Life After Death is a major effort by some of the world's finest contemporary thinkers to explore the ultimate question that has haunted men's minds since the dawn of time.

Life after death

Science & Math

Arnold J. Toynbee

Arthur Koestler

Nature & Ecology

McGraw-Hill (NY/St. Louis/San Francisco)

Arnold Toynbee's ten-volume analysis of the rise and fall of civilizations, A Study of History, is acknowledged as one of the greatest achievements of modern scholarship. "Of all the books published so far in this century," Clifton Fadiman once said, "the one most assured of being read a hundred years from now is A Study of History." The Los Angeles Times called it "a veritable masterpiece of erudition and one of the most suggestive, stimulating and inspiring studies of this age." In The Study, Toynbee revolutionized the writing of history. By encompassing virtually all civilizations--the Egyptian, the Sumeric, the Mayan, the Iranian, the Japanese, the Hellenic, and the West, to name only a few--within the scope of his monumental work, he achieved the first all-embracing synthesis of world history. Before Toynbee, world histories were histories of the West, and only specialