I nearly completely sure that was Will Durant......... my very favorite human of all time.
My grandfather was a pretty important person at a very prominent university back throughout the 20's -50's. Will Durant was a pretty good acquaintance of his. My grandfather turned me on to Will Durant a long time ago.
What a great man. Only he could present philosophic thought and history so very beautifully.
What was Will and/or Ariel Durant's answer when asked to summarize all they'd learned from 2 lifetimes of studying all of recorded history into one sentence?
I think it was something to the effect of
LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
They were quite a couple.
I have recently assembled almost all of the Durants' Story of Civilization. The only one that I am missing is the first one, Our Oriental Heritage. I've bought them one at the time as used books that I found via Amazon. The only reason that I don't have the first one is that I feel so overwhelmed with ~Western~ civilization that I just don't see myself biting off the Orient. Actually, I have pretty much pushed the second and third volumes, which concern the classical period, indefinitely to the side. Not that they are not crucial to the story, but you can only do what you can do.
I got obsessed with European history -- mostly viewed in terms of France -- back in 1991 (before the recent, most furious round of well-deserved anger toward the French had taken hold). I started gathering books, mostly used, and one-by-one, acquired the Durant books. I was inspired by having closely read (highlighter in hand) Will's Story of Philosopy.
The Durant books are a delicious read, although I confess to not having done that much with them. I remember them being continuously advertised as signup premiums for the BOMC back in the 70s. (I took the Bartlett's, which I still love and an unabridged dictionary, which was a waste.) I thought at the time that the Durant set was a bit like a leather-bound encyclopedia...mostly something for show. Only years later did I appreciate what a lively account of history they are.
I think that Barnes and Noble may have reprinted them over the years, but they are not all so easy to come by now. Some of them cost ~several~ bucks for a good used copy. And, of course, my set is unmatched, which I actually rather like. (I also like "rescuing" unmarked used books in good condition.)
Now I have accumulated so many books on European, mostly French, history that I don't know if I ever will read through all the Durant books. I regard it as "security" for my retirement, which is now upon me! I will not be bored.