"Fallen Leaves is in some ways a slight book. But it is also a revelatory one. Most of Durant's work is about the thoughts and actions of others. Fallen Leaves is very much about the thoughts of Will durant concerning--well, almost everything. You'll find short essays on childhood, old age, death, war, politics, capitalisn, art, sex, God and morality. ... Above all, Fallen Leaves is a portrait of a sensibility. ... Durant was a remarkable specimen of that nearly extinct species, a civilized liberal of wide learning and even wider sympathy for the fundamentals of human aspiration."-- "The Wall Street Journal"
"Short but persuasive commentaries on a diversity of topics from a respected scholar of humanity."-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"Some passages, such as his observations on youth and middle age, are personal and specific, while others, such as his ruminations on the existence of God, border on philosophy. . . . [And others] still carry a beneficial sting, such as his thoughts on war and nationalism and his plea for racial harmony (Durant's civil rights advocacy dated back to 1914). . . . a thought-provoking array of opinions."-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Some of his musings are provocative, even outrageous...this is a work that demands we think, and it is a worthy conclusion to a long and distinguished career."-- "Booklist"
"The book serves as a distillation of wisdom from a distinguished scholar, rendered in elegant prose."-- "The New Criterion"