PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY REVIEW - This engaging, accessible book of essays from Pulitzer Prize-winning philosopher and historian Durant, author of the authoritative 11-volume Story of Civilization, should be essential reading for anyone interested in the evolution of thought. Little, the founder and director of The Will Durant Foundation, includes in his slim compendium such works as "The One Hundred 'Best' Books For an Education" and "Twelve Vital Dates in World History." Durant's "The Ten 'Greatest' Thinkers" details minds as enlightening as Confucius and as influential as Darwin, whom Durant says "reduced man to an animal fighting for his transient mastery of the globe." "The Ten 'Greatest' Poets," charts a course from Homer's brilliance to Dante's haunted heart to Whitman's "frank and lusty" originality, in prose peppered with biographical bon mots and excerpts of the world's loveliest poems. Lay folks especially will find this a delightful introduction to Durant's irrepressible style. What else would one expect from Durant, an intellect who, when asked, "Whom in all of history would you most like to have known?" drolly replied, "Madame de Pompadour."
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CIO MAGAZINE REVIEW - Historian and philosopher Will Durant was frequently asked for his opinion on the best, the greatest or the highest, and answered in a series of essays that originally appeared as magazine articles and lectures and have now been compiled into The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time.

Numerous books have exhumed historical figures and propped them up as exemplars of modern corporate virtues. Thankfully, this lively little book is not one of those. Reading it is to experience Durant's great mind having fun. Readers will have fun too with this pure play of ideas.

RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH REVIEW - Pulitzer Prize-winner Will Durant (1885-1981) had a penchant for distilling the essence of knowledge into tidy lists - the best 10 of this, the best 100 of that. He brought to that task a wealth of knowledge and the ability to draw distinctions. Writer John Little, an expert on Durant's work, now has selected the best of Durant's lists for the compendium The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time (Simon & Schuster, $20). Here readers will find a listing of Durant's choice of the ten greatest poets, the ten greatest thinkers, a company of heroes, and other important bests and greats, along with Durant's rationale for each selection. His "One Hundred 'Best' Books for an Education" is a journey through the classics of history. -A.L.M.

OXFORD INSIGHT REVIEW by C. Alexander Green - Recently, I discovered a new book I'm sure you'll find a profitable read. It has not a thing to do with wealth building, however, unless you look past your ledger to the riches you store between your ears. In that respect, this book is a treasure chest indeed.

The title is The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time by Will Durant. The topic sounds ambitious, but you can easily polish off this slim volume in a single evening. (Although I practically wore out a highlighter in the process.)

Durant, winner of both the Pulitzer Prize and the Medal of Honor, is best known for his magnum opus, the critically-acclaimed 11-volume "The Story of Civilization." And although he is both a first-rate historian and a gifted writer, tackling that several-million-word behemoth is not a realistic option for most of us.

You can consider this 120-page book the "Cliff Notes" version.

The six chapter headings give you an overview:

1. A Shameless Worship of Heroes. Durant says "The real history of man is not in prices and wages, nor in elections and battles, nor in the tenor of the common man; it is the lasting contributions made by geniuses to the sum of human civilization and culture." Durant then introduces us to these people.

2. The Ten "Greatest" Thinkers. From Confucius to Charles Darwin, Durant describes the accomplishments of the ten individuals who have had "the greatest influence on the lives and minds of men."

3. The Ten "Greatest" Poets. Okay, you guessed William Shakespeare. But you may benefit from increasing your familiarity with the other nine writers "who, beyond all others, have brought us that strange mixture of music, emotion, imagery and thought, which is poetry."

4. The One Hundred "Best" Books For an Education. "Let me have seven hours a week," Durant says, "and I will make a scholar and a philosopher out of you; in four years you shall be as well educated as any new-fledged Doctor of Philosophy in the land." His list of the 100 most important books ever written is the course syllabus.

5. The Ten "Peaks" of Human Progress. This will refresh your memory of the real sweep of human history. From the mastery of fire, to the conquest of the animals, to the industrial revolution, Durant describes step by step the road we took "from the savage to the scientist."

6. Twelve Vital Dates in World History. We all know in 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue, but do you draw a blank about 4241 B.C.? How about A.D. 1294? The American Revolution, the Civil War and the two World Wars didn't even make the top 12 dates. Provocative reading, to say the least.

In short, I found this book a 120-page liberal arts education. And while this renaissance man has nothing to tell us about how to increase our fortunes, he does at least give us some advice on how to spend them:

"If I were rich," he says, "I would have many books . . . And in my library at any hour my hand or spirit would welcome my friends, if their souls were hungry and their hands were clean."

The Greatest Minds and Ideas of All Time is an excellent start. It may be the best $14 investment you make this year.

BOOKLIST REVIEW by Jay Freeman - By the time of his death in 1981, it was fashionable for many scholars to deride the works of Will Durant; his faith in human progress and emphasis upon the great achievements of individuals seemed outmoded in circles that stressed pessimism about the fate of humanity and lauded the power of mass movements. So it is refreshing to again encounter historical writing that brims with optimism and pays just tribute to individual minds and ideas that have shaped history and advanced both moral and material progress. Editor Little is a lecturer on philosophy, a documentary filmmaker, and director of the Will Durant Foundation. His compilation of Durant's essays is divided into sections on the greatest thinkers, poets, books, and landmarks of human progress. Even Durant acknowledges that his efforts to rate "top tens" borders on the frivolous, but there is nothing frivolous about Durant's elegant prose and cogent insight into the lives and minds of men as diverse as Confucius, Voltaire, and Darwin. This compact work is a gem that elevates historical writing to the level of superb literature. Copyright © American Library Association.

For more on the new book and other information on coming projects please read the interview with editor John Little by clicking here.

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