This Is Not Civilization


Book Description

Hopscotching from Arizona to Central Asia to Istanbul, this inspired debut novel is “a vibrant mix of the serious and the absurd” (Publishers Weekly). In the aftermath of the Soviet Union’s collapse, Anarbek Tashtanaliev singlehandedly supports his small village in Kyrgyzstan, despite struggles at his cheese factory and a ruthless blackmailer. In the canyons of Arizona, Adam Dale’s basketball prowess represents the hope of his entire Apache tribe, but his personal life is filled with poverty and the struggle to break free from his tyrannical tribal councilman father. In Turkey, American Jeff Hartig works as a refugee resettlement officer—until Anarbek and Adam, men he knew during his stint as an aid worker, suddenly reappear in his life. Sharing a small apartment in the magical, sprawling city of Istanbul, the three men form an unlikely bond, filled with confusion, compassion, hope, and friendship. But when tragedy strikes the city, each will have to examine his own journey and his capacity to endure. Hailed as “journalistic, humane, and heart-wrenching” by the New York Times Book Review, This Is Not Civilization is “an ambitious, bighearted debut . . . intelligent, earnest, and highly readable” (Kirkus Reviews).




Civilization


Book Description

From the bestselling author of The Ascent of Money and The Square and the Tower “A dazzling history of Western ideas.” —The Economist “Mr. Ferguson tells his story with characteristic verve and an eye for the felicitous phrase.” —Wall Street Journal “[W]ritten with vitality and verve . . . a tour de force.” —Boston Globe Western civilization’s rise to global dominance is the single most important historical phenomenon of the past five centuries. How did the West overtake its Eastern rivals? And has the zenith of Western power now passed? Acclaimed historian Niall Ferguson argues that beginning in the fifteenth century, the West developed six powerful new concepts, or “killer applications”—competition, science, the rule of law, modern medicine, consumerism, and the work ethic—that the Rest lacked, allowing it to surge past all other competitors. Yet now, Ferguson shows how the Rest have downloaded the killer apps the West once monopolized, while the West has literally lost faith in itself. Chronicling the rise and fall of empires alongside clashes (and fusions) of civilizations, Civilization: The West and the Rest recasts world history with force and wit. Boldly argued and teeming with memorable characters, this is Ferguson at his very best.




The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin


Book Description

The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin is Beatrix Potter’s second book. It tells the story of an impertinent and funny red squirrel and of Mr. Brown, an old owl who lives in an island. Nutkin, his brother and their cousins sail to the island on little rafts. There they offer Mr. Brown a gift and ask him permission to gather nuts in the island. That’s when Nutkin starts being silly and impertinent. Squirrel Nutkin was born in a letter to Norah Moore, daughter of a governess who became Beatrix Potter’s friend. The illustrations represent Derwentwater, in the Lake District, where Beatrix Potter spent her summer holiday for some time. The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin, published after The Tale of Peter Rabbit but quite different from it, has been a tremendous hit to this day.




Technology in World Civilization, revised and expanded edition


Book Description

The new edition of a milestone work on the global history of technology. This milestone history of technology, first published in 1990 and now revised and expanded in light of recent research, broke new ground by taking a global view, avoiding the conventional Eurocentric perspective and placing the development of technology squarely in the context of a "world civilization." Case studies include "technological dialogues" between China and West Asia in the eleventh century, medieval African states and the Islamic world, and the United States and Japan post-1950. It examines railway empires through the examples of Russia and Japan and explores current synergies of innovation in energy supply and smartphone technology through African cases. The book uses the term "technological dialogue" to challenges the top-down concept of "technology transfer," showing instead that technologies are typically modified to fit local needs and conditions, often triggering further innovation. The authors trace these encounters and exchanges over a thousand years, examining changes in such technologies as agriculture, firearms, printing, electricity, and railroads. A new chapter brings the narrative into the twenty-first century, discussing technological developments including petrochemicals, aerospace, and digitalization from often unexpected global viewpoints and asking what new kind of industrial revolution is needed to meet the challenges of the Anthropocene.




