From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life [Hardcover]

Jacques Barzun (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0060175869 | ISBN-13: 978-0060175863 | Publication Date: May 16, 2000 | Edition: 1st

Highly regarded here and abroad for some thirty works of cultural history and criticism, master historian Jacques Barzun has now set down in one continuous narrative the sum of his discoveries and conclusions about the whole of Western culture since 1500.

In this account, Barzun describes what Western Man wrought from the Renaisance and Reformation down to the present in the double light of its own time and our pressing concerns. He introduces characters and incidents with his unusual literary style and grace, bringing to the fore those that have "Puritans as Democrats," "The Monarch's Revolution," "The Artist Prophet and Jester"--show the recurrent role of great themes throughout the eras.

The triumphs and defeats of five hundred years form an inspiring saga that modifies the current impression of one long tale of oppression by white European males. Women and their deeds are prominent, and freedom (even in sexual matters) is not an invention of the last decades. And when Barzun rates the present not as a culmination but a decline, he is in no way a prophet of doom. Instead, he shows decadence as the creative novelty that will burst forth--tomorrow or the next day.

Only after a lifetime of separate studies covering a broad territory could a writer create with such ease the synthesis displayed in this magnificent volume.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In the last half-millennium, as the noted cultural critic and historian Jacques Barzun observes, great revolutions have swept the Western world. Each has brought profound change--for instance, the remaking of the commercial and social worlds wrought by the rise of Protestantism and by the decline of hereditary monarchies. And each, Barzun hints, is too little studied or appreciated today, in a time he does not hesitate to label as decadent.

To leaf through Barzun's sweeping, densely detailed but lightly written survey of the last 500 years is to ride a whirlwind of world-changing events. Barzun ponders, for instance, the tumultuous political climate of Renaissance Italy, which yielded mayhem and chaos, but also the work of Michelangelo and Leonardo--and, he adds, the scientific foundations for today's consumer culture of boom boxes and rollerblades. He considers the 16th-century varieties of religious experimentation that arose in the wake of Martin Luther's 95 theses, some of which led to the repression of individual personality, others of which might easily have come from the "Me Decade." Along the way, he offers a miniature history of the detective novel, defends Surrealism from its detractors, and derides the rise of professional sports, packing in a wealth of learned and often barbed asides.

Never shy of controversy, Barzun writes from a generally conservative position; he insists on the importance of moral values, celebrates the historical contributions of Christopher Columbus, and twits the academic practitioners of political correctness. Whether accepting of those views or not, even the most casual reader will find much that is new or little-explored in this attractive venture into cultural history. --Gregory McNamee

From Publishers Weekly

Now 92, Barzun, the renowned cultural critic, historian and former Columbia provost and professor, offers much more than a summation of his life's work in this profound, eloquent, often witty historical survey. A book of enormous riches, it's sprinkled with provocations. For example, Barzun contradicts Max Weber, arguing that the Protestant Reformation did not galvanize the capitalist spirit. With feminist ardor, he depicts the 16th century as molded and directed by women "as brilliant as the men, and sometimes more powerful" (e.g., Queens Elizabeth and Isabella). His eclectic synthesis is organized around a dozen or so themes--including emancipation, abstraction and individualism--that in his judgment define the modern era. Barzun keeps up the momentum with scores of snappy profiles, including of Luther, Erasmus, Cromwell, Mozart, Rousseau and Byron, as well as of numerous unsung figures such as German educator Friedrich Froebel, inventor of kindergarten, and turn-of-the-century American pioneer ecologist George Marsh. Other devices help make this tome user-friendly--the margins are chock-full of quotes, while vignettes of Venice in 1650, Weimar in 1790 and Chicago in 1895 give a taste of the zeitgeist. In Barzun's glum estimate, the late 20th century has brought decadence into full bloom--separatism in all forms, apathetic electorates, amoral art that embraces filth or mere shock value, the decline of the humanities, the mechanization of life--but he remains hopeful that humanity will find its way again. This is a book to be reckoned with. First serial to American Scholar; BOMC selection. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 877 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1st edition (May 16, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060175869
• ISBN-13: 978-0060175863
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.1 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (170 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #329,091 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

216 of 224 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Watching the beauty of Western culture unfold., July 11, 2000

By 

G. Merritt (Boulder, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life (Hardcover)

I rarely read history books. I spent nearly a month reading this 800-page book. Not surprisingly, it took Barzun "a lifetime" to write this book. From both standpoints, it was definitely worth the time and effort, for Barzun triumphs at bringing the last 500 years of Western culture to life for his reader.

One of the recurring points of this book is that there is cultural beauty buried in the silence of the past (p. 177). Western culture inches along not so much chronologically in this book as thematically. Barzun employs themes of emancipation, individualism, primitivism, abstraction, and self-consciousness to survey the last half millennium. Culture is not linear, Barzun observes, but rather "a web of many strands; none is spun by itself, nor is any cut off at a fixed date."

