What do you think?
Rate this book
The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time
A wise and witty compendium of the greatest thoughts, greatest minds, and greatest books of all time—listed in accessible and succinct form—by one of the world's greatest scholars.
From the “Hundred Best Books” to the “Ten Greatest Thinkers” to the “Ten Greatest Poets,” here is a concise collection of the world’s most significant knowledge. For the better part of a century, Will Durant dwelled upon—and wrote about—the most significant eras, individuals, and achievements of human history. His selections have finally been brought together in a single, compact volume. Durant eloquently defends his choices of the greatest minds and ideas, but he also stimulates readers into forming their own opinions, encouraging them to shed their surroundings and biases and enter “The Country of the Mind,” a timeless realm where the heroes of our species dwell.
From a thinker who always chose to exalt the positive in the human species, The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time stays true to Durant's optimism. This is a book containing the absolute best of our heritage, passed on for the benefit of future generations. Filled with Durant's renowned wit, knowledge, and unique ability to explain events and ideas in simple and exciting terms, this is a pocket-size liberal arts and humanist curriculum in one volume.
From the “Hundred Best Books” to the “Ten Greatest Thinkers” to the “Ten Greatest Poets,” here is a concise collection of the world’s most significant knowledge. For the better part of a century, Will Durant dwelled upon—and wrote about—the most significant eras, individuals, and achievements of human history. His selections have finally been brought together in a single, compact volume. Durant eloquently defends his choices of the greatest minds and ideas, but he also stimulates readers into forming their own opinions, encouraging them to shed their surroundings and biases and enter “The Country of the Mind,” a timeless realm where the heroes of our species dwell.
From a thinker who always chose to exalt the positive in the human species, The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time stays true to Durant's optimism. This is a book containing the absolute best of our heritage, passed on for the benefit of future generations. Filled with Durant's renowned wit, knowledge, and unique ability to explain events and ideas in simple and exciting terms, this is a pocket-size liberal arts and humanist curriculum in one volume.
127 pages, Hardcover
Published November 7, 2002
About the author
Will Durant
727 books2,811 followersWilliam James Durant was a prolific American writer, historian, and philosopher. He is best known for the 11-volume The Story of Civilization, written in collaboration with his wife Ariel and published between 1935 and 1975. He was earlier noted for his book, The Story of Philosophy, written in 1926, which was considered "a groundbreaking work that helped to popularize philosophy."
They were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for literature in 1967 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.
They were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for literature in 1967 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 291 reviews
November 16, 2015
I am, apparently, slowly but surely paying Durant the compliment of reading his entire oeuvre. And it is quite a compliment, considering how massive a collection of writings he left behind. Thankfully, this little volume, a posthumously published collection, was very slim. Much can be forgiven of a book if it can be read in a day.
In my last review of a book by Durant, I noted his unfortunate penchant for superlatives; and the very title of this work (though I don’t think he chose it) illustrates this perfectly. Here you will find Durant’s opinions of the ten most influential thinkers, the ten greatest poets, the ten most important developments in human history, the one-hundred best books for a liberal education, and the twelve most important dates in history. To be frank, I find lists of this kind exceedingly puerile—as if philosophy were a sport, and poetry a beauty pageant—but I would also be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m a sucker for lists of books.
As for his choices in these lists, I can’t strongly object—although I find his inclusion of Francis Bacon and Voltaire into the list of the greatest thinkers of all time rather baffling. More vexing was Durant’s heavy-handed advocacy of the “great men” view of history. Durant actually says that the history of France is not the history of the French people, but of the greatest French thinkers and artists—because ordinary people are much the same everywhere, but geniuses are what give a country its particular flavor. Now, I’m actually quite tolerant of elitism in artistic and intellectual realms; but this is so elitist as to be incoherent. In fact, it’s hard to know where to begin in arguing against a claim like that, so I will move along.
By far the most winsome chapter in this collection is Durant’s prescription of books for a complete education. It is written with verve and eloquence, and his enthusiasm for his subject is contagious. What’s more, I was pleased to see Durant include H.G. Wells's Outline of History in his list, a marvellous book which was a milestone in my own quest to educate myself. Other than this chapter, however, I found this book to be rather pointless. Do I really need Durant to tell me that Kant and Newton were great thinkers, and that Keats and Shakespeare were great poets?
And, while I’m at it, do you really need a reviewer like me to tell you that a book entitled The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time will be both elitist and juvenile? I suspect not.
In my last review of a book by Durant, I noted his unfortunate penchant for superlatives; and the very title of this work (though I don’t think he chose it) illustrates this perfectly. Here you will find Durant’s opinions of the ten most influential thinkers, the ten greatest poets, the ten most important developments in human history, the one-hundred best books for a liberal education, and the twelve most important dates in history. To be frank, I find lists of this kind exceedingly puerile—as if philosophy were a sport, and poetry a beauty pageant—but I would also be lying if I didn’t admit that I’m a sucker for lists of books.
As for his choices in these lists, I can’t strongly object—although I find his inclusion of Francis Bacon and Voltaire into the list of the greatest thinkers of all time rather baffling. More vexing was Durant’s heavy-handed advocacy of the “great men” view of history. Durant actually says that the history of France is not the history of the French people, but of the greatest French thinkers and artists—because ordinary people are much the same everywhere, but geniuses are what give a country its particular flavor. Now, I’m actually quite tolerant of elitism in artistic and intellectual realms; but this is so elitist as to be incoherent. In fact, it’s hard to know where to begin in arguing against a claim like that, so I will move along.
By far the most winsome chapter in this collection is Durant’s prescription of books for a complete education. It is written with verve and eloquence, and his enthusiasm for his subject is contagious. What’s more, I was pleased to see Durant include H.G. Wells's Outline of History in his list, a marvellous book which was a milestone in my own quest to educate myself. Other than this chapter, however, I found this book to be rather pointless. Do I really need Durant to tell me that Kant and Newton were great thinkers, and that Keats and Shakespeare were great poets?
And, while I’m at it, do you really need a reviewer like me to tell you that a book entitled The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time will be both elitist and juvenile? I suspect not.
August 10, 2016
In college it was Durant’s “The Story of Philosophy” that got me into reading more philosophy. Ever since, I’ve been trying to get his now-rare eleven-volume “The Story of Civilization,” which took him 50 years to write. Due to his encyclopedic mind, Durant has been asked by many people who he considers the greatest thinkers, the greatest poets, the peaks in human progress and history, and the one hundred best books for a man’s education. In this short book, editor John Little compiles the essays that Durant wrote to answer these questions, essays which he published in periodicals and gave as lectures.
