The Story of Philosophy

Will Durant (1885—1981) was an American historian and philosopher best known for The Story of Philosophy (1926) and the Pulitzer Prize-winning The Story of Civilization (1935-1975). Born in North Adams, Massachusetts, Durant’s early years were spent within the halls of St. Peter's Preparatory School and later, Saint Peter's College; a studious young man, he would leave the world of academia as a pupil in 1907 only to return later that year as a teacher. He would continue this profession for six years, before resigning to marry his young wife, Chaya Kaufman, and pursue his PhD at Columbia University. While Durant’s first two books Philosophy and the Social Problem (1917) and A Guide to Spinoza (1924) would go without much recognition, his third book, The Story of Philosophy would open the door to critical and commercial acclaim. Originally conceived as a series of Little Blue Books—low priced paperback pocketbooks aimed at educating the working class—the work proved so popular that it was republished as a hardcover by Simon & Schuster in 1926. After its publication, Durant left teaching for good in order to focus his effort on his next big project, The Story of Civilization. Written in conjunction with his wife (now Ariel Durant), the two set out to write the biography of a civilization and spent over four decades producing eleven comprehensive volumes of Western history for the general reader. This effort was rewarded with the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 and bore the couple continued commercial success. Durant would continue to produce nonfiction on a variety of subjects, including an autobiography with his wife, affectionally titled, Dual Autobiography, until he reached ninety-two years of age; and is fondly remembered as the man who helped to popularize philosophy for the general public.