Civilization on Trial

by Arnold J. Toynbee

Vintage paperback original. Western novel.

Genres: Westerns

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1964

About the author

Not the same as Arnold Toynbee, economist and nephew of Arnold Joseph Toynbee

British educator Arnold Joseph Toynbee noted cyclical patterns in the growth and decline of civilizations for his 12-volume Study of History (1934-1961).

He went to Winchester college and Balliol college, Oxford.

During both world wars, he worked for the foreign office. He additionally published Nationality and the War (1915), The Armenian Atrocities: The Murder of a Nation (1915), The German Terror in France: An Historical Record (1917), and Turkey, a Past and a Future (1917). He attended the peace conference of Paris in 1919 as a delegate.

From 1919 to 1924, Arnold J. Toynbee served as professor of modern Greek and Byzantine at King's college, London. From 1925, Oxford University Press published The Survey of International Affairs under the auspices of the royal institute of international affairs, and Toynbee, professor, oversaw the publication. From 1925, Toynbee served as research professor and director at the royal institute of international affairs. He published The Conduct of British Empire Foreign Relations since the Peace Settlement (1928).

His first marriage to Rosalind Murray produced three sons and ended in divorce in 1946. Toynbee, professor, then married Veronica M. Boulter, his research assistant. He published Civilization on Trial (1948).

Toynbee served as research professor and director at the royal institute of international affairs until 1955.
People published best known lectures of Toynbee, professor, in memory of Adam Gifford as An Historian's Approach to Religion (1956). His massive work examined development and decay. He presented the rise and fall rather than nation-states or ethnic groups. According to his analysis, the welfare depends on ability to deal successfully with challenges.

He also published Democracy in the Atomic Age (1957), Christianity among the Religions of the World (1958), and Between Niger and Nile (1965).

He died in York, North Yorkshire, England.

Reviews

[Edwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific Western from Harry Whittington, a prolific writer with remarkable consistency. No surprise, High Fury is a crime novel that takes place in the old West. It tells the story of a youth man on the run after being falsely accused of murder who, while tracking the one man that can prove his innocence, rescues a women who was savagely abused and left for dead by perhaps the same man. Things get more complicated when the son of the Cattle Baron who owns the town is suspected of being an accomplice. He soon must confront a town that has been turned against him, aided only by a sympathetic sheriff named Ox Slaughter and a kindly old doctor. The characters all jump off the page. This would make a fine movie.

[Kurt Reichenbaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hardboiled western crime novel from the mid 60s. Brent Landers is pursuing three outlaws, one of whom, a man named Clawson, can testify on his behalf against a theft and murder charge that's been hanging over his head. In the badlands of Wyoming (?) he finds a young woman named Rosemary, beaten and raped and left for dead. He wonders if she's a victim of the three hombres he's chasing. He cares for her the best he can, bringing her to the nearest town so that she can get proper medical care. As Rosemary slowly heals from her physical wounds she develops a psychological attachment to Brent. One night in town she sees the men who attacked her and points them out to Brent Landers. One of them is Clawson, the other is a drifter gunslick, and the third is the errant son of the most powerful rancher in town. None of whom are happy to see Rosemary alive. A violent and action packed novel about characters pushed to their limits.

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

High Fury is the first Western by Harry Whittington that I have read. It was published in 1955 and is a standout, just like his crime novels. While the plot and ending are typical of traditional Westerns, the hardboiled prose style is worth the journey. The action scenes are crisp and satisfying even 70 years later. The intrepid protagonist is likable, warts and all. The villains are repulsive dirtbags. Whittington uses just enough description in his Western settings to make them come alive for me. The pacing is excellent and dialogue credible. So, I will read his next Western on my Kindle in the near future.

[Chris Stephens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unusual plot for a vintage western,
Rape and misunderstandings,
A great hero imo,
And like anything Whittington writes a really good read.

[Larry Webber · Rating 5 out of 5]

A terrific page-turner. Peckinpah would have loved it.