Book Review: “The Lessons of History” by Will & Ariel Durant

I recently finished reading The Lessons of History by Will & Ariel Durant. It’s a short book, my version was only 102 pages long, but full of insightful takeaways from the history of western civilization. History sheds light on our society, our culture, and our way of life, and reflecting on the past is more than just memorizing facts and dates, but a way of better understanding the world we live in, how it got that way, the historical patterns that repeat themselves, and the cultural heritage we inherit and are responsible for passing on.

As an avid historian, reading The Lessons of History was very enjoyable for me because it draws examples from so many different eras. A sentence could begin in antiquity and end in modern times. Rhetorical questions such as “Would we really prefer the Athenian agora or the Roman comitia to the British Parliament or the United States Congress” draw parallels with the past to shed light upon our own times.

However, The Lessons of History does assume the reader has a comprehensive knowledge of history because it often draws on examples without elaboration and background information. If you are in no way a history buff, you may have trouble getting through the book without constantly looking up the different events and people it mentions. But you don’t necessarily have to be a history…