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Niall Ferguson

Civilization: The West and the Rest Hardcover – November 1, 2011

by Niall Ferguson (Author)

317 customer reviews

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Western civilization’s rise to global dominance is the single most important historical phenomenon of the past five centuries. All over the world, more and more people study at Western-style universities, work for Western-style companies, vote for Western-style governments, take Western medicines, wear Western clothes, and play Western sports. Yet six hundred years ago the petty kingdoms of Western Europe seemed like miserable backwaters, ravaged by incessant war and pestilence. It was Ming China or Ottoman Turkey that had the look of world civilizations. How did the West overtake its Eastern rivals? And has the zenith of Western power now passed?

In Civilization: The West and the Rest, acclaimed historian Niall Ferguson argues that, beginning in the fifteenth century, the West developed six powerful new concepts that the Rest lacked: competition, science, the rule of law, modern medicine, consumerism, and the work ethic. These were the ‘killer applications’ that allowed the West to leap ahead of the Rest; opening global trade routes, exploiting new scientific knowledge, evolving representative government, more than doubling life expectancy, unleashing the industrial revolution, and hugely increasing human productivity. Civilization shows exactly how a dozen Western empires came to control three-fifths of mankind and four-fifths of the world economy.

Yet now, Ferguson argues, the days of Western predominance are numbered because the Rest have finally downloaded the six killer apps the West once monopolized – while the West has literally lost faith in itself.

Chronicling the rise and fall of empires alongside the clashes of civilizations, Civilization recasts world history with verve and wit. Boldly argued but also teeming with memorable characters, this is Ferguson at his very best.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“[Ferguson] uses his powerful narrative talents in these pages to give the reader a highly tactile sense of history. … The author [has a] knack for making long-ago events as vivid and visceral as the evening news, for weaving anecdotes and small telling details together with a wide-angled retrospective vision.”—New York Times

“A dazzling history of Western ideas.”—The Economist

“Mr. Ferguson tells his story with characteristic verve and an eye for the felicitous phrase.”—Wall Street Journal

“[W]ritten with vitality and verve… a tour de force.”—Boston Globe

“This is sharp. It feels urgent. Ferguson, with a properly financially literate mind, twists his knife with great literary brio…Ferguson ends by suggesting the biggest threat is not China but ourselves – our cowardice, drawn from ignorance, even stupidity, about our past. He is right. But as he shows himself, that can be fixed.”—The Financial Times

“The author boldly takes on 600 years of world events… so that the history lesson remains fresh and compelling… A richly informed, accessible history lesson.”—Kirkus (starred)

About the Author

NIALL FERGUSON is one of Britain's most renowned historians. He is the Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University and William Ziegler Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, a Senior Research Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford, and a Senior Research Fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. He is the bestselling author of Paper and Iron, The House of Rothschild, The Pity of War, The Cash Nexus, Empire, Colossus, The War of the World, The Ascent of Money, and High Financier. He also writes regularly for newspapers and magazines all over the world.

www.niallferguson.com

Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: The Penguin Press (November 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1594203059
ISBN-13: 978-1594203053
Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 1.4 x 9.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 317 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #121,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #197 in Books > History > World > Expeditions & Discoveries
- #286 in Books > History > World > Civilization & Culture
- #524 in Books > Politics & Social Sciences > Anthropology > Cultural

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BRaad

Learned a lot

September 27, 2018

Format: Audible AudiobookVerified Purchase

This book does a good job of illuminating the characteristics that may have given rise to West’s ascendance over the world. Although the “Killer Apps” he offers are still somewhat broad and may need to be narrowed down further to get a better understanding of “what’s really killer about these apps”.

Niall is right wing in his ideology and in his books this usually pops out on certain issues. For example he usually bashes Islam, advocates attack on Iran and makes fun of communists such as Cuba. In his books, he will make some unsubstantiated claims out of the blue. So you have to be ready for some of that.

