Civilization: West & The Rest

Enthralling, Daring, Brilliant
Civilization: West & The Rest is an extremely sophisticated documentary for those with a love for history... and maybe some controversy. Make no mistake, you may find yourself not agreeing with Ferguson. I suggest you read his book (of the same name) for an even more comprehensive understanding of his views. However, not agreeing with someone's take on any given issue should not be grounds for condemnation or disregard. I, personally, find little to disagree with as far as his views on the rise of the West. In very simple terms, this is my take on Civilization: West & The Rest-- Ferguson presents a non-apologist's account on the rise of Western economic, political and cultural hegemony. He lays out a realist groundwork for why the West succeeded and why the 'Rest' failed. That said, by no means does Ferguson disregard the negative aspects of Western civilization (colonialism, slavery, genocide, rampant consumerism etc.) However, unlike the leftist literature/media that plagues...

Each to his own....and I'm enthralled.
Other reviewers have pointed out flaws in the material, commented on the jumpiness of the production, explained why Ferguson is totally wrong in some areas, and complained about what was left out. Surely he cannot be faulted for everything. No one can ever be completely right, and rarely is any lecturer totally wrong. But I was enthralled, as much as I had been with James Burke's Connections. There were very big ideas, colorful details, and days later I am still thinking about the program and the information it presented.

Regarding Protestant work ethic, I would highly recommend Simon Schama's An Embarrassment of Riches, which focuses on the success of the Netherlands, the societal guilt in admitting to so much wealth, and how they tried to perfect themselves as a nation.

Fascinating
Anyone who finds this boring doesn't appreciate history. Anyone who finds this too western-centric is simply missing the point and misreading history as well as Ferguson. Of course, trying to make a broad sweep of history in six 45-minute videos will leave out points some will find critical, and make some generalizations others will find offensive, but the genius of Ferguson's grasp of history and twenty-first century social media is evident across the six segments. Yes, there are connections back to James Burke's wonderful "Connections" series from thirty years ago, and fellow Harvard economic historian David Landes went into much more detail in his "Wealth and poverty of nations" treatise fifteen years ago, but for the student or just intellectually curious, this series is hard to beat. Yes, the "six killer apps" theme may offend some as a bit too cute, too current, too much of an appeal to the MTV generation, but Ferguson knows his stuff and knows his audience.

Having...

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