NOT the history of the Renaissance!

I've been gradually (over decades) working my way through Durant's History of Civilization. They can be tedious, but they have always been the most complete history of the period available. Not this one. I was expecting an explanation of how the Middle Ages morphed into the Renaissance, what was happening in all of Europe, how the economy changed, etc. I'm 18 hours into the book, and the only topic in those 18 hours has been Italian art. That's it. Every artist you'v ever heard of, many that you haven't, who they slept with, who they painted/sculped, where they lived, what they ate, how they amused themselves, how well they got along with one another. Nothing about the economy, the power brokers, the influences, the new weapons of war....just art. Maybe the second half of the book gets into that, but so far, nothing.

I do have to give a huzzah to the narrator. He could make stone tablets sound exciting. Thirty-seven hours is a long time to listen to one voice. If you have to do it, this is the voice to listen to. He's terrific.

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Worth every minute

I bought this book before my 3rd trip to Italy. I honestly thought I'd only listen to some of it. I listened to the entire 35 hours and learned more than I've learned from any book since college. I listened to many chapters twice so I could retain the information or synthesize what I was learning with what I already knew. The reader is excellent and the writing is thoughtful, analytical but also surprisingly entertaining. Anyone who loves history and wants to get a grand overview of this remarkable time in history should read this book.

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Panoramic View of the Italian Renaissance

This installment reflects the usual qualities of this series: Durant's lucid, witty and colorful prose style; his insightful (and sometimes quirky) opinions; his history in the round approach which blends art, religion, politics, literature, etc. to shine light on each other.

The main potential drawback of this volume is that a period intensely visual is being listened to as an audiobook. Even the book had only a small selection of the works discussed displayed in black and white photos of limited resolution. However, this defect is easily remedied nowadays by searching online for the artworks in question.

I would never say that the Durants' work should be the last word on any period. But when I read other more current volumes, it is always with far more understanding because of my exposure to the their Story of Civilization.

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Wonderful Review of Renaissance Italy

This is the fifth book of Durant’s excellent History of Civilization series.
See my review of the first volume for comments on the series as a whole.
This volume does not cover all of, or only, the Renaissance, but instead covers Italy from 1304-1576 AD. Not to worry, Volume VI covers the same period in the rest of Europe. Durant presents an integrated history, which does not focus on dates, but upon the themes of history and the totality of each period including the daily life, the arts, the crafts, the politics and the ideas. This volume covers a few well known artists and popes and other characters of the Italian Renaissance, but also much more. After a brief framing of the period, the history of each major city or region is covered along with the art and artists, politics and leaders, and people and life, then each pope of the period is covered along with the politics and art of their pontificate. Finally the transition between the Renaissance and the reformation is described.

I liked this series quite a bit, and would not recommend skipping this volume. This is not the best of the series, but is interesting never the less. I had read and listened to this volume before, yet I still learned things I had forgotten or did not previously absorb, and more importantly, I enjoyed every minute of the 37 hours.

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Worst of the series

What would have made The Renaissance better?

Actually including and being as expansive as the rest of the series. This focused exclusively on the Italian renaissance, meaning spoonfeading us all the pop culture knowledge of Leonardo, The Borgias, Venice, and so forth. But the problem is, it's EXCLUSIVELY only this, and nothing more. Highly repetitious.

Has The Renaissance turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. This is one bad egg due to Will Durants personal life at the time. Had to puke out a crappy book quickly, and stuck to what was popular.

Any additional comments?

Anyone who likes the series, skip this one. You will learn absolutely nothing you don't already know by social osmosis of our idealization of the Renaissance. The interesting observations, conclusions, and so forth from prior books are COMPLETELY absent here. Just one convenient narrative spoon fed to satisfy whatever audience Durant thought he had to acquire at this point of his life.

Skip this one. It is not worth the money. It reads as if written as a college essay project with no need for research and citation.

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History.

I am running out of ways to praise this series of books. I learned a lot from this book as I did with the ones before it.

If you like history, you should at least try this series.

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Extradorinay In Every Way, A Must Listen Book

Grover Gardener is now, and has been, my favorite reader of all audio books, and I have listened to perhaps 60 audio books in the last 6 years, if not more. He can pronounce any Italian and French or Spanish words, so well, I wouldn't want to try reading the print version. He makes it so much easier by reading it flawlessly. But on top of being well read, this is my favorite audio book, I think ... although I have many favorites. This one leaps ahead in both organization, research, and story line, to put a period of the world's history into perfect perspective. There is no better history writer than Will Durant who is a master of the English language and uses such thoughtful expressions and has such a world-class perspective on events and people. I am also thrilled it is now on Audible, as I have waited for this, I first listened to it on worn out cassette tapes purchased second hand from libraries, Much applause to Audible for bringing this great book to the world in a very accessible format.

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Outdated.

From a early 1940s perspective, this needs an update that includes nthe last 75 years of new research.

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Fantastic!

I am amazed at the amount of information Will Durant beautifully transmits in this volume. Nearly three centuries of Italian history is wonderfully described with the transformation of art through painting and sculpture, almost always requested by the heads of the Roman Catholic church! And the political masterminding of this era is amazing. Grover Gardner did a wonderful job with this narration, speaking in other languages (and reciting interpretations as the book gives), with amazing clarity. I can't wait to read his next narrative in this volume!

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Great addition to the series

I did not expect much from this volume which made this one extra special. There is so much here that touches the soul and informs what it means to be human, chiefly, with the development of humanism, contrasted against some of the most vicious and dark periods in human history. The people that are covered are magnificent, the political and spiritual battles fought in the hearts and minds and hands of the people are on par with ancient Greece and ancient Rome. The context for the national union of the Italian kingdoms into an Italian state is heartbreaking. During the period of the Renaissance, civilization was being built anew. Notable achievements covered are the formation of modern European culture, religion, decency, etiquette, art, science, and medicine.

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