John is presently away for the next few days and asked me to respond to some of your questions.
First, let me say thank you for your spirited story of the influence Durant has had on you. You'll find many people, myself and John included, who have been influenced by the Durants in a like manner.
There is a bibliography on the site; we currently do not have a direct link to it and generally give it out upon request. Here it is:
We are aware of the CDROM; though no longer in production, we do have plans to do a new and improved version that will benefit from the foundation's complete access to the Durant archives. We probably won't start working on that until sometime next year.
The good news is that John and I are wrapping up production of a documentary on the Durants that features an intimate interview with them on their lives, their work, and their perspectives. We will announce its availability on this forum and site in the next few months.
(And for those who are waiting on the new Durant audio tapes, they are completed and work is being done on the packaging.)
As for younger Durant audios, I have located at least two radio debates he took part in during the 1930s. John and I are working on obtaining the debates. Likely, as our research goes on, we will find more recordings.
You asked why the Durants do not have more representation in the modern educational system. There is more than one reason, and atheism is not among them, as there are a disproportionate number of atheists in academia. It's the safest place for an atheist to be, metaphorically speaking. The first (and most important) reason is that Durant was a popularizer of history. He wrote for the masses, not academics. Scholastic historians, by and large, write for themselves; they do not address a broad public. Secondly, Durant was a very successful and popular representative of philosophy and history. Many academics resent and envy such cross-over success, and diminish his contributions to the two fields. Lastly, with the exception of "The Story of Philosophy", Durants books have been out of print for the last several years, including the entire "Story of Civilization".
As for the Will Durant Foundation, the foundation was dissolved back in the 70s. Will and Ariel's granddaughter, the executor of their estate, is currently working to re-obtain our non-profit status. Until that time, we aren't able to engage in any scholarships or other such enterprises. Beyond that, it may take some time (once we have our status) to build up the capital to sponsor such projects. It is certainly something we want to accomplish, though. As it stands right now, many of the projects that we are working on, including the Durant documentary, preservation of archival materials (including the restoration and cataloguing of photographs), research to locate and acquire Durant materials in various university and organizational collections, and the building, operation and maintenance of this website, are funded directly by John and me.
The Will and Ariel Durant library was named in their honor; that is about the only association. It's disappointing that they have not done something more to keep the flame alive. I find it distressing and unforgivable to hear that the librarians don't even know who they are.
