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)

Great momentum

The reader/writer don't dwell too long on any one subject or setting.
But part of that problem is that certain settings were over too quickly.
I just wanted more. But felt satisfied nonetheless.

Excellent reading

Excellent book with a lots of facts from our past, synthesized with an art of storytelling and therefore making it accessible to people like us who want to understand the framework of various civilizations and remain engaged in our society and understand the context as we build our future every day, one step at a time.
Author has a gift in presenting the information in a way which is meaningful to others.

Interesting Take on History

What did you love best about Civilization?

Ferguson constantly challenges us to think differently about historical events. He's not afraid to be politically incorrect.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

Some of the current events he comments on are too recent to have a historical perspective on. No one knows yet how are present economy will play out yet.

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

No.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely not. I enjoyed the book very much but there's much too much information to take in in one sitting or even ten sittings.

Extremely irritating accents

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The main narrator was fine. However, the producers of this audiobook for some reason thought it was a good idea to have another person read all of the quotes in ludicrous accents. Given the number of quotes in the book, this was so irritating that I had to stop listening midway through. It's a shame, because it was otherwise a good book. I wish that narrators didn't feel obliged to perform accents when reading nonfiction books for grown adults.

Entertaining but flawed

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Two major things - one, the author's agenda sometimes undercut what would otherwise be a very interesting history. Two, some of the accents (apparently done by other narrators, and not Ferguson) were nearly caricatures, distracting, and sometimes cringe-worthy.

What about Niall Ferguson’s performance did you like?

Ferguson, when doing the actual narration, was energetic and clear.

Any additional comments?

I struggled mightily in deciding whether this is three or four stars. The book is imminently readable and Ferguson is passionate, humorous, and fast-paced in his writing. He also offers some very interesting ideas (not all of which are particularly novel, but are packaged well and deployed with verve) to frame the last 500 years of Western dominance in the world. While parts of his arguments are convincing, it is his very framing that left me with mixed feelings on the book. He appears to have entered into the writing of this history with an agenda and a these in mind. This is not always problematic where the author scrupulously lays out why he or she touts the these and carefully builds their case (examining and explaining evidence for and against their conclusions). Ferguson, however, pays short shrift to counterexamples and interpretations that do not match his end goal.

Most disturbing are a number of rather tone deaf and short sighted statements suggesting that Western imperialism was a net positive for much of Africa, all this while hardly acknowledging the brutality and damage (not to mention long-term negative effects) that imperialism in general and slavery in particular caused. Moreover, Ferguson also is dismissive of the contributions of the East and the East's longstanding power that pre-dated Western dominance (and that is when he bothers to mention it at all).

For those who read widely of history, this book is an interesting addition. But I would be hesitant to recommend it to those not already well-versed as the author's agenda can distort the history. While more dry, Frances Fukuyama's diptych exploration and survey of political order and political decay is more rigorously analytical, covers a greater breadth of history, offers a less prejudicial eye to the history, and does not presuppose that modern Western dominance was inevitable or indicative of baseline superiority. Ferguson's passionate and entertaining book was engaging, but it also has some glaring flaws.

author tends to get sidetracked

e.g., too much focus on recent events for a big picture book. still, a useful big picture framework.

Good but not the best

If you want a good background on Niall Ferguson's worldview this is a good book. It doesn't really go anywhere he hasn't exploded in his other books.

A must read perspective.

Though not immune to criticism - what non-fiction work is not - but critical reading for one that studies or want to learn of a history of civilization & some thought provoking insight into the possible future of the current systems of civilization.

Great, but stops short of getting at the real

source of the Western civilization's source of strength: the Christian faith and true Christian's. An excellent companion to this book is Stanton evans book The theme is freedom.

So-so

Not a single mention of the Crusades which lasted almost 200 years and profoundly shaped Europe and the east. Furthermore, portraying colonization as having so much benefits for the colonized country is suspect if not viewed in totality.