The West
- Author Naoíse Mac Sweeney
- Narrator Shaheen Khan
- Publisher Ebury Publishing
- Publish Date 27 April 2023
- Run Time 14 hours and 9 minutes
- Format Audio
- Genre Comparative politics, History, History of ideas, Philosophical traditions and schools of thought, Politics and government, Social and cultural history, Society and Social Sciences.
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What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
*A BBC RADIO 4 Book of the Week*
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 Naoíse 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.
'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
©2023 Naoíse Mac Sweeney (P)2023 Penguin Audio
Critics Review
One by one she takes on hoary old myths, explodes them with panache, and leaves us instead with a richer, fuller understanding of epochs, worldviews and fascinating individuals from the past… Lots of people will enjoy this clever and thought-provoking account
A forceful, well-written book, in which Mac Sweeney shows her command of a vast sweep of history
A bold, sweeping bird’s-eye view of thousands of years of history that provides a truly global perspective of the past. A fantastic achievement
Bright, expansive, and iconoclastic, this deliciously witty book has the potential to upset the applecart of “Western Civilisation” itself … A magnificent achievement
Awe-inspiring… Deeply researched, wonderfully well written and immensely thought-provoking, this is an important book which reshapes our understanding of the past
A bracing addition to the ongoing deconstruction of the historiographical pillars of western cultural supremacy
A book to savour … challenges us to rethink what it means to be of the West. The writing is as accessible as the argument is pointed
Sets the record straight on the modern myth of Western Civilisation. Authoritative and impassioned, this glorious book takes us beyond prejudice and preconception to a new story about the world in which we live
Incredibly successful and impressive… An honest, painstaking and thrilling story that upends almost everything we think we know about the world… I cannot recommend this book more
Fluent and accessible… Mac Sweeney skillfully blends analysis, erudition and anecdote
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