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Civilization

the West and the Rest
May 31, 2012zipread rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Civilization: the West and the Rest. --- by Niall Ferguson. ----- In writing this thought provoking book Ferguson mines a vein that has been excavated by others who have come before him and those who will, no doubt, follow come after him. But this is not to discredit this book: in fact this book is well worth reading because it is, in fact, enlightening as well as entertaining in a cerebral sort of way. Quickly, Ferguson takes on a voyage through the history of what he designates as the West. He Pays major attention to social and technological history; less so to the mars and battles and the vagaries of states. This is an ambitious and tall order --- one which will, no doubt, leave the historically challenged in the dust. His main interest: what has allowed the West to achieve its ascendency? Some interesting sidelights: the growth of Christianity in China; the Meiji restoration; and the jeans genie. So finally, where is this book leading? China of course. Is this a re-hash of the “yellow peril”? Perhaps. There are cautionary tones in the wind about the amazing growth of China from Mao’s Great Leap forward that cost 45 million lives in the 1i960s to be world’s second largest automotive market. In the end, yes, this is a fine little book (a manageable 350 pages), virtually free of econo-babble (someone tell me, what are network externalities --- p. 215, line 8)? A good book that takes you on a historical tour-de-force. Like I said, thought provoking. In the very end, the book's more re-assuring than frightening: "we should not be too fatalistic".