civilization) set out to document his views on the most important topics of human existence. Now, over three decades later, the manuscript of his efforts has come to light and is offered to readers who may remember fondly his works from earlier days. In 22 brief essays on everything from youth to old age, politics, Vietnam, art, education, and the lessons of history, Durant (1885-1981) expresses his attitudes and thoughtful opinions with grace and occasionally with wisdom. His paternalistic, romanticized views on youth and love, and his benevolent sexism, will strike the reader as quaint and dated. VERDICT It's a pity that this book did not see publication in Durant's lifetime. He is most engaging when telling the story of his life and his insights into the processes of history. Most of the work, however, offers evidence of just how different today's world is from the one the philosopher inhabited.--Steve Young, McHenry Cty. Coll., Crystal Lake, IL

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September 29, 2014
Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Durant, who died in 1981, had long hinted that he was writing a summation of his thoughts on... well, just about everything. This long-awaited release is a collection of
essays on religion, race, politics, art, and science, providing a slim but apt companion piece to The Story of Civilization, the acclaimed 11-volume series Durant coauthored with his wife, Ariel. Some passages, such as his observations on youth and middle age, are personal and specific, while others, such as his ruminations on the existence of God, border on philosophy. Some of Durant’s views are impossibly
antiquated today—particularly his observation that women are “seldom capable of lasting friendships” and should receive instruction in the domestic arts, as “good pies do more for monogamy than all the languages.” Others, though, still carry a beneficial sting, such as his thoughts on war and nationalism and his plea for racial harmony (Durant’s civil rights advocacy dated back to 1914). If readers can forgive his more dated beliefs, they’ll find a thought-provoking array of opinions.

November 15, 2014
Asked by a journalist what his field of specialization was, the great historian Durant supposedly replied, Humanity. The story is, perhaps, apocryphal, but it does reflect a truth about the body of Durant's work. In more than 60 years of writing, Durant (sometimes in partnership with his wife, Ariel) covered the civilization of humans on every inhabited continent, including history, philosophy, religion, art, and science as part of his tableau. This last, compact work, now discovered and published 32 years after his death, is a deeply personal work containing a series of ruminations on the human condition. Why do people lose the fire of rebellion as they age? How can we explain the persistence of racism? Why do we need religion? Some of his musings are provocative, even outrageous, such as his rejection of the inherent right to produce children and his antiquated views on female characteristics. Still, this is a work that demands we think, and it is a worthy conclusion to a long and distinguished career.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

October 15, 2014
Final messages of wisdom from a well-known scholar. Throughout the late 1960s and early 1970s, there were hints that Durant, author of the 11-volume The Story of Civilization, was writing a compilation of personal thoughts on a variety of topics. Yet no one had seen the manuscript, and after Durant's death in 1981, the topic was dropped. It was only by chance that the manuscript was found, when his granddaughter moved and discovered the piece in a box. In the preface, which was written at the age of 95, Durant writes, "Please do not expect any new system of philosophy, nor any world-shaking cogitations; these will be human confessions, not divine revelations; they are micro- or mini-essays whose only dignity lies in their subjects rather than in their profundity or their size." Those are modest words for a man who explores the profundity of being human, whether that means examining an infant's first moments of life, why religion has such a strong influence in so many people's lives or why racism is still prevalent in the United States. Durant also meditates on world governments and why we grow more conservative as we age, offers his opinions on sex and morality, and sings "a hymn in praise of women." While some of the thoughts are dated due to the time in which they were written, or might seem a bit extreme-e.g., the idea to "make parentage a privilege and not a right. No one has the right to bring a child into the community without having passed tests of physical and mental fitness to breed"-his philosophical views are eye-opening and offer readers a chance to re-examine their own feelings regarding the human race and what it has and has not managed to accomplish in its short stint on Earth. Short but persuasive commentaries on a diversity of topics from a respected scholar of humanity.

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