Williamsburg Regional Library

The West, a new history in fourteen lives, Naoíse Mac Sweeney

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 392-420) and index

contains biographical information

illustrations

index present

non fiction

The West

bibliography

1345214770

Naoíse Mac Sweeney

a new history in fourteen lives

The concept of "the West" is present in entertainment, politics, and world markets. Told through fourteen figures who each played a role in the creation of the Western idea-- from Herodotus, a mixed-race migrant, to Phylis Wheatley, an enslaved African American who became a literary sensation, to the medieval Arab scholar Al-Kindi-- Mac Sweeney provides a mind-expanding blend of unsung heroes and familiar faces viewed afresh. Spanning the millennia and the continents, representing different religions, varying levels of wealth and education, diverse traditions and nationalities, each life tells us something unexpected about the age in which it was lived and offers us a piece of the puzzle of how the modern idea of the West developed-- and why we've misunderstood it for too long. If we are to chart a future for the West, we must properly understand its past. -- Adapted from jacket

Introduction. The importance of origins -- The rejection of purity: Herodotus -- The Asian Europeans: Livilla -- The global heirs of antiquity: Al-Kindī -- The Asian Europeans again: Godfrey of Viterbo -- The illusion of Christendom: Theodore Laskaris -- The reimagining of antiquity: Tullia D'Aragona -- The path not trodden: Safiye Sultan -- The West and knowledge: Francis Bacon -- The West and empire: Njinga of Angola -- The West and politics: Joseph Warren -- The West and race: Phyllis Wheatley -- The West and modernity: William Ewart Gladstone -- The West and its critics: Edward Said -- The West and its rivals: Carrie Lam -- Conclusion. The shape of history

adult