num_pages: 729
description: If there is a linchpin to understanding modern European history, it lies in the period of religious strife &amp; scientific progress between the 1550s &amp; 1650s. In The Age of Reason Begins, Will &amp; Ariel Durant bring together a fascinating network of stories in their discussion of the bumpy road toward the Enlightenment. This is the age of great monarchs &amp; greater artists: on the one hand, Elizabeth the First of England, Philip II of Spain &amp; Henry IV of France; on the other, Shakespeare, Cervantes, Montaigne &amp; Rembrandt. It also encompasses the heyday of Bacon, Galileo, Giordano Bruno &amp; Descartes--the fathers of modern science &amp; philosophy. But it is equally an age of extreme violence, a moment in which all Europe was embroiled in the horrible Thirty Years' War--in some respects, the real First World War. Whatever the case, this is a chapter in cultural history one can't set aside. "Mr &amp; Mrs Durant are admirably lucid...This is a book that can be commended very warmly."--The New York Times
language: English
title: The Story of Civilization, Volume 7: The Age of Reason Begins
titlecomplete: The Story of Civilization, Volume 7: The Age of Reason Begins
genres: Historical, Reference, Politics, Philosophy, European History, Nonfiction, Audiobook, World History, Classics, History
ratings_count: 877
series: The Story of Civilization
publisher: Simon & Schuster