If you are stuck at home, yearning for travel, and running out of things to read, perhaps you are thinking to yourself, "Maybe it's time to read Will and Ariel Durant's 11 volume The Story of Civilization. " If so, you are in luck. Destination: Books in its ongoing efforts to find good homes for fine used books has made the complete Simon & Schuster set (published from 1935 to 1975) available for $95 at its online store at destination.alibrisstore.com.
I rescued this set from a building superintendent purge of another apartment in the late 1970s and have hauled them around with me ever since. I tried to read the entire series but only got as far as the middle of Volume 1, Our Oriental Heritage. They are excellent reference books and I have pulled them out on occasion before to familiarize myself with the history of Spain, Turkey and Italy before visiting those countries.
Moreover, these are the kind of books that will give some classic heft to your Zoom background, which if you've read my piece "Books in the Background" in my companion blog, you would know people are constantly judging you. Take political historian Heather Cox Richardson shown here. Everyone agrees she's smart and insightful.
For all details on the pricing and individual, visit the Story of the Civilization product description page. Note: This set has since been sold.