Civilization

Ever since the attacks of 11th September, western leaders have described a world engaged in 'a fight for civilization'. But what do we mean by civilization? We believe in a western tradition of openness and freedom that has produced a good life for many millions of people and a culture of enormous depth and creative power.

But the history of our civilisation is also filled with unspeakable brutality - for every Leonardo there is a Mussolini, for every Beethoven symphony a concentration camp, for every Chrysler building a My Lai massacre. How can we come to the defence of a civilisation whose benefits seem so questionable? In this ambitious and important book Roger Osborne shows that we can only truly understand our civilization by re-examining and confronting our past, with all its glories and catastrophes.

Sweeping in its scope and comprehensive in its coverage,Civilzationtells the story of the western world from its origins to the present. At such a dangerous time in the world's history, this brilliant book is required reading.

Roger Osborne's work has provided a range of innovative insights into our views of the past, and how they inform the present. His previous books includeThe Floating Egg: Episodes in the Making of Geology,The Deprat Affair: Ambition, Revenge and Deceit in French Indo-China, The Dreamer of the Calle San Salvador: Visions of Sedition and Sacrilege in Sixteenth-Century Spain, Civilization: A New History of the Western WorldandOf The People, By The People, A New History of Democracy.

Roger Osborne is also a professional playwright. His plays includeThe Art Of Persuasion,first performed in 2011 andLaughton,stagedin 2013He lives in Scarborough.

Through a vivid and dramatic interrogation of the past, this book examines and illuminates the nature of Western civilization from its earliest incarnations to the present.