Fallen Leaves: Last Words on Life, Love, War and God

Pulitzer Prize–winning historian Durant, who died in 1981, had long hinted that he was writing a summation of his thoughts on... well, just about everything. This long-awaited release is a collection of essays on religion, race, politics, art, and science, providing a slim but apt companion piece to The Story of Civilization, the acclaimed 11-volume series Durant coauthored with his wife, Ariel. Some passages, such as his observations on youth and middle age, are personal and specific, while others, such as his ruminations on the existence of God, border on philosophy. Some of Durant’s views are impossibly antiquated today—particularly his observation that women are “seldom capable of lasting friendships” and should receive instruction in the domestic arts, as “good pies do more for monogamy than all the languages.” Others, though, still carry a beneficial sting, such as his thoughts on war and nationalism and his plea for racial harmony (Durant’s civil rights advocacy dated back to 1914). If readers can forgive his more dated beliefs, they’ll find a thought-provoking array of opinions. (Dec.)