The great books did not appear out of nowhere. They were written in places and times that faced their own challenges: the rise of the first cities, the search for wisdom in India and China, democracy in Athens, the spread of Christianity and Islam, the Enlightenment’s fight for rights, and the upheavals of the modern era. Each section below introduces one of these worlds and the books that came out of it. Start at the beginning or jump to the civilization that interests you most.