The section about “Protestant Work Ethics” was not convincing at all. From my own experience, when I came to US over 35 years ago, from early on I was surprised at how poor the work ethics are in US. Americans just did not seem to work as hard and they’re far too preoccupied with leisure. I have seen this throughout my professional career. As an example, in Silicon Valley, original Americans are largely replaced by Asian and Indians mostly because they’re not able to compete well. They usually stick to Marketing and Sales where it’s more fluff than work.

Overall the book significantly understates the central role the discovery of Americas has in the rise of the West.

Overall I learned a lot and I recommend this book.

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Jamshed Mathur

An Analysis of Civilization

April 25, 2014

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Having being born in British India; worked for 15 years in Independent India; then immigrated to and worked in the US for 30 years, I was curious to know how Professor Ferguson handled a huge subject such as civilization in the Western and non-Western Worlds. His book was a very pleasant surprise.

Ferguson is a man of tremendous scholarship which he carries lightly and easily. There is not a single page in his writing of academic heaviness, obscurity or dullness. His writing style is always easy to read and always attractive enough to persuade you effortlessly to look forward to the next page. This in itself qualifies him for a Five Star Award.

The guts of the book answers basic questions such as: Why did modern civilization happen in the West and not elsewhere? What has been the effect of religion on civilization? Is Western civilization now in decline? How does modern industrialized China compare with the West?

I (a retired Engineer) found the book to be altogether delightful reading and would strongly recommend it to anyone - especially those from the Third World - interested in the basic questions mentioned above. Don't be frigtened off by 400 pages, including notes, bibliography and
index. The book has some fine illustrations, maps, graphs and photographs.

21 people found this helpful

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Lauren L

An illuminating wide-angled telescope on history

February 4, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

You don't have to agree with Mr Ferguson's every word to nonetheless find this an illuminating and perspective-tilting wide angled telescope on five hundred years of history. Written in a highly engaging style and narrated brilliantly by the author. Highly recommended.

5 people found this helpful

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Terry O'Hara

Collaboration Wins it All

January 4, 2014

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I like the subtitle "The West and the Rest". It shows how the collaborations that resulted from open approaches to developing resources, not simple plundering, resulted in the greatest accomplishments that have been adopted by extant civilizations everywhere. There were some surprises for me, including the idea that the human tendency to warring actually had a human benefit. The origins of the word denim, jeans, and the Japanese word for suit, as in suit of clothes, were delights.

He points out that it really makes little difference which particular civilization is the dominant one from time to time. The successful ones will always have incorporated the most civilly advanced concepts.

8 people found this helpful

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AMZNRDR

Interesting read

February 10, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

This book with Brexit and the US election as a backdrop becomes all the more interesting to read. I could perhaps say that Mr. Ferguson simplifies the complexity to suit the narrative (or as he says historians trying to retroactively fit civilizational cycles to their theories) but the larger point he makes is very valid and makes you question whether the foundational pieces of western civilization are being torn down (not just by the brexiters but also the anti-brexiters... I use both as a shortcut for grouping the two sides coming up around the Democratic world). One side questioning trade and immigration and the other glorifying precolonial colonies (I don't want to use the term nation and hence use colony for the lack of a better term) and disparaging religion's role in society. The list can go on. Long story short... Would recommend it to read.

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Anya Malkiel

Engaging and fascinating

May 12, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Excellent book, filled with information and interesting opinions. Makes you think. I listened to it and missed tge charts. I couldn't put this book down. Oh, and it is wonderfully narrated

2 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Insightful review of why the West has been leading the Rest

July 14, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

If you want to get a good sense of why the West has been leading the Rest and really become a part of the daily lives of almost all civilizations, this is a must read. There is a lot of things to learn from this book in addition to, at least in my case, becoming surprised about how Western the world really is. Everything from how we work to how we live, how we dress, and increasingly how we eat, is Western.

3 people found this helpful

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Granddaddy

Give to a student

June 2, 2016

Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase

For me this presented some new insights about why and how the West caught up and pulled ahead of older, more advanced.civilizations. Recommended for all our high school and college graduates who know so little about history and about the conditions that enable people to thrive.

3 people found this helpful

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