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The Age of Reason Begins

A History of European Civilization in the Period of Shakespeare, Bacon, Montaigne, Rembrandt, Galileo, and Descartes: 1558 - 1648: The Story of Civilization, Book 7

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The Age of Reason Begins

By: Will Durant, Ariel Durant
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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About this listen

This seventh volume of Will and Ariel Durant's renowned Story of Civilization chronicles the history of European civilization from 1558 to 1648.

The Age of Reason Begins brings together a fascinating network of stories in the discussion of the bumpy road toward the Enlightenment. This is the age of great monarchs and greater artists - on the one hand, Elizabeth I of England, Philip II of Spain, and Henry IV of France; on the other, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Montaigne, and Rembrandt. It also encompasses the heyday of Francis Bacon, Galileo, Giordano Bruno, and Descartes, the fathers of modern science and philosophy. But it is equally an age of extreme violence, a moment in which all Europe was embroiled in the horrible Thirty Years' War - in some respects, the real first world war. This chapter in cultural history is one that can't be missed.

©1961 Will and Ariel Durant (P)2015 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Europe
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Europe and its periphery in the 16th and 17th centuries was a complex and varied world full of players, benefactors and custodians of the Renaissance and Reformations of the previous 3 centuries and one volume cannot hope to give a detailed account. Fortunately for us, this does not prevent Durant and co from having a well good go at it.

This book will give you a detailed, if not in-depth, understanding of key people, events and various influences in action during the age of 'enlightenment' in Western Europe.

A Succinct Account of Post Renaissance Europe

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Brilliant. Durant is a brilliant writer. Gardner is a brilliant reader. What's not to love?

Sublime.

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Another great volume of History of Civilization..I'm on a mission to complete the series by February/March 2021. it is a must read/listen for any history fan.

Awesome

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