O Brave New World // Durant & Gibbon

[James Farmelant]

Concerning the Durants, it should be noted that in their youth
they were very much part of the community of bohemians
and radicals in Greenwich Village of the 1910's which included
such people as Max Eastman, Jack Reed, Emma Goldman,
and Eugene O'Neill.  The Durants were among the people
that Warren Beatty featured in his film "Reds" as part of his
"chorus" of people who had actually known Jack Reed.
Will Durant had originally studied in a seminary with the
intention of becoming a Catholic priest but there he lost
his faith.  He subsequently went on to take a doctorate
at Columbia.

BTW Will Durant's *The Story of Philosophy* is not a bad
read either, especially the chapters on Spinoza, Voltaire,
and Kant.

		Jim Farmelant

On Sat, 02 Oct 1999 14:28:59 -0500 Carrol Cox <cbcox at ilstu.edu> writes:
>
>
>Maureen Therese Anderson wrote:
>
>> Michael wrote:
>>
>> >Believe or not, Durant is a brilliant writer and this is a 
>brilliant
>> >series.  Nobody believes this, because he was so successfully 
>marketed
>>
>> Yes well I've heard that Gibbons' Rome-tomes are brilliantly written 
>too,
>> but that wouldn't exactly make G. my interpreter of choice on Rome's 
>rise
>> and fall.  Though think of it: his series would probably make a 
>rockin'
>> computer game.
>
>(a) Gibbon is indeed a wonderful writer. And while I don't know his
>present status among Roman historians, there aren't many historians
>with such wit -- and his bias against christianity gives me immense
>reading pleasure.
>
>(b) About Durant. I got a good deal from him (though I can't quite
>remember what) when I was in high school, but when I glanced
>at his works some years ago (some relative got the whole history
>as a book-of-the-month-club dividend or something and gave them
>to me) I couldn't stand them I'm sorry now I gave them away,
>because I too rather trust Michael.
>
>Carrol
>
>

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