List of Maps
Translator's Introduction
By Way of Preface
Introduction: History and the Present Day
I. A History of Civilizations
1. Changing Vocabulary
2. The Study of Civilization Involves All the Social Sciences:
Civilizations as geographical areas; civilizations as societies;
civilizations as economies; civilizations as ways of thought.
3. The Continuity of Civilizations: Periods within civilizations;
underlying structures; history and civilization
II. Civilizations Outside Europe
Part I. Islam and the Muslim World
4. History: Islam as a successor civilization: the Near East in new
form; the history of the Near East; Muhammad, the Koran and Islam;
Arabia: the problem of a barely urbanized culture.
5. Geography: Islam's lands and seas; a continent as intermediary:
trade-routes and towns.
6. The Greatness and Decline of Islam: No Muslim civilization
before the eighth or ninth century; the golden age of Islam: eighth
to twelfth centuries; science and philosophy; stagnation or
decadence: twelfth to eighteenth centuries.
7. The Revival of Islam Today: The end of colonialism and the birth
of new nationalist movements; Muslim States in the modern world;
Muslim civilization in the twentieth century.
Part II: Africa
8. The Past: Geography; the dark past.
9. Black Africa: Today and Tomorrow: The awakening of Africa;
economic and social issues at stake; art and literature.
Part III: The Far East
10. An Introduction to the Far East: What geography shows;
barbarism against civilization: the evidence of history; distant
origins: the reasons for cultural immobility.
11. The China of the Past: Religion; politics; social and economic
affairs.
12. China Yesterday and Today: The time of imposed treaties: China
as humiliated victim (1839-1949); China renewed; Chinese
civilization in the modern world.
13. India Yesterday and Today: Ancient India (before the British
Raj); British India (1757-1947): an ancient economy at grips with
the modern West; Will India be spared a Chinese-style
revolution?
14. The Maritime Far East: Indo-China; Indonesia; The Philippines;
Korea.
15. Japan: Japan before Chinese influence; Japan learns from
Chinese civilization; modern Japan.
III. European Civilizations
Part I: Europe
16. Geography and Freedom: Europe takes shape: fifth to thirteenth
centuries; liberty and rights: eleventh to eighteenth
centuries.
17. Christianity, Humanism, and Scientific Thought: Christianity;
humanism and humanists; scientific thought before the nineteenth
century.
18. The Industrialization of Europe: The origins of the first
Industrial Revolution; the spread of industrialism in Europe (and
beyond); socialism and industrialism.
19. Unity in Europe: Outstanding art and culture; economic
interdependence; political delay.
Part II: America
20. Latin America, the Other New World: Geography; nature and
society: literature bears witness; racial problems:
quasi-fraternity; the economy: civilizations on trial.
21. America par excellence: The United States: A reassuring past:
opportunities and setbacks; colonization and independence;
conquering the West; industrialization and the growth of towns.
22. Failures and Difficulties: From Yesterday to the Present: An
old nightmare: Black America, an ineradicable colony; capitalism:
from the trusts to State intervention and oligopoly; the United
States in the world.
23. An English-speaking Universe: In Canada: France and Britain;
Southern Africa: Dutch, British, and Blacks; Australia and New
Zealand, or Britain at last unchallenged.
Part III: The Other Europe: Muscovy, Russia, the USSR and the
CIS
24. From the Beginning to the October Revolution of 1917: Kiev; the
Russian Orthodox Church; Greater Russia.
25. The USSR After 1917: From Marx to Lenin; Marxism and Soviety
civilization; the Congress of October 1961.
Index
Fernand Braudel was France's foremost post-war historian. He is best known for The Mediterranean in the Age of Philip II, Civilization and Capitalism and The Identity of France. Richard Mayne is a renowned translator of French. His other translations include Monet's Memoirs.
The late historian Braudel ( The Perspective of the World, LJ 10/15/84) was a leader of the French ``Annales'' school of historiography, which emphasizes a multidisciplinary approach to history while deemphasizing the study of individual personalities and events. This work was written in 1962 to be used as a text in the French secondary school system. It was ostensibly rejected as being too difficult for students, but the real reason may have been that it lacked a Western bias; non-Western and Western civilizations are given equal emphasis. Though it is not error-free--witness the statement that has Ptolemy ruling Macedonia rather than Egypt--this work is a broad survey that attempts to understand the character and continuity of civilizations on a global scale. It can be seen as a precursor to the multicultural approach to studies that is in vogue today. Highly recommended.-- Robert J. Andrews, Duluth P . L . , Minn.
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