Ariel Durant
Researcher, writer, and co-author of the eleven-volume "Story of Civilization".
Ariel Durant (born Chaya Kaufman) was a Russian-born American writer and researcher, best known as the co-author of The Story of Civilization, written alongside her husband Will Durant. Born to Jewish parents Ethel Appel Kaufman and Joseph Kaufman, she emigrated with her family to the United States in 1901. It was at New York City's Ferrer Modern School, where she was a student and Will a teacher, that the two met, marrying on October 31, 1913.
Ariel and Will Durant's decades-long collaboration earned them the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 for Rousseau and Revolution, the tenth volume of The Story of Civilization. In 1977, President Gerald Ford honored them both with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. That same year, Ariel was also named Woman of the Year by the city of Los Angeles.
Ariel Durant passed away in 1981, just two weeks after her husband Will. They are buried together at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California.
Philosopher's Notes on Ariel Durant's Books
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Philosopher's Notes
The Lessons of History
by Will Durant and Ariel Durant
This is the third Note I've created on one of Will Durant's books. Somehow I didn't read Durant for the first 50 years of my life, but when I found him, I fell in love and read five of his books in a week. This one was written with his beloved wife, Ariel, and I'm not sure whether I love Will's writing more or the fact that they were married for NEARLY SEVENTY YEARS! In this brilliant little book, the Durants compress 5,000 years of history into timeless lessons on the nature, conduct, and prospects of humanity. The first lesson? Modesty. If you want a cosmic perspective on your daily challenges and a reminder that it's our greatest challenges that bring out the best in us, I highly recommend it. Big Ideas we explore include The Earth and History, Heroes of History, Morals and History, Clarity of Mind, and Progress.