Product Description

Highly regarded here and abroad for some thirty works of cultural history and criticism, master historian Jacques Barzun has now set down in one continuous narrative the sum of his discoveries and conclusions about the whole of Western culture since 1500.

In this account, Barzun describes what Western Man wrought from the Renaisance and Reformation down to the present in the double light of its own time and our pressing concerns. He introduces characters and incidents with his unusual literary style and grace, bringing to the fore those that have "Puritans as Democrats," "The Monarch's Revolution," "The Artist Prophet and Jester" -- show the recurrent role of great themes throughout the eras.

The triumphs and defeats of five hundred years form an inspiring saga that modifies the current impression of one long tale of oppression by white European males. Women and their deeds are prominent, and freedom (even in sexual matters) is not an invention of the last decades. And when Barzun rates the present not as a culmination but a decline, he is in no way a prophet of doom. Instead, he shows decadence as the creative novelty that will burst forth -- tomorrow or the next day.

Only after a lifetime of separate studies covering a broad territory could a writer create with such ease the synthesis displayed in this magnificent volume.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #70214 in Books
• Published on: 2001-05-01
• Released on: 2001-05-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 912 pages

Amazon.com Review
In the last half-millennium, as the noted cultural critic and historian Jacques Barzun observes, great revolutions have swept the Western world. Each has brought profound change--for instance, the remaking of the commercial and social worlds wrought by the rise of Protestantism and by the decline of hereditary monarchies. And each, Barzun hints, is too little studied or appreciated today, in a time he does not hesitate to label as decadent.

To leaf through Barzun's sweeping, densely detailed but lightly written survey of the last 500 years is to ride a whirlwind of world-changing events. Barzun ponders, for instance, the tumultuous political climate of Renaissance Italy, which yielded mayhem and chaos, but also the work of Michelangelo and Leonardo--and, he adds, the scientific foundations for today's consumer culture of boom boxes and rollerblades. He considers the 16th-century varieties of religious experimentation that arose in the wake of Martin Luther's 95 theses, some of which led to the repression of individual personality, others of which might easily have come from the "Me Decade." Along the way, he offers a miniature history of the detective novel, defends Surrealism from its detractors, and derides the rise of professional sports, packing in a wealth of learned and often barbed asides.

Never shy of controversy, Barzun writes from a generally conservative position; he insists on the importance of moral values, celebrates the historical contributions of Christopher Columbus, and twits the academic practitioners of political correctness. Whether accepting of those views or not, even the most casual reader will find much that is new or little-explored in this attractive venture into cultural history. --Gregory McNamee

From Publishers Weekly
Now 92, Barzun, the renowned cultural critic, historian and former Columbia provost and professor, offers much more than a summation of his life's work in this profound, eloquent, often witty historical survey. A book of enormous riches, it's sprinkled with provocations. For example, Barzun contradicts Max Weber, arguing that the Protestant Reformation did not galvanize the capitalist spirit. With feminist ardor, he depicts the 16th century as molded and directed by women "as brilliant as the men, and sometimes more powerful" (e.g., Queens Elizabeth and Isabella). His eclectic synthesis is organized around a dozen or so themes--including emancipation, abstraction and individualism--that in his judgment define the modern era. Barzun keeps up the momentum with scores of snappy profiles, including of Luther, Erasmus, Cromwell, Mozart, Rousseau and Byron, as well as of numerous unsung figures such as German educator Friedrich Froebel, inventor of kindergarten, and turn-of-the-century American pioneer ecologist George Marsh. Other devices help make this tome user-friendly--the margins are chock-full of quotes, while vignettes of Venice in 1650, Weimar in 1790 and Chicago in 1895 give a taste of the zeitgeist. In Barzun's glum estimate, the late 20th century has brought decadence into full bloom--separatism in all forms, apathetic electorates, amoral art that embraces filth or mere shock value, the decline of the humanities, the mechanization of life--but he remains hopeful that humanity will find its way again. This is a book to be reckoned with. First serial to American Scholar; BOMC selection. (May)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Nearly 100, the noted thinker contemplates the last half-millennium.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Customer Reviews

Watching the beauty of Western culture unfold.
I rarely read history books. I spent nearly a month reading this 800-page book. Not surprisingly, it took Barzun "a lifetime" to write this book. From both standpoints, it was definitely worth the time and effort, for Barzun triumphs at bringing the last 500 years of Western culture to life for his reader.

One of the recurring points of this book is that there is cultural beauty buried in the silence of the past (p. 177). Western culture inches along not so much chronologically in this book as thematically. Barzun employs themes of emancipation, individualism, primitivism, abstraction, and self-consciousness to survey the last half millennium. Culture is not linear, Barzun observes, but rather "a web of many strands; none is spun by itself, nor is any cut off at a fixed date."

