Description

John Murray, London [Published Date: 1963]. Hardcover, 290 pp. No other printings listed. Good in acceptable dust jacket. Light blue cloth covered boards with gold and black design on front and gold lettering on spine. Light bumping and scuffing to edges of covers. Binding tight. Price written in red ink at top corner of front free end paper. Otherwise pages are lightly aged but unmarked. Dust jacket has several 1" or less nicks and tears and creasing along edges. Light to moderate overall scuffing, aging and soiling to jacket as well. NOT price clipped. Now in an archival-quality (removable) Brodart Cover. Black and white maps, selected bibliography, index. [From front jacket flap] Professor Parkinson's world-famous Law was built upon his accuracy as an observer and revealed his ability to seize upon essentials and present them simply for all to recognise with delight. Here the same gift is used to throw light on an even more vital theme. Summarising world history, he shows how East and West came to differ and conflict, with alternating periods of achievement and decline. To readers who have ignored the oriental world - and most of us have tended to neglect the historical background to the East - this book will come as a shock. But for the history of East and West alike there could scarcely be an introduction more fresh, concise and engaging. He makes us look at the story of mankind as if for the first time, finding a pattern in events which had seemed inconsequent, and clearly outlining the individual qualities of the different peoples. His analysis continues down to the present day, being brought into sharpest focus on the western expansion of the 19th century followed by the withdrawal of the 20th. He ends with a challenging account of East and West today and emphasises that the Russians, whether they like it or not, are on the side of the West. A book for anyone who wants to understand contemporary world affairs more fully. Jacket designed by Biro