Historians Debate the Rise of the West

How and why did Europe rise to world pre-eminence? Providing an overview of this central historical conundrum of modern times, Historians Debate the Rise of the West enables students to grasp major scholars' evaluations of the biggest picture of all: how Western civilization fits into modern world history.

Most historians who write in this area subscribe to a combination of interpretations set forward by scholars of the field, like David Landes, Jared Diamond or Kenneth Pomeranz. But it is often difficult to understand the position they are coming from, and for readers to understand clearly how Europe made the transition from merely one of many developing civilizations to the world's first industrial power. In this volume, Jonathan Daly introduces us to the main interpretations of Europe's rise that have been proposed over the past half-century and presents the views of these historians and schools of scholarship, advocating for each point of view and letting each author speak for him or herself through the inclusion of brief textual selections.

Also included are interesting biographical details for each scholar, as well as a list of further reading for each chapter and a collection of maps. An ideal introduction for students of world history.

Author: Jonathan Daly
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 07/03/2014
Pages: 200
Binding Type: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.30w x 0.50d
ISBN: 9781138774810

Review Citation(s):
Choice 03/01/2015 pg. 1205

About the Author
Jonathan Daly is Professor of History at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His publications include Autocracy under Siege (1998), The Watchful State (2004), and The Rise of Western Power: A Comparative History of Western Civilization (2014).