Two outstanding historians rebuild the West at the center of the Western Civilizations course
This beautifully written history recenters the West and rekindles the past in a vivid narrative crafted for beginning students. Grafton and Bell tell the epic story of a West engaged in a continuing search for order across politics, society, and culture, driven by internal tensions and global influences. They deliver the past not as a path to the present but as it was lived at the time, grounded in a balanced, comprehensive, chronological narrative. Combined with rich digital resources to instill practical history skills,
The West establishes a dynamic NEW foundation for teaching the Western Civilizations course.
David Bell is the Sidney and Ruth Lapidus Professor in the Era of North Atlantic Revolutions in the History department at Princeton University. His specialty is modern Europe with a focus on the age of revolutions. His book The First Total War: Napoleon’s Europe and the Birth of Warfare As We Know It was a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Award in History. Bell regularly teaches undergraduate surveys of early-modern Europe and the history of modern warfare. His most recent book is Napoleon: A Concise Biography. He often writes on contemporary issues for general interest magazines like The Atlantic. David is a generation younger than Tony and a rising star in the history profession.
Anthony Grafton is Dodge Professor of History at Princeton University. His recent books include Defenders of the Text: The Traditions of Scholarship in an Age of Science and New Worlds, Ancient Texts: The Power of Tradition and The Shock of Discovery.
