Arnold Toynbee's A Study of History has been acknowledged as one of the greatest achievements of modern scholarship. A ten-volume analysis of the rise and fall of human civilizations, it is a work of breath-taking breadth and vision. D.C. Somervell's abridgement, in two volumes, of this magnificent enterprise, preserves the method, atmosphere, texture, and, in many instances, the very words of the original. Originally published in 1947 and 1957, these two volumes are themselves a greathistorical achievement. Volume 1, which abridges the first six volumes of Toynbee's study, includes the Introduction, The Geneses of Civilizations, and The Disintegrations of Civilizations. Volume 2, an abridgement of Volumes VII-X, includes sections on Universal States, Universal churches, Heroic Ages, Contacts Between Civilizations in Space, Contacts Between Civilizations in Time, Law and Freedom in History, The Prospects of the Western Civilization, and the Conclusion. Of Somervell's work, Toynbee wrote, "The reader now has at his command a uniform abridgement of the whole book, made by a clear mind that has not only mastered the contents but has entered into the writer's outlook and purpose."
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"Of all the books published so far in this century, the one most assured of being read a hundred years from now is A Study of History."--Clifton Fadiman
"Somervell has performed his chosen task--a labor of love--extremely well....A remarkable achievement."--The New York Times Book Review
"Somervell's abridgement is an amazingly accurate version of the original."--New York Herald Tribune
"If...[you] have time for only one book during this year--and the next and the next--Somervell's abridgement of Toynbee's Study of History should be that book."--The Nation
"A veritable masterpiece of erudition and one of the most suggestive, stimulating and inspiring studies of this age."--Los Angeles Times
"Somervell has performed his chosen task--a labor of love--extremely well....A remarkable achievement."--The New York Times Book Review
"Somervell's abridgement is an amazingly accurate version of the original."--New York Herald Tribune
"If...[you] have time for only one book during this year--and the next and the next--Somervell's abridgement of Toynbee's Study of History should be that book."--The Nation
"A veritable masterpiece of erudition and one of the most suggestive, stimulating and inspiring studies of this age."--Los Angeles Times
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HISTORIANS generally illustrate rather than correct the ideas of the communities within which they live and work, and the development in the last few centuries, and more particularly in the last few generations, of the would-be self-sufficient national sovereign state has led historians to choose nations as the normal fields of historical study. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
HISTORIANS generally illustrate rather than correct the ideas of the communities within which they live and work, and the development in the last few centuries, and more particularly in the last few generations, of the would-be self-sufficient national sovereign state has led historians to choose nations as the normal fields of historical study. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Toynbee has three major theories of the rise and fall of civilizations.
1. Challange and response. There must be a challange to the population in order for a civilization to rise. The challange must be just right. Too little and the civilization does not rise. Too great a challange and the civilization is destroyed before it gets a chance or rise or is destroyed soon thereafter.
2. Withdrawl and change. An element of the civilization withdraws in some manner from the central civilization and undergoes some sort of creative transformation which it then introduces to the greater body of the civilization. This is a mechanism for maintaining the civilization.
3. The Nemesis of Creativity: There is within a civilization a creative minority. If the creative minority lacks the opportunity to create, the civilization will die or stagnate. This can happen in two ways: The majority group, lacking the talent to create, gains enough power to create, but the creativity is second rate and the civilization dies or stagnates. On the other hand, an exogenous group may gain power over the avenues of creativity and the creativity produced is destructive to the civiliation.
Of the three basic ideas the Nemesis of Creativity notion seems the most insightful. The challange and response seems little more than the golden mean. Withdrawl and change seems more relevant. As far as the Nemesis of creativity is concerned, this can be visualized in a simple microcosm. Suppose, for example, government action were taken which prevented the highly talented minority from obtaining either an education or given a good education, this minority were prevented from getting prime jobs. If, say, the space program were afflicted with this sort of thing, second-rate engineers, managers, scientists and such would be in positions of responsibility. Their positions would promote failure. It would be better to give these people jobs with good pay and no decision-making powers.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I don't normally go after other reviewers, but the dolts submitting their thoughts about this author are uninformed in the extreme. If ever there were a "desert island" author and a book that I would want to have with me on said island it is this one (though not the abridged version). Toynbee is a true polymath and one of the progenitors of Jacob Burckhardt, Daniel J. Boorstin, Jacques Barzun, et al. He delivers in concise, exquisitely rendered prose, an overview of western culture that has never been matched in terms of scope and economy - two terms that are not always congruous. For insights into the development of western civilization, its driving forces, main events, greatest influences, etc. , one need look no further than Toynbee. To compare it to Wells' work is to compare persimmons to oranges. One leaves a slightly bitter, puckery taste, the other slakes one's thirst.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Toynbee's comparative analysis of the birth life and decline of civilizations is an enlightening masterwork. The corrolations we can draw from history and apply to our own individual development are mind-blowing. A must have in hardback for any library. Takes awhile to work through, but high value added from the experience.
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Most recent customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
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... Read more
Published on July 12 2004 by Bruce P. Barten
5.0 out of 5 stars
Landmark Work
I won't spend time writing all the myriad ways in which I admired this work. It would take too long. Read more
Published on April 4 2004
4.0 out of 5 stars
Challenge and Response
I first became acquainted with the name of Arnold Toynbee through reading the science fiction of Arthur C. Clarke. Read more
Published on Mar 13 2004 by Bart Leahy
1.0 out of 5 stars
Muddling through history
This is one those books like Well's Outline of History that seem to reach beyond the grasp of any discipline. Read more
Published on Jun 13 2002
5.0 out of 5 stars
Comparative study between japan and western world
I am Japanese archaeologist living in London 10 years. I am interested in comparative ancient and modern historical study between Japan and western world based on Toynbee Theory. Read more
Published on Sep 7 2000 by Kazuo Ueno
5.0 out of 5 stars
Japanese History (Archaeology) Based on Toynbee Theory
I am interested in Japanese ancient history and archaeological study based on Arnold J. Toynbee theory.I always want to publish my theory in any journal in the world. Read more
Published on Sep 5 2000 by Kazuo Ueno
5.0 out of 5 stars
And you thought Nostrodomus was a prophet!
A Study of History is an excellent, lifetime study of how and why civilization progresses through time. Read more
Published on Jun 22 1998 by Bob G. - author, investor, entrepreneur
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