Durant exudes high eloquence. By turns he is magisterial, funny, authoritative. When I read him, I feel like I’m listening to a professor who’s read everything and will never run out of things to say about absolutely anything under the sun. He considers Keats as the finest poet, Edward Gibbon as the greatest historian, and Dostoevsky as the greatest novelist. He makes sweeping statements that have in them the force of papal bulls: Ibsen’s “Peer Gynt” is the “greatest poem since Faust.” Rolland’s “Jean Christophe” is the supreme novel of our century. Li Po is China’s Keats. Anatole France is the “distilled essence of French culture and art.” Poe is “a bit overrated”. He reminds us in passing that even Shakespeare was reviled by both Voltaire and Alexander Pope. The Andante from Mozart’s Quartet in D Major is “absolute music… meaningless beauty.” You don't even have to agree with everything he says to benefit from them, the same way that you don't have to agree with your professors to learn from them.
Durant advises us to read Faust Part 1, but not to get tricked into reading Part 2, a “senile hotch-potch of nonsense.” If you want to know how religion began, read Frazer’s “Golden Bough.” If you want to read Europe’s history, read Breasted’s “The Human Adventure.” Milton raised English prose “to its highest reach,” but when it came to poetry, he only wrote “tolerable verse.” To Durant, the French Enlightenment was the peak of human history, even greater than Greece ever was, or Rome, or Italy.
I enjoyed this short book. Anyone who is looking to read the best books ever written, will find here the brief introduction and guidance they’re looking for.
Durant exudes high eloquence. By turns he is magisterial, funny, authoritative. When I read him, I feel like I’m listening to a professor who’s read everything and will never run out of things to say about absolutely anything under the sun. He considers Keats as the finest poet, Edward Gibbon as the greatest historian, and Dostoevsky as the greatest novelist. He makes sweeping statements that have in them the force of papal bulls: Ibsen’s “Peer Gynt” is the “greatest poem since Faust.” Rolland’s “Jean Christophe” is the supreme novel of our century. Li Po is China’s Keats. Anatole France is the “distilled essence of French culture and art.” Poe is “a bit overrated”. He reminds us in passing that even Shakespeare was reviled by both Voltaire and Alexander Pope. The Andante from Mozart’s Quartet in D Major is “absolute music… meaningless beauty.” You don't even have to agree with everything he says to benefit from them, the same way that you don't have to agree with your professors to learn from them.
Durant advises us to read Faust Part 1, but not to get tricked into reading Part 2, a “senile hotch-potch of nonsense.” If you want to know how religion began, read Frazer’s “Golden Bough.” If you want to read Europe’s history, read Breasted’s “The Human Adventure.” Milton raised English prose “to its highest reach,” but when it came to poetry, he only wrote “tolerable verse.” To Durant, the French Enlightenment was the peak of human history, even greater than Greece ever was, or Rome, or Italy.
I enjoyed this short book. Anyone who is looking to read the best books ever written, will find here the brief introduction and guidance they’re looking for.
July 3, 2012
First, the idea that anyone can attempt to support a thesis such as this in less than 150 pages is laughable. Second, the author more than once, when faced with a staggering array of "greats" to whittle down to the ones that he thinks are the best of the best, cops out by encouraging the reader to "make his own lists," which rather defeats the purpose of reading the book, I'd say. Third, there are several totally subjective and sweeping philosophical/theological/sociological statements which raised my hackles. No arguments are offered to support these statements, as you can imagine in a book of this length.
For all that, there were some positives to be gleaned. His little essay on the impact of Shakespeare, for instance, was one of the best of its type that I've read, and considering its length, managed to encompass rather a lot. I also found his short essay on Dante to be both informative and well-crafted.
For all that, there were some positives to be gleaned. His little essay on the impact of Shakespeare, for instance, was one of the best of its type that I've read, and considering its length, managed to encompass rather a lot. I also found his short essay on Dante to be both informative and well-crafted.
October 31, 2023
Interesantă prin modul propriu în care autorul ordonează topurile valorilor rămânând totuși fidel unui set de criterii bine stabilit. Un punct de plecare pentru cultura generala.
December 27, 2017
The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time by Will Durant, was really a great read for me. I liked the organization of books; however, the sections dealing with 100 Best Books to read for an Education, Ten peaks of human progress and 12 vital dates of world history I liked the most. Just reading the last two chapters - 10 peaks and 12 dates - takes you quickly on a time travel Jim no time at all. If you haven't read history before, you must read these two chapters first before you touch any history book at all.
One thing I noted in the book is that Durant has focussed too much on European thought; the World civilization must acknowledge the debts of Indian, Arab and Chinese civilizations.
As for 100 Best Books to read, I 'll add my own 100 on top of that, for really a great, unbiased education. How could he miss such great books as Bible, Quran, Vedas! How about Muqaddimah ( the science of historiography originated by Ibn e Khuldun), and many other great books from other civilizations. Let's be fair here.
Overall , I really loved the effort put in by Will.
One thing I noted in the book is that Durant has focussed too much on European thought; the World civilization must acknowledge the debts of Indian, Arab and Chinese civilizations.
As for 100 Best Books to read, I 'll add my own 100 on top of that, for really a great, unbiased education. How could he miss such great books as Bible, Quran, Vedas! How about Muqaddimah ( the science of historiography originated by Ibn e Khuldun), and many other great books from other civilizations. Let's be fair here.
Overall , I really loved the effort put in by Will.
May 20, 2018
Excuse the blog post.
I liked the way the 100 books to read was presented. Sort of like 'if you spend 1 hour a night reading from this, you can finish the list in a few years and you will be "well-read." While you get no $100,000 check from the Big Brain Association or certificate of completion at the end, you will have an above-solid grasp of history, philosophy, themes/writing styles, etc..'
Which made me think of a recent thread on r/books (i'm a sadomasochist) that I believe was a reply to that buzzfeed article "Stop Reading Books You Don't Actually Enjoy".
The comment section was jam-packed with micro-brain takes. The first type I saw was that there is no such thing as being "well-read" for various reasons (one that stuck with me was that because you would have to read literature from every culture on Earth to be 'well-read,' its just not possible.) This seemed an intentionally dishonest interpretation of what being 'well-read' means.
