The eleventh and final volume of the classic, Pulitzer Prize?winning series The Story of Civilization, covering Napoleon's reign and a history of European civilization from 1789 to 1815. A bold, comprehensive journey through history as a study of human nature, beginning with the chaos of the French Revolution and the improbable rise of Napoleon Bonaparte, The Age of Napoleon explores how power, belief, luck, and circumstance?not ideals?shape civilizations. Drawing on examples from every continent, Pulitzer Prize?winning author Will Durant argues that history reveals enduring patterns: religion, though repeatedly challenged by reason, proves indispensable to social cohesion; equality is an illusion incompatible with civilization, which has always depended on power, hierarchy, and the leadership of narrow-minded but decisive individuals; and progress is fragile as barbarism waits patiently at the edges, ready to reclaim what civilization forgets to defend. Even greatness offers no protection from oblivion, as time erases nearly every name it once celebrated. Clear-eyed, provocative, and deeply humane, this work shows why history matters?not to flatter our hopes, but to teach us how rare stability is, how quickly it can vanish, and how fortunate we are to live when we do.
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Will Durant (1885-1981) was awarded the Pulitzer Prize (1968) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1977). He spent more than fifty years writing his critically acclaimed eleven-volume series, The Story of Civilization (the later volumes written in conjunction with his wife, Ariel). A champion of human rights issues, such as the brotherhood of man and social reform, long before such issues were popular, Durant's writing still educates and entertains readers around the world.
Will and Ariel Durant, after spending over fifty years completing the critically acclaimed series The Story of Civilization, were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968. In 1977, the Durants were presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Champions of human rights and social reform, the Durants continue to educate and entertain readers the world over. For more information on their work, visit www.willdurant.com.