Upon its release, some academics turned up their noses. They argued that Durant simplified too much—omitting certain medieval thinkers or glossing over technical nuances.
The year was 1926. The world was sandwiched between a devastating Great War and a looming economic collapse. In this climate, a young teacher named Will Durant published a book that many critics thought was a fool’s errand: a 500-page volume attempting to summarize the history of Western thought. story of philosophy by will durant
When E. Haldeman-Julius (the publisher of the pamphlets) and Simon & Schuster saw the potential, they compiled these essays into a single narrative. Durant’s goal was simple but revolutionary: to humanize the "saints of the mind." Philosophy as a Biography Upon its release, some academics turned up their noses