1blue.eyes2
For doing some background reading on LEC books pertaining to European literature, or history, or philosophy or any other subject, my standard reference is Will Durant's 11 volume Story of Civilization. I received my copy of the LEC Confessions today, and I know that if I want to look up any further details about Rousseou's life or literary activities I can find a good writeup about them in the 10th volume of the Story of Civilization (titled Rousseou and Revolution). Likewise I can go to Durant's Story of Civilization books for knowing more about Voltaire and Saint Simon when it comes to 18th century France and also for additional background reading on Moliere when it comes to 17th century France.
But my knowledge of European history comes to an abrupt standstill after the 11th volume of the Story of Civilization (titled The Age of Napoleon). For example, I have no idea what happened in France during the 19th century (except a few very vague details) and don't know many details about the lives and literary activities of Dumas, Emile Zola, and Victor Hugo (who were all published by the LEC). Similarly a lot of interesting things were happening in 19th century England and I am disappointed that I don't have Durant to guide me through what was going on there.
Does anyone know if anything on the scale of Durant's Story of Civilization has been attempted by anyone else (to continue where Durant left off) which would help provide additional background reading for several LEC books?
Incidentally, Durant had started working on a 12th volume of the Story of Civilization (tentatively titled 'The Age of Darwin') but he and his wife, who was his co-author for the later volumes of the SOC, had become too old to complete it (don't know about the 11th volume, but the 10th volume of the Story of Civilization was published when Durant was 85). Durant's publishers decided not to publish the material he had written for 'The Age of Darwin', though personally I would love to read even the notes he had written for this unfinished book.
---
For American literature, my approach so far has been to read literary criticism by the authors themselves. I've so far read many of the published letters by Hemingway, Sherwood Anderson and Theodore Dreiser in some of which they analyze their literary predecessors. I find it more useful to read about an assessment of Mark Twain's literary career, for example, by these gentlemen than by the critics.
But my knowledge of European history comes to an abrupt standstill after the 11th volume of the Story of Civilization (titled The Age of Napoleon). For example, I have no idea what happened in France during the 19th century (except a few very vague details) and don't know many details about the lives and literary activities of Dumas, Emile Zola, and Victor Hugo (who were all published by the LEC). Similarly a lot of interesting things were happening in 19th century England and I am disappointed that I don't have Durant to guide me through what was going on there.
Does anyone know if anything on the scale of Durant's Story of Civilization has been attempted by anyone else (to continue where Durant left off) which would help provide additional background reading for several LEC books?
Incidentally, Durant had started working on a 12th volume of the Story of Civilization (tentatively titled 'The Age of Darwin') but he and his wife, who was his co-author for the later volumes of the SOC, had become too old to complete it (don't know about the 11th volume, but the 10th volume of the Story of Civilization was published when Durant was 85). Durant's publishers decided not to publish the material he had written for 'The Age of Darwin', though personally I would love to read even the notes he had written for this unfinished book.
---
For American literature, my approach so far has been to read literary criticism by the authors themselves. I've so far read many of the published letters by Hemingway, Sherwood Anderson and Theodore Dreiser in some of which they analyze their literary predecessors. I find it more useful to read about an assessment of Mark Twain's literary career, for example, by these gentlemen than by the critics.
2Lukas1990
Here you go. As the name goes it's about private life:
https://www.amazon.com/History-Private-Life-Vol-Revolution/dp/0674400038
https://www.amazon.com/History-Private-Life-Vol-Revolution/dp/0674400038
3blue.eyes2
>2 Lukas1990: I saw the book chapters and some reviews of this book on JSTOR. It is not the same type of book as Durant's Story of Civilization books which contain political, economic, literary, scientific, technological, artistic, sociological, legal, philosophical, and religious history woven together.
4abysswalker
>1 blue.eyes2: while it is not the same kind of book as Durant's history, I would highly recommend William H. McNeill's History of Western Civilization: A Handbook, which covers the dawn of Western civilization up to the 20th century. Despite the density, it is quite readable, and might be the best single survey of Western history, assuming you plan to use it as a gateway rather than a self-contained work of literature. McNeill, unlike many recent academics in the humanities, has written many readable histories (such as Plagues and Peoples, which is superior in every way to the more sensational and popular Guns, Germs, and Steel, and The Pursuit of Power: Technology, Armed Force, and Society since A.D. 1000). Though the narrative sections are good, the real strength of the Handbook is the suggestions for future reading. Each broad section includes a curated selection of suggested additional reading both of serious historical works and (perhaps of particular interest to LibraryThing members) historical fiction. For any section you want to explore in more detail, the suggested reading will ensure that you have a good set to select from that will meet certain standards of rigor. I've included a few photos below to give you a sense of the style.
5blue.eyes2
>4 abysswalker: Thank you.
