Reviews (6)

Has its strengths and weaknesses, but look at the price!
If you compare this book to its obvious competitors (e.g. Valerie Hansen's Open Empire, Schirokauer's Brief History of Chinese Civilization), you have to be amazed at the relatively low list price--especially considering that the publisher, Cambridge University Press, is not famous for selling cheap books.If you can buy only one textbook history of China, this one is worth considering for that reason alone.

Students tend to have the same complaints about Gernet's book year after year (I've used this book many times in an undergraduate survey of Chinese history): it is too long and confusing, without emphasizing what is "important" and what isn't.Other reviewers on this page have similar concerns: the book isn't organized emperor-by-emperor; rather, it tends to focus topically on themes that cover several emperors' reigns, sometimes whole centuries.But weigh that against the major criticism of the book by professional historians, who argue, on the contrary, that the book is arranged only too rigidly according to a periodization imposed from Western history (ancient, medieval, modern, etc.).There isn't enough space here to get involved in these theoretical issues, but it should be clear that Gernet is to be lauded, not derided, for his courage to depart from the old fashioned year-by-year, emperor-by-emperor approach.

This is especially evident in his section on the Six Dynasties (or Northern and Southern Dynasties), which is probably the best succinct account of the period in any Western language.Instead of tediously relating events and dates for this chaotic period, Gernet reveals the underlying socioeconomic forces that dictated the pattern of history in the north and south over the course of this long and complex period.(He happens to be one of the foremost economic historians of China, and is clearly in his element with this kind of historiography.)I believe readers come away with a richer understanding of the Six Dynasties because of Gernet's focus.

Finally, the complaints about Wade-Giles Romanization are unfair and uninformed.When this book first appeared, before the Library of Congress and other major libraries switched to Pinyin, virtually all Chinese books were catalogued according to Wade-Giles, so it made much more sense to write a textbook using that Romanization system than Pinyin.Today, of course, Pinyin would be preferable.But it's not the case that Pinyin is more precise.Both are acceptable Romanization schemes for Mandarin Chinese, and both--assuming one has mastered the principles--indicate the correct sounds efficiently and unambiguously.Criticizing a book about China on the basis of its Romanization system is a bit like judging a book by its cover.

Good reference w/ some detriments from a Chinese pt. of view
After searching for three years for a good detailed history of China, I came upon this book in a local bookshop and decided to buy it. However, what came as a disappointment later onwards was that the book does NOT follow a reign-by-reign chronology of the Chinese emperors and uses Wade-Giles transliteration.

Though westerners tend to focus on the culture and policies of dynasties, Chinese historians place equal emphasis on the reigns of emperors. Therefore, most history books in Chinese follow a chronological order of emperors, detailing events by reigning emperor instead of by dynasty (E.g. During Kangxi's reign, x, y, and z occurred; During Yongzheng's reign, m, n, and o occurred; During Qianlong's reign, c, d, and e occurred). However, from a Chinese point of view, "A History of Chinese Civilization" is "all over the place", covering the political policy, culture, achievements, and conquests of dynasties without systematically (and chronologically) naming the emperor reigning when events such as changes in policy, flowering of the arts, writing of a great literary work, conquests of foreign countries, etc. took place. In other words, the book does not pay enough attention to the emperors.

Also of note to Chinese readers is the book's usage of the Wade-Giles transliteration system (e.g. Teng Hsiao-P'ing= China's paramount leader from 1978 to 1989). According to the translator's preface, he was advised by Professor D.C. Twitchett to follow Wade-Giles. However, though some "European barbarians" may find Wade-Giles more understandable because of the English phonetic system, most Chinese will agree that Wade-Giles transliterations (developed by Europeans) are poor representations of Chinese words, which is why the Pinyin system (e.g. Deng Xiaoping= China's paramount leader from 1978 to 1989) was developed by native Chinese recently. Westerners should realise that although some Pinyin sounds are different from what the letters represent in English (e.g. xu is pronounced shü), correctly-pronounced Pinyin represents Chinese sounds exactly as they are. Wade-Giles transliterations, on the other hand, are pronounced in the English way- therefore hsu, which represents Chinese "shü", is pronounced "soo" by westerners, a sound which means something completely different in Chinese.

Reviews (1)

A fascinating recasting of the dynamics of Chinese history
Barfield's primary thesis is that the dynamics of Chinese civilization are not intelligible considered in isoloation.Rather, comprehension requires the distinction between Manchurian and Native dynasties and the role thatempires of the steppe played in the changes between them.

Of specialinterest is that by far the best know steppe empire, that of the Mongolsunder Temujin and his successors, was an anomalous exception to the 2,000year pattern.Typical steppe empires were interested in extortion (ortribute, or gifts, depending on who tells the story), not direct rule.

