Description:The first volume of the expansive Pulitzer Prize-winning series The Story of Civilization.Discover a history of civilization in Egypt and the Near East to the Death of Alexander, and in India, China, and Japan from the beginning; with an introduction on the nature and foundations of civilization.This is the classic reference on world history, recognized as the most comprehensive general history ever written, the result of four decades of work by Will and Ariel Durant -- a set that The New York Times called "a splendid, broad panorama of hereditary culture in words and images that the layman can fully understand." This series began as an effort to write a history on the nineteenth century, an undertaking that Will Durant realized could only be understood in terms of what had come before. So the Durants embarked on an encyclopedic survey of all civilization, ancient and modern, Occidental and Oriental.Table of Contents:-The Establishment of Civilization Chapter 1: The Conditions of Civilization Chapter 2: The Economic Elements of Civilization 1. From Hunting to Tillage 2. The Foundations of Industry 3. Economic Organization Chapter 3: The Political Elements of Civilization 1. The Origins of Government 2. The State 3. Law 4. The Family Chapter 4: The Moral Elements of Civilization 1. Marriage 2. Sexual Morality 3. Social Morality 4. Religion 1. The Sources of Religion 2. The Objects of Religion 3. The Methods of Religion 4. The Moral Function of Religion Chapter 5: The Mental Elements of Civilization 1. Letters 2. Science 3. Art Chronological Chart: Types and Cultures of Prehistoric Man Chapter 6: The Prehistoric Beginnings of Civilization 1. Paleolithic Culture 1. Men of the Old Stone Age 2. Arts of the Old Stone Age 2. Neolithic Culture 3. The Transition to History 1. The Coming of Metals 2. Writing 3. Lost Civilizations 4. Cradles of CivilizationBook I: The Near East Chronological Table of Near Eastern History Chapter 7: Sumeria 1. Elam 1. The Sumerians 1. The Historical Background 2. Economic Life 3. Government 4. Religion and Morality 5. Letters and Arts 3. Passage to Egypt Chapter 8: Egypt 1. The Gift of the Nile 1. In the Delta 2. Upstream 2. The Master Builders 1. The Discovery of Egypt 2. Prehistoric Egypt 3. The Old Kingdom 4. The Middle Kingdom 5. The Empire 3. The Civilization of Egypt 1. Agriculture 2. Industry 3. Government 4. Morals 5. Manners 6. Letters 7. Literature 8. Science 9. Art 10. Philosophy 11. Religion 4. The Heretic King 5. Decline and Fall Chapter 9: Babylonia 1. From Hammurabi to Nebuchadrezzar 2. The Toilers 3. The Law 4. The Gods of Babylon 5. The Morals of Babylon 6. Letters and Literature 7. Artists 9. Babylonian Science 9. Philosophers 10. Epitaph Chapter 10: Assyria 1. Chronicles 2. Assyrian Government 3. Assyrian Life 4. Assyrian Art 5. Assyria Passes Chapter 11: A Motley of Nations 1. The Indo-European Peoples 2. The Semitic Peoples Chapter 12: Judea 1. The Promised Land 2. Solomon in All His Glory 3. The God of Hosts 4. The First Radicals 5. The Death and Resurrection of Jerusalem 6. The People of the Book 7. The Literature and Philosophy of the Bible Chapter 13: Persia 1. The Rise and Fall of the Medes 2. The Great Kings 3. Persian Life and Industry 4. An Experiment in Government 5. Zarathustra 6. Zoroastrian Ethics 7. Persian Manners and Morals 8. Science and Art 9. DecadenceBook II: India and Her Neighbors Chronological Table of Indian History Chapter 14: The Foundations of India 1. Scene of the Drama 2. The Oldest Civilization? 