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Civilization
- The West and the Rest
- Narrated by: Niall Ferguson
- Length: 13 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: History, Europe
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Publisher's Summary
If in the year 1411 you had been able to circumnavigate the globe, you would have been most impressed by the dazzling civilizations of the Orient. The Forbidden City was under construction in Ming Beijing; in the Near East, the Ottomans were closing in on Constantinople. By contrast, England would have struck you as a miserable backwater ravaged by plague, bad sanitation and incessant war. The other quarrelsome kingdoms of Western Europe - Aragon, Castile, France, Portugal and Scotland - would have seemed little better. As for fifteenth-century North America, it was an anarchic wilderness compared with the realms of the Aztecs and Incas. The idea that the West would come to dominate the Rest for most of the next half millennium would have struck you as wildly fanciful. And yet it happened.What was it about the civilization of Western Europe that allowed it to trump the outwardly superior empires of the Orient? The answer, Niall Ferguson argues, was that the West developed six "killer applications" that the Rest lacked: competition, science, democracy, medicine, consumerism and the work ethic. The key question today is whether or not the West has lost its monopoly on these six things. If so, Ferguson warns, we may be living through the end of Western ascendancy. Civilization takes readers on their own extraordinary journey around the world - from the Grand Canal at Nanjing to the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul; from Machu Picchu in the Andes to Shark Island, Namibia; from the proud towers of Prague to the secret churches of Wenzhou. It is the story of sailboats, missiles, land deeds, vaccines, blue jeans and Chinese Bibles. It is the defining narrative of modern world history.
Critic Reviews
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Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Ken Craig
- 08-12-2016
If you only listen to one history book, this is it
Few history books cover the breadth of Civilization with such concision and poignancy. It is as much a commentary of the time as it is a detailed document of the past. Vast and sprawling in its content, but focused and relentless in its thesis. Perfect introduction to Ferguson's work.
2 people found this helpful
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- Alexander Emslie
- 07-06-2020
A brilliant and compelling analysis!
I am a great admirer of Mr. Ferguson. I chose this audiobook having just finished his “Empire “ discussion. The research is immaculate. I became absorbed in global politics and economics study through the Open University. I shall return and revisit this audiobook.
1 person found this helpful
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- David Schutz
- 27-01-2019
Silly accents annoying
A fine analysis and generally well read by the author but distracting false accents used for quotations
1 person found this helpful
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- Jarrad
- 27-03-2018
worthwhile listening
thought provoking stuff, easy to digest. i would recommend it to anyone with at least a passing interest in anthropology
1 person found this helpful
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- Cam Liston
- 27-02-2017
Hit and Miss
Apps 1,2,3, and 5 were excellent.
App 4 - Medicine was off topic and Niall seemed to be struggling for content.
App 6 - Religious Work Ethic seemed a little out of place.
Overall it was decent book.
Note: Accents during quotes were mostly terrible.
1 person found this helpful
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- Alison
- 04-05-2020
Brilliant. Thoroughly recommended.
Well researched. A mine of interesting and important information. Not a light weight read, heavy going but we'll worth the effort.
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- Roberto
- 02-04-2019
The amswer to the importance of western values
Contextualising history is of extreme importance in the relativistic, self doubting period we are experincing. Remind yourself of what has been learnt and hope not to repeat, but also be inspired to continue to grow the best that Western culture has created.
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- Lauren L
- 03-02-2017
An illuminating wide-angled telescope
You don't have to agree with Mr Ferguson's every word to find this a fascinating and perspective-tilting wide-angled telescope on five hundred years of history. Brilliant narration by the author. Highly recommended!
1 person found this helpful
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- scmathew
- 31-03-2013
Oooh, me accent's slippin'!
The Good:
I personally tend to find Professor Ferguson's political leanings distasteful and don't necessarily agree with his ultimate conclusions but this is a good book. Ferguson's overview of the institutional strengths that allowed Western Europe to pull ahead of China, India and the Middle East is valid, insightful and thoroughly entertaining. I appreciated the wealth of interesting anecdotes from obscure nooks and corners of history that made this a superb piece of narrative history. As a review of post-Medieval Western Civ, this is a must-read.
The Meh:
As I said earlier I'm not exactly a fan of Ferguson's ideological leanings but this is besides the point- at times Ferguson's smug self-satisfaction with the glories of Western Civ can grate a bit (speaking as an Asian listener) but I have to admit that he's fair in his assessment of how la mission civilisatrice often went horribly wrong, notably in the part of his narrative that concerns German colonial atrocities against the Herero. I do note, however that he steers well clear of any analysis of the British Empire in this section but I suppose he couldn't put his nostalgia aside. Fair enough- in all other respects a generally balanced text.
The Bad:
The narration. Dear god, the narration. Ferguson has a pleasant speaking voice and he uses it well...but for some reason he decided to do the accents for all the bits of quoted text. This, in itself, isn't necessarily a problem- Nadia May does a great job with the accents in The Guns of August- but Ferguson can't do accents to save his life! French, Russians and Germans get read out in what devolves into a strangely blended Jamaican patois. And when he quote from East Asian sources he does so in a hilarious Charlie Chan-esque 'me so solly' accent. It funny the first few times but quickly becomes jarring.
1 person found this helpful
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- The A train
- 27-01-2017
Well written, hard working.
The author works hard to show the critical thinking that has kept homo sapiens ahead of the herd and though he is ready for the baton handover from US to China, he hasn't missed a beat in catching the convolutions of the Turks the Ottomans and the west's rise to supremacy with technology largely because of the Economic Social and political institutions from the ubiquitous blue jeans to the British colonies' larger land grants to its migrant white populations.
