[Read by Robin Field] [Our Oriental Heritage is Volume 1 -- of the eleven volume "The Story of Civilization" Series] The first volume of Will Durant"s Pulitzer Prize-winning series, Our Oriental Heritage: The Story of Civilization, Volume I chronicles the early history of Egypt, the Middle East, and Asia. In this masterful work, readers will encounter: *Sumeria, birthplace of the first cities and written laws *the Egyptians, who perfected monumental architecture, medicine, and mummification more than 3,500 years ago *the Babylonians, who developed astronomy and physics, and planted the seeds of Western mythology *the Judeans, who preserved their culture forever in the immortal books of the Old Testament *the Persians, who ruled the largest empire in recorded history before Rome *Indian philosophy, Chinese philosophers, and Japanese samurais