Conquests and Cultures: An International History

by Thomas Sowell

Book Overview

This book is the culmination of 15 years of research and travels that have taken the author completely around the world twice, as well as on other travels in the Mediterranean, the Baltic, and around... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0465014003
• ISBN13: 9780465014002
• Release Date: April 1999
• Publisher: Basic Books
• Length: 516 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 4.9" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Stings have no venom.

Despite their best efforts, those who reviewed this book negatively or dismissed it as "been there, done that" expose that either their own preconceived notions ran afoul with Sowell's book. Or, their sacred cows were stripped down to expose the cheap hamburger of ideas.As usual Sowell writes another well-crafted, researched, and documented book. He makes NO conclusions but rather, lets his reader form their own conclusions.As evidenced by the fact that none of the so called "Politically Incorrect" panel shows NEVER invited Sowell on because no one on the left can counter Sowell's ease of analysis and myth-shattering and that includes lofty lefties like Hitchens, Chomsky, Schlesinger, and Cockburn...so goes the list of those who rail at the idea of a free-thinking minority having the audacity to stray from the Liberal Plantation (Not that Sowell was ever on the plantation in the first place).A good measured read with plenty to challenge the reader (who doesn't wear idealogical blinders). A good book to add to your library.

Brilliant, Succinct, Germane!

It's always delightful to read cogent, well-thought-out and carefully written books. This is no exception, as Dr. Sowell continues to apply a broad education and extensive experience to derive insights that, once made, are startlingly clear and obvious. Unlike several of the prior reviewers, who seem to feel that their unworkable personal ideology or limited ability to think actually have relevance in a review, I read this book to gain information and insights supported by impeccable research from an intelligent source. It may offend those with little or no education or experience, because it does not run along the same track as their favorite hobby horse(s), but then, reality and truth rarely do. (i.e., if you don't like accurate statistics, nor agree with a sequenced and relevant protrayal of factual information, don't read this book. It might upset any sense of "oughta be this way", or "I wanna believe X -- in contrast to actual events").Dr. Sowell's insistence on his statements having a factual basis and extensive examples to support his conclusions can be daunting, nonetheless, as with any exercise (mental or physical, for that matter), the more effort you put into something, the greater the result.Highly recommended, as are all of his books.

Triumphant panorama of conquests of culture

This is a remarkably thorough, well-researched work on major regions and civilizations around the world -- African, Aztec, Inca, Slav, (bative) American Indian. Sowell documents the case of how geography (harbors, arable land, navigable rivers, freedom from monsoons and tropical disease) and ideas (fundamental beliefs and principles widely shared or disseminated) combine to make the world what it is today."Culture" triumphs if it is sustainable and based on a credible concept that can be embraced by others. Other "cultures" fail or disappear when they are conquered by more dominant cultures or collapse from within due to a fundamental weakness or failure to transmit the culture across people and generations.Much like David Landes' "Wealth and poverty of nations", Sowell shows that societies or cultures that can produce things of value, that educate their young, that innovate, and that encourage personal freedom, initiative, private ownership and advancement based on merit, these cultures are more likely to survive.Sowell dispels myths about racism, diversity and the equality of all cultures. His research is encyclopedic and well-documented.An excellent book for a university course on culture, diversity and global development.

Durants Move Over

Good reading, good sense and yet provocative. History in a palatable serving. It makes sense and ties together the major events of history and cultures based on real events. Wish this type of reading material had been available years ago. Do yourself and any students in your life a favor by having this book available as a reference source. Helps to understand modern day politics by providing references to historical background. Dr. Sowell helps his readers to cut through the misguiding romantic fantacies with real life events and history. No political agenda here. Worth the price of purchase many times over. Do it. Buy it.

Politically incorrect, and it's about time.

Why do some societies advance and succeed, while others stagnate? While Europe created great mercantile empires and scientific advances, Africa and the Americas never advanced beyond a primitive level. Sowell's insight and intellect (he holds a PhD in Economics, and is a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institute) come to the fore in this well researched and presented argument that successful societies are the products of a combination of geography, history, and "accrued cultural capital". From the Roman conquest of Britain to the European colonization of Africa and the New World, from the Chinese to the Mayans, cultural clashes throughout history have influenced the course of social development, sometimes for the worse, sometimes for the better. It's often too easy to blame European exploitation for the ills of the third world. Sowell shows that, more often than not, colonialism cost the colonizing power more than it received. This book should be required reading for students of history, sociology, and economics.