A Study of History: Abridgement of Volumes VII-X

by Arnold Joseph Toynbee

Book Overview

Acknowledged as one of the greatest achievements of modern scholarship, Arnold Toynbee's A Study of History is a ten-volume analysis of the rise and fall of human civilizations. Contained in two volumes, D.C. Somervell's abridgement of this magnificent enterprise preserves the method, atmosphere, texture, and, in many instances, the very words of the original. First published in 1947 and 1957, these two volumes are themselves a great historical achievement...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0195050819
• ISBN13: 9780195050813
• Release Date: December 1987
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
• Length: 432 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.5" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

invaluable insights

Yes, Toynbee's point of view is a bit archaic. Yes, there are more detailed, more comprehensive studies of history done since his work. And, yes, even the abridgment is heavy reading. But the overview of civilizational development and decline done by Toynbee is unmatched anywhere. The second volume of the abridgment, written 60 years ago and describing civilizations going back thousands of years, is full of glaringly obvious parallels and invaluable insights into what is happening in the world today. Get both volumes of this superb work.