Barzun divides his book into four parts. Part I covers Luther's Protestant Reformation (the "ripple" that became a "tidal wave") to Pascal, and then Burton's studies on melancholy. Part II then picks up with the monarchial revolution of the 17th Century, ending with the French Revolution in 1789. Part III starts with Romanticism and ends with Freud. Part IV begins with the bloodshed of WWI, and ends by merging seamlessly into the present. Along the way, Barzun's observations are fascinating. For instance, we witness the 1755 Lisbon earthquake resulting in a "brutal confirmation of disbelief" in a personal God (p. 378). We visit the Cafe Procope in Paris during the 1820s and 1830s, "the meeting place of artists and writers native and foreign." During the Industrial Revolution, we find Thomas Carlyle guarding his soul from the flood of "cheap and nasty" goods, while manufacturers and bankers are all hoping to "get rich" (p. 526). At page 620, we meet Walter Pater attempting to live his life with intensity, "to burn with a gem-like flame."

Perhaps this is to say readers will find their own favorite sections of this book. One of mine was "Things Ride Mankind" (pp. 557-89), in which Barzun discusses in a single chapter the invention of the steam engine and railroad in 1830, Darwin's ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES in 1859 and the Victorian "debate on religion and science," the craze for "ghostly seances," Baudelaire's FLEURS DU MAL, bohemia, Florence Nightingale, and Karl Marx.

Again, I normally don't read history books, and strayed outside my usual reading habits by purchasing this book. But as I approached page 800 of Barzun's big, enjoyable book of history, I actually found myself hoping for more, and wondering, too, what cultural beauty will unfold in the next 500 years.

G. Merritt

172 of 178 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth a second opinion, June 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life (Hardcover)

I wasn't sure what to think while I was reading. But, I couldn't put this down. While reading, I thought Barzun crammed tightly so many ideas, events, details, and biographies that he verged on stimulus overload. Later, when remembering names or events that I encountered when watching TV or reading, I realized how much of the book is retainable.

Barzun is a famous stylist. Given how much I admire his writing, I was at first disappointed in the prose. This is not to say that it's written poorly. Only that I think Barzun was more concerned with imparting information in a straightforward way. Nevertheless, certain passages still sing.

I was also at first put off by the many biographies interspersed throughout the narrative. But, then again, after awhile I looked forward to them. They not only add information about famous persons, but color.

Barzun believes certain ideas-individualism, primitivism, self-consciousness, etc-are singularly Western. He uses all capital letters to denote these ideas each time they appear in the narrative. At first, these bothered me because I thought they were trite. But, again, I realized that Barzun was attempting to remind readers of the consistency of Western thought. He demonstrates that so many modern or even post-modern theories, which claim to be avant-guard and even anti-Western, really have deep cultural roots in the very things they revile.

This book is a challenge to those finding it fashionable to denounce Western Civilization. As Barzun says: "[T]he West offered the world a set of ideas and institutions not found earlier or elsewhere." We are rightly proud of them.

131 of 136 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fascinating read..., June 13, 2000

By 

Guy Cutting - See all my reviews

This review is from: From Dawn to Decadence: 1500 to the Present: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life (Hardcover)

Barzun is 94 years old and has written more than thirty books. His career as a historian has been an amazing one, and this book gives evidence of his vast experience. The time period covered (500 years) is certainly a broad one. But it is a magnificently rich one to study. I bought the book because I was interested in reading about Renaissance and Baroque art and wanted to get a broader sense of historical context. I got that and much more... politics, philosophy, religion, and more are discussed with reference to one another and with an amazing sense of cohesion.

Barzun speaks with a truly historical perspective. He never fails to be thorough, insightful, probing, and penetrating in his analysis. His lucidity and clarity are amazing; as I said his vast experience as a historian is evident. He is always impartial, rendering a truly helpful take on whatever he adresses. His approaches are always fresh - he dispels common misconceptions and gives the reader a more accurate historical perspective. His sense of focus is remarkable. The book is 800 pages long, but it never loses a sense of the big picture it is painting. Barzun names a few common themes of change in the last 5 centuries and they become threads which reappear constantly in his narrative. None of his thoughtful observations go without context and relation to his overarching argument. The impact of events becomes clear through Barzun's careful analysis.

His writing style is most enjoyable. He is quite casual without lacking anything in specificity. His prose is always engaging - it makes this massive work of cultural history a joy to read. Barzun's quickness to get to the heart of the matter and the ease with which he resolves historical questions are amazing and sometimes bring a smile to my face. His wit is a welcome addition to such an easy-to-read style. His sense of humor is subtle but piercing, accompanying perfectly his lucidity of thought.

This book will not fail to please you, whatever historical interests you may have. It is so far-reaching (while still amazingly focused) that there is something here for everyone. Critical praise has been heaped on this book - it is, to me, one of the greatest and yet most approachable works of history to come along in a while.

Most highly recommended...