From Dawn to Decadence

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* Book: Jack Barzun. From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural History.

Discussion

Michel Bauwens:

This 800-page book took me arond 3 months to read, but was a helpful refresher around post-medieval European culture. It starts with Luther nailing his theses on a church door and ends with one chapter on current developments. I found this book very valuable as a reminder of the great moments, and movements/thinkers, and Barzun is a good story-teller. What puzzles me though is that his story is mostly positive and only after WWI does his thesis about decadence become prominent. What is disappointing is the ack of explanation for this shift, and his unilaterally negative interpretation of post-68 developments.