Brief History of the Human Race by Michael Cook

Brief History of the Human Race by Michael Cook

Sweeping across the whole of human history over the last 10,000 years, this work addresses some of the most fascinating questions about our past. Why did we first emerge as a species in Africa and why was the Ancient Near East the place where civilization took off? Why did civilizations develop, and also decline, at markedly different rates around the world? How did the great world religions arise and the worship of many gods give way to just one? And why did Britain, peripheral to world history for millennia, play such a dominant role in the last few centuries? Michael Cook explores the great forces that have shaped our past - natural disasters, human ingenuity, availability of resources - and along the way zooms in on some of the details of history, from the arcane burial customs of ancient Mexican kings and the erotic temple carvings of India, to the design of snuff boxes and the forging of antiques in ancient Rome. Cook shows that humankind has rarely been slow to take advantage of an opportunity when it has come within grasp - from the domestication of the horse to the exploration of space.

Many on both the left and right of the political divide believe that not only has Britain declined in many ways since the end of WW2 but that we have succumbed to an all-encompassing, invasive American cultureIn a robust and lucid narrative, American historian George Bernstein refutes both these views. He suggests that despite the economy having problems, Britain enjoys an unparalleled prosperity, whilst ongoing social change has resulted in an exciting and dynamic society. And although there has been much American influence, this (along with other influences) has been subsumed into a new, more flexible culture. On the political front, Professor Bernstein writes about the futile struggle to maintain an illusory power, but nevertheless concludes that Britain since 1945 has not declined, but has progressed on almost all fronts.

Michael Cook, Cleveland E. Dodge Professor of Near Eastern Studies, was educated at Cambridge and the School of Oriental and African Studies in the University of London. In 1986 he took up a position at Princeton. His publications include OUP's Very Short Introductions to the Koran and Mohammed. In 2002 he received the prestigious $1.5 million Distinguished Achievement Award from the Mellon Foundation for his significant contribution to humanities research.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781862076877
ISBN 10	1862076871
Title	Brief History of the Human Race
Author	Michael Cook
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Granta Books
Year published	2004-01-22
Number of pages	368
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.