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The cover of The Rise of the West A History of the Human Community with a Retrospective Essay

The Rise of the West A History of the Human Community with a Retrospective Essay

William H. McNeill

How did the world's civilizations shape one another from the first cities to modern times, and why did the West come to dominate after fifteen hundred?

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At a glance

Author
William H. McNeill

Why read it

  • You will see world history as a story of civilizations borrowing from and reacting to one another, not of separate peoples
  • You will understand how Portuguese advances in navigation around fifteen hundred opened the way to Western dominance of the world
  • You will learn why the Middle East led the world's civilizations until five hundred BC, long before the West took the lead

Who it is for

  • A graduate who studied only Western history and wants the wider world
  • A student of Western or Eurasian history
  • Someone who enjoys big arguments about why history changes

Contents

  1. Book Information
  2. by WILLIAM H. McNEILL
  3. The Rise of the West after Twenty-five Years
  4. Preface
  5. PART I The Era of Middle Eastern Dominance to 500 B.C.
  6. The Era of Middle Eastern Dominance to 500 B.C.
  7. I. In the Beginning
  8. In the Beginning
  9. II. The Breakthrough to Civilization in Mesopotamia
  10. The Breakthrough to Civilization in Mesopotamia
  11. III. The Diffusion of Civilization: First Phase
  12. The Diffusion of Civilization: First Phase
  13. IV. The Rise of a Cosmopolitan Civilization in the Middle East 1700-500 B. C.
  14. The Rise of a Cosmopolitan Civilization in the Middle East 1700-500 B.C.
  15. V. The Formulation of Peripheral Civilizations in India, Greece, and China 1700 -500 B.C.
  16. The Formulation of Peripheral Civilizations in India, Greece, and China 1700 -500 B.C.
  17. PART II Eurasian Cultural Balance 500 B.C. -1500 A.D.
  18. Eurasian Cultural Balance 500 B.C. -1500 A.D.
  19. General Introduction
  20. VI. The Expansion of Hellenism 500-146 B.C.
  21. The Expansion of Hellenism 500-146 B.C.
  22. VII. Closure of the Eurasian Ecumene 500 B.C.-200 A.D.
  23. Closure of the Eurasian Ecumene 500 B.C.-200 A.D.
  24. VIII. Barbarian Onslaught and Civilized Response 200-600 A.D.
  25. Barbarian Onslaught and Civilized Response 200-600 A.D.
  26. IX. The Resurgence of the Middle East 600-1000 A.D.
  27. The Resurgence of the Middle East 600-1000 A.D.
  28. X. Steppe Conquerors and the European Far West 1000-1500 A.D.
  29. Steppe Conquerors and the European Far West 1000-1500 A.D.
  30. PART III The Era of Western Dominance 1500 A.D. to the Present
  31. The Era of Western Dominance 1500 A.D. to the Present
  32. General Introduction
  33. XI. The Far West's Challenge to the World 1500-1700 AD.
  34. The Far West’s Challenge to the World 1500-1700 AD.
  35. XII. The Tottering World Balance 1700-1850 A.D.
  36. The Tottering World Balance 1700-1850 A.D.
  37. XIII. The Rise of the West: Cosmopolitanism on a Global Scale 1850-1950 AD.
  38. The Rise of the West: Cosmopolitanism on a Global Scale 1850-1950 AD.
  39. Conclusion

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