From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present (Audiobook)

from philoso4

This is a truly amazing compilation of everything you want to know about the past 500 years of western culture. The unique format makes it far less than dry. Barzun has opinions and doesn't shy away from expressing them, but he does it in a way that is informative rather than otherwise. His refer...

from davidpwithun

Barzun's swan-song, which consists of 800+ pages of historical information, interesting quotes, anecdotes, insights, and reflections, is the literary equivalent of sitting at the feet of a great master and venerable elder. The wide swath of knowledge encompassed in this book, including such varie...

from Kathleen828

Finished May 14, 2005 I would give this 100 stars if I were able to! I choose this as one of "the 5 books I would take to a desert island." I intended, when began this, to keep it in pristine condition, so I did not underline or write marginalia for the first 30 pages or so. But it quickly became...

from Forthwith

I have been reading The Folio Society two volume edition whish is the first illustrated edition of this work. Unfortunately the conversion from the one volume edition caused the identifiers provided by Dr. Barzun to not correctly transfer. Those are unique to show in a simple way the page of the ...

from BrianFrank

Nothing like this book could have been written without the full resources of one of the 20th century's most encyclopedic and articulate minds -- and even then, Barzun wasn't capable of producing this masterpiece until he was in his 90's.And it's taking me a very long time to read!...