3. The Indo-Aryans 4. Indo-Aryan Society 5. The Religion of the Vedas 6. The Vedas as Literature 7. The Philosophy of the Upanishads Chapter 15: Buddha 1. The Heretics 2. Mahavira and the Jains 3. The Legend of Buddha 4. The Teaching of Buddha 5. The Last Days of Buddha Chapter 16: From Alexander to Aurangzeb 1. Chandragupta 2. The Philosopher-King 3. The Golden Age of India 4. Annals of Rajputana 5. The Zenith of the South 6. The Moslem Conquest 7. Akbar the Great 8. The Decline of the Moguls Chapter 17: The Life of the People 1. The Makers of Wealth 2. The Organization of Society 3. Morals and Marriage 4. Manners, Customs and Character Chapter 18: The Paradise of the Gods 1. The Later History of Buddhism 2. The New Divinities 3. Beliefs 4. Curiosities of Religion 5. Saints and Sceptics Chapter 19: The Life of the Mind 1. Hindu Science 2. The Six Systems of Brahmanical Philosophy 1. The Nyaya System 2. The Vaisheshika System 3. The Sankhya System 4. The Yoga System 5. The Purva Mimansa 6. The Vedanta System 3. The Conclusions of Hindu Philosophy Chapter 20: The Literature of India 1. The Languages of India 2. Education 3. The Epics 4. Drama 5. Prose and Poetry Chapter 21: Indian Art 1. The Minor Arts 2. Music 3. Painting 4. Sculpture 5. Architecture 1. Hindu Architecture 2. “Colonial” Architecture 3. Muslim Architecture in India 4. Indian Architecture and Civilization Chapter 22: A Christian Epilogue 1. The Jolly Buccaneers 2. Latter-Day Saints 3. Tagore 4. East Is West 5. The Nationalist Movement 6. Mahatma Gandhi 7. Farewell to IndiaBook III: The Far East A. China Chronology of Chinese Civilization Chapter 23: The Age of the Philosophers 1. The Beginnings 1. Estimates of the Chinese 2. The Middle Flowery Kingdom 3. The Unknown Centuries 4. The First Chinese Civilization 5. The Pre-Confucian Philosophers 6. The Old Master 2. Confucius 1. The Sage in Search of a State 2. The Nine Classics 3. The Agnosticism of Confucius 4. The Way of the Higher Man 5. Confucian Politics 6. The Influence of Confucius 3. Socialists and Anarchists 1. Mo Ti, Altruist 2. Yang Chu, Egoist 3. Mencius, Mentor of Princes 4. Hsun-Tze, Realist 5. Chuang-Tze, Idealist Chapter 24: The Age of the Poets 1. China’s Bismarck 2. Experiments in Socialism 3. The Glory of T’ang 4. The Banished Angel 5. Some Qualities of Chinese Poetry 6. Tu Fu 7. Prose 8. The Stage Chapter 25: The Age of the Artists 1. The Sung Renaissance 1. The Socialism of Wang An-Shih 2. The Revival of Learning 3. The Rebirth of Philosophy 2. Bronzes, Lacquer and Jade 3. Pagodas and Palaces 4. Painting 1. Masters of Chinese Painting 2. Qualities of Chinese Painting 5. Porcelain Chapter 26: The People and the State 1. Historical Interlude 1. Marco Polo Visits Kublai Khan 2. The Ming and the Ch’ing 2. The People and Their Language 3. The Practical Life 1. In the Fields 2. In the Shops 3. Invention and Science 4. Religion Without a Church 5. The Rule of Morals 6. A Government Praised by Voltaire Chapter 27: Revolution and Renewal 1. The White Peril 2. The Death of a Civilization 3. Beginnings of a New Order B. Japan Chronology of Japanese Civilization Chapter 28: The Makers of Japan 1. The Children of the Gods 2. Primitive Japan 3. The Imperial Age 4. The Dictators 5. Great Monkey-Face 6. The Great Shogun Chapter 29: The Political and Moral Foundations 1. The Samurai 2. The Law 3. The Toilers 4. The People 5. The Family 6. The Saints 7. The Thinkers Chapter 30: The Mind and Art of Old Japan 1. Language and Education 2. Poetry 3. Prose 1. Fiction 2. History 3. The Essay 4. The Drama 5. The Art of Little Things 6. Architecture 7. Metals and Statues 8. Pottery 9. Painting 10. Prints 11. Japanese Art and Civilization Chapter 31: The New Japan 1. The Political Revolution 2. The Industrial Revolution 3. The Cultural Revolution 4. The New EmpireEnvoi: Our Oriental Heritage