Reviews (1)

Reviews (8)

NOT for beginners or the mildly apathetic
This book is very comprehensive, which is either a blessing or curse depending on your background. As someone who knew nothing about Islam prior to reading this book, I was frequently overwhelmed by the mass of information that Lapidus has arranged. As you may notice by the sheer volume of this 970 page book, it is VERY wordy. Like most history texts, it is also very dry and devoid of emotion. The author does, however, provide a complex view of Islam that is fair and accurate.

Detailed and Readable
This is a classic work on the history of Islamic societies. I'm not a historian, but found the book very readable. Its 900+ pages present an in-depth analysis of the history of North Africa, the Middle East, and Asia, leading up to the rise of Islam. Interestingly, Lapidus reveals the rise of Islam did not happen in a sudden, broad sweep, as I had been led to believe. Rather, Islam was adopted by Bedouins, merchants, etc. one tribe and village at a time. According to Lapidus, Islam has been marked with internal strife from the beginning when numerous civil wars over doctrine, leadership, and interpretation of the Prophet's message, led to the division of the faith into its Sunni and Shi'a sects. It is an incredible story that every westerner should read. The book covers the periods prior to Mohammed's revelations through the 20th century, and is divided into three parts:

The Origins of Islamic Civilization: 600 to 1200
The Worldwide diffusion of Islamic Societies
The Modern Transformation

As a Christian, I found the depiction of Christianity's role in the Middle East, especially in the early days of Islam, interesting. Lapidus is a noted scholar and has done us all a service by writing this book. I highly recommend it.

The "World History" you neverlearned in highschool
Lapidus' writing style is magnificent for a book of this depth (and length).Rather than writing dates and facts, he ties together the story of Islam with a scholar's perspective.He writes clearly, breaking up specific themes that require special consideration, and never hesitates to acknowledge when a specific topic is a subject of speculation or debate.

Lapidus does the religion justice in portraying it objectively; not as an evil or superior religion, but as a historical religion (with moments of beauty and depravity experienced by every faith) which served as scaffolding to a Middle Eastern empire, and continues to unite over a billion people throughout the world.

Reviews (9)

A masterpiece survey of Islamic history. THIS IS THE ONE!
I originally read volume 1 and 2 for an upper division history course in university and the effect these books had on me is profound.

This is THE survey book on Islamic civilization and history. There are several other worthwhile survey books on the topic (especially Lapidus), but this is the master work in the field. This is where you should start.

It is sad, but true to say that the 3rd volume is not as good as the first two volumes. This is due to the fact that Hodgson passed away before he could finish it, and it was completed by his friends in the academic community. That being said, Volumes 1 and 2 are masterpeices!

Everything you ever wanted to know about Islmaic history is here in as much detail as can possibly be done in a survey work. If you want more detail, you should read books that delve into specific topics in more detail (i.e. The Assassins, the Abbasid Caliphate, Pax-Mongolia, The Saljuks, The Gunpowder Empires, Adib court culture, etc.), but for an all-emcompassing work on Islamic history, culture, and society, from pre-Islamic pegan times in the Arabian peninsula all the way to the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1921, Volumes 1 and 2 are THE MUST HAVE books on the subject. No library on Islamic History is complete without these two.

Hodgson himself has become a psudo-legend in academic circles because of this work. His obsession with detail, exhibited in this work, reminds me of J. R. R. Tolkin and his imagined "Lord of the Rings" histories except that Hodgson's work is the real thing! Venture of Islam has influenced writers outside Academic circles such has Frank Herbert's Science Fiction masterpeice "Dune." Herbert fans will recongize this as soon they look at the table of contents for The Venture of Islam

For those interested in reading more about Hodgeson himself, I highly recommend an essay written by Edmund Burke III which analyzes his academic works and how his life as a Quaker influecned his skills and style as a historian and a writer.

One cautionary note: This is not light reading. This work is indended for historians, or at the very least serious history students. Those seeking a casual "glossing over" of Islamic history should look elsewhere.

Archetypal Islamic History for Hodgson's Generation
When surveys of Islam are mentioned, Hodgson's three volume work is the most formidable of the three often mentioned-the other two being either that of Lapidus or Hourani (although Hourani's history is limited to Arab history only).This first volume focuses on Hodgson's justifications for his own idiosyncratic preferences which he obviously aspired to be broadly accepted in the field as well as writing the early history of Islam through the absolutist tradition of the Abbasid dynasty.His awkward terminology has in general not been adopted although his insistence on rigor and uniformity in the transliteration of Islamic languages has become standard, and the general outlines of the history that he presents have stood the test of time.Most may leave this book behind, being bogged down in the first hundred or so pages of caveats and academic hair-splitting; however, those who persevere onwards will find the going gets better when the actual history begins wherein the analysis and information conveyed are generally profound.

