Our Oriental Heritage

The Story of Civilization, Volume 1

De: Will Durant

Narrado por: Robin Field

The first volume of Will Durant's Pulitzer Prize-winning 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:

• Sumeria, birthplace of the first cities and written laws
• the Egyptians, who perfected monumental architecture, medicine, and mummification more than 3,500 years ago
• the Babylonians, who developed astronomy and physics, and planted the seeds of Western mythology
• the Judeans, who preserved their culture forever in the immortal books of the Old Testament
• the Persians, who ruled the largest empire in recorded history before Rome
• Indian philosophy, Chinese philosophers, and Japanese Samurais

©2013 Will Durant (P)2013 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Living, Breathing History

Two caveats. This first volume was written in the 1930’s so some of its information is inevitably dated. Secondly, this book is really more about giving the Eastern context necessary for understanding Western civilization than a comprehensive guide to Eastern civilization.

That being said, it is a beautifully written history, alive with detail, with generous amounts of quoted literature giving the testimony and mindset of the people who lived through these times. One thing I like about Durant’s approach is that while he is always lively and opinionated, he doesn’t create strawmen. He is always sure to present the best case for differing points of view. It would be nice to see more of that quality in these polarized times.

This was thoroughly enjoyable to listen to.

From Origin to Industrial Revolution

I imagine this volume had to be the most difficult for Will Durant to produce because of its timeline. He begins his work brilliantly by explaining mankind's apparent need for familial safety and how a family grew to a tribe, from a tribe to a village, village to city, city to state, state to nation, etc. As more people join a culture, though, tasks can be distributed evenly among the citizens, giving some folks a leisurely time to create what came to be known as art or science and, since they were the possessors of such beautiful things, they came to be set at a higher standard, creating caste systems and such cultural labels that are still seen today.

One of the most interesting aspects of the book is the role of women and how they were the rulers of their families in ancient (or, as Durant calls them, Oriental) days but, with the evolution of castes and religion, they came to be thought of as property (especially in the last century which is a time he called Occidental.)

Robin Field is an amazing narrator with no misunderstanding of sentence structure or diction. I understood him quite clearly and his telling of quotes and notes was fantastic! I can already tell that I'm going to very much enjoy these volumes by Will Durant as well as anything else Robin Field narrates in the future! This book is a prized possession!

Civilization

I enjoyed the big picture presented with clarity.
I got engaged to the book. suddenly, the book was over. I love this book.

Get used to rewinding

This is the kind of book that's rare and valuable, if a bit aged. It has a wealth of information about antiquity and the ancient orient. If possible, after reading this book, check out the rest of the series and consider buying the hard copy.

Epic

A very long and densely packed book, but worth every minute. This is my inaugural foray into Durant and it is a daunting proposition to finish the whole series. If I finish a book a year I'll be of retirement age when I finish. As daunting as it is, I can only wonder at how much more was needed to write it.

I am a biblical scholar, so the backgrounds in the Ancient Near East were quite well received. Even so, reading about China, India, and Japan are also instructive in understanding the long standing place of each in our history. I have known Chinese folks who seemed to hate Japan, and I never understood why. Now I do. The backgrounds on Buddha, Confucius, Gandhi, Mencius, and the arts of the represented countries were enough to make reading this worthwhile.

This time through could be considered nothing more than a quick skim. Adler would be ashamed of what I will retain from this book, because I failed to make it my own. However, I did pick up some broad strokes and some interesting stories. I will long remember the story of the Chinese artist who was so talented, that at the end of his years he painted a landscape, painted the mouth of a cave in the side of a hill, walked into the cave and was never seen again. The story of the woman whose family was killed by tigers, the story of the sage who befouled a river after washing the ear that heard a suggestion that he rule the country. Homespun legends to be sure, but so captivating as to stick. While the pleasure was more momentary than not, the recitation of substantial passages of poetry from each of the countries gave a sense of what is missed in an education that focuses solely on the West.

Read it to lift yourself. You may not agree with the philosophical ramblings of the author, but my guess is it is the rare person who will be able to keep up.

Pretty good but challenging

I have this book in hard copy and it was difficult to read because of my lack of familiarity with some of the content. I think it would help to have some introduction to these stories in advance. Also the author has a large vocabulary that he likes to use and makes comparisons to other historical figures and philosophers that I don't know., but this was the point of reading it in the first place. These are things I want to know. The reading of it on Audible was very helpful because it keeps a good pace and the reader could pronounce everything correctly. There are a lot of footnotes and quotes. I was able to pause and make notes in my book in the areas of greatest interest. There are a lot of little known treasures of information in here. It basically goes through all the East and far East civilizations and how they deveoped. It goes by categories like art, religion, philosophy, architecture, etc. and brings you from the earliest to current (1935). Very interesting book.

Wow, great book, looking forward to the next 4 volumes. I’m so much smarter now than I was!

Wow, great book, looking forward to the next 4 volumes. I’m so much smarter now than I was!

Extremely worthwhile listen

Quite a listen but very worthwhile. Will Durant is so astute, so analytical, so knowledgeable he is amazing. This book is extremely detailed, comprehensive and rich in humanity and even humor but especially in true appreciation of all cultures.

Enlightening and Eye Opening

Any additional comments?

All I can say is wow, this book is extremely enlightening and eye opening. It covers the formation of civilization of the human race. which started in Africa and Asia.

It was published in 1935, so if you are looking for the latest archaeological find on Egypt you won't find it here. But that's not what this book is about, this book is about exploring the development of the civilizing influenced on humanity, how cultures have risen and fallen and how human civilization has changed.

I highly recommend this book to all human beings.

Great book. Audible part needs a bit of polishing

A little too slow. I had to accelerate it which made the voice sound a bit mechanic. Also, the continuous reading of "quote, end quote, note, end note" is quite irritating and unnecessary. I love the book and I wish it could be reread more fluidly. Quotation marks should not be enunciated any more than periods and commas should. Otherwise the reading would have been well intoned. I would like an updated version without the irritations. I hope the rest of these magnificent books is read without the above mentioned.