Editorial Review

Jared Diamond's Read more

Reviews (74)

A Well Written Account Of How Poor Environmental Practices Can Lead To Social Collapse, But Too Mealy Mouthed InIt's Tone
Jared Diamond is a highly respected scholar who, like Bernard Lewis and Karen Armstrong, is able to write serious books that convey a wealth of knowledge but are also a pleasure to read. This is in contrast to the many dry, dull tomes written by some others in academia. In this aspect, "Collapse" is a success. But, unfortunately, it just doesn't rise to the extremely high standard set by his previous title, "Guns, Germs And Steel," one of my favorite non-fiction books.
Will Our Society Choose to Fail or Succeed?
How a society manages its natural resources, and how it responds to climate and environmental change, can spell the difference between its destruction or survival; this is Jared Diamond's essential message in Collapse. Dr. Diamond, professor of geography at UCLA, uses the example of a number of civilizations that either died out due to poor resource management and climate change, or survived through recognition of these problems and comprehensively addressing them.The book brings to the forefront an important question: are we managing *our* resources wisely today?
My 100-word book review
Collapse is a thoroughly researched and fascinating book offering reasons why civilisations have failed in the past. The Mayans, Easter Islanders and Greenland Norse each encountered complex problems that eventually became catastrophic. Jared Diamond offers no simplistic explanation but describes a number of causes, such as climate change, geography and psychological flaws, which can reinforce one another and lead to disaster. The author does not take an overly pro-environmental stance, recognising that industry has a vital role to play in protecting our world. He provides a salutary lesson from history that current and future generations would do well to heed. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Case studies    2. Civilization    3. Environmental Policy    4. General    5. Historical Geography    6. History - General History    7. Public Policy - Environmental Policy    8. Social Change    9. Social Science    10. Social history    11. Sociology    12. World - General    13. History / World   

Reviews (7)

Excellent survey of western history
Civilization in The West is a superb text.Written by an outstanding group of historians the book is highly readable and contains a wealth of information.The suggestions for additional reading at the end of each chapter are invaluable and list the key texts for any time period.Finally, the colorful illustrations and photographs brilliantly compliment the text.This book is a definite buy for anyone interested in a general guide to western civilization.

Definitely a college text!
I enjoyed this text during my history class very much because it was so in depth. The hundreds of famous paintings alone make this book worthwhile, but it reads very much like a college text. Don't get me wrong -- I came to love history through taking this class, and the book was a large part of that. You must have a high level of literacy and some previous knowledge of history to read this book very easily. NO DETAILS ARE LEFT OUT!!! The book is fabulous and I would recommend it to any level anyways.

Good textbook, not nearly as bad as some i have had to read
The book had lots of info and was easy to understand. It covered all of the most important aspects of western civilizations. Anyone who complains that it was hard to read is an ... I would consider myself smart but i am by no means a rocket scientist and i found this book easy to read and enjoyable. It provided lots of information about certain interesting aspects of different civilizations cultures that would appeal to anyone who whould sign up for a history course. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. Civilization, Western    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Textbooks    7. World - General    8. History / General    9. Other Geographical Groupings, Oceans & Seas    10. World history   

Reviews (7)

Awesome Book
Very easy explanation in book.........dont try to read whole book otherwise you will get sleep

Great for CLEP resource
Got this book as well as Volume I and used them as my resources for taking the Western Civ I and II CLEPS.Perfect for the job, and helped me get a very good grade, highly recommend for anyone looking to use for that purpose.

Revionist History
After being required to read this text for a class, I bought two other history books to which I could compare this one. I thought that Spielvogel was leaving out chunks of history, and revising the ones that he included, and I wanted to double check my facts before making any accusations. Well, boy was I right. This book makes the Publisher's tag line, "Changing the Way the World Learns" seem a little too true..
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Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. History / General    7. Other Geographical Groupings, Oceans & Seas    8. World history   

Editorial Review

Explaining what William McNeill called Read more

Reviews (917)

