There are not many things finer in our murderous species than this noble curiosity, this restless and reckless passion to understand.
Will Durant
December 22, 2017
In earlier posts, I’ve looked at the challenges of reading the Durants’ massive The Story of Civilization, weighed some reasons for doing so, and decided to give the challenge a shot. Time now for planning and tactics.
First, I needed a deadline. Give me a deadline, and I usually deliver the goods early. No deadline, and I will dither and procrastinate until the project dies aborning. Therefore, I am setting December 31, 2018 as the date for reading the last sentence of the last volume. That is the day I hope to plant my flag atop Mount Durant.
Will Durant
December 22, 2017
In earlier posts, I’ve looked at the challenges of reading the Durants’ massive The Story of Civilization, weighed some reasons for doing so, and decided to give the challenge a shot. Time now for planning and tactics.
First, I needed a deadline. Give me a deadline, and I usually deliver the goods early. No deadline, and I will dither and procrastinate until the project dies aborning. Therefore, I am setting December 31, 2018 as the date for reading the last sentence of the last volume. That is the day I hope to plant my flag atop Mount Durant.
To reach that deadline requires reading an average of about 25 pages per day, which in turn requires setting aside a specific time each day for the Durants. I’m still debating the best hour for visitation.
Which raises the question: In what manner do I read those pages?
At first, I considered following the academic approach of my college and graduate school days. I’d take notes, bring a box of highlighters into play, and delve into the books as if preparing for some horrendous exam.
To test this approach, I plodded through the first hundred pages of Volume I, jotting down pages of quotes and observations, marking pages with sticky notes, and running a yellow highlighter over a hundred sentences or so.
Ugh. Not good. Not good at all. If I wanted more pain in my life, I’d make an appointment with my dentist, enroll in a Cross-Fit program, or insult the biker gang at the Knotty Pine Bar.
Like most readers, I don’t need one more brick in my pack. A challenge, yes, but one with some kick and pizzazz. A bowl of Rice Krispies—Snap! Crackle! And Pop!—not two-day old oatmeal. Reading The Story of Civilization like a student prepping for an advanced placement test wouldn’t even put cream and sugar on that desiccated gruel.
Then I noted Will Durant’s title for his magnum opus: The Story of Civilization. Not The History of Civilization, but The STORY of Civilization.
My interior lights blazed, my spirits rose, my heart gladdened. I’d take on this “story” of those who have walked the earth before us as if reading a series of portly novels, or better still, as if sitting myself down to a rich banquet. I’d make my way from soup to nuts relishing each new dish, each unfamiliar taste, without having to research the history of the avocado or quantify and categorize all the zesty spices perking up that roast duck.
Finally, I’ll write here about that reading. You will rarely find any summaries, any boiling down what I read. If you want the books, you’ll need to make the climb yourself or seek out Ariel and Will’s summation in The Lessons of History. Here the ideas and information provided by the Durants will provide a springboard into a discussion of of our contemporary culture, a jumping-off point to look at ourselves.
At the end of each of these reflections, I will list four or five striking points taken from my reading. Some of these points may surprise you, as they did me. Our ancestors were a wild-and-wholly crew, not so different than us in many ways. Sumerians may have lacked hot showers, Donald Trump hairdos, and “safe spaces,” but they devised laws, worked at occupations, and loved their children.
So up the mountain we go. On the first plateau of Mount Durant we meet our early ancestors.
Which raises the question: In what manner do I read those pages?
At first, I considered following the academic approach of my college and graduate school days. I’d take notes, bring a box of highlighters into play, and delve into the books as if preparing for some horrendous exam.
To test this approach, I plodded through the first hundred pages of Volume I, jotting down pages of quotes and observations, marking pages with sticky notes, and running a yellow highlighter over a hundred sentences or so.
Ugh. Not good. Not good at all. If I wanted more pain in my life, I’d make an appointment with my dentist, enroll in a Cross-Fit program, or insult the biker gang at the Knotty Pine Bar.
Like most readers, I don’t need one more brick in my pack. A challenge, yes, but one with some kick and pizzazz. A bowl of Rice Krispies—Snap! Crackle! And Pop!—not two-day old oatmeal. Reading The Story of Civilization like a student prepping for an advanced placement test wouldn’t even put cream and sugar on that desiccated gruel.
Then I noted Will Durant’s title for his magnum opus: The Story of Civilization. Not The History of Civilization, but The STORY of Civilization.
My interior lights blazed, my spirits rose, my heart gladdened. I’d take on this “story” of those who have walked the earth before us as if reading a series of portly novels, or better still, as if sitting myself down to a rich banquet. I’d make my way from soup to nuts relishing each new dish, each unfamiliar taste, without having to research the history of the avocado or quantify and categorize all the zesty spices perking up that roast duck.
Finally, I’ll write here about that reading. You will rarely find any summaries, any boiling down what I read. If you want the books, you’ll need to make the climb yourself or seek out Ariel and Will’s summation in The Lessons of History. Here the ideas and information provided by the Durants will provide a springboard into a discussion of of our contemporary culture, a jumping-off point to look at ourselves.
At the end of each of these reflections, I will list four or five striking points taken from my reading. Some of these points may surprise you, as they did me. Our ancestors were a wild-and-wholly crew, not so different than us in many ways. Sumerians may have lacked hot showers, Donald Trump hairdos, and “safe spaces,” but they devised laws, worked at occupations, and loved their children.
So up the mountain we go. On the first plateau of Mount Durant we meet our early ancestors.