Synopses & Reviews
Highly regarded for his works of cultural history and criticism, master historian Jacques Barzun turns his gaze to the past tumultuous hundred years. Taken from From Dawn to Decadence, his landmark study of the past five centuries, Barzun's enthralling analysis of the Twentieth Century rates the present not as a culmination of Western civilization, but as a decline. Barzun is in no way, however, a prophet of doom. Instead, he shows decadence as the normal close of great periods in history and a necessary condition of the creative novelty that will burst forth -- tomorrow or the next day.
Synopsis
From one of the world's greatest living historians comes an incomparable, detailed account of our history since 1500, from what Western man wrought from the Renaissance and Reformation to the present day.
About the Author
Born in France in 1907, Jacques Barzun came to the United States in 1920. After graduating from Columbia College, he joined the faculty of the university, becoming Seth Low Professor of History and, for a decade, Dean of Faculties and Provost. The author of some thirty books, including the
New York Times bestseller
From Dawn to Decadence, he received the Gold Medal for Criticism from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, of which he was twice president. He lived in San Antonio, Texas, before passing away at age 104.
Edward Herrmann, a Tony Award® winner and nominee, has starred on both Broadway and the West End, and appeared in well over forty motion pictures; he is perhaps best known for his portrayal of FDR in Eleanor and Franklin, as well as for his role on The Gilmore Girls.