Throughout Hodgson's rather phlegmatic march through the history of the central Islamic lands (being Muslim Spain, North Africa, and the lands from the Nile to the Oxus River), there is undoubtedly a dusty quality to his work that shows his methodology to be at least a generation behind the times.It is evident that he was influenced strong by the rise and fall of civilizations world history of the likes of Toynbee, and there is some indication that were it not for his untimely death that he would have wished to write just such a history.Though this is a weakness in part of his work-weak because its broad strokes necessitates a glossing over many technical and philosophical issues (the devil and often the more interesting question are in the details)-it did at it time overcome many of the faults of Orientalist scholarship of and prior to his time by integrating Islamic history in the broader streams of human civilization with antecedents and inherited legacies rather than the usual misrepresentation of Islamic civilization as sui generis.

I still recommend Lapidus over Hodgson because Lapidus is more up to date, a single volume and bibliographically also more recent, although Hodgson's work has more style and continuity and coheres better than Lapidus's disjointed text.

Sometimes hard going, but an importantwork nonetheless
Marshall Hodgson, a professor at the University of Chicago, was a major 20th century scholar of Islam. His three volume history of Islamic civilization was published posthumously by the U of C Press.But, even before it came out in book form, xeroxed copies were being used as textbooks in the school's courses in Islamic Civ.That's where I first encountered it (and struggled through it) many years ago.

As other reviewers have pointed out, Hodgson is not always an easy read.His style is dense and ponderous.Nontheless, Hodgson's work was a milestone in Western scholarship about Islam and its history.He provides a wealth of information and a thorough, coherent account of the development of Islamic civilization.Unlike many books, Hodgson pays attention not just to political entities and dynasties, but also to the intellectual and artistic achievements of the societies.

Islam and things Islamic have been sorely neglected in most people's education.Even in our current post-9/11 climate, what most people know about Islam doesn't extend much beyond stereotypical (and largely inaccurate) ideas about jihad.If they're really sophisticated, they may know a little about Sufism and the mystical poetry of Rumi.But there is so much more to Islam and to Islamic civilization (if in fact one can even talk about a single Islamic civilazation).Whatever this books flaws, one could do far worse to start one's education here.

Reviews (9)

A masterpiece survey of Islamic history. THIS IS THE ONE!
I originally read volume 1 and 2 for an upper division history course in university and the effect these books had on me is profound.

This is THE survey book on Islamic civilization and history. There are several other worthwhile survey books on the topic (especially Lapidus), but this is the master work in the field. This is where you should start.

It is sad, but true to say that the 3rd volume is not as good as the first two volumes. This is due to the fact that Hodgson passed away before he could finish it, and it was completed by his friends in the academic community. That being said, Volumes 1 and 2 are masterpeices!

Everything you ever wanted to know about Islmaic history is here in as much detail as can possibly be done in a survey work. If you want more detail, you should read books that delve into specific topics in more detail (i.e. The Assassins, the Abbasid Caliphate, Pax-Mongolia, The Saljuks, The Gunpowder Empires, Adib court culture, etc.), but for an all-emcompassing work on Islamic history, culture, and society, from pre-Islamic pegan times in the Arabian peninsula all the way to the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1921, Volumes 1 and 2 are THE MUST HAVE books on the subject. No library on Islamic History is complete without these two.

Hodgson himself has become a psudo-legend in academic circles because of this work. His obsession with detail, exhibited in this work, reminds me of J. R. R. Tolkin and his imagined "Lord of the Rings" histories except that Hodgson's work is the real thing! Venture of Islam has influenced writers outside Academic circles such has Frank Herbert's Science Fiction masterpeice "Dune." Herbert fans will recongize this as soon they look at the table of contents for The Venture of Islam

For those interested in reading more about Hodgeson himself, I highly recommend an essay written by Edmund Burke III which analyzes his academic works and how his life as a Quaker influecned his skills and style as a historian and a writer.

One cautionary note: This is not light reading. This work is indended for historians, or at the very least serious history students. Those seeking a casual "glossing over" of Islamic history should look elsewhere.

Archetypal Islamic History for Hodgson's Generation
When surveys of Islam are mentioned, Hodgson's three volume work is the most formidable of the three often mentioned-the other two being either that of Lapidus or Hourani (although Hourani's history is limited to Arab history only).This first volume focuses on Hodgson's justifications for his own idiosyncratic preferences which he obviously aspired to be broadly accepted in the field as well as writing the early history of Islam through the absolutist tradition of the Abbasid dynasty.His awkward terminology has in general not been adopted although his insistence on rigor and uniformity in the transliteration of Islamic languages has become standard, and the general outlines of the history that he presents have stood the test of time.Most may leave this book behind, being bogged down in the first hundred or so pages of caveats and academic hair-splitting; however, those who persevere onwards will find the going gets better when the actual history begins wherein the analysis and information conveyed are generally profound.

