Our Oriental Heritage is the classic reference on world history, recognized as the most comprehensive general history ever written. This monumental work is the result of four decades of dedicated research by Will and Ariel Durant.

Volume 1 of the series, Our Oriental Heritage, opens with a sweeping examination of the Orient. It covers the Egyptians, known for their monumental architecture, medicine, and mummification; the Babylonians, pioneers in astronomy and physics; the Judeans, who preserved their culture in the immortal books of the Old Testament; and the Persians, rulers of the largest empire before Rome.

With Our Oriental Heritage, Will Durant embarks on an encyclopedic survey of all civilization, both ancient and modern, Occidental and Oriental. This volume sets the stage for understanding the intricate tapestry of human history and the cultural achievements that have shaped the world.

Join the Durants on this epic journey through time, exploring the colorful and complex dramas of the Near East, India, China, and Japan, up to the mid-1930s. This is a must-read for history enthusiasts and anyone interested in the profound legacy of Eastern civilizations.

Terra Nostra is one of the great masterpieces of modern Latin American fiction. This ambitious novel by Carlos Fuentes covers 20 centuries of European and American culture and prominently features the construction of El Escorial by Philip II.

The title, Latin for "Our Earth," is modeled on James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, and shifts unpredictably between the sixteenth century and the twentieth. It seeks the roots of contemporary Latin American society in the struggle between the conquistadors and indigenous Americans.

Fuentes skillfully blends a wide range of literary forms, stories within stories, Mexican and Spanish myth, and famous literary characters. This novel is both a historical epic and an apocalyptic vision of modern times.

Terra Nostra is a total work of art—a voyage to the edge of what only a novelist can see and say.