The Winter Reading for 2004 features selections from The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant with an introduction and commentary by Senior Fellow and founding Chairman Alonzo L. McDonald. In the face of contemporary society's overwhelming barrage of information and "spin," it is helpful-and often necessary-to step back and look at current events in the light of the past and to consider what we can learn from history that can guide us moving forward. This Reading will be a catalyst and inspiration in that task. As Mr. McDonald notes, "It is particularly crucial for us to recognize that with all the changes the world has undergone during the several millennia of recorded history, the one constant seems to be human nature with its ever-present positive and negative tendencies." The Lessons of History is a short book that summarizes Durants' findings in the popular multi-volume history, The Story of Civilization. Mr. McDonald has selected portions from each chapter and follows each with comments drawn from his life experience in business, politics, journalism, and academia as a way of inviting you to a similar course of reflection on your own life.
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