Throughout Hodgson's rather phlegmatic march through the history of the central Islamic lands (being Muslim Spain, North Africa, and the lands from the Nile to the Oxus River), there is undoubtedly a dusty quality to his work that shows his methodology to be at least a generation behind the times.It is evident that he was influenced strong by the rise and fall of civilizations world history of the likes of Toynbee, and there is some indication that were it not for his untimely death that he would have wished to write just such a history.Though this is a weakness in part of his work-weak because its broad strokes necessitates a glossing over many technical and philosophical issues (the devil and often the more interesting question are in the details)-it did at it time overcome many of the faults of Orientalist scholarship of and prior to his time by integrating Islamic history in the broader streams of human civilization with antecedents and inherited legacies rather than the usual misrepresentation of Islamic civilization as sui generis.

I still recommend Lapidus over Hodgson because Lapidus is more up to date, a single volume and bibliographically also more recent, although Hodgson's work has more style and continuity and coheres better than Lapidus's disjointed text.

Sometimes hard going, but an importantwork nonetheless
Marshall Hodgson, a professor at the University of Chicago, was a major 20th century scholar of Islam. His three volume history of Islamic civilization was published posthumously by the U of C Press.But, even before it came out in book form, xeroxed copies were being used as textbooks in the school's courses in Islamic Civ.That's where I first encountered it (and struggled through it) many years ago.

As other reviewers have pointed out, Hodgson is not always an easy read.His style is dense and ponderous.Nontheless, Hodgson's work was a milestone in Western scholarship about Islam and its history.He provides a wealth of information and a thorough, coherent account of the development of Islamic civilization.Unlike many books, Hodgson pays attention not just to political entities and dynasties, but also to the intellectual and artistic achievements of the societies.

Islam and things Islamic have been sorely neglected in most people's education.Even in our current post-9/11 climate, what most people know about Islam doesn't extend much beyond stereotypical (and largely inaccurate) ideas about jihad.If they're really sophisticated, they may know a little about Sufism and the mystical poetry of Rumi.But there is so much more to Islam and to Islamic civilization (if in fact one can even talk about a single Islamic civilazation).Whatever this books flaws, one could do far worse to start one's education here.

Isbn: 0226346811
Sales Rank: 1325900
Subjects:  1. 1517-    2. Civilization    3. Civilization, Islamic    4. History    5. History - General History    6. Middle East    7. World   

Reviews (4)

My favorite one-volume history of India
This book is mercifully brief on the deconstruction of literary sources that South Asian area studies are prone to and (again quoting the on-target cover copy) "emphasises and analyses the structural pattern of Indian history." I wish it was longer than 335 pages.

The first 2/3 of the book covers the pre-British period -- a good fraction.While relating more of the military viscitudes than I would like, there is some consideration of social, religious, and economic issues as well as ruling strategies.And the focus on 'great empires' is less than in most Indian histories, which is good since India has spent much more time disunited than united.

Kulke and Rothermund break with the Hindu/Islamic/British periodization of Indian history, breaking periods before the Guptas and before the Mughals.All in all, it is a substantial improvement over Romila Thapar's effort, and a huge improvement over Stanley Wolpert's book.

A Eurocentric view of India
This book is, like most other books on India, a Eurocentric view of the subject. It's shortcomings have been well documented by Dilip Chakrabarti, the archaeology professor at Cambridge University, in his seminal book COLONIAL INDOLOGY.

Reviews (2)

From Arakan to Cebuano, from Tu Duc to Kartini
If you are interested in history, or perhaps if you just had to sit through history way back when, you probably heard about "no taxation without representation", Gettysburg, Disraeli, the Magna Carta, Charlemagne, Voltaire, and Cheops' Pyramid, to take a few out of the grab bag.Whether or not you've heard of similarly central and basic events or people in Southeast Asia is another question.Most people in English-speaking countries are a bit vague if asked about Arakan (a long independent kingdom now part of Burma or Myanmar) or Cebuano (one of the most important Philippine languages), Tu Duc (the last major emperor of Vietnam who died in 1883) or Kartini (a Javanese woman whose letters are a monument to modernization and change in Indonesia).I first used the 1973 edition of this book more than 30 years ago when I had to teach an introductory course on Southeast Asia.I found it an invaluable source of information, in an excellently organized format.The authors wisely did not try to cover two thousand years or more of history for the eleven countries-Burma, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, East Timor, Brunei, and the Philippines-making up the region.They begin with an excellent picture of the 18th century world, including fishermen and rice farmers, religion, trade, local rulers and colonial rulers (at that time, only the Spanish in part of the Philippines).This section alone is worth the price of the book as a marvelous integrated history.The next section deals with the way each major society dealt with the impinging outside world, which arrived in the shape of colonial economic and political encroachments and ultimate control.Each colonial power adopted particular measures, producing differing reactions from the inevitable nationalist movements.Meanwhile Chinese and Indian businessmen, then Japanese military occupation added new elements to the historical mix.People who want up-to-date material must look for the later edition. My edition of IN SEARCH OF SOUTHEAST ASIA does not discuss much after 1960, leaving out the Second Indochina War, the economic transformation of Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia since then, the impact of oil in Indonesia, and the Cambodian genocide. But in any case, as an introduction to Southeast Asia, as a background work for the study of any one of the countries mentioned, this book would be hard to beat.It contains some excellent maps and detailed information on a myriad subjects.Its style is serious, but not unreadable.If you read the whole thing, you will know more about Southeast Asia than 99% of Westerners.And that's a shame.

