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Shop nowThe Age of Voltaire
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Learn moreThe Age of Voltaire, the ninth volume of the Story of Civilization, is an in-depth examination of France and England in the first half of the eighteenth century. In this masterful work, listeners will encounter
the English ideas that inspired the Enlightenment in France—skepticism, scientific experiment, constitutional government, "natural rights," and individual liberty; the salons of Paris, where the wits and thinkers of all Europe gathered to exchange ideas; the philosophes—intellectuals, playwrights, and poets who consulted and consorted with kings and queens; Voltaire himself—the incarnation of the Enlightenment and a devotee of reason who still defended religious faith; Mme. Pompadour, patron of the philosophes, who seduced King Louis XV and through him influenced French policy; the Augustan Age in English literature—Alexander Pope's poetry, Jonathan Swift's satires, and the novels of Samuel Richardson and Henry Fielding; and the growing parasitism of the aristocracy and rising power of the commercial class.Will Durant (1885–1981) was an award-winning American writer, historian, and philosopher. He and his wife were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 for Rousseau and Revolution, and he was a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Durant spent over forty years writing the critically acclaimed eleven-volume Story of Civilization, the later volumes with the help of his wife, Ariel. He sought to revitalize history by unifying and humanizing the great body of historical knowledge, which had become voluminous and fragmented into esoteric subcategories. He also strove to bring philosophy to the common man. Durant was a champion of human rights, social reform, and the brotherhood of man long before they became well-known issues.
Ariel Durant (1898–1981) was a Russian-born American researcher and writer and the coauthor of the eleven-volume Story of Civilization with her husband Will Durant. Ariel and Will Durant were jointly awarded the Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction in 1968 and the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1977. Ariel was named the 1977 Woman of the Year by the city of Los Angeles.
Grover Gardner has recorded more than 650 audiobooks since beginning his career in 1981. He's been named one of the "Best Voices of the Century" as well as a "Golden Voice" by AudioFile magazine. Gardner has garnered over 20 AudioFile Earphones Awards and is the recipient of an Audio Publishers Association Audie Award, as well as a three-time finalist. In 2005, Publishers Weekly deemed him "Audiobook Narrator of the Year."
Gardner has also narrated hundreds of audiobooks under the names Tom Parker and Alexander Adams. Among his many titles are Marcus Sakey's At the City's Edge, as well as Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, and John Irving's The Cider House Rules. Gardner studied Theater and Art History at Rollins College and received a Master's degree in Acting from George Washington University. He lives in Oregon with his significant other and daughter.
Reviews
“A fine work of popularization…The Durants show an acute appreciation of the quality of this particular period.”
“The Durants provide a period panorama par excellence, a compound of history and biography in which indeed man makes history, not history the man. Voltaire becomes the pivot for the age, with his deification of reason and anti-clerical stance…They are at their enthusiastic best when filling out the portraits of their immense cast, but their compass, their comprehension of the political, social, economic, scientific, philosophic, artistic realities, set in the perspective of their theme, offer a unified over-view of life in France, England, Middle Europe…A popular cultural spectacular.”
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