too long
This book REALLY needs an editor. It is just too long. Mr. Diamond goes over the same points over and over in excruciating detail. My solution was just to skip paragraphs detailing exactly how to carbon-date pinecones for the 20th time.
questionable from the beginning
I haven't yet finished the book, but have found reason to doubt the Mr. Diamond in the preface and prologue alone.In the preface, Diamond states that the readers are not about to read a "racist treatise" and that the book doesn't "involve human racial differences at all."Skip a few pages to the prologue and Diamond postulates "Why did New Guineans wind up technologically primitive, despite what I believe to be their superior intelligence?"Is New Guinean a race?Maybe, maybe not... but reverse the statement and then see how the critics chime in.
Not as compelling as "Collapse" but a good read nontheless.
Diamond presents a look at the evolution of various Cultures throughout the World and how geography has played an important part in their developement.The reason that Eurasia and North Africa evolved more highly developed (technologically anyway) cultures was that there was a wider variety of wild plant and animal species that could be tamed by the humans living in those areas following the Ice Age than there was available to humans in other parts of the world.This enabled people in these areas to develope farming societies (which required more specializations than hunter gatherer societies) more quickly than in other parts of the globe.
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Subjects:  1. Anthropology - General    2. Archaeology / Anthropology    3. Civilization    4. Ethnology    5. History    6. Human Geography    7. Life Sciences - Evolution    8. Social Science    9. Social evolution    10. Sociology    11. Evolution    12. Sociology, Social Studies    13. World history    14. Reading Group Guide   

Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. Dictionaries    3. History    4. History - General History    5. Intellectual life    6. Philosophy    7. Reference    8. World - General    9. History of ideas, intellectual history   

Reviews (1)

Rife with errors, nothing short of propaganda
Here is a review by a student who had the misfortune of reading this book for a class:
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Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. World - General    6. History / General    7. World history   

Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History Of Civilization And Culture (General)    5. History: World    6. World - General    7. Social history   

Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. World - General    7. History / General    8. World history   

Reviews (64)

Simply excellent
Here's a capsule summary of what is taught as "Catholic History" in most American Catholic schools--at least since the 1960s:
Excellent book
This is the best book I have read on the subject of the Catholic Church's impact on and contributions to the history and growth of civilization -- a topic which is widely misunderstood and misrepresented. This would make an excellent textbook for high school or college students, or just a good read for anyone interested in learning the truth.The so called 'Dark Ages' weren't nearly so dark as has been widely misrepresented, not when the light of Christ was shining through His Church and forming the foundations of learning, the university system, agriculture, industry, charity, science (yes, science!), architecture, economics, law, and art.

Scholarly and absorbing
I'm normally a lurker here on Amazon, benefiting from other people's reviews but never contributing any of my own.That's changing, starting now.This is an extraordinary book.
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Subjects:  1. Catholic Church    2. Christianity - History - Catholic    3. Christianity and culture    4. Civilization    5. Civilization, Western    6. History    7. Influence    8. Religion    9. Religion - Classic Works    10. Spirituality - General    11. Religion / General    12. Religion: general   

Editorial Review

In this delightful and illuminating look into a crucial but little-known "hinge" of history, Thomas Cahill takes us to the "island of saints and scholars," the Ireland of St. Patrick and the Book of Kells.Here, far from the barbarian despoliation of the continent, monks and scribes laboriously, lovingly, even playfully preserved the West's written treasury.When stability returned in Europe, these Irish scholars were instrumental in spreading learning, becoming not only the conservators of civilization, but also the shapers of the medieval mind, putting their unique stamp on Western culture. ... Read more

Reviews (232)

history with flavor
Anyone who over-reacted to this book considering it bigotry should lighten up. The title indicates that it has a Irish focus and that it is bravado in its very nature.This is a great story that should not be treated as a the most accurate take on all of civilization and mankind. It has the flavor of the Irish in the very words of the book and the telling of the story. So often do people criticize anything that has any flavor or opinion, but it is so easy to do that. We are not all world historians who get off on reading just the facts. Just as in reading Vasari's "Lives of the Artist's" nobody should complain about how he goes on and on and on about how Michelangelo was God's gift to the world, rather we should have a laugh be entertained and learn a few things about the nature of humanity. Good Read.

Readable, Anecdotal and Enjoyable
Always amazes me to ponder how a single person can change the course of history, as Thomas Cahill shows. For example, if St. Patrick hadn't returned to Ireland to found monasteries, we would be reading a different history of continental Europe. In fact, there might not be a Europe. Really enjoyable book with interesting anecdotes. Very readable, except for occasional flights of political correctness. Makes me want to find out more about Medieval Europe.
Bad Bigoted History.
Read the top most "helpful reviews of this shockingly offensive pamphlet." I am sure you will find the one star reviews far more honest and detailed than the "Naive positive reviewers." There are always people who will whitewash bigotry if it supports their own ethnic delusions of grandeur. I am the third Asian person to boycott this author. I have noticed that many others agree with us. THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 400-1400    2. Books    3. Civilization    4. Civilization, Classical    5. Europe - Ireland    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Ireland    10. Learning and scholarship    11. Medieval, 500-1500    12. Study and teaching    13. History / Ireland    14. History of specific racial & ethnic groups   

Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. World - General    7. History / General    8. World history   

Reviews (34)

Provocative, appealing and controversial
Fomenko has succeeded to convincingly demonstrate the misconception about what "history" factually is... It is fiction and -like we can read and judge for ourselves- no science. It indeed is "make belief" only. I "discovered" Fomenko while studying the "old" history of Al Andaluz, Spain. Having found too many contradictions in available data, having seen too many forgeries as to pretend the importance of christianity for its decline, I ventured out to find Fomenko, who convinced me that we know little if anything for sure of the epoch before the XI-century. However, the integration of the Arabic-Islamic cultural history into the heavily distorted Western fails... There are some attempts to fit "the budding new religion" (Islam) into Fomenko's scheme, but they are too weak to be taken seriously and too often focussing on Turkey as the region where things started to influence the West, which is untrue at all.
pharaohs lived in the 3rd century AD
Traces of white wine were found in Tutankhamen's tomb however there were no record of white wine in Egypt until the 3rd century AD, 1600 years after the young pharaoh died according to the traditional chronology. http://www.newscientist.com/channel/being-human/mg18925395.400
Immensely stimulating!
Fomenko's thesis that all of ancient history was either invented during the Renaissance or at least only based on recent medieval events provided me with an enormous trigger "to see for myself". Having been interested in history for a number of decades, but having got tired of always the same topics in only a new jacket, Fomenko's book opened wide avenues to study new topics to test the author's thesis. To give just some examples: medieval history of the Middle East (Islamic history), the history of the Mongols, Tamerelane, the Ottoman empire; the origins of Christianity and Islam, the development of cartography, language, technology, astronomy.
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Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Civilization    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Medieval    7. Study & Teaching    8. History of science    9. Science / History   

Reviews (1)

History Book
I recieved the item locally from the seller, they did not offer to refund or my shipping charges that I paid even though there ws no shipping involved.. thats ok though I got a great price on the book and the shipping did not offset that. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. History    3. History - General History    4. History: World    5. World - General    6. History / General    7. World history   

Reviews (17)

Thought-provoking, irresponsible, and sometimes comically incorrect. But fun.
Powerful Times has promise as you plow through the first handful of chapters. I've done quite a bit of future `ideating' mostly for product innovation to have concepts like `clarity vs craziness' - something we called, `synthesized sense-making' at work - and `technology acceleration vs pushback' - resonate with me. His arguments make sense and they feel like they're pointing to a powerful conclusion.
Good Cliff note summary of current events
Airplane read. Book is current ... data based. Diverse news roundup with links to future implications. Can't recall any high concept take aways.
Interesting read
Powerful Times is an examination of what the author presents as seven powerful dynamic tensions that will fundamentally reshape human life.What are these seven tensions?Some we are already seeing regularly in the news as the conflicts between the secular and the sacred.Others are also obvious like the tension between clarity and craziness.Still others become fascinating in the way the author develops them; like power and vulnerability, technology acceleration and pushback, intangible and physical economics, prosperity and decline, and people and planet.This is an in-depth exploration of the challenges and changes of governance and innovation.One of the more interesting ideas presented here are what the author sees as the three different scenarios for potential world orders that might evolve as a result of these tensions.This is a bold look at the forces molding our world as we know it and how they will change that world in the near future.Powerful Times is an interesting read and recommended to business and civic leaders at all levels. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. 1950-    2. Business / Economics / Finance    3. Business/Economics    4. Civilization    5. Civilization, Modern    6. Economic Conditions    7. History    8. History Of Civilization And Culture (General)    9. History: World    10. Management - General    11. Business strategy    12. History / General    13. International business    14. International economics    15. Sociology, Social Studies   

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Reviews (7)

Excellent book -
The book goes beyond the rather narrow sounding scope of the title; Brown nicely covers the changes in politics and economics that fostered (or hindered) the spead of Christianity from Ireland to the Middle East. The subject matter is cogently presented and enjoyable to read, unlike other scholarship of this era where authors tend to prove to the reader how much they know leaving the reader somewhat in the dust. Fascinating (at least to me!) is the number of texts that Brown cites that show the changes in orthodoxy from one century to another in various geographical areas, and how those texts came to be preserved. Conclusions are based on either these texts or archiology, not flights of a priori fantasy that all-too-often formed the basis for earlier works on this period. All in all, a book of great scholarship, but most approachable.