Reviews (2)

A Triumphant Step Back in Time
Africans and Their History is a great start and a great reference tool in the study of African history.From the early beginnings, the author depicts the people, culture, religions, conflicts, and much more.In chronological order, he presents a study of an African people from early to present times.A great comprehensive start for anyone looking to explore true history.

Reviews (3)

Good, not great
When I first became interested in the history of Japan, this is the first book that I read.At the time, I gave this book five stars.As I have read more about Japan though this book falls a little bit for the things it leaves out and the fact that it focuses too much attention to relatively obscure cultural phenomena without expending equal energy to political and military development.I would recommend this book for a good start to learning about Japan and a quicker read than Sansom's histories or the Oxford histories.

An overview of Japanese history
This book is a great introduction to the history of Japan, as the liner on the back of the books says. It suffers a little from the obvious problem of trying to squeeze two thousand years of civilisation into 370 pages, and as such is basically a fleshed out timeline. There is little elaboration on events and presents the reader with an endless string of historical characters, places and dates. However, there is a good focus on the development of the arts in each period. It would seem the authors have a great liking for Japanese verse, so the seemingly often appearance of poetry excerpts can get a little annoying if one is reading it purely for historical information. The book also glosses over recent Japanese history, from about the beginning of the occupation by American forces. As a turbulent time, there would be a lot to write about but if you're interested in that, try John Dower's "Embracing defeat" or a number of other books on Japan's modern history. If you are planning on making a visit to Japan this may be a good book to read so that you know when "that castle" or "this temple" was built, by whom and why.

Reviews (9)

terrific
A comprehensive look at various historical and cultural elements of Latin America.I appreciate the scholarly, yet easy-to-read approach.Refreshing in its story-oriented approach to detail.

A good story.
My favorite history writer is Barbara Tuchman and I found some similarities between her and Mr. Crow in how they present history.They both bring a lot of the human element to history telling.I particularly enjoyed learning about Brasil's Dom Pedro II, who seems to get generally brushed over in history.One also gets a good feel for how and why the Latin American economic and political structures developed.It is extremely long, which is great for the amateur history buff, but probably not so great for the college student.

He does have some obvious biases and makes a liberal amount of commentaries.His subjectivity is easy to recognize, enjoyable to read, and he often makes some good points.I appreciate that he doesn't hold back on both praise and criticism of significant people or events.I have a much broader understanding of our southern neighbors and plan to read the book again.

Reviews (2)

New insights into the sociology of early christianity
As a student of religions, I came away from this volume with some paradigmatically key concepts: the contributing role of economics and sociology to the development of transcendent ideological power, early christianity as a response to a crisis in imperial social identity, the political and social threats christianity presented the Roman empire; and the importance of the normative role of the church in the early middle ages, and of the christian ecumenical identity that helped glue Europe together beginning with the Carolingians. There is much more inMann's book than these lessons, such as his expositions of the four sources of social power and their application to human history. I enjoyed his exposition of the contributions of classical Greece to the dialectic of history. On the negative side, I found tedious the author's constant defense of his theory vis-a-vis other sociologists. This book requires serious study, but pays off handsomely in stimulating new insights into the sociology of history.

A superlative theoretical synthesis
This is one of the three most stimulating books I've read in the last 20 years.Mann posits civilizations as overlapping networks of power -- ideological, military, economic, and political.He described the extensiveand intensive capabilites of each type of network from place to place overtime, and is pretty good about minimizing any Eurocentrism, though there isroom for improvement.

Reviews (1)

a worthy successor to Vol. 1
A philosopher of history as much as a historian and a sociologist, Michael Mann focuses here on early Modernity among the Occidental Great Powers -- France, Britain, Austria, Prussia/Germany, and the USA.While an inclusion of non-Occidental powers would be enlightening, there is sufficient material here to get an appreciation for the shift from agrarian to industrial bases for power.Mann also well elaborates the asymmetrical nature of power distribution and the variety of strategies used by those in power to maintain and build their power during this shift.