6Django6924
>1 blue.eyes2:
Alas, I know nothing that can compare with the Durant books, which I got as a member of the Book-of-the-Month Club while in high school and which have been the core of my knowledge of history. Their synthesis of anthropological, archaeological, political, economical, philosophical and cultural bases for the development of civilization is one of the great achievements in English letters. Specialists may demur, but for the general reader, I think these works are essential reading.
Not being a specialist, nor an historian, I can say for the period you are talking about in Europe, my knowledge is heavily indebted to A.G.P. Taylor's The Struggle For Mastery in Europe. You won't find much about the arts, but what I found remarkable was how Taylor untangled the Gordian knot of alliances, politicians and political movements, and wars that characterized Europe from the end of the Napoleonic era to the cataclysm of WWI, and how often the knowledge of these informed and illuminated the literature of the period.
Since you mentioned Dreyfus, I will add another work I consider indispensable for the enlightened reader of late 19th/early 20th century literature: Barbara Tuchman's The Proud Tower. For the period she covers, it is the closest thing to the Durants books. There is an entire chapter devoted to the Dreyfus affair, a chapter about the Anarchist movement (which I recommend to anyone who wants to appreciate Conrad's The Secret Agent), and a chapter about German culture suggestively titled "Neroism is in the Air," which focuses to a large extent on the philosophical impact of Nietzsche and of the music of Richard Strauss. Unlike the Taylor book, Tuchman's heavily emphasizes the arts and culture and gives us wonderful insights into characters such as this one about frequent Macy author Anatole France (in the Dreyfus Affair chapter). When a petition called "The Protest of the Intellectuals" was being organized by Marcel Proust and his brother:
Almost the first signature they obtained was their greatest coup: that of the 'ultimate flower of Latin genius' and leader of the Academicians, Anatole France. 'He got out of bed to see us, in his slippers with a head cold,' wrote Halévy, '"Show it to me," he said, "I'll sign, I'll sign anything. I am revolted."' He was a rationalist, revolted by unreason. A cynic and a satirist of human folly, he had sympathy neither for crusades nor for Dreyfus as an individual who, he perceptively suggested, was 'the same type as the officers who condemned him; in their shoes he would have condemned himself'. But he hated the crowd and out of contradictory spirit was usually found to be against the government.
Alas, I know nothing that can compare with the Durant books, which I got as a member of the Book-of-the-Month Club while in high school and which have been the core of my knowledge of history. Their synthesis of anthropological, archaeological, political, economical, philosophical and cultural bases for the development of civilization is one of the great achievements in English letters. Specialists may demur, but for the general reader, I think these works are essential reading.
Not being a specialist, nor an historian, I can say for the period you are talking about in Europe, my knowledge is heavily indebted to A.G.P. Taylor's The Struggle For Mastery in Europe. You won't find much about the arts, but what I found remarkable was how Taylor untangled the Gordian knot of alliances, politicians and political movements, and wars that characterized Europe from the end of the Napoleonic era to the cataclysm of WWI, and how often the knowledge of these informed and illuminated the literature of the period.
Since you mentioned Dreyfus, I will add another work I consider indispensable for the enlightened reader of late 19th/early 20th century literature: Barbara Tuchman's The Proud Tower. For the period she covers, it is the closest thing to the Durants books. There is an entire chapter devoted to the Dreyfus affair, a chapter about the Anarchist movement (which I recommend to anyone who wants to appreciate Conrad's The Secret Agent), and a chapter about German culture suggestively titled "Neroism is in the Air," which focuses to a large extent on the philosophical impact of Nietzsche and of the music of Richard Strauss. Unlike the Taylor book, Tuchman's heavily emphasizes the arts and culture and gives us wonderful insights into characters such as this one about frequent Macy author Anatole France (in the Dreyfus Affair chapter). When a petition called "The Protest of the Intellectuals" was being organized by Marcel Proust and his brother:
Almost the first signature they obtained was their greatest coup: that of the 'ultimate flower of Latin genius' and leader of the Academicians, Anatole France. 'He got out of bed to see us, in his slippers with a head cold,' wrote Halévy, '"Show it to me," he said, "I'll sign, I'll sign anything. I am revolted."' He was a rationalist, revolted by unreason. A cynic and a satirist of human folly, he had sympathy neither for crusades nor for Dreyfus as an individual who, he perceptively suggested, was 'the same type as the officers who condemned him; in their shoes he would have condemned himself'. But he hated the crowd and out of contradictory spirit was usually found to be against the government.
7blue.eyes2
>6 Django6924: Thank you. Its good to have these additional references to better appreciate several of the LEC/Heritage books, and even to just educate oneself.
With respect to Durant, I think he gets it right almost always. Sometimes he is superficial, particularly (and inevitably) i think with respect to the first volume since the scope and canvas of this particular work was too broad. (The opening chapters of volume 1, on the beginnings of civilization, written from an anthropological perspective, are topnotch though). Very rarely he gets it wrong (for instance, forming a negative opinion of a historical figure about whom many modern historians are inclined to view a lot more favorably, or the reverse). This, I believe, has to do with the references available to him at the time (since he was not a specialist on all the multitude of things he was writing about).