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- Adrian
- 11-03-2013
Fergusson at his best
What did you love best about Civilization?
That the author read the book with the same passion he wrote it.
What did you like best about this story?
Filled with thousands of gems and cameos - yet the storyline and line of argument were never compromised or lost.
Which scene was your favorite?
The narrative surrounding damages and reparations for slavery . The rich world is culpable yet remains untried and above it all.
If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?
The six things that matter
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- John
- 28-03-2012
Great!
If you could sum up Civilization in three words, what would they be?
Simply bloody brilliant
What was one of the most memorable moments of Civilization?
Concluding comments make a lasting impact
What about Niall Ferguson’s performance did you like?
Has a great voice filled with genuine enthusiasm for his topic
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- Jim Vaughan
- 15-05-2013
Challenging! Is the West in decline?
I really enjoyed this book, after seeing Niall Ferguson's TV series of the same name. If you want to hear him speak, I recommend his 2012 Reith lectures too (on the BBC website). Ferguson is nothing if not controversial, and the central question of the book "why did the West beat the rest?" is the very question posed (perhaps in different terms), by Jared Diamond in his classic book "Guns, Germs & Steel". Their answers are very different, and reflect perhaps the political Right and Left leanings respectively of Ferguson and Diamond. Ferguson's answer lies in his thesis of the 6 "killer apps" which the West perfected, and which he believes we may be in danger of losing our self-belief in. Thus, implicit to his enquiry is "is the West in decline?". It is a bold and interesting thesis, and Ferguson provides copious evidence in support of his "apps" being the midwives of any advanced civilisation with a progressive technology. However, whereas Diamond links cultural advance back to fundamental features of geography (East-West orientation, supporting the spread of cultural innovation), and biology (prevalence of species open to domestication), Fergusons "6 killer apps" thesis begs the question of why these should be the universal properties of an advanced civilisation. Could there be more than six, for instance? Answers on a postcard... Having said that it is an excellent book, made more so by the lively reading by Ferguson himself. He really enjoys reading the book - you can tell - and that enjoyment is infectious.
7 people found this helpful
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- Judy Corstjens
- 28-07-2015
Quite hard work
There are (these days) history books that romp along and build up a convincing story in your head. This one didn't quite achieve that for me; it started slipping into a list of events. Thus I found myself having to re-listen three of four times and force myself to concentrate. Mr Ferguson does try to make it easier by defining the 'killer apps' of Western civilisation, and then structuring the book around these killer apps, but the killer apps are not quite as clear-cut and illuminating as you might hope. Still, a good set of thoughts; I enjoyed the amount of time spent on clothes and the textile industry and the importance of consumer society to our modern civilisation.
Narration. Ferguson does a fine job on the general narration, but falls down on the (extended and numerous) quotations. They are all done in the same, slightly nasal, all-purpose 'foreign' accent, from Bolivia to Japan. Quite bizarre.
5 people found this helpful
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- Nikki Kat
- 29-12-2012
Civilisation
Civilisation by Niall Furguson is a must for any fan of historical non-fiction titles. It's a very enoyable read (listen) and although I didn't necessarily agree with the author on all points it certainly was entertaining, something Niall Ferguson's narration adds to. This book is well worth the asking price - highly recommended.
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- M
- 27-10-2012
Civilised?
An epic romp through the last 500 years, trying to explain why western civilisations somehow managed to turn the tables on the rest, which were apparently set to dominate at that time. Usual history books that cover this period (such as After Tamerlane: The Global History of Empire Since 1405) try to chart the clash and crash of empires, but here the author examines the processes that feed these incredibly complex 'organisms', and how the 6 "killer apps" he describes (science, medicine, work ethic, home ownership, rule of law and competition) gave the west the edge. I found his arguments and descriptions compelling as well as enjoyable and would thoroughly recommend this to lovers of history.
5 people found this helpful
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- Tom
- 28-04-2012
Very entertaining, interesting and informative
Reviews of this book on Amazon are mixed but I have always liked Niall Ferguson's wwork so took the plunge. I am glad I did so. I thoroughly enjoyed the book - full of interesting facts and anecdotes, novel and thought-provoking ideas, global in scope and outlook, and very well written. I was genuinely sorry when it finished and I am sure I will read it again.
A real bonus is the excellent narration by the author himself. He was clearly enjoying himeself, does all the accents very entertainly, paces himself perfectly, and his enthusiasm and energy come through loud and clear. Tremendous stuff.
Strongly recommended, particularly if you like history.
3 people found this helpful
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- Caomhinb
- 14-10-2021
Excellent summary of the achievements of our civilisation
For all of you who feel that somehow modern civilisation is all bad, this book will remind you of how much we have achieved and that we can be proud of many great innovations in our lives and in the rest of the world.
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- Jimmy M
- 07-03-2021
Great content, terrible accents
Very interesting book which fortunately for the most part is read in a normal voice, however every now and then when quoting people of various different nationalities, Niall reads the words in terrible, almost comical (almost but not) accents. Sounds a bit like Borat at certain points. Other than that, can’t fault the book.
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- James Cartwright
- 03-12-2019
Ruined by voice overs
Storytelling ok but who thought that these crude characterizations were a good idea? The equivalent of re-enactment on tv that ruins the experience.
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- Matthew Holmes
- 28-02-2019
Great book.
If you have enjoyed his other books, you will enjoy this one. Very clear and well written.
Also, the narration is fantastic.
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- Amazon Customer
- 18-05-2018
Well argued and well read
Not a lot more to say beyond the title of this review. Highly recommended book.
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