Reviews (3)

An overlooked review and revision of history theory
Marshall Hodgson was a scholar of rigorous and detailed precision.He gave no easy answers.In fact, he argued that in the science of history, above all other sciences, there can be no easy answers.What was necessary of historians was a total and unrelenting commitment to uncovering every possible detail on top of every possible detail in the study of earlier ages.....and even then, the historian would be truly lacking, but the effort MUST go on.

It is for this reason that I must respectfully disagree with an earlier reviewer.Hodgson's writing is not dreamy poetry....this is true.But every one of his sentances is jam packed with information.It only takes effort from the reader ( a reader truly interested in LEARNING) to decipher the incredibly important message Hodgson is trying to convey.

Part of this message is that there is only one global history, not an "Eastern" or "Western" history ... not a history that sets one history up to put another history down.Efforts to reinforce these generalizations are manipulative and, under closer scrutiny, factually incorrect.

In this book, you will find a truly fascinating philosophy of history as told through modernity and the Islamicate.

Tough going but worth every bite
Hodgson was the pre-eminent Western historian of Islamic societies, as set forth in "The Venture of Islam."In "Rethinking," Hodgson's widow has seen to the publication of a series of broader essays on the philosophy of history as applied to the world at large.Part 1tries to get outside Euro-centrism as best as an Occidental can.Part 2 considers Islam in a global context, and Part 3 discusses commonalities and differences that make for meaningful comparison, decompositions, and aggregations in regional and global history.

The most interesting chapter is entitled "Modernity and the Islamic Heritage." Here Hodgson inquires whether it is possible for a society to be Modern yet not Western, given that the presuppositions of Modernity reach deep into the Medieval Occident.For example, "with an effort of the imagination, one can guess what the institutions of Modernity might look have been like if it had developed, for instance, in Islamic society... The nation-state, with its constitutionalism, its particularist characters of rights and responsibilities, stems from the corporate conceptions of Medieval Western society.From the very different legal conceptions of Medieval Islamic society, with their abstract egalitarian universalism, there might well have developed, instead of the nation-state, some international corps of super-ulama, regulating an industrial society on the basis of some super-sharia code."This tension between Western-ness and Modernity is palpable in the West, but elsewhere it is a defining issue running through politics, economics, and warfare.It is especially evident in the violent Islamist organizations, where Modernity is used to combat Westernization.

The successful resolution of those tensions, in the Islamic world as elsewhere on Earth, will be the only way that civilization of any kind can continue at all.

Reviews (11)

The case for History as a guide
I came to this book through a personal study of the secrets of human development. Singapore's miracle of development from 1970 on was the immediate precursor to discovering this work. The architect, Lee Kuan Yew, repeated read Toynbee's work through his career and used the challenge and response theory effectively to lift his country.Study of History is an enduring masterpiece. Clearly, it is more detailed and rich addressing western civilizations than eastern, but some of this imbalance might be due to the abridgement.I also find it interesting to contrast the book with Jared Diamond's "history as science" theory and would have loved to have seen Toynbee's consideration of Diamond's scholarship. Though Toynbee's emphasis is on the social, cultural and spiritual levels and boxes in geo physical factors in accord with the science of his era, I believe the two works complement each other in the end.

His emphasis is better than more modern works
People who consider Michael Moore's latest movie, `Fahrenheit 9/11,' sort of crazy, particularly when it is talking about attempts to keep Americans afraid that they are about to be attacked in some way that no one could guess, or, conversely, when it provides R-rated examples of a CD that American troops are able to listen to in their helmets through an armored fighting vehicle's soundtrack system to illustrate how pumped up troops feel going into combat, could feel that the abridgement by D. C. Somervell of Arnold Toynbee's multi-volume set into two small volumes is too selective to encompass the whole picture.People with strong political opinions might even agree with Walter Kaufmann, at the end of his book, FROM SHAKESPEARE TO EXISTENTIALISM, that Arnold J. Toynbee's attempt to write A STUDY OF HISTORY in ten volumes, which provides abundant lessons which leaders of today ought to heed to avoid the ignominious fate of numerous nations, peoples, and civilizations who are far less prosperous than Americans today, if certain outstanding obligations are not considered and everything which must be reported as income for tax purposes is assumed to benefit someone, actually amounts to a form of argument in which, "His method is what Stephen Potter calls `one-upmanship.'Where a red herring might be recognized and challenged, the queer fish that Toynbee introduces with an air of mildly bored authority silence all opposition--unless you either happen to know about them or have the patience to find out."(Kaufmann, FSTE, Chapter 20, `Toynbee and Religion,' p. 413).