With respect to Durant, I think he gets it right almost always. Sometimes he is superficial, particularly (and inevitably) i think with respect to the first volume since the scope and canvas of this particular work was too broad. (The opening chapters of volume 1, on the beginnings of civilization, written from an anthropological perspective, are topnotch though). Very rarely he gets it wrong (for instance, forming a negative opinion of a historical figure about whom many modern historians are inclined to view a lot more favorably, or the reverse). This, I believe, has to do with the references available to him at the time (since he was not a specialist on all the multitude of things he was writing about).
8ManishBadwal
I have recently started reading up on the history of India and am currently reading some of the later volumes of the 11 volume "The History and Culture of the Indian People'' which was published in India by the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai between 1951 to 1977 and is still the most important and authentic historical work about India.
R.C.Majumdar was the general editor of the series and a historian par excellence. He was among the last lot in the line of Indian historians that trace their origin to the scientific school of history established in India by English historians during the Raj. It's a different matter though that many English historians (especially after the revolt of 1857) and Indian historians (especially those who entered the profession after independence of India in 1947) have deviated from a scientific pursuit of history of India and degraded it into an ideological battlefield.
While reading the volumes related to later Mughal history and Maratha history where the English make their appearance, I felt that I needed a better understanding of the history of England to understand how the English were so successful in India. It still defies belief that a trading company ultimately led to the complete English conquest of India. That's when I found out about John Green who was one of the favorite authors of Sir Jadunath Sarkar.
Sarkar is probably the best historian that India has produced in modern times and was the grand old man of Indian history when the "The History and Culture of the Indian People'' was being compiled. He used to read aloud sections from Green's "A Short History of the English People" before starting any new chapter of his books.
I just read Green's book and highly recommend it. It's incredible that he wrote it when he thought that he had only six months to live. His history reads like a story with decades and centuries seemingly flowing one into another through a logical narrative of the forces of humanity - social, economic, cultural, religious, scientific and of course wars - bringing about the changes and events and men that shaped history. This was a refreshing change from history textbooks that one reads in school that instead of building interest in history seem designed to actively inculcate a hatred for it through a tedious recital of chronologies focusing on the what and the who instead of the why.
I don't have much knowledge about history of England and so am incapable of commenting on how objective Green is, however given that he doesn't shy away from criticizing the Church, especially the persecution of Irish Catholics, even though he was a clergyman himself, lends me to believe that he has at least broadly followed the scientific approach to history. On a related note, I had no idea that the experience of Irish Catholics under a Protestant English rule was so similar to the experience of Hindus in India under muslim rule. When it comes to India though, I found Green to be biased towards the English and against the Indians though he did acknowledge the excesses of English in India at least under East India Company.
Given that many LEC books are based in England or related to it, I once again highly recommend John Green's "A Short History of the English People". It's truly a history book meant for the layman rather than historians.
R.C.Majumdar was the general editor of the series and a historian par excellence. He was among the last lot in the line of Indian historians that trace their origin to the scientific school of history established in India by English historians during the Raj. It's a different matter though that many English historians (especially after the revolt of 1857) and Indian historians (especially those who entered the profession after independence of India in 1947) have deviated from a scientific pursuit of history of India and degraded it into an ideological battlefield.
While reading the volumes related to later Mughal history and Maratha history where the English make their appearance, I felt that I needed a better understanding of the history of England to understand how the English were so successful in India. It still defies belief that a trading company ultimately led to the complete English conquest of India. That's when I found out about John Green who was one of the favorite authors of Sir Jadunath Sarkar.
Sarkar is probably the best historian that India has produced in modern times and was the grand old man of Indian history when the "The History and Culture of the Indian People'' was being compiled. He used to read aloud sections from Green's "A Short History of the English People" before starting any new chapter of his books.
I just read Green's book and highly recommend it. It's incredible that he wrote it when he thought that he had only six months to live. His history reads like a story with decades and centuries seemingly flowing one into another through a logical narrative of the forces of humanity - social, economic, cultural, religious, scientific and of course wars - bringing about the changes and events and men that shaped history. This was a refreshing change from history textbooks that one reads in school that instead of building interest in history seem designed to actively inculcate a hatred for it through a tedious recital of chronologies focusing on the what and the who instead of the why.
I don't have much knowledge about history of England and so am incapable of commenting on how objective Green is, however given that he doesn't shy away from criticizing the Church, especially the persecution of Irish Catholics, even though he was a clergyman himself, lends me to believe that he has at least broadly followed the scientific approach to history. On a related note, I had no idea that the experience of Irish Catholics under a Protestant English rule was so similar to the experience of Hindus in India under muslim rule. When it comes to India though, I found Green to be biased towards the English and against the Indians though he did acknowledge the excesses of English in India at least under East India Company.
Given that many LEC books are based in England or related to it, I once again highly recommend John Green's "A Short History of the English People". It's truly a history book meant for the layman rather than historians.
Apunta-t'hi per poder publicar
