This is a monumental work by a revered historian who writes well, reveals great insight, and is eminently quotable Where are our Will Durant's today? Few serious scholars are willing to accept the criticism абъыдthat is inevitable with such a massive undertaking And far too many are stifled from revealing history and its lessons adequately because of the current all-consuming academic fad of political correctness Of course, He and his wife can't cover everything from the dawавпусn of civilization to Napoleon What he does do is paint the broad picture using specific examples from time to time Naturally some subjectivity is involved, and he acknowledged this readily Volume I should get you hooked as he tells us the many necessities for transition from savagery to civilization, why he regards the first culture as agriculture, etc This was not his only profound and esteemed writing, but it is an excellent example, and many would consider this his masterpieceавцы It certainly is huge This set was revised or rewritten 3 times by Will Durant This, his 3rd version, has 11 volumes by adding The Age of Napoleon .