Why the West rules-- for now : the patterns of history, and what they reveal about the future

A New York Times Notable Book for 2011 Sometime around 1750, English entrepreneurs unleashed the astounding energies of steam and coal, and the world was forever changed. The emergence of factories, railroads, and gunboats propelled the West’s rise to power in the nineteenth century, and the development of computers and nuclear weapons in the twentieth century secured its global supremacy. Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, many worry that the emerging economic power of China and India spells the end of the West as a superpower. In order to understand this possibility, we need to look back in time. Why has the West dominated the globe for the past two hundred years, and will its power last? Describing the patterns of human history, the archaeologist and historian Ian Morris offers surprising new answers to both questions. It is not, he reveals, differences of race or culture, or even the strivings of great individuals, that explain Western dominance. It is the effects of geography on the everyday efforts of ordinary people as they deal with crises of resources, disease, migration, and climate. As geography and human ingenuity continue to interact, the world will change in astonishing ways, transforming Western rule in the process. Deeply researched and brilliantly argued, Why the West Rules—for Now spans fifty thousand years of history and offers fresh insights on nearly every page. The book brings together the latest findings across disciplines—from ancient history to neuroscience—not only to explain why the West came to rule the world but also to predict what the future will bring in the next hundred years. Sometime around 1750, English entrepreneurs unleashed the astounding energies of steam and coal, and the world was forever changed. The emergence of factories, railroads, and gunboats propelled the West's rise to power in the nineteenth century, and the development of computers and nuclear weapons in the twentieth century secured its global supremacy. Now, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, many worry that the emerging economic power of China and India spells the end of the West as a superpower. In order to understand this possibility, we need to look back in time. Why has the West dominated the globe for the past two hundred years, and will its power last? Describing the patterns of human history, the archaeologist and historian Ian Morris offers surprising new answers to both questions. It is not, he reveals, differences of race or culture, or even the strivings of great individuals, that explain Western dominance. It is the effects of geography on the everyday efforts of ordinary people as they deal with crises of resources, disease, migration, and climate. As geography and human ingenuity continue to interact, the world will change in astonishing ways, transforming Western rule in the process. Deeply researched and brilliantly argued, Why the West Rules - for Now spans fifty thousand years of history and offers fresh insights on nearly every page. The book brings together the latest findings across disciplines - from ancient history to neuroscience - not only to explain why the West came to rule the world but also to predict what the future will bring in the next hundred years Why Did British Boats Shoot Their Way Up The Yangzi In 1842, Rather Than Chinese Ones Up The Thames? Why Do Easterners Use English More Than Europeans Speak In Mandarin Or Japanese? To Put It Bluntly, Why Does The West Rule? There Are Two Schools Of Thought: The 'long-term Lock In' Theory, Suggesting Some Sort Of Inevitability, And The 'short-term Accident' Theory. But Both Approaches Have Misunderstood The Shape Of History. Ian Morris Presents A Startling New Theory. He Explains With Flair And Authority Why The Paths Of Development Differed In The East And West And - Analysing A Vicious Twist In Trajectories Just Ahead Of Us - Predicts When The West's Lead Will Come To An End. 'here You Have Three Books Wrapped Into One: An Exciting Novel That Happens To Be True; An Entertaining But Thorough Historical Account Of Everything Important That Happened To Any Important People In The Last 10 Millennia; And An Educated Guess About What Will Happen In The Future. Read, Learn, And Enjoy!' Jared Diamond 'a Great Work Of Synthesis And Argument, Drawing Together An Awesome Range Of Materials And Authorities To Bring Us A Fresh, Sharp Reading Of East-west Relationships.' Andrew Marr Why does the West rule? And with the rise of China and India, how long will its power last? In this critically-acclaimed bestseller, eminent historian and archaeologist Ian Morris provides provocative answers. In the middle of the eighteenth century, British entrepreneurs unleashed the astounding energies of steam and coal and the world changed forever. Factories, railways and gunboats then propelled the West's rise to power, and computers and nuclear weapons in the twentieth century secured its global supremacy. Today, however, many worry that the emergence of China and India spell the end of the West as a superpower. How long will the power of the West last? In order to find out we need to know: why has the West been so dominant for the past two hundred years? With flair and authority, historian and achaeologist Ian Morris draws uniquely on 15,000 years of history to offer fresh insights on what the future will bring. Deeply researched and brilliantly argued, Why The West Rules - For Now is a gripping and truly original history of the world Why did British boats shoot their way up the Yangzi in 1842, rather than Chinese ones up the Thames? Why do Easterners use English more than Europeans speak in Mandarin or Japanese? To put it bluntly, why does the West rule? There are two schools of thought: the 'Long-Term Lock-In' theory, suggesting some sort of inevitability, and the 'Short-Term Accident' theory. But both approaches have misunderstood the shape of history. Ian Morris presents a startling new theory, drawing on thousands of years of history and archaeology, and the methods of social science. He explains with flair and authori Archaeologist and historian Ian Morris explains that Western dominance is largely the result of the effects of geography on the everyday efforts of ordinary people as they deal with crises of resources, disease, migration, and climate. As geography and human ingenuity continue to interact, however, the world over the next hundred years will subsequently change in astonishing ways, transforming Western rule in the process An archaeologist and historian offers his view on why the West has dominated the globe for the past two hundred years and whether or not its power will last, examining the past fifty thousand years of human history and predicting what the next one hundred years will bring