Why the West Rules for Now: The Patterns of History and What They Reveal About The Future

In the middle of the eighteenth century, British entrepreneurs unleashed the astounding energies of steam and coal, an the world was changed forever. Factories, railways and gunboats then propelled the West?s rise to power, and computers and nuclear weapons in the twentieth century secured its global supremacy . Today, however, many worry that the emergence of China and India spell the end of the West as a Superpower.

How long will the power of the West last? In order to find out, we need to know: Why has the West been so dominant for the past two hundred years?

Boldly setting out the patterns of human history and analyzing the latest research across disciplines, from ancient history to neuroscience, eminent archaeologist and historian, Ian Morris, offers surprising new answers to these questions. It is not, he reveals the strivings of great individuals, that explain western dominance. Not is it simply that the West got lucky when the Industrial Revolution began.

Only byexamining the whole story of human civilization can we see the crucial effects of geography on the everyday efforts of ordinary people as they deal with crises of resources, disease, migration and climate. And as geography and human ingenuity continue to interact, the world will change in astonishing ways.

With flair and authority, Ian Morris draws uniquely on 15,000 years of history of offer fresh insights on why development differed in the East and West, and what the future will bring. Deeply researched and brilliantly argued, Why the West Rules ? For Now is a gripping and truly original history of the world.