Barzun divides his book into four parts. Part I covers Luther's Protestant Reformation (the "ripple" that became a "tidal wave") to Pascal, and then Burton's studies on melancholy. Part II then picks up with the monarchial revolution of the 17th Century, ending with the French Revolution in 1789. Part III starts with Romanticism and ends with Freud. Part IV begins with the bloodshed of WWI, and ends by merging seamlessly into the present. Along the way, Barzun's observations are fascinating. For instance, we witness the 1755 Lisbon earthquake resulting in a "brutal confirmation of disbelief" in a personal God (p. 378). We visit the Cafe Procope in Paris during the 1820s and 1830s, "the meeting place of artists and writers native and foreign." During the Industrial Revolution, we find Thomas Carlyle guarding his soul from the flood of "cheap and nasty" goods, while manufacturers and bankers are all hoping to "get rich" (p. 526). At page 620, we meet Walter Pater attempting to live his life with intensity, "to burn with a gem-like flame."

Perhaps this is to say readers will find their own favorite sections of this book. One of mine was "Things Ride Mankind" (pp. 557-89), in which Barzun discusses in a single chapter the invention of the steam engine and railroad in 1830, Darwin's ORIGIN OF THE SPECIES in 1859 and the Victorian "debate on religion and science," the craze for "ghostly seances," Baudelaire's FLEURS DU MAL, bohemia, Florence Nightingale, and Karl Marx.

Again, I normally don't read history books, and strayed outside my usual reading habits by purchasing this book. But as I approached page 800 of Barzun's big, enjoyable book of history, I actually found myself hoping for more, and wondering, too, what cultural beauty will unfold in the next 500 years.

G. Merritt

Worth a second opinion
I wasn't sure what to think while I was reading. But, I couldn't put this down. While reading, I thought Barzun crammed tightly so many ideas, events, details, and biographies that he verged on stimulus overload. Later, when remembering names or events that I encountered when watching TV or reading, I realized how much of the book is retainable.

Barzun is a famous stylist. Given how much I admire his writing, I was at first disappointed in the prose. This is not to say that it's written poorly. Only that I think Barzun was more concerned with imparting information in a straightforward way. Nevertheless, certain passages still sing.

I was also at first put off by the many biographies interspersed throughout the narrative. But, then again, after awhile I looked forward to them. They not only add information about famous persons, but color.

Barzun believes certain ideas-individualism, primitivism, self-consciousness, etc-are singularly Western. He uses all capital letters to denote these ideas each time they appear in the narrative. At first, these bothered me because I thought they were trite. But, again, I realized that Barzun was attempting to remind readers of the consistency of Western thought. He demonstrates that so many modern or even post-modern theories, which claim to be avant-guard and even anti-Western, really have deep cultural roots in the very things they revile.

This book is a challenge to those finding it fashionable to denounce Western Civilization. As Barzun says: "[T]he West offered the world a set of ideas and institutions not found earlier or elsewhere." We are rightly proud of them.

800 pages which move as quickly as 200
Although my first love is reading about American history, an understanding of all the main events of Western Society since the discovery of America provided a very valuable read for me. For example, by understanding the Protestant Reformation better, religious movements in colonial America are put into better perspective. When I open a book of 800 or so pages, my first thought is "Oh Lord, how am I going to plow through this?" However, this book is so enthralling that it moves as quickly as a short novel. I find the type of writing in this book to be absolutely captivating.. the writing I refer to is that which has a point of view but is not the product of an idealogue. The author states an intelligent point of view, throughout, certainly one which can be disagreed with, but certainly reasonable and thoughtful. Barzun is like the great historian Paul Johnson in that he is able to weave biographical information of key historical figures as well as in depth coverage of culture, religion, economics, philosophy etc. Additionally, this is a history of real people, not just a survey of wars and great men/women. In this respect, the book is like Johnson's "The Birth of the Modern," and "History of the American People." Finally, I must point out that although a review stated that his viewpoint is generally conservative, he makes numerous points which would find agreement among leftists. True he defends Western culture and is wary of political correctness. However, he is not an obssessed idealogue and, as for example in his discussion of religious development, he offers observations which might offend traditionalists. Although he may, in fact, be generally conservative, I don't think his views are easily subject to labels. If you are interested in world events, this survey of the last half millenium is 5 stars plus! And, if you are interested in America, the development of world events in a time period coinciding with the development of the New World is a must. I highly recommend this book for all history lovers.