From Dawn to Decadence
Jacques Barzun
book reviews:
· general fiction
· chick lit/romance
· sci-fi/fantasy
· graphic novels
· nonfiction
· audio books

Click here for the curledup.com RSS Feed

· author interviews
· children's books @
   curledupkids.com
· DVD reviews @
   curledupdvd.com

newsletter
win books
buy online
links

home

for authors
& publishers


for reviewers

click here to learn more




Buy *From Dawn to Decadence* online From Dawn to Decadence:
500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present

Jacques Barzun
Harpercollins
Paperback
877 pages
Copyright 2000
rated 5 of 5 possible stars

previous reviewnext review

It takes a great man to write a great book, and Jacques Barzun is certainly a great man in academic and literary circles. The author or editor of some thirty books ranging from studies of music and art to commentary on contemporary science to a readers' guide to detective fiction, Barzun received the Gold Medal for Criticism from the American Academy of Arts and Letters while a member of the faculty of New York's Columbia University.

Curled Up With a Good BookAt the age of 93, Barzun presented the literary world with another extraordinary gift in his amazingly authoritative work, From Dawn to Decadence. In 877 pages, Barzun masterfully plots the triumphs and tragedies of five hundred years of western history, introducing not only the prominent figures of the past but also those more obscure characters who, in one way or another, impacted the social climate of their time. He divides his work into four parts, each part covering a period of time dominated by a certain issue.

Part One is dedicated to the years 1500 to 1600 and an examination of religion as a determining force on individual and collective actions. Part Two, 1661 to 1789, covers growing concerns on the status of the individual and modes of government, while Part Three -- 1790 to 1920 -- deals with the achievement of social and economic equality. Part Four describes the consequences of the events described in the previous sections.

As Blake (C. 1808) so clearly put it, "To Generalize is to be an Idiot." Recalling Barzun's inclusion of this pithy statement in From Dawn to Decadence (which was a National Book Award finalist), I must say that it is impossible to fully review this work in a few brief lines. Suffice it to say that this book is a treasure to be savored in small doses, read and re-read to achieve full understanding of the author's view of the past and his message regarding the future. For the reader who desires more than the brief summaries of history provided by college texts and documentary videos, this is a masterpiece not to be missed.


© 2001 by Mary V. Welk for Curled Up With a Good Book

buy *From Dawn to Decadence* online
click here for more info
Click here to learn more about this month's sponsor!


fiction · sf/f · comic books · nonfiction · audio
newsletter · free book contest · buy books online
review index · links · · authors & publishers
reviewers

site by ELBO Computing Resources, Inc.