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A review by raviwarrier
Centuries of Change: Which Century Saw the Most Change and Why it Matters to Us by Ian Mortimer
3.0
I have high regards for Mortimer as a historian, however, with regards to this book, I was left a little wanting. The book narrates and expounds on the changes that happened in the West (mostly Europe) in the middle ages. While they may be significant, they really cannot be considered as the cause or catalyst of most big changes that mankind sees today.
The Euro-centric approach and view is not a complete view of the major changes that shaped humanity and modern society. Yes, those changes paved way for the Industrial Revolution and the European conquest of the world, but one cannot take a single vector in history and say that was the starting point.
For example, Mortimer touches upon the introduction of Arabic numerals in Europe, alongwith introduction of applied chemistry and medical sciences. It changed the way Europe counted things, yes, but even better would have been to discuss the changes the numeric system brought about in the Islamic world, namely, chemistry and medicine. That would have been the key change and not the mere adoption by the act of copying.
My problem is that the this isn't a history of the World as much as it's the history of the West.
The Euro-centric approach and view is not a complete view of the major changes that shaped humanity and modern society. Yes, those changes paved way for the Industrial Revolution and the European conquest of the world, but one cannot take a single vector in history and say that was the starting point.
For example, Mortimer touches upon the introduction of Arabic numerals in Europe, alongwith introduction of applied chemistry and medical sciences. It changed the way Europe counted things, yes, but even better would have been to discuss the changes the numeric system brought about in the Islamic world, namely, chemistry and medicine. That would have been the key change and not the mere adoption by the act of copying.
My problem is that the this isn't a history of the World as much as it's the history of the West.