Then people saying they lasted about five pages of Plato/The Bible/*book that is considered challenging* before giving up because it was hard. Here you have an inability to even comprehend that the delayed gratification you can get from reading a 'classic' may be worth more than the instant gratification of the latest genre fiction off the shelf.
Finally my favorite nuclear hot take was that 'women read much more than men, yet they are never considered well-read,' the assumption being that the amount of words you look at on paper is directly proportional to how 'well-read' you are. I have worked in a library for years and I will give you the quick armchair psychoanalysis of the average woman reader that comes through our doors. Overwhelmingly white, boomer, possibly middle-aged. The stack of books she checks out at the same time will generally follow this blueprint;
1. A recent diet meme-book. So think a title like "The Obesity Code" or "The Fat Revolution." These are the 250-300 page diet books where you eat 32 eggs a day or they are trying to justify being morbidly obese. Calorie-in/calorie-out, exercise, or just putting down the fork are alien concepts. These are so popular, with the material inside being so contradictory and incoherent, that it almost seems like the people who check them out subconsciously know that they will fail in their quest to lose-weight/improve their health, which is where the second book comes in.
2. A religious meme-book. Think Joel Osteen or the wife of some televangelist whose message is that if you really try or pray hard enough, you can absolve yourself of responsibility for nearly any issue in your life. This goes perfectly with the diet book because when your 'diet' miserably fails, you can then turn to the religious book and think "well God herself must want me to be fat."
3. A romance book. Now there is some diversity in this field. You have the standard 'Scottish Highlander Prince Hairy Chest Chiseled Abs Man" who inconceivably falls for the sassy 42 year old, three children having American divorcee from Staten Island.
Second most popular, for reasons I am still unsure of, you have 'Amish Romance' novels. My only theory is that because these leave out the smutty sex scenes, housewives feel more comfortable taking them home to read in front of their husbands. They unfortunately do not feature sweaty, neck-bearded, top hat wearing men fucking their wives in the back of a horse buggy.
Third will be the broad 'ethnic-romance genre', dominated by writers like Zane, K'Wan, and Mary B Morrison. I remember one in particular by maybe Adrianne Byrd I skimmed through and noted that in the acknowledgements the person mentioned thanking Jesus and the support of their local parish, without whom none of this would be possible. Then the first chapter opened with "I couldn't believe I had waited until I was 55 years old to experience anal sex with a big dick for the first time," and well that was enough for me.
And that's not to say that men aren't checking out James Patterson and Clive Cussler by huge margins over 'classics' but from what I can see from the shelves, the Tolstoy/Dostoyevsky/Joyce tier stuff gets checked-out with greater frequency than the Virginia Woolf/Zora Neale Hurston stuff. Then again we have a waiting list 100-deep for the works of Rupi Kaur so maybe I am the brainlet after all.
I liked the way the 100 books to read was presented. Sort of like 'if you spend 1 hour a night reading from this, you can finish the list in a few years and you will be "well-read." While you get no $100,000 check from the Big Brain Association or certificate of completion at the end, you will have an above-solid grasp of history, philosophy, themes/writing styles, etc..'
Which made me think of a recent thread on r/books (i'm a sadomasochist) that I believe was a reply to that buzzfeed article "Stop Reading Books You Don't Actually Enjoy".
The comment section was jam-packed with micro-brain takes. The first type I saw was that there is no such thing as being "well-read" for various reasons (one that stuck with me was that because you would have to read literature from every culture on Earth to be 'well-read,' its just not possible.) This seemed an intentionally dishonest interpretation of what being 'well-read' means.
Then people saying they lasted about five pages of Plato/The Bible/*book that is considered challenging* before giving up because it was hard. Here you have an inability to even comprehend that the delayed gratification you can get from reading a 'classic' may be worth more than the instant gratification of the latest genre fiction off the shelf.
Finally my favorite nuclear hot take was that 'women read much more than men, yet they are never considered well-read,' the assumption being that the amount of words you look at on paper is directly proportional to how 'well-read' you are. I have worked in a library for years and I will give you the quick armchair psychoanalysis of the average woman reader that comes through our doors. Overwhelmingly white, boomer, possibly middle-aged. The stack of books she checks out at the same time will generally follow this blueprint;
1. A recent diet meme-book. So think a title like "The Obesity Code" or "The Fat Revolution." These are the 250-300 page diet books where you eat 32 eggs a day or they are trying to justify being morbidly obese. Calorie-in/calorie-out, exercise, or just putting down the fork are alien concepts. These are so popular, with the material inside being so contradictory and incoherent, that it almost seems like the people who check them out subconsciously know that they will fail in their quest to lose-weight/improve their health, which is where the second book comes in.
2. A religious meme-book. Think Joel Osteen or the wife of some televangelist whose message is that if you really try or pray hard enough, you can absolve yourself of responsibility for nearly any issue in your life. This goes perfectly with the diet book because when your 'diet' miserably fails, you can then turn to the religious book and think "well God herself must want me to be fat."
3. A romance book. Now there is some diversity in this field. You have the standard 'Scottish Highlander Prince Hairy Chest Chiseled Abs Man" who inconceivably falls for the sassy 42 year old, three children having American divorcee from Staten Island.
Second most popular, for reasons I am still unsure of, you have 'Amish Romance' novels. My only theory is that because these leave out the smutty sex scenes, housewives feel more comfortable taking them home to read in front of their husbands. They unfortunately do not feature sweaty, neck-bearded, top hat wearing men fucking their wives in the back of a horse buggy.
Third will be the broad 'ethnic-romance genre', dominated by writers like Zane, K'Wan, and Mary B Morrison. I remember one in particular by maybe Adrianne Byrd I skimmed through and noted that in the acknowledgements the person mentioned thanking Jesus and the support of their local parish, without whom none of this would be possible. Then the first chapter opened with "I couldn't believe I had waited until I was 55 years old to experience anal sex with a big dick for the first time," and well that was enough for me.
And that's not to say that men aren't checking out James Patterson and Clive Cussler by huge margins over 'classics' but from what I can see from the shelves, the Tolstoy/Dostoyevsky/Joyce tier stuff gets checked-out with greater frequency than the Virginia Woolf/Zora Neale Hurston stuff. Then again we have a waiting list 100-deep for the works of Rupi Kaur so maybe I am the brainlet after all.
