Civilization: The West and the Rest

by: Niall Ferguson (Author)

Publisher: Penguin Books

Publication Date: 2012/10/30

Language: English

Print Length: 464 pages

ISBN-10: 0143122061

ISBN-13: 9780143122067

Book Description

From the bestselling author of The Ascent of Money and The Square and the Tower“A dazzling history of Weste ideas.” —The Economist“Mr. Ferguson tells his story with characteristic verve and an eye for the felicitous phrase.” —Wall Street Joual“[W]ritten with vitality and verve . . . a tour de force.” —Boston GlobeWeste civilization’s rise to global dominance is the single most important historical phenomenon of the past five centuries.How did the West overtake its Easte rivals? And has the zenith of Weste power now passed? Acclaimed historian Niall Ferguson argues that beginning in the fifteenth century, the West developed six powerful new concepts, or “killer applications”—competition, science, the rule of law, mode medicine, consumerism, and the work ethic—that the Rest lacked, allowing it to surge past all other competitors.Yet now, Ferguson shows how the Rest have downloaded the killer apps the West once monopolized, while the West has literally lost faith in itself. Chronicling the rise and fall of empires alongside clashes (and fusions) of civilizations, Civilization:  The West and the Rest recasts world history with force and wit. Boldly argued and teeming with memorable characters, this is Ferguson at his very best.

About the Author

From the bestselling author of The Ascent of Money and The Square and the Tower“A dazzling history of Weste ideas.” —The Economist“Mr. Ferguson tells his story with characteristic verve and an eye for the felicitous phrase.” —Wall Street Joual“[W]ritten with vitality and verve . . . a tour de force.” —Boston GlobeWeste civilization’s rise to global dominance is the single most important historical phenomenon of the past five centuries.How did the West overtake its Easte rivals? And has the zenith of Weste power now passed? Acclaimed historian Niall Ferguson argues that beginning in the fifteenth century, the West developed six powerful new concepts, or “killer applications”—competition, science, the rule of law, mode medicine, consumerism, and the work ethic—that the Rest lacked, allowing it to surge past all other competitors.Yet now, Ferguson shows how the Rest have downloaded the killer apps the West once monopolized, while the West has literally lost faith in itself. Chronicling the rise and fall of empires alongside clashes (and fusions) of civilizations, Civilization:  The West and the Rest recasts world history with force and wit. Boldly argued and teeming with memorable characters, this is Ferguson at his very best.