A review by jack_reid
Why the West Rules—for Now: The Patterns of History, and What They Reveal About the Future by Ian Morris
4.0
I believe I've read enough summaries of human history for a lifetime, or at least a decade, by now. And these histories all bring different perspectives to varied questions. Alongside Guns, Germs, and Steel, Ian's Morris' Why the West Rules attempts to explain why the Industrial Revolution occurred in the West (more specifically Britain) rather than China. After all, China was the more advanced society for over a millennium following the fall of the Roman Empire.
To be honest, I never finished Guns, Germs, and Steel. I found the writing dull and unfocused. In comparison, Morris uses a direct comparison between what he dubs the Eastern and Western cores of civilization to give the narrative focus through perspective. Many reviewers attack the formulaic development index, but I applaud Morris for taking a stab at quantifying historical development. I found the figures helpful for establishing perspective - how much better off were Romans than the Greeks in 500BCE? Refer to the index. If you disagree, provide a better index. However, I will admit, I'm predisposed to quantification, given my background in finance.
Morris' writing style is conversational and contains bites of trivia to humanize the vast swarths of history covered. You likely aren't going to finish the tome in a sitting, but it is easily doable in chunks of 50 pages over a week if y0u're interested in the material. I would also advise dropping off after Morris hits the 18th century around page 500. There exist better histories after the Industrial Revolution and others with more exciting takes on China's nearly inevitable rise relative to the West.
So, who should read this book? Readers interested in the history of sapiens from the development of protohumans to the Industrial Revolution, and those interested in hearing one man's theory for why Britain developed the steam engine rather than China in 1,110CE. 4/5.
To be honest, I never finished Guns, Germs, and Steel. I found the writing dull and unfocused. In comparison, Morris uses a direct comparison between what he dubs the Eastern and Western cores of civilization to give the narrative focus through perspective. Many reviewers attack the formulaic development index, but I applaud Morris for taking a stab at quantifying historical development. I found the figures helpful for establishing perspective - how much better off were Romans than the Greeks in 500BCE? Refer to the index. If you disagree, provide a better index. However, I will admit, I'm predisposed to quantification, given my background in finance.
Morris' writing style is conversational and contains bites of trivia to humanize the vast swarths of history covered. You likely aren't going to finish the tome in a sitting, but it is easily doable in chunks of 50 pages over a week if y0u're interested in the material. I would also advise dropping off after Morris hits the 18th century around page 500. There exist better histories after the Industrial Revolution and others with more exciting takes on China's nearly inevitable rise relative to the West.
So, who should read this book? Readers interested in the history of sapiens from the development of protohumans to the Industrial Revolution, and those interested in hearing one man's theory for why Britain developed the steam engine rather than China in 1,110CE. 4/5.