January 2, 2018
Один из способов понять историю - это изучить жизнь и труды людей, которые максимально повлияли на мировое развитие, знать поворотные даты и события в развитии нашей цивилизации. Дюрант в этой книге дает нам список таких людей, дат и событий и объясняет почему он выбрал именно их. Только Дюрант мог взять на себя смелость написать такую книгу. И только к нему, как человеку больше 40 лет своей жизни писавшему свой главный труд "История цивилизации", мы можем прислушиваться при выборе важнейших моментов в истории человечества. В этой небольшой книге я как будто бы получил большой урок всей мировой истории за один раз. Буду использовать ее как справочник и возвращаться к этой работе Дюранта еще много раз.
February 22, 2022
Kratko ali slatko - optimistički eseji o ključnim misliocima, idejama, izumima čovečanstva.
Najbolji deo je možda autorova preporuka 100 najboljih knjiga za obrazovanje. (Ima ih 151. A mnoge nisu na spiskovima najboljih knjiga svih vremena. Dosta solidan izbor zapravo.)
Naravno, smorih se prebrojavši koliko sam ih pročitao. 26.
Najbolji deo je možda autorova preporuka 100 najboljih knjiga za obrazovanje. (Ima ih 151. A mnoge nisu na spiskovima najboljih knjiga svih vremena. Dosta solidan izbor zapravo.)
Naravno, smorih se prebrojavši koliko sam ih pročitao. 26.
September 3, 2020
A small book in length, but in the book there is a complete road map to become the enlightened one. Will Durant is well known for putting the most difficult of the the ideas in the most profoundest and simple way.
This book is based on 6 essays, which are written in the most eloquent and lucid form.
The first chapter is names as Shameless worship of heroes, here Durant invites us to appreciate all the great things that the world has yet seen whether they be in any form, ideas, inventions, minds, intellectuals, poets, philosphers.
The 10 greatest thinkers is the 2nd chapter of the book, they are;
1. Confucius
2. Plato
3. Aristotle
4. Saint Thomas Aquinas
5. Copernicus
6. Sir Francis Bacon
7. Sir Isaac Newton
8. Voltaire
8. Immanuel Kant
10. Charles Darwin
Durant briefly discusses them, and provide the distilled knowledge of their work in short burst.
Third chapter is the 10 Great poets,
Homer, David, Shakespeare, Keats, Walt Whitman, Li Po, Dante and Shelly makes this list.
Here Will Durant briefly distilled the wisdom of each of the great poet through excerpts.
4th chapter is the most important one, it is titled as, The One hundred best books for an education, here will briefly discusses the each book in proselytizing way, and eloquently provide an overview of what one will be getting from those books, the list if so vast and dense, let m quote Will Durant himself here,
" Can you spare an hour a day? Let me have seven hours a week, and I will
make a scholar and a philosopher out of you; in four years you shall be as well
educated as any new-fledged Doctor of Philosophy in the land".
Estimated time for reading those 100 books. Is four year, if one give 1 hour a day, and 7 hours a week.
If one read 100 books mentioned by will Durant, he will become the master in everything, he will have every knowledge of the world, he will know himself, he will know the world, he will know the history, philosophy, psychology, he will know the foundations of theology, he will know how human who was once an insignificant ape now is the most civilized, and has conquered almost everything.
The list of those books is very diverse , in that list one will find Nietzsche's Thus spoke zarathustra to Homers Odyssey, to War and peace of tolsoty, to Goethe's Faust, to The brothers karamazov, crime and punishment, the idiot, and the Possessed by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Other honorable mentions will include the Essays by Francis bacon, the Ethics By Spinoza, Aristotle's Nicomachean ethics, Darwin's Descent of man, Victor's Hugo Les miserable, the prince by Machiavelli,
The wealth of nation by Adam Smith, Dante's divine comedy, Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat, Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, politics of Aristotle, Ilyad by Homer, the outline of science by thomson, the human body by Clendening.
The fifth chapter is the 10 highest peaks of Human progress, The speech, the fire, the conquest of animals, agriculture civilization, mortality, social organization, tools, science, education, writing and printing made up this list.
Last chapter is the 12 vitals date in world history, following are the dates which makes this list.
1.4241B.C, the invention of Egyptian calenders
2. 543 B.C, the death of Buddha
3. 478 B.C, the death of Confucius
4. 399 B.C the death of Socrates
5. 44 B.C, the death of Caesar
6. ? B.C, the birth of Christ
7. A.D 672, The death of Mohammed
8. 1294, the death of Roger bacon
9.1454, the press of Johannes Gutenberg
10. 1492, Columbus discovered America
11. 1769, James watt bring the steam engine practical utility
12. 1789, the French revolution.
And so ends the book with the quote of Napoleon "may my son study history, as it is the only true pyschology and only true Philosophy.
This book is based on 6 essays, which are written in the most eloquent and lucid form.
The first chapter is names as Shameless worship of heroes, here Durant invites us to appreciate all the great things that the world has yet seen whether they be in any form, ideas, inventions, minds, intellectuals, poets, philosphers.
The 10 greatest thinkers is the 2nd chapter of the book, they are;
1. Confucius
2. Plato
3. Aristotle
4. Saint Thomas Aquinas
5. Copernicus
6. Sir Francis Bacon
7. Sir Isaac Newton
8. Voltaire
8. Immanuel Kant
10. Charles Darwin
Durant briefly discusses them, and provide the distilled knowledge of their work in short burst.
Third chapter is the 10 Great poets,
Homer, David, Shakespeare, Keats, Walt Whitman, Li Po, Dante and Shelly makes this list.
Here Will Durant briefly distilled the wisdom of each of the great poet through excerpts.
4th chapter is the most important one, it is titled as, The One hundred best books for an education, here will briefly discusses the each book in proselytizing way, and eloquently provide an overview of what one will be getting from those books, the list if so vast and dense, let m quote Will Durant himself here,
" Can you spare an hour a day? Let me have seven hours a week, and I will
make a scholar and a philosopher out of you; in four years you shall be as well
educated as any new-fledged Doctor of Philosophy in the land".
Estimated time for reading those 100 books. Is four year, if one give 1 hour a day, and 7 hours a week.
