Story of Civilization, by husband and wife Will and Ariel Durant, is an 11-volume set of books covering Western history for the general reader. The series was written over a span of more than five decades. It totals four million words across nearly 10,000 pages, with 2 further books in production at the time of the authors' deaths.[1] I. Our Oriental Heritage (1935)The Pyramid of Khafre (4th dynasty) and the Great Sphinx of Giza (c. 2500 BC or perhaps earlier)The Pyramid of Khafre (4th dynasty) and the Great Sphinx of Giza (c. 2500 BC or perhaps earlier)This volume covers Near Eastern history until the fall of the Achaemenid Empire in the 330s BC, and the history of India, China, and Japan up to the 1930s. "Every chapter, every paragraph in this book will offend or amuse some patriotic or esoteric soul: the orthodox Jew will need all his ancestral patience to forgive the pages on Yahveh; the metaphysical Hindu will mourn this superficial scratching of Indian philosophy; The Chinese or Japanese sage will smile indulgently at these brief and inadequate selections from the wealth of Far Eastern literature and thought. ... Meanwhile a weary author may sympathize with Tai T’ung, who in the thirteenth century issued his ‘History of Chinese Writing’ with these words: ‘Were I to await perfection, my book would never be finished.’" (p.ix)The Establishment of CivilizationThe Conditions of CivilizationThe Economic Elements of CivilizationThe Political Elements of CivilizationThe Moral Elements of CivilizationThe Mental Elements of CivilizationThe Prehistoric Beginnings of Civilization"The moulders of the world’s myths were unsuccessful husbands, for they agreed that woman was the source of all evil." (page 70)The Near EastSumeriaEgyptBabyloniaAssyriaA Motley of NationsJudeaPersia"For barbarism is always around civilization, amid it and beneath it, ready to engulf it by arms, or mass migration, or unchecked fertility. Barbarism is like the jungle; it never admits its defeat; it waits patiently for centuries to recover the territory it has lost." (page 265)India and Her NeighborsThe Foundations of IndiaBuddhaFrom Alexander to AurangzebThe Life of the PeopleThe Paradise of the GodsThe Life of the MindThe Literature of IndiaIndian ArtA Christian EpilogueOn the fall of India to the Moguls: "The bitter lesson that may be drawn from this tragedy is that eternal vigilance is the price of civilization. A nation must love peace, but keep its powder dry." (page 463)The Far EastThe Age of the PhilosophersThe Age of the PoetsThe Age of the ArtistsThe People and the StateRevolution and RenewalOn China in 1935: "No victory of arms, or tyranny of alien finance, can long suppress a nation so rich in resources and vitality. The invader will lose funds or patience before the loins of China will lose virility; within a century China will have absorbed and civilized her conquerors, and will have learned all the technique of what transiently bears the name of modern industry; roads and communications will give her unity, economy and thrift will give her funds, and a strong government will give her order and peace." (page 823)JapanThe Makers of JapanThe Political and Moral FoundationsThe Mind and Art of Old JapanThe New JapanOn Japan in 1935: "By every historical precedent the next act will be war."