The Triumph of the West: The Origin, Rise, and Legacy of Western Civilization

by J.M. Roberts, Frederick Davidson (Narrator)

Over the centuries, two important beliefs arose in Europe: a faith that man could order his own destiny, and the idea that progress was normal. But by 1900, doubts had arisen concerning traditional Western values. The continuing problems of world poverty, environmental deterioration, the inequality of women, and continued warfare pose real questions about the advancement of the human race. The Triumph of the West is noted historian J. M. Roberts' engrossing, well-reasoned, in-depth essay on the nature of the dominance of Western civilization and its ambiguous "triumph." Roberts' interest is not in judging the West's push toward greater cultural preeminence but in gaining a better understanding of the present by analyzing what got us here and, possibly, indulging in a bit of cautious optimism.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook

Audio CD

First published January 1, 1985

About the author

John Morris Roberts, CBE, was a British historian, with significant published works. From 1979-1985 he was Vice Chancellor of the University of Southampton, and from 1985-1994, Warden of Merton College, Oxford. He was also well known as the author and presenter of the BBC TV series The Triumph of the West (1985).

Reviews

[Fausto Betances · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starts slow but picks up pace later as it turns into a wide description of the forces and circumstances leading into most of the major turning points in our common history. It gives Europe and its "decedents", like the US, deserved credit in the creation of conditions, for good or bad, influencing the direction of the entire human race. However, in my view it overlooks the fact that there is a component in the development of the world that would have made such happened sooner or later regardless of which society or group was first in line to take advantage of it. Human ingenuity would have taken us to where we are one way or the other. It certainly has worked out well, in general, the way it happened (Europe/west leading) but all roads lead to Rome at the end (pun intended :)).

[Abbey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yet another lovely book from Mr. Roberts. His smooth presentation makes this necessarily surface telling of the ENTIRE history of Europe quite palatable. It is, as is all his work, smoothly written, with a sly sense of humor that I find particularly appealing, The narration by Frederick Davison is excellent; now that I've gotten over hearing his extrordinarily plummy voice (which sounded terribly phoney at first) I've found listening to him to be very enjoyable.

[Larry · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good even-handed account. Not much in demand in our current times, but useful nonetheless, particularly for people who wonder why China is behaving the way it is today.

[Ilene Packman · Rating 4 out of 5]

BBC miniseries

[Nicholas Whyte]

http://nhw.livejournal.com/667484.html[return][return]Roberts, a well-known academic historian, was given the task of doing an update of Clarke's "Civilisation" for the BBC, and this is the book-of-the-series. The New York times found the TV version uninspiring, and I regret to say I found the same of the book. Perhaps if I'd actually read it when I was 18, and knew a lot less about history than I do now... no, I don't think so. It's surprisingly meandering, mixes complacency with hand-wringing, and not very clear on who the target audience is.

[Frank · Rating 1 out of 5]

I listened to the unabridged audio book.

I found this hard to get through. The narrative jumped around in time and place. The narrator also had an incredibly dry delivery.

I did learn a few things, though.