If one read 100 books mentioned by will Durant, he will become the master in everything, he will have every knowledge of the world, he will know himself, he will know the world, he will know the history, philosophy, psychology, he will know the foundations of theology, he will know how human who was once an insignificant ape now is the most civilized, and has conquered almost everything.
The list of those books is very diverse , in that list one will find Nietzsche's Thus spoke zarathustra to Homers Odyssey, to War and peace of tolsoty, to Goethe's Faust, to The brothers karamazov, crime and punishment, the idiot, and the Possessed by Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Other honorable mentions will include the Essays by Francis bacon, the Ethics By Spinoza, Aristotle's Nicomachean ethics, Darwin's Descent of man, Victor's Hugo Les miserable, the prince by Machiavelli,
The wealth of nation by Adam Smith, Dante's divine comedy, Omar Khayyam's Rubaiyat, Marcus Aurelius's Meditations, politics of Aristotle, Ilyad by Homer, the outline of science by thomson, the human body by Clendening.
The fifth chapter is the 10 highest peaks of Human progress, The speech, the fire, the conquest of animals, agriculture civilization, mortality, social organization, tools, science, education, writing and printing made up this list.
Last chapter is the 12 vitals date in world history, following are the dates which makes this list.
1.4241B.C, the invention of Egyptian calenders
2. 543 B.C, the death of Buddha
3. 478 B.C, the death of Confucius
4. 399 B.C the death of Socrates
5. 44 B.C, the death of Caesar
6. ? B.C, the birth of Christ
7. A.D 672, The death of Mohammed
8. 1294, the death of Roger bacon
9.1454, the press of Johannes Gutenberg
10. 1492, Columbus discovered America
11. 1769, James watt bring the steam engine practical utility
12. 1789, the French revolution.
And so ends the book with the quote of Napoleon "may my son study history, as it is the only true pyschology and only true Philosophy.
September 8, 2014
Life is better than literature, friendship is sweeter than philosophy, and children reach into our hearts with profounder music than comes from any symphony, but even so these living delights offer no derogation to the modest and secondary pleasures of our books.
When life is bitter, or friendship slips away, or perhaps our children leave us for their own haunts and homes, we shall come and sit at the table with Shakespeare and Goethe, and laugh at the world of Rabelais, and see its autumn loveliness with John Keats. For these are friends who give us only their best, who never answers back and always wait our call. When we have walked with them awhile, and listened humbly to their speech, we shall be healed of our infirmities, and know the peace that comes of understanding.
….this comes from the person who had read all the books in the world….. well almost all worth reading.
When I saw the title "The greatest minds and ideas of all time" coming from one of my favourite authors, I didn't think even for a minute before adding it to the cart in the online portal. But, when the book was delivered, I was little disappointed. How can such a slim volume ( 100 odd pages) contain even a single good idea, let alone all the great ideas of human history.
The book doesn't really describe any of the great ideas or attempt to decipher the great minds.
It just lists them.
If a man wants to read all the books that would make him educated, what would be those? What could be the greatest dates in the history of mankind? Who are the most original thinkers?
Durant tries his best to make these lists objectively, without having any personal bias, providing ample justification for his selections. Of course you can question the rationale of some of the entries, but show me a list in this world that remains unchallenged. Every sentence, every paragraph of these essays show the range of Durant's knowledge.
Will Durant is undoubtedly the one responsible for my interest in philosophy. In "the 100 best books for an education", he omits his much acclaimed "the story of civilization" that he spent half a century researching and writing. That book and the ones he listed become my dream read.
February 18, 2024
Voi mai citi de autor.
June 28, 2021
While the prose is beautiful, the narrative often reeks of elitism and eurocentrism. Statements such as "Man is the last animal domesticated by women" are a bit too generalized to be accepted unquestionably. We can undoubtedly find brilliant quotable phrases and aphorism in the book; but the claim of this tiny volume to be an index of all greatness that humanity has been able to achieve, is a bit far fetched.
November 28, 2019
This is an easy-to-understand book, This is a very short and useful book,this book tells About 10 Greatest philosophers & 10 Greatest Poets of history, book cites the top 100 books on education of Philosophy, book describes the ten most advanced events in human development, as well as the 12 most important events in history that changed the world.
August 5, 2021
Excellent and concise collection of ideas presented with the following structure:
A Shameless Worship of Heroes
The Ten Greatest Thinkers
The Ten Greatest Poets
The One Hundred Best Books for an Education
The Ten Peaks of Human Progress
Twelve Vital Dates in World History
I'm sure I will revisit this book in the future.
October 19, 2023
“ما در رویاهای کودکیمان باور کرده بودیم که دنیا شرّ است و تنها مرگ میتواند ما را به بهشت برساند. ما اشتباه میکردیم، حتی امروز، امروز که نفس میکشیم هم میتوانیم به بهشت برویم.
هر کتاب بزرگی، هر اثر هنری که گوشهای از تاریکی جهان را روشن کند، هر زندگانی که وقف هدفی والا شود راهی را باز میکند به باغ بهشت. ما شعلهی امید و رستگاریمان را زیادی زود خاموش کردهایم.
بیایید شمایلهامان را عوض کنیم و شمع هارا دوباره روشن کنیم.”
هر کتاب بزرگی، هر اثر هنری که گوشهای از تاریکی جهان را روشن کند، هر زندگانی که وقف هدفی والا شود راهی را باز میکند به باغ بهشت. ما شعلهی امید و رستگاریمان را زیادی زود خاموش کردهایم.
بیایید شمایلهامان را عوض کنیم و شمع هارا دوباره روشن کنیم.”
April 23, 2021
Will Durant's books should be shelved under poetry instead of history. Not only these books give a distorted version of history, they are also plagued with euro-centrism, elitism and immoderate idolatry. Having said that, what a pleasure to read his prose!
February 3, 2023
Wow, what an introduction to Will Durant! I'd heard of Will, no doubt many reading this review have heard of him before; I was vaguely familiar he had written a history of the world (turns out, eleven volumes); I'd heard he'd won the Pulitzer Prize, etc., but I'd never read him. And what a pity. To be deprived of someone so brilliant, so erudite, so effortlessly insightful, thankfully, I picked up this volume and was introduced to his fluid, articulate mind. Here is the beginning of the first sentence of Chapter One, titled, A Shameless Worship of Heroes:
"Of the many ideals which in youth gave life a meaning and radiance missing from the chilly perspectives of middle age, one at least has remained with me as right and satisfying as ever before--the shameless worship of heroes."
