Heroes of History

I can’t quite believe I made it this far without reading Will Durant. I knew the famous line about excellence being a habit was his poetic paraphrase, not Aristotle’s, but I had never actually sat with his work until that 101 books in 101 days stretch. Heroes of History made me fall in love with the man. Written in his mid-nineties after more than sixty years mastering his craft, this book is Durant the philosopher writing history, inviting us into what he calls a “Country of the Mind” where the great souls of civilization still live and teach. We meet Confucius and his call to reform the world by cultivating the self, Pericles and the Golden Age of Athens with both its brilliance and its shadows, Jesus as the greatest spiritual revolutionist, and Michelangelo as a testament to disciplined creative labor. Big Ideas we explore include Meet Your Heroic Guide, Confucius, Pericles, Jesus, and Michelangelo, each reminding us that history is philosophy teaching by example, and that leadership begins with the mastery of your own character.