A great writer produces unreadable prose
Let me say first that I have been a great admirer of Peter Brown for many years. His "World of Late Antiquity" was a seminal work that inspired a generation of scholars to look past the tired old concepts of the fall of the Roman empire, and his biography of Augustine, recently updated, is magnificent.
Deep and wide
Peter Brown first came to my attention through his scholarship in the study of Augustine, one of my particular interests in the field of church history.His biography of Augustine is considered one of the standards, having been written first in the 1960s, and revised for the turn of the millennium in 2000.This speaks to the length of his career and involvement with the study of church history generally, of which this volume is a wonderful survey.
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Subjects:  1. Christianity - General    2. Christianity - History - General    3. Church history    4. Civilization    5. Civilization, Medieval    6. Europe - General    7. History    8. History - General History    9. History: World    10. Middle Ages, 600-1500    11. Primitive and early church, ca    12. Primitive and early church, ca. 30-600    13. CHURCH HISTORY_MIDDLE AGES, 600-1500    14. CHURCH HISTORY_PRIMITIVE AND EARLY CHURCH, ca. 30-600    15. Christianity    16. Europe    17. History of religion    18. Religion / Church History   

Reviews (2)

Excellent Survey Text for Global View
Adler's World Civilizations is an excellent introductory survey text.The language is pleasant without being banal.Most importantly the text gives attention to a worldview that shows history globally instead of through the Western tinted glasses our texts in High school usually did.

World Civilizations
This text is meant to be the backbone reading material in a standard college-level introduction to world history. It is aimed especially at the student encountering the more exotic elements and areas of civilization for the first time, and particularly in junior and community college courses. It has been written from the beginning with such students in mind, and is uniquely equipped with pedagogic devices meant to aid these persons grasp the interrelations among world civilizations. Chapters are keyed to class lecture coverage, with strong emphasis on social and cultural trends and events. Proportionately more space is given to nonwestern peoples than any other text on the market. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. General    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Textbooks    7. World - General    8. History / General    9. World history   

Editorial Review

"I am a Scotsman," Sir Walter Scott famously wrote, "therefore I had tofight my way into the world." So did any number of his compatriots over a periodof just a few centuries, leaving their native country and traveling to everycontinent, carving out livelihoods and bringing ideas of freedom, self-reliance,moral discipline, and technological mastery with them, among other keyassumptions of what historian Arthur Herman calls the "Scottish mentality."Read more

Reviews (66)

Capturing Human Nature & Defining Good Policies for Government
It was nice to re-learn the old adage to "not judge a book by its cover". I had been reluctant to read the book by the title alone and what a missed pleasure and educational experience that would have been. As some other reviewers have noted, the title is not entirely indicative of the topics explored. The wealth of knowledge of the new discoveries of human nature, good government, and historical shifts due to the 'changes in the means of production' (i.e. capitalism) abound from Lord Kames to Adam Smith during the Scottish Enlightenment. Also, if one is interested in the genesis of North America and other Democracies, one should not bypass this book.
Informative, readable, entertaining and surprisingly balanced despite the title
I am partially of Scottish descent, have the fortune of having a Scottish surname, and I get to wear the best looking kilt at the highland games every year. I even have my clan crest tattooed on my arm and mess around with my bagpipe chanters once in awhile. A friend of mine of German descent, knowing that I enjoyed my ethnicity so, bought this book for me for my birthday last year.
Great Discussion Book for Book Clubs
More about the Scots than most would ever want to know...Jewels of wisdom and insight, many in number, are contained herein, but finding them, at times, can be a difficult read...at other times, a thoroughly delighful read.One wonders if the author is not "reaching" at times, but the provocative thoughts make great discussion topics....This is an excellent book for book clubs, especially men's book clubs, evoking many different views and reactions on a number of important and timely topics.Just how much does the Modern World owe the Scots?More than you might think. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Civilization    2. Civilization, Modern    3. Europe - Great Britain - Scotland    4. History    5. History - General History    6. History: World    7. National characteristics, Scottish    8. Scots    9. Scottish influences    10. History / Civilization    11. World history   

Features

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Reviews (4)

Used it for history
I had to buy this book as the textbook for my History of the Ancient Near East class, and it ended up being fairly good.Textbook reading is never the most exciting, but it was decently well-written and easy to understand.The timelines at the beginning of each chapter definitely helped.It's not exactly and exciting topic, but for what it is I think that this was a helpful book.

Detailed and straightforward
The author here manages to write a chronological account from the dawn of civilization in Mesopotamia to the coming of Alexander the Great without getting boring.While it is pretty detailed, it could use a bit more fleshing out in my opinion.In terms of history and political developments, the author obviously knows what he's talking about, although I do think his statement about the spread of Indo-European languages from the Eurasian steppes being an "outdated nineteenth century concept" is a bit ignorant as to the state of that field.Other than that, the book is well-written and makes ample use of primary sources.