The Table of Contents has parts and chapters both consecutively numbered with Roman Numerals, so Part V.The Disintegration of Civilizations, includes Chapter XIX.Schism in the Soul.Subdivisions such as (3) Truancy and Martyrdom show such mixtures of cowardice and courage that even Toynbee gets caught considering subjective natures in the worst possible light:

`~`The truant soul of which we are in search is a soul whose truancy is inspired by a genuine feeling that the cause which it serves is not really worth the service that this cause demands of it.Similarly the martyr soul of which we are in search is the soul which goes to martyrdom not merely or mainly to render practical service to the furtherance of that cause but rather to satisfy a craving of the soul itself for deliverance from

the heavy and the weary weight
Of all this unintelligible world.[W. Wordsworth, `Tintern Abbey]

Such a martyr, noble as he may be, is psychologically more than half a suicide.He is, in modern jargon, an escapist, as is also of course our truant an escapist of a more ignoble variety.'~'(Toynbee, A STUDY OF HISTORYAbr. Vol. I, p. 442).

Continuing on the same page, the disintegration of civilizations was not a pretty picture, even in ancient times:

`~`The Christian Church was the principal target for the parting strokes of a Hellenic dominant minority which turned savage in its death-agony; for this dying pagan ruling class refused to face the heart-rending truth that it was itself the author of its own downfall and destruction.Even in articulo mortis it tried to salvage a last shred of self-respect by persuading itself that it was perishing as the victim of a dastardly assault on the part of the proletariat; and, since the external proletariat was now marshalled in formidable war-bands which were able to defy or elude the Imperial Government's attempts at retaliation for their galling raids, the brunt fell upon the Christian Church, which was the master institution of the internal proletariat.'~'

Toynbee is able to appreciate the martyrs of the early Christian Church."Ignatius of Antioch, one of the notable Christian martyrs of the second century, speaks of himself as `the wheat of God' and longs for the day when he shall be `ground by the teeth of wild beasts into the pure bread of Christ'."(Vol. I, p. 443).

There is much more to Toynbee than theology, but it was a very religious time when Volume I of the Abridged A STUDY OF HISTORY was published in 1947 and became an international best-seller.The second abridged volume appeared much later.

Reviews (3)

Full of knowledge, judgement, and precision of thought
Books on regions and hence on plural cultures often turn into drivel. As a protection from or over-reaction to drivel others protect themselves by narrowness of model or approach.I get tired of both the drivel books and the tiny narrow rigid ones.

This book is full of breadth, comparison, judgement, wisdom, balance, precision and feeling out the boundaries of how ideas mean different things in different contexts and what to do about that.

If you live and work in East Asia or have done so, like myself, for 26 years, you rarely find anyone writing who is not taking a few beloved pieces mistakenly for the whole.Pye does not do this.He is careful, very professionally careful, to not mistake pieces for wholes.He has balance and judgement where others have bias and narrow approach.

You will get, quickly, in passing when reading particular of his sentences, insights that link phenomena in Korea, Taiwan, Japan, Bali, Tonga, in powerful ways that suggest all sorts of implications and changes in action and strategy for government, business, or career building. Entire books could be developed from single such of his sentences.

This is a wonderful book by a person with a wonderful mind. A hundred years from now, it will still tell those generations about East Asian forces, drives, motives, capabilities, and trends.

Superb qualitative study, completely unique
Unlike the previous reviewer, I found Asian Power & Politics to be anincredibly useful study of the underlying currents in Asian cultures. Itclearly articulates many social themes which can be "felt"through not often understood by (for example) Western visitors to Asia. No,this is not a dry sholastic tome laden with statistics and demographicdata, nor is it a formal sociological study (thank god). Rather, it is anobservational study based on Pye's 3 decades of experience, and is muchmore in the classic style of Levi-Strauss or Clifford Gertz (e.g., socialanthropology). As for "empirical data", perhaps the 50 pages ofnotes is insufficient? In today's America - where the slightest mention ofcultural difference is slandered as "racism" or"insult" - some readers will find this book intolerable. Butthose with a desire to actually understand and embrace culturaldistinctions will find it fascinating and full of useful insights.

logic in this work is twisted
A lot of the logic in this work is twisted and convoluted (without historical or empirical evidence).For example:

"Asian countries have unity because they share similar hopes for the future." "Japan manifests the essence of the world culture." "Confucianism led to a bold, risk-taking style among the Koreans." "Confucianism led to a sense of nationalism among the Vietnamese."

Also, he argues that scholars do not have the right to impose their own culturally limited definitions of power on Asians.But how can we gain knowledge, ifprecision in terminology is considered ethnocentric?

Most of his arguments have no source.He makes broad and sweeping statements, without referring to historical documents.For example, "Most Asians respect authority to much to share the Western distrust of authority and power."

He argues that "power" in Asian society resided in successfully performing elaborate rituals.However, I would argue that power resided at the tip of a!samurai sword.But he would say my definition of power is ethnocentric, I suppose.Basically, he needs to throw out all his wishy-washy references to "myth and ritual" and focus on the reality of political life -- which was heavily influenced by conflict.For evidence of conflict in Japanese history see: Najita, Tetsuo and Koschmann, Victor J., Editors.Conflict in Modern Japanese History -- The Neglected Tradition. Princeton:Princeton University Press, 1982

He plays "semantic games" by arguing that in "in China power was defined by the ability to select the propitious moment for action.But in the West, this was not the case."Well, he who forms the question wins the argument; of course "good timing" was important in the West -- it just went by a different name.

