Civilization

The West and the Rest

By: Niall Ferguson

Narrated by: Niall Ferguson

Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins

Publisher's summary

The rise to global predominance of Western civilization is the single most important historical phenomenon of the past five hundred years. All over the world, an astonishing proportion of people now work for Western-style companies, study at Western-style universities, vote for Western-style governments, take Western medicines, wear Western clothes, and even work Western hours. Yet six hundred years ago the petty kingdoms of Western Europe seemed unlikely to achieve much more than perpetual internecine warfare. 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, bestselling author 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, consumerism, modern medicine, and the work ethic.

©2011 Niall Ferguson (P)2011 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Thought-provoking and possibly controversial." ( Library Journal)

The accents are distracting and not needed

good information but the heavily "accented" quotes make listening a chore during some sections of the book. I struggled to make it through these sections.

I wanted to like this book

I wanted to like this book after listening to an interview of the author on Jon Batchelor's podcast. It starts with some big ideas and then spirals into countless granular level incidents that do little more than fill space, providing little substance or insights.

The annoying, hokey accents of historical figures made the narration grating. I wanted to like the book, but advise not bothering.

Great Author

Really interesting Book!! Great Author glad that the author was Narrator!! Hopefully you also enjoy this Book!! Great Video on YouTube with the Book!!

Ferguson Disappoints

If you’ve listened to books by Niall Ferguson before, how does this one compare?

Ferguson is a wel regarded historian, but this book does nothing to advance his stature. He lists six basic determinants of Western Civilization ascendency. But none of the ideas are new- even to this non-historian reader. His justification of each of them is not particularly convincing and he tails off onto paths far from the central issue. This is still an important topic but better clarity and better packaging is needed.

The performance was irritating- the "quotes" from people of the age were bad cartoons and a bit racist.

Must read for all citizens!

In an age when so many, elite and not, operate from the basic assumption that western civilization & our American nation are evil, this book should be required reading in our if only as a counterpoint to the prevailing ignorance afflicting us in this day

Amazing

I Couldn’t recommend it enough, The essential historical overview on why empires rise and fall.

Dead on

Only gets lower reviews from those who feel uncomfortable championing the West. Niall has a sober and astute view of all angles of history.

Great authorship; distracting narration.

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The time was not well spent. Buy the print version and read it yourself.

What did you like best about this story?

The information and story lines were very good.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

The narrator unwisely attempted to act out the imagined voices of some of his characters. The author should let others narrate his books.

Could you see Civilization being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

There is much too much material for a movie. It would be well done as an HBO series.

Any additional comments?

I would love to hear someone else narrate the book

Brits Only

This book is really a pro-Britain history of how they did everything. Americans are credited with little and even the French get credit for winning our revolution, "the French victory at Yorktown." The narrator was the GEICO gecko. It's OK, a 3 of 5 but did not hold up to my expectations.

Not Niall's best

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No, I was disappointed by this work.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

Unlike "The Ascent of Money," the other work of Niall's I have read/ listened to, this work, "Civilization," seems to be more about promoting a personal agenda than facts. This is disconcerting to me, as now I'm not sure that "Money" is reputable material, either.

Have you listened to any of Niall Ferguson’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to / read "The Ascent of Money," written by Niall and narrated by Simon Pebble (who did an excellent job). I would recommend that work over this, however, I am concerned in regard to "Money's" validity, now, after taking in "Civilization."

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

This book could not be made into a movie, perhaps a documentary.

Any additional comments?

Niall's tangent about Weber's hypothesized "protestant work ethic" is far too drawn out and unnecessary as well as only weakly supportable at best. He admits this, himself, at the beginning of the rant. Something was very odd about this reading, too. I'm not sure if it was Niall doing all the narrating, but quotes are read in very poor mock accents. This detracts from the content.