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)

Fill in the Gaps

What is it about Western civilization that has enabled it to surpass and stay ahead of its eastern counterpart? Niall Ferguson's book attempts to answer his question but naturally a somewhat brief overview of a very complicated and complex issue is what we're left with. There are many interesting insights that Ferguson offers, however, even if one can quibble with certain conclusions he ends up drawing.

As far as the narration goes, Ferguson is very good but whoever does the voice for Bolivar, Freud, and the assorted other national icon manages to butcher the accent of just about all of them.

Should be required reading

For every Pakistani. Can't believe it was written in 2011, and I only just found it in 2016. With so many questions and existential crises of the current day, the author paints a hopeful future and an inspiring picture of our history of this world.

Informative and entertaining

It's always refreshing to learn about world history from another perspective. Being American, I've always gotten it from the USA point of view.

Mixed thoughts

2.5 stars. This book was a puzzle for me. How did I feel about his ideas? His presentation? Is Ferguson a historian of merit or a gimmicky showboater, ping-ponging through and around his theories? I am unfamiliar with any of his other works, so can only regard his mastery over the topics in this particular book. And he does address mmmmmaaaaaannnnnnyyyyy topics, which is partly how he lost . . . a little of my interest, a little of my regard, a little of my attention, and a little of my support and agreement. (Side note about the title: I bought this book with the title Civilization: The West and the Rest, not Civilization: 6 Killer Apps. I never would have looked at it with the latter title. It irritates me even now to read it. Grrrrrr . . .)

Of course, his six stated reasons for the Western rise of the last 500 years (competition, science, property rights, medicine, the consumer society and work ethic) all were major contributors. I totally agree with that and found some of his analyses interesting and not often pointed out in my (rather poor) history classes growing up. Society is complex. I'm sure there are many more than six reasons, though I understand the tendency towards grouping and simplification to make for a readable (and catchy) survey.

My main fault with the book centered on how well he supported those ideas. Not very, in my opinion. He skips all over, introducing ideas and dropping them a few sentences later to pursue some other thought, to a dizzying degree at times. The medicine chapter in particular seemed weak to me. I often forgot what the point of the chapter was supposed to be while in the midst of it. Nothing seemed extremely fleshed out, though he did have a lot of points to make and a reader's interest to maintain--both of which seemed to be his priority over a deeper, more thoughtful (or well explained) analysis.

I was also put off at times due to his (dis)regard for many non-Western cultures. I get that this is a book about the dominance of the Western culture over the past 500 years, and I think that it's everyone's right to express pride about the good things in their culture (and that it's an extremely hard thing to do without offending others), but I was still irritated at times about the superior way he interpreted societies, history, and current times.

When I didn't concern myself with the scholarly depth of his arguments, I often did enjoy his conversational, aggrandizing, and entertaining style. I can completely see him as a very engaging lecturer, and I'm sure his classes are well attended. I think he is capable of a much more cohesive and persuasive book of research, and I suspect his book The Ascent of Money plays much more into his strengths as a financial expert. I also did enjoy the historical tidbits he included about many parts of the world that I am unfamiliar with, and I think the book's stated focus is a worthy subject to ponder--how did our civilization rise, how did others rise, and what might we do to avoid (as long as possible?) a crash.

Despite my settling on 2.5 stars for this book, I think I'd be interested in a book of a more concentrated scope from him, and this book did renew my interest in reading Guns, Germs, and Steel, and further historical surveys.

I am also completely conflicted about him as a narrator. For the most part he is engaging, articulate and I enjoyed it completely. What gradually grew more and more on my nerves, however, were the accents he employed when quoting others. Though some were done well, that mostly drove me crazy.

Outstanding work from a leading historian

Niall is a mesmerizing author and truly one of the world's great "applied historians". A fantastic read, cover-to-cover.

Great book

First of all, I’ve to mention that I’m a great reader of Niall Ferguson. His books are always assertive and covered by interesting facts.

This one is not different. A great book that no only cover a lot of history, but sets basis for comparison and forecast to a near future.

I don’t get the critiques that stands the author is to pro West. He covers facts and end the book highlight the advances of the East.

A great book, a must reading.

Big trouble for big china

That conclusion is a fascinating look at the last decades view on china. So much fun being a history dad

Civilization and our Future

While Niall Ferguson's new book, Civilization: The West and the Rest, is mostly about the past, it true importance is what it says about our future. Nowadays it is hard not too worry about the future, as we struggle from one funding crisis to the next, watching resources for public investments (like education) erode. The most powerful antidote to depression about our future is a good understanding of our past, particularly the changes in the past 5 centuries that are Ferguson's main subject. Five hundred years is really not that long of a time, but within this time frame we can trace a transition from a world dominated by scarcity, hunger, and disease to one characterized by health and abundance.

Ferguson asks two key questions in Civilization:

1) Why is it that a relatively few number of people living in a few small countries in the West became so wealthy and powerful in the last few hundred years as compared to people in Asia, South America, and Africa?

2) Will the 21st century belong to non-Western civilizations, and is it possible that the U.S. and Western Europe could even share the same fate of decline and fall as the Roman Empire?

Ferguson's answer to the first question, why the West got wealthy, basically comes down to institutions. The West developed a set of key institutions (Ferguson calls these killer apps), that the others lacked. The killers apps include: competition, science, democracy, medicine, consumerism and the Protestant work ethic. The book is (loosely) organized around these themes, with Ferguson jumping (sometimes confusingly) across centuries and continents in support of the narrative.

On the second question, will "The Rest" catch-up, Ferguson is guardedly optimistic. While the non-Western world may not have all the structures in place for sustained growth (most obviously the lack of democracy in China), the overall trends are all going in the right direction. The BRIC's (Brazil, Russia, India, China) are rapidly integrating into a world energy, consumer and production market, although none of these societies enjoy all of the institutional underpinnings that have sustained Western growth. It was not solely the availability of coal or oversees markets that drove the development of the British Empire, but also the presence of property rights, a free press, and representative government.

Making sense of why some countries are wealthier today than others, and who will be wealthy tomorrow, requires the skills of an economically literate historian. Ferguson is as good a guide as anyone writing on these questions today. Civilization is not a systematic or deep investigation of a few narrow questions, but rather a simultaneously concise and sweeping narrative around big questions and large trends. Enjoyable but not overly taxing.

Authors Should Not Read Their Own Books

There's a reason why professional actors read audio books. This was a great book that because very annoying because of the author's poor ability to narrate his own book. His ethnic accents were the worst and borderline insulting. Read this one, don't listen to it.

Good book

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

Not the best but a good story on civilizations. I would recommend to someone who want to think a bit about our civilization.