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The New York Times - William Grimes

Civilization is not a recitation of greatest hits, or a checklist of events and dates. Mr. Osborne, with great skill, ties his disparate topics together into a coherent narrative, as absorbing as any novel, with felicitous turns of phrase, and tidy summations, on virtually every page. Theoretically it should be impossible to describe the life, thought and influence of Thomas Aquinas in less than two pages, but Mr. Osborne does it, showing no signs of strain. It would be hard to imagine a more readable general history of the West that covers so much ground so incisively.

Publishers Weekly

This stimulating survey steers a middle course between triumphal pageant of progress and postmodern bricolage of clashing perspectives to attempt a coherent narrative of Western history. Historian Osborne (The Floating Egg: Episodes in the Making of Geology) traces a lucid, thoughtful overview of European and American history from Stonehenge and the Greco-Roman era to the present. Tying together his account are a few broad themes, most prominently the development of rationalism the use of abstract reasoning to uncover universal laws governing nature and society from its Platonic origins to its apotheosis in Western science and its malevolent influence on Soviet communism. This often sinister rationalism works in counterpoint, and sometimes opposition, to what he sees as the redeeming organicity of Western culture, its rootedness in human adaptation to changing environments and practical needs in a multitude of contexts, from the growth of medieval towns to the rise of Hollywood and rock 'n' roll. Some pronouncements, like Osborne's insistence on the unique ferocity of Western warfare, aren't persuasive, and the paragraph he accords the Rolling Stones' 1969 Altamont concert is one too many. But one judges such a book less by its historiographical synthesis than by the wealth of provocative insights it throws up, and by that measure Osborne succeeds admirably. Photos. (Dec.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

On the journey from hunter-gatherers to investment bankers, we have become more dangerous to one another. Osborne (The Floating Egg: Episodes in the Making of Geology, not reviewed) set himself a daunting task-to confine to fewer than 500 pages the sprawl of western history. The result: vast historical events and supreme personalities merit only sentences or paragraphs. The author begins with one of George W. Bush's statements after 9/11 about the choice between civilization and chaos. Osborne wonders, What is civilization? He answers that it's a narrative we tell ourselves about ourselves, and he concludes that our current narrative "is simply not credible." The author highlights familiar historical events and characters: Pericles, Socrates, Julius Caesar, Jesus, Charlemagne, Machiavelli, Martin Luther, Cortes, Galileo. He recognizes the immense influence of Christianity on western culture, but he may put off non-Christians with his presentation of Jesus Christ's ascension into Heaven as fact rather than belief. He very broadly traces the contribution of artists and writers through the ages and notes the great influence of African-American musicians on the culture of their country. (Women, however, have a very minor role here.) Osborne-an Englishman-blasts the U.S., most notably for what he calls the genocide of Native Americans and for slavery and its aftermath. He believes our evolving culture of militarism and our belief that our political systems are superior to all others are among the world's great dangers. The paradox he sees: The more rational we try to be, the more deadly the result. Incomplete. Agent: Jane Kirby/Random House Ltd

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