How's that, eh?
And this description of Homer's Iliad:
"It seems unimportant and irrelevant that the tale as Homer tells it is not true, that his men and women--and even some of his deities--are apparently the creatures of his lordly imagination; it is so well invented, and so vivaciously recounted, that if the facts were different, so much the worse for the facts. Beauty has its rights as well as truth; and the Iliad is more important than the Trojan War. Granted that Helen was but a name or an inspiring diplomatic phrase, and that the real objective of the warring Greeks was not a lovely rake but a strategic port; nevertheless, seven Troys lie buried in the earth, while Helen is an immortal synonym of loveliness, potent still to launch a hundred thousand books upon that greatest of all oceans--ink."
You get the idea. Great man and great induction to that man.
"Of the many ideals which in youth gave life a meaning and radiance missing from the chilly perspectives of middle age, one at least has remained with me as right and satisfying as ever before--the shameless worship of heroes."
How's that, eh?
And this description of Homer's Iliad:
"It seems unimportant and irrelevant that the tale as Homer tells it is not true, that his men and women--and even some of his deities--are apparently the creatures of his lordly imagination; it is so well invented, and so vivaciously recounted, that if the facts were different, so much the worse for the facts. Beauty has its rights as well as truth; and the Iliad is more important than the Trojan War. Granted that Helen was but a name or an inspiring diplomatic phrase, and that the real objective of the warring Greeks was not a lovely rake but a strategic port; nevertheless, seven Troys lie buried in the earth, while Helen is an immortal synonym of loveliness, potent still to launch a hundred thousand books upon that greatest of all oceans--ink."
You get the idea. Great man and great induction to that man.
February 13, 2024
This book is also a great and logical sequel to Will Durant's ”Heroes of History” in many ways. Above all, Heroes of History examines 100 centuries of human history, while containing Will Durant's personal opinion about The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time.
May 1, 2012
From The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time by Will Durant:
"If I were rich I would have many books, and I would pamper myself with bindings bright to the eye and soft to the touch, in paper generously opaque, and type such as men designed when printing was very young.
I would dress my gods in leather and gold, and burn candles of worship before them at night, and string their names like beads on a rosary. I would have my library spacious and dark and cool, safe from alien sights and sounds, with slender casements opening on quiet fields, voluptuous chairs inviting communion and reverie, shaded lamps illuminating sanctuaries here and there, and every inch of of the walls concealed with the mental heritage of our race. And there at any hour my hand or spirit would welcome my friends, if their souls were hungry and their hands were clean. In the center of the temple of my books I would gather the One Hundred Best of all the educative literature in the world.
I picture to myself a massive redwood table by the artists who carved the wood for King Henry's chapel at Westminster Abbey (I must be an old reactionary, for I abominate the hard materials that make our concrete homes and iron beds and desks today, and I find something organically responsive to my affection in everything made of wood.) Along the center of the table would stand a glass case protecting and yet revealing my One Hundred Best. I picture my friends treated comfortably there, occasional hours of every week, passing from volume to volume with loving leisureliness."
I too love important books beautifully bound. Will Durant may border on idolatry in this excerpt from chapter four of The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time, at least my wife suggested the possibility that this may be so. However, she was a gentle critic of this bibliophile exuberance since she knows her beloved husband would have written this essay himself if he had Mr. Durant's facility with words. Thank you Will Durant for this gift to all lovers of great books bound in gorgeous leather, well shelved in a library of dark wood and comfortable leather chairs. Let the contemplation of great ideas and beautiful words never end. Amen.
"If I were rich I would have many books, and I would pamper myself with bindings bright to the eye and soft to the touch, in paper generously opaque, and type such as men designed when printing was very young.
I would dress my gods in leather and gold, and burn candles of worship before them at night, and string their names like beads on a rosary. I would have my library spacious and dark and cool, safe from alien sights and sounds, with slender casements opening on quiet fields, voluptuous chairs inviting communion and reverie, shaded lamps illuminating sanctuaries here and there, and every inch of of the walls concealed with the mental heritage of our race. And there at any hour my hand or spirit would welcome my friends, if their souls were hungry and their hands were clean. In the center of the temple of my books I would gather the One Hundred Best of all the educative literature in the world.
I picture to myself a massive redwood table by the artists who carved the wood for King Henry's chapel at Westminster Abbey (I must be an old reactionary, for I abominate the hard materials that make our concrete homes and iron beds and desks today, and I find something organically responsive to my affection in everything made of wood.) Along the center of the table would stand a glass case protecting and yet revealing my One Hundred Best. I picture my friends treated comfortably there, occasional hours of every week, passing from volume to volume with loving leisureliness."
I too love important books beautifully bound. Will Durant may border on idolatry in this excerpt from chapter four of The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time, at least my wife suggested the possibility that this may be so. However, she was a gentle critic of this bibliophile exuberance since she knows her beloved husband would have written this essay himself if he had Mr. Durant's facility with words. Thank you Will Durant for this gift to all lovers of great books bound in gorgeous leather, well shelved in a library of dark wood and comfortable leather chairs. Let the contemplation of great ideas and beautiful words never end. Amen.
February 3, 2023
selectiile lui Durant mi s-au parut cam mediocre
desigur, fiind o carte foarte scurta care isi doreste sa faca rezumatul celor mai importante idei si personalitati din ultimele mii se ani nu ne putem astepta la ceva exhaustiv si nici nu ne putem astepta ca anumite tari sau continente sa fie reprezentate in totalitate, dar Durant face un exces. se poate observa de la distanta ca este un admirator al culturii engleze, de aici si apententa pentru personaje si idei care vin UK.
altfel, te astepti sa vorbeasca despre grecii antici, despre Dante, Shakespeare si Ibsen, si Kant, dar are anumite scapari cand vede Asia doar ca India (prin Budha) si China. in plus, lipseste Iranul, o mare cultura pana la urma. America Latina nu exista deloc.
un plus mi s-a parut, totusi, ca desi cartea e scrisa in anii 70 sau 80 exista referiri si la importanta femeilor in istoria culturala a lumii, desi doar Sapho si Marie Curie sunt mentionate cu numele. desigur, intentia conteaza.
desigur, fiind o carte foarte scurta care isi doreste sa faca rezumatul celor mai importante idei si personalitati din ultimele mii se ani nu ne putem astepta la ceva exhaustiv si nici nu ne putem astepta ca anumite tari sau continente sa fie reprezentate in totalitate, dar Durant face un exces. se poate observa de la distanta ca este un admirator al culturii engleze, de aici si apententa pentru personaje si idei care vin UK.
altfel, te astepti sa vorbeasca despre grecii antici, despre Dante, Shakespeare si Ibsen, si Kant, dar are anumite scapari cand vede Asia doar ca India (prin Budha) si China. in plus, lipseste Iranul, o mare cultura pana la urma. America Latina nu exista deloc.
un plus mi s-a parut, totusi, ca desi cartea e scrisa in anii 70 sau 80 exista referiri si la importanta femeilor in istoria culturala a lumii, desi doar Sapho si Marie Curie sunt mentionate cu numele. desigur, intentia conteaza.