Reviews (19)

Completely outrageous and informationless
I expected a more out or a historian like Romila Thapar. The whole book looks like biased Indian culture bashing boring read.The information sources and references seem like they have been picked specially for a pool of India hating English historians library.The real essence of Indian culture which has bought into this world Vedas, Yoga and beautiful art forms seems to be completely missing.Definitely not a read for a person getting introduced to Indian culture (Wrong Views), informationless for a knowledge seeker (Colorless Views).

Outdated History Book
After advent of "Orientalism" by Edward Said, the playing field is even. This Book by Romila Thapar is an Outdated Marxist Rhetoric/

An objective view of caste and economics
Romila Thapar is one of the leading Indian historians.Her earliest book, which was very well received academically, was on the emperor Asoka.Her subsequent writings have elaborated the effects of economics on Indian history more than other historians have done, but while she may draw on Marx for some insights, she cannot be written off as a "Marxist."Paul Samuelson, Robert Solow, and Amartya Sen, all Nobel prize-winning economists, also use Marx to aid their interpretations of society when he makes sense.

Ms Thapar also writes cogently about that a topic that is very sensitive for Indians, namely, caste, and the effects of that system on Indian society through the ages.Some of her comments or interpretations on this subject may not please everyone, but the effect of this system in keeping down, frequently in a brutal manner, persons considered to be of lower caste, has been quite pernicious in Indian history.It is no good taking an ostrich-like attitude towards this topic, or going into denial, which some of my fellow Indians are prone to do.

Reviews (13)

A Poor History of India
A New History of India by Stanley Wolpert is a one-volume history of India.Unfortunately, it is not a very good one.It appears to be written as a textbook and has many of the faults of textbooks covering such a vast subject.I often felt I needed an expert on Indian history to fill in the gaps.While one can empathize with the tremendous task of writing a one volume history of any country, the great failing of this book is that it does not give the reader a good overall perspective on the political and socio-economic development of the country.Additionally, there are poor linkages between one era and the next as the book moves from ancient to more modern times.

This history starts by providing an ecological setting and tracing the history of the Indus peoples from circa 2500 BC forward.These chapters are very short and bereft of the details one needs to understand the development of the culture, politics, and economics of the country.There is a lot more to be said about early Indian history than is provided here.Often the book jumps from one theme or era to another without adequate connections to provide an understanding of the significance of events.This is even true of the chapters on the Mughal Empire, although here the text does a slightly better job.

The book is on much firmer ground when discussing modern Indian history, starting with the gradual absorption of India into the British Empire.There are fuller details and linkages between events leaving the reader with a better understanding of this era in Indian history.Nevertheless, there are still gaps in providing the reader with enough information and insight to fully appreciate India's development.

As a result of these shortcomings, I cannot recommend this book to the general reader.

really out of date
Except for chapter 26, the contents of this book would suggest that writing about the history of India stopped in the 1970s. There has been an enormous amount of scholarship in the last quarter century that should be incorporated into any serious history of South Asia. If the author is unwilling to do so, OUP should find another scholar able to update this very readable but now terribly antiquated volume.

Reviews (20)

Menzies and Levathes, read both
The book is an interesting one, compact but full of information.The first few chapters are actually dedicated to a brief overview of early Chinese political history.It discusses the ethnic mix of the country, the rise of a centralized state, the struggle among early dynasts for control of power, and ultimately the central characters involved in overseas exploration.

Unlike Menzies' 1421 A. D., Levathes' book focuses on China's rapport with countries closer at hand, concentrating on routes between China and SE Asia, India, and Africa. There is no attempt to integrate archaeological finds throughout the world with what is known of Chinese exploration activities, which leaves the author on much firmer ground from a historical standpoint.For most of her documentation she relies on government records, family histories, historical romances, and poetry, and these are outlined and discussed in some detail in the notes to the chapters.Although she speculates about early contact with North and South America, she does not make this the central focus of the book.In fact her primary theme seems to be the social and political causes of the sudden interest in the outside world and its equally sudden reversal.

While Menzies' book is more intriguing and examines the Chinese experiment with overseas exploration from the standpoint of a seaman and navigator, Levathes approaches it as a historian.1421 A. D. gives one a sense of the wonder of exploration and its possibilities; When China Ruled the Seas makes sense of both its occurrence and its cessation.I'd recommend reading both.

Fantastic Voyage
Engaging, informative, not-too-thick book that deftly weaves a subject I'm eager to learn more about - Chinese history, with a subject I never get tired of - ships.