The West: A New History of an Old Idea
Author: Sweeney, Naoíse Mac
ISBN: 9780753558935
Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE UK
Year First Published: 2024
Pages: 368
Dimensions: 196mm x 129mm x 25mm
Format: Paperback / softback
Description:
Prize-winning historian providing a radical, new account of how the idea of the west has shaped our history, told through the stories of fourteen fascinating lives, for fans of Sathnam Sanghera, Peter Frankopan and Edward Said
*A BBC RADIO 4 Book of the Week*
'A fantastic achievement' Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads
'Bright, expansive, and iconoclastic, this deliciously witty book has the potential to upset the applecart of "Western Civilisation" itself... Magnificent' Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb
_________________
A radical new account of how the idea of the West has shaped our history, told through the stories of fourteen fascinating lives.
We tend to imagine Western Civilisation as a golden thread stretching from classical antiquity to the countries of the modern Western world. But what if this is wrong?
Told through the lives of fourteen fascinating historical figures - including a formidable Roman matriarch, an unconventional Islamic scholar, an enslaved African American poetess and a British prime minister with Homeric aspirations - archaeologist and historian Naoise Mac Sweeney charts how the idea of the West was invented, how it has been used to justify imperialism and racism, and why it is no longer ideologically fit for purpose today.
The result is a bold and empowering new story of the people and ideas who made us who we are today.
ISBN: 9780753558935
Publisher: RANDOM HOUSE UK
Year First Published: 2024
Pages: 368
Dimensions: 196mm x 129mm x 25mm
Format: Paperback / softback
Description:
Prize-winning historian providing a radical, new account of how the idea of the west has shaped our history, told through the stories of fourteen fascinating lives, for fans of Sathnam Sanghera, Peter Frankopan and Edward Said
*A BBC RADIO 4 Book of the Week*
'A fantastic achievement' Peter Frankopan, author of The Silk Roads
'Bright, expansive, and iconoclastic, this deliciously witty book has the potential to upset the applecart of "Western Civilisation" itself... Magnificent' Prof. Suzannah Lipscomb
_________________
A radical new account of how the idea of the West has shaped our history, told through the stories of fourteen fascinating lives.
We tend to imagine Western Civilisation as a golden thread stretching from classical antiquity to the countries of the modern Western world. But what if this is wrong?
Told through the lives of fourteen fascinating historical figures - including a formidable Roman matriarch, an unconventional Islamic scholar, an enslaved African American poetess and a British prime minister with Homeric aspirations - archaeologist and historian Naoise Mac Sweeney charts how the idea of the West was invented, how it has been used to justify imperialism and racism, and why it is no longer ideologically fit for purpose today.
The result is a bold and empowering new story of the people and ideas who made us who we are today.