February 14, 2020
There just is not enough time in life to do all the study and read everything you desire. Will Durant has assembled a remarkable list of the Greatest Minds and the Greatest Ideas in the history of mankind. Great minds like Socrates, Aristotle and Plato to Lincoln, Thoreau and Darwin. The book includes lists of:
1. The One Hundred Best Books for an Education,
2. The Ten Greatest Thinkers,
3. The Ten Greatest Poets,
4. The Ten Peaks of Human Progress and
5. Twelve Vital Dates of Human History.
There is so much here on which to build a remarkable library and a concise liberal arts education. I need another lifetime!
1. The One Hundred Best Books for an Education,
2. The Ten Greatest Thinkers,
3. The Ten Greatest Poets,
4. The Ten Peaks of Human Progress and
5. Twelve Vital Dates of Human History.
There is so much here on which to build a remarkable library and a concise liberal arts education. I need another lifetime!
June 6, 2008
Will Durant was an amazing historian. He and his wife Ariel wrote The Story of Civilization series. As well, he wrote a list of the top 100 books any historian should read (although there are many to be added since he died). This is a great, concise compilation...
May 28, 2017
Will Durant simply discussed about great persons from science world to literature.
The writer's voice of presentation was much close to reader-when I was reading I feel that.
Pretty good writing.
The writer's voice of presentation was much close to reader-when I was reading I feel that.
Pretty good writing.
June 13, 2017
How happy to find this in youtube! brilliant.
January 23, 2019
Contains more than needed, nice for research.
April 11, 2023
Probably best to stick to his story of civilization!!
September 17, 2020
A fantastic little read. Completely worth every minute and it will certainly broaden your worldview. Also, I found Durant’s writing style to be beautifully delightful.
October 8, 2019
A SHAMELESS WORSHIP OF HEROES'
From
"The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Times"
By
Will Durant
Will Durant books featured prominently in my parents' library. His opus series, 'The Story of Civilization', beginning with volume one 'Our Oriental Heritage (1935) and ending with 'The Age of Napoleon' (1975) - co-written with his wife Ariel -were among my mother's favorites. Also in the library was his 'The Story of Philosophy.' I was at that time not inclined towards philosophy so I never read it. I did dip into a few light skims of a couple of the large volumes of his opus, but because of numerous other distractions in my adolescent life as well as his, for me, unfamiliar turn-of-the-twentieth century style of writing, I didn't deep dive into them.
I recently found on my shelves an uncracked open copy of his book 'The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Times.' I didn't recall why I'd picked it up but, as my interests have recently turned towards philosophy, I opened it and checked it out. Durant, along with many of his 19th and 20th century academic peers, subscribed to Thomas Carlyle's 'The Great Man Theory' which propounds that history can be best understood by the influence upon it of Great Men. I think, as do many others, that as Herbert Spencer said, 'Before he can remake his society, his society must make him.'
Durant's essay within that thin book, 'A Shameless Worship of Heroes', caught my interest. Having read it I wondered whatever happened to the great Women who impacted societies. He speaks only once of women without being specific of the who, when, where, and what this singular woman might have contributed. Heroes, to him, are the Great Men who significantly altered and significantly impacted history. Succeeding essays outline ten of the greatest thinkers and ten of the greatest poets. Einstein is not mentioned, nor are the Curies nor Galileo among the scientists. He says, 'the real history of man ... is in the lasting contribution made by geniuses ... to civilization and culture.' What about the political and military genius of Napoleon and Caesar and Alexander? The genius theorist Karl Marx? The amoral genius of Lenin? The mad genius of Hitler, Stalin, or Mao Zedung?
The author says 'he lights his candles at the shrines of great men.' Of women, nothing. I wonder if his brilliant wife, Ariel, was supportive of this pillar of her husband's personal philosophy? Farmers, cobblers, tailors and their like continue their presence throughout history, he says, without changing it. Heroes and great men, it seems, can persist in bending the world to their desires while shoeless and naked and starving, if Durant's thesis holds. I have my doubts.
Steven Jay Gould's idea of Punctuated Evolution, great spurts of change happening quickly (geologically speaking) to alter the species spectrum, might be adapted to this idea of societies at certain times pushing out people to perform greatly in ways which permit them to act beyond what they might have perceived as their limits. Change, like life, happens when the right combination of factors interact appropriately for something to occur to manifest difference, locally and/or world-wide. One of my favorite authors of yesteryear, James Burke, enjoyed setting out for our education and amazement stories of how one person, for example, tinkering to make a waterclock function better made it possible, centuries later, for profound societal change to occur. A great man didn't do this. A man who may have once scrubbed out a subsistence existence found a way to learn a certain set of skills and applied them to a task to benefit not only his intellectual curiosity but also a small, close knit group of people comprising his community. Sometimes world changing events eventuate from regular people over time chaining together their small accomplishments. From this the world, my life and yours, is different from what it might have been without that long ordinary human chain of creation.
Durant also does not discriminate between positive and negative greatness. Perhaps one should salute the relative greatness of the owner of the first ship to dock on European shores in the 14th century bringing in its hold the initial group of plague rats, thus inaugurating the great Black Death, the killer of millions of people. The warp and woof of Eastern and Western Civilization was irrevocably and dramatically changed by this catastrophic event. Light candles to that ship owner, Mr. Durant!
One final comment. Though I completely disagree with what Durant said, I thoroughly enjoyed how he said it. His words are brilliant polished pearls creatively strung together in support of an old, and I believe poorly conceived idea. Be entertained in the reading of it; carefully think through its thesis and conclusion.