Practical and well-written
This is a very good introduction to mesopotamian studies. I was impressed by the very good quality of the information given and the effectiveness of short and well-articulated chapters. The book does not assume that the reader is familiar with ancient history and explains step by step the history as well as the culture and social development of the ancient near east. I did not give five stars to this very good book because I thought it did not dwell enough on the linguistic aspects of the matter. Otherwise all is very well explained, without needless lengthy digressions. Pictures are kind of limited, but still enough to follow the descriptions. The inserts are particularly interesting featuring mainly translations of ancient text, as for example passages taken from the Amarna letters. The list of kings at the end of the book is particularly interesting. I recommend this book to all who are interested in having a basic knowledge of ancient near east history and even to those who are already introduced to the subject, because this can be considered a good quick-reference book. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Ancient - General    2. Civilization    3. History    4. History - General History    5. History: World    6. Middle East    7. Middle East - General    8. To 622    9. ASIA    10. Ancient World    11. Asian / Middle Eastern history: BCE to c 500 CE    12. History / Middle East    13. MIDDLE EAST_HISTORY_TO 622   

Reviews (48)

The Western Team versus the Gang of Ruthless Men
My takeaway from this book is its development of the idea of an opposition between the "western team" against the "eternal gang of ruthless men."
A waste of perfectly good paper.
I had expected an insightful analysis of the motivations behind modern terrorism. Instead I got a diatribe against western liberalism. Lee Harris is the poster child for the modern John Birchers, people who believe our way is not only the best way, its the only way. In an increasingly global economic and political system, his view of the world can be said to be outmoded, at best quaint, at worst pathological for if we are truely to address the problems facing humanity over the next 100 years, we will need tolerance and inclusivness.

The Most Important Book of Political Philosophy This Century
The first thing to understand about the book is whom the title refers to. Too many readers think this is a book about 9/11, and that therefore the 'enemies' referred to in the title are Islamofascist terrorists. In fact, civilization's enemies are intellectuals. Not all of them; just those who fail to appreciate what a fine and rare thing civilization really is, those who are ignorant of what sustains and upholds civilization. Intellectuals won't destroy civilization themselves, directly. But they will, if allowed, remove civilization's ability to defend itself, so that it falls when faced with a person or group ruthless enough.
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Subjects:  1. 1950-    2. 21st century    3. Civilization    4. Civilization, Modern    5. General    6. History    7. History - General History    8. History: World    9. Modern civilization    10. World politics    11. Philosophy / General    12. World history   

Reviews (68)

Salt of the earth
I wish I had been taught world history through a device such as this.Instead of learning the names of kings and battles and related dates, this kind of perspective really helps the reader understand the 'why' of so much behind what ultimately happened in western civilization. Once you can grasp that conceptual overview, all else follows with profound logic.

Great book for history and trivia junkies
While the book does not follow a "narrative" format, and occasionally changes places and times without warning, I none the less give it an unreserved recomendation!More wars, trades, and other history shaping events have happened because of salt than almost any other substance, and salt has been crtical in trade, and warfare, throughout history.I learned more about places and events I *thought* I was familiar with than I would have thought possible.
Horrendous mistake
One of the most fascinating aspects of salt is that it is hygroscopic.That is due to its chemical nature, it is slightly cooler than "room temperature".Consequently, water will form on the surface of salt from the atmosphere if it is even moderately humid (hence the reason why most of us put rice in our salt shakers - to absorb the water salt collects).You do not have to be a brain surgeon to understand the process.Imagine my surprise when I found in the very first chapter, Kurlansky waxing on whimsically about how he tried to "cook" all of the water out of his pet salt crystal so that water would not come out of it and dissolve the surface.I figure that he knows that salt is made up of NaCl (although I now have my doubts) and there is not much room for water in its crystal structure (almost zero water in it).Here is a guy that has written an entire book on the subject salt.I presumed when I purchased the book that he would be somewhat of an authority on the subject.To say the least, I have to question his abilities to write a book on salt based on the fact that he does not have the foggiest idea about one of the most interesting properties of his subject.Wow.This is a case of a good writer attempting to write on a subject he forgot to read about.By the way, a casual search of salt properties on the internet would have given him the correct information. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Earth Sciences - Geology    2. Economic Geology    3. History    4. History - General History    5. Mineralogy (Specific Aspects)    6. Rocks & Minerals    7. Salt    8. Salt industry and trade    9. Science    10. Science/Mathematics    11. World - General    12. History / Civilization