In Search of Civilization


Book Description

The idea of civilization is a complex one, tangled up for years in ideas of colonialism and politics. John Armstrong explores the nature and aims of civilization as he examines how civilizing forces from the Greeks to the Renaissance have shaped and coloured our ideas of what a good existence means.




The Fabric of Civilization


Book Description

From Paleolithic flax to 3D knitting, explore the global history of textiles and the world they weave together in this enthralling and educational guide. The story of humanity is the story of textiles -- as old as civilization itself. Since the first thread was spun, the need for textiles has driven technology, business, politics, and culture. In The Fabric of Civilization, Virginia Postrel synthesizes groundbreaking research from archaeology, economics, and science to reveal a surprising history. From Minoans exporting wool colored with precious purple dye to Egypt, to Romans arrayed in costly Chinese silk, the cloth trade paved the crossroads of the ancient world. Textiles funded the Renaissance and the Mughal Empire; they gave us banks and bookkeeping, Michelangelo's David and the Taj Mahal. The cloth business spread the alphabet and arithmetic, propelled chemical research, and taught people to think in binary code. Assiduously researched and deftly narrated, The Fabric of Civilization tells the story of the world's most influential commodity.




Civilization and Its Discontents


Book Description

(Dover thrift editions).




Civilization One: The World is Not as You Thought it Was


Book Description

...one of the biggest breakthroughs of all times... this is the definitive proof that civilisation is thousands of years older than historians believe' -Colin Wilson 'A breakthrough book. The last four thousand years are never going to be the same again' - Graham Hancock This is the amazing story of how a quest to try to crack the mystery of the Megalithic Yard - an ancient unit of linear measurement - led to the discovery of compelling evidence pointing to the existence of an unknown, highly advanced culture which was the precursor to the earliest known civilizations such as the Sumerians and the Egyptians. There must have been a Civilization One. Knight and Butler reveal the secrets of an extraordinary integrated measuring system which might have been lost to the world for ever. It was a system, far more advanced than anything used today, which forms the basis of both the Imperial and Metric measure systems! These ancient scientists understood the dimensions, motions and relationships of the Earth, Moon and Sun - they measured the solar system and even understood how the speed of light was integrated into the movements of our planet. Their conclusions fly in the face of everything that we thought we knew about the origins of the modern world - but the evidence is incontrovertible. And the implications of these revelations go far beyond the fascination of the discovery of a 'super-science' of prehistory; they indicate a grand plan which will have far reaching theological ramifications!




Civilization and Its Contents


Book Description

"Civilization" is a constantly invoked term. It is used by both politicians and scholars. How useful, in fact, is this term? Civilization and Its Contents traces the origins of the concept in the eighteenth century. It shows its use as a colonial ideology, and then as a support for racism. The term was extended to a dead society, Egyptian civilization, and was appropriated by Japan, China, and Islamic countries. This latter development lays the groundwork for the contemporary call for a "dialogue of civilizations." The author proposes instead that today the use of the term "civilization" has a global meaning, with local variants recognized as cultures. It may be more appropriate, however, to abandon the name "civilization" and to focus on a new understanding of the civilizing process.




Beyond Civilization


Book Description

In Beyond Civilization, Daniel Quinn thinks the unthinkable. We all know there's no one right way to build a bicycle, no one right way to design an automobile, no one right way to make a pair of shoes, but we're convinced that there must be only one right way to live -- and the one we have is it, no matter what. Beyond Civilization makes practical sense of the vision of Daniel Quinn's best-selling novel Ishmael. Examining ancient civilizations such as the Maya and the Olmec, as well as modern-day microcosms of alternative living like circus societies, Quinn guides us on a quest for a new model for society, one that is forward-thinking and encourages diversity instead of suppressing it. Beyond Civilization is not about a "New World Order" but a "New Personal World Order" that would allow people to assert control over their own destiny and grant them the freedom to create their own way of life right now -- not in some distant utopian future.