From
"The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Times"
By
Will Durant
Will Durant books featured prominently in my parents' library. His opus series, 'The Story of Civilization', beginning with volume one 'Our Oriental Heritage (1935) and ending with 'The Age of Napoleon' (1975) - co-written with his wife Ariel -were among my mother's favorites. Also in the library was his 'The Story of Philosophy.' I was at that time not inclined towards philosophy so I never read it. I did dip into a few light skims of a couple of the large volumes of his opus, but because of numerous other distractions in my adolescent life as well as his, for me, unfamiliar turn-of-the-twentieth century style of writing, I didn't deep dive into them.
I recently found on my shelves an uncracked open copy of his book 'The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Times.' I didn't recall why I'd picked it up but, as my interests have recently turned towards philosophy, I opened it and checked it out. Durant, along with many of his 19th and 20th century academic peers, subscribed to Thomas Carlyle's 'The Great Man Theory' which propounds that history can be best understood by the influence upon it of Great Men. I think, as do many others, that as Herbert Spencer said, 'Before he can remake his society, his society must make him.'
Durant's essay within that thin book, 'A Shameless Worship of Heroes', caught my interest. Having read it I wondered whatever happened to the great Women who impacted societies. He speaks only once of women without being specific of the who, when, where, and what this singular woman might have contributed. Heroes, to him, are the Great Men who significantly altered and significantly impacted history. Succeeding essays outline ten of the greatest thinkers and ten of the greatest poets. Einstein is not mentioned, nor are the Curies nor Galileo among the scientists. He says, 'the real history of man ... is in the lasting contribution made by geniuses ... to civilization and culture.' What about the political and military genius of Napoleon and Caesar and Alexander? The genius theorist Karl Marx? The amoral genius of Lenin? The mad genius of Hitler, Stalin, or Mao Zedung?
The author says 'he lights his candles at the shrines of great men.' Of women, nothing. I wonder if his brilliant wife, Ariel, was supportive of this pillar of her husband's personal philosophy? Farmers, cobblers, tailors and their like continue their presence throughout history, he says, without changing it. Heroes and great men, it seems, can persist in bending the world to their desires while shoeless and naked and starving, if Durant's thesis holds. I have my doubts.
Steven Jay Gould's idea of Punctuated Evolution, great spurts of change happening quickly (geologically speaking) to alter the species spectrum, might be adapted to this idea of societies at certain times pushing out people to perform greatly in ways which permit them to act beyond what they might have perceived as their limits. Change, like life, happens when the right combination of factors interact appropriately for something to occur to manifest difference, locally and/or world-wide. One of my favorite authors of yesteryear, James Burke, enjoyed setting out for our education and amazement stories of how one person, for example, tinkering to make a waterclock function better made it possible, centuries later, for profound societal change to occur. A great man didn't do this. A man who may have once scrubbed out a subsistence existence found a way to learn a certain set of skills and applied them to a task to benefit not only his intellectual curiosity but also a small, close knit group of people comprising his community. Sometimes world changing events eventuate from regular people over time chaining together their small accomplishments. From this the world, my life and yours, is different from what it might have been without that long ordinary human chain of creation.
Durant also does not discriminate between positive and negative greatness. Perhaps one should salute the relative greatness of the owner of the first ship to dock on European shores in the 14th century bringing in its hold the initial group of plague rats, thus inaugurating the great Black Death, the killer of millions of people. The warp and woof of Eastern and Western Civilization was irrevocably and dramatically changed by this catastrophic event. Light candles to that ship owner, Mr. Durant!
One final comment. Though I completely disagree with what Durant said, I thoroughly enjoyed how he said it. His words are brilliant polished pearls creatively strung together in support of an old, and I believe poorly conceived idea. Be entertained in the reading of it; carefully think through its thesis and conclusion.
July 5, 2022
I have SO much more I need to read!
This wasn't exactly what I hoped it would be. Definitely more of a collection of expounded lists than I was looking for. Which makes sense given its a collection of mini-lectures. I don't think I'll ever go back it, but I appreciated what was shared.
“If I were rich I would have many books, and I would pamper myself with bindings bright to the eye and soft to the touch, in paper generously opaque, and type such as men designed when printing was very young.
I would dress my gods in leather and gold, and burn candles of worship before them at night, and string their names like beads on a rosary. I would have my library spacious and dark and cool, safe from alien sights and sounds, with slender casements opening on quiet fields, voluptuous chairs inviting communion and reverie, shaded lamps illuminating sanctuaries here and there, and every inch of the walls concealed with the mental heritage of our race. And there at any hour my hand or spirit would welcome my friends, if their souls were hungry and their hands were clean. In the center of the temple of my books I would gather the One Hundred Best of all the educative literature in the world.”
This wasn't exactly what I hoped it would be. Definitely more of a collection of expounded lists than I was looking for. Which makes sense given its a collection of mini-lectures. I don't think I'll ever go back it, but I appreciated what was shared.
“If I were rich I would have many books, and I would pamper myself with bindings bright to the eye and soft to the touch, in paper generously opaque, and type such as men designed when printing was very young.
I would dress my gods in leather and gold, and burn candles of worship before them at night, and string their names like beads on a rosary. I would have my library spacious and dark and cool, safe from alien sights and sounds, with slender casements opening on quiet fields, voluptuous chairs inviting communion and reverie, shaded lamps illuminating sanctuaries here and there, and every inch of the walls concealed with the mental heritage of our race. And there at any hour my hand or spirit would welcome my friends, if their souls were hungry and their hands were clean. In the center of the temple of my books I would gather the One Hundred Best of all the educative literature in the world.”
April 12, 2019
Nekoliko kraćih eseja o uvijek zanimljivim temama iz pera velikog istoričara i erudite ne može biti promašaj. Ipak, ocjena manje zbog izraženog anglocentrizma, a pogotovo zbog toga što u knjizi koja se bavi velikim misliocima, filozofima prije svega, ni na jednom jedinom mjestu ne pominje Hegela. Marksa pominje dva puta, doduše ne u pozitivnog kontekstu, ali Hegela nijednom, čak ni u negativnom svjetlu. Neoprostivo, Djurante. Šalu na stranu, vrijedi pročitati, ima mnogo zanimjivih mjesta, ali ne može se mnogo očekivati od knjige koja se bavi najvećim umovima i idejama svih vremena, a koja se čita za nekih 5 sati.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 291 reviews