From dawn to decadence

Written by one of the master historians of our time, From Dawn to Decadence reviews the achievements and failures of Western European culture, from the Renaissance to today. Jacques Barzun, author of more than thirty works of cultural history and criticism, draws on his phenomenal knowledge of the art, philosophy, manners, morals, and religions of the last five centuries to create a classic of Western cultural analysis. This National Book Award finalist and New York Times bestseller rates the present not as a culmination but a decline. But Barzun is in no way a prophet of doom. Instead, he shows decadence as the normal close of great periods and a necessary condition of the creative energies that will inevitably re-emerge. From Dawn to Decadence marks the culmination of a lifetime of work from this extraordinary thinker, writer and teacher. 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 30 books, he received the Gold Medal for Criticism from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, of which he was twice president. ''[From Dawn to Decadence] is arguably the best thinking man''s bedside book ever written.'' - Peter Green, Times Literary Supplement