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alex_ellermann's review against another edition
4.0
'Fallen Leaves' is an excellent little book.
Written by intellectual titan Will Durant near the end of his 96-year life, these 22 short chapters pull together the man's thoughts on everything from politics to sex to religion to sports. In the forward, Durant modestly asserts that he has nothing new to teach the reader, as he is merely the product of roughly 10,000 years of Western Civilization: he offers, at best, simply to put his spin on things. That said, Durant's spin is worth reading. Reading 'Fallen Leaves' is like sitting at the knee of your wise great-grandfather.
That said, and Durant is the first to admit it, your wise great-grandfather is a product of his time. Many of his opinions may strike the reader as strange, outdated, or regressive. That's fine, though. The reader needn't agree with everything the writer says to profit from the experience of reading him. Will Durant spent his long and productive life researching, thinking, and writing about the ebb and flow of civilizations. You can profit from spending 5 hours listening to his thoughts.
Written by intellectual titan Will Durant near the end of his 96-year life, these 22 short chapters pull together the man's thoughts on everything from politics to sex to religion to sports. In the forward, Durant modestly asserts that he has nothing new to teach the reader, as he is merely the product of roughly 10,000 years of Western Civilization: he offers, at best, simply to put his spin on things. That said, Durant's spin is worth reading. Reading 'Fallen Leaves' is like sitting at the knee of your wise great-grandfather.
That said, and Durant is the first to admit it, your wise great-grandfather is a product of his time. Many of his opinions may strike the reader as strange, outdated, or regressive. That's fine, though. The reader needn't agree with everything the writer says to profit from the experience of reading him. Will Durant spent his long and productive life researching, thinking, and writing about the ebb and flow of civilizations. You can profit from spending 5 hours listening to his thoughts.
matttrevithick's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars - this is beautiful writing on all the topics that concern mankind, which the author (a Pulitzer Prize and Medal of Freedom recipient) spent decades of work on and was nearly lost to history (found in an attic in 2011, decades after the author's death). Reading his comments on women and religion as simply a product of his time helps swallow a few passages that modern readers will raise their eyebrows at. Above all, a militant defense of education as the only true means of liberation (which he weaves through 20+ chapters on love, religion, war, science, etc) with a corresponding emphasis on character (which few these days feel comfortable discussing yet the author persuasively argues from all things flow). I am quite partial to books written in this vein of old school confidence and calmness - it's very clear a master wrote this book.
Underlined 107 passages from this book.
Underlined 107 passages from this book.
muhammadshahab's review against another edition
5.0
The reason I am giving it five stars is becuase it has inspired in me a sense of thought and reflection. It has the ideas that I had been looking for epochs. Yes, Will Durant is one of my favourite authors.
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