Our Oriental Heritage

The Story of Civilization, Volume 1

By: Will Durant

Narrated by: 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.

Most Informative. read Sophie's World first.

Read Sophie's World before you read this. Not related at all, but that book is kind of a entry into the world of philosophy and it's connection mankind, and the thought process you should be having before you read this kind of book. For sure this is not for starters but the way the author wrote, (and narrator read), absolutely amazing and easy to understand, and as always you should be taking this with a grain of salt. Ask yourself how did the ancient people think and maybe you can live through the centuries with your sheer thought power. This books helps you do your daily chores much better, it did for me. Ciao.

So Great

This is the third or fourth time I have read/listened to this series and I was surprised at how much 'new' information I received this time. But this is the charm and value of Durant's awe-inspiring work - that he covers so much that it is impossible to fully enjoy in only one exposure. I hadn't heard Robin Field before, and after some initial disappointment that he wasn't Grover Gardner, I became a fan.

Interesting perspective

Having been written in the 30s before WWII and Mr Durant's ideas about the possibilities of Japan and China and knowing what is in store in the future is interesting.

I'm not as interested in the art history as maybe I should be. I found the political aspects of early civilization the most interesting.

I learned a lot about early civilization. A great start to a great series.

I recommend it very highly.

First of 11 Exceptional History Books

Excellent start to the Story of Civilization series. The Durants provide an “integrated” history, which looks across several avenues: political, warfare, culture (art, literature, poetry), language, technology, etc. In this volume, his objective review of the Bible is my favorite. Narrator is so-so, not the same one as the other volumes.

Amazing

Will Durant just keeps getting better with every reading. What an incredible telling of the foundations of what we now call the Middle East and Asia.