The Rise of the West

by McNeill, William H.

• ISBN13: 9780226561417
• ISBN10: 0226561410
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1992-01-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

The Rise of the West, winner of the National Book Award for history in 1964, is famous for its ambitious scope and intellectual rigor. In it, McNeill challenges the Spengler-Toynbee view that a number of separate civilizations pursued essentially independent careers, and argues instead that human cultures interacted at every stage of their history. The author suggests that from the Neolithic beginnings of grain agriculture to the present major social changes in all parts of the world were triggered by new or newly important foreign stimuli, and he presents a persuasive narrative of world history to support this claim. In a retrospective essay titled "The Rise of the Westafter Twenty-five Years," McNeill shows how his book was shaped by the time and place in which it was written (1954-63). He discusses how historiography subsequently developed and suggests how his portrait of the world's past in The Rise of the West should be revised to reflect these changes. "This is not only the most learned and the most intelligent, it is also the most stimulating and fascinating book that has ever set out to recount and explain the whole history of mankind. . . . To read it is a great experience. It leaves echoes to reverberate, and seeds to germinate in the mind."H. R. Trevor-Roper,New York Times Book Review

Author Biography

Elizabeth A. Kaye specializes in communications as part of her coaching and consulting practice. She has edited Requirements for Certification since the 2000-01 edition.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations

""The Rise of the West after Twenty-five Years""

Preface

The Era of Middle Eastern Dominance to 500 B.C.

In The Beginning

The Breakthrough to Civilization in Mesopotamia

The Diffusion of Civilization: First Phase

Introduction

The Civilizations of the Nile And Indus Valleys to 1700 B.C.

Ancient Egypt

The Indus Civilization

The Transplantation of Civilization to Rain-Watered Lands

Introductory

Asia Minor

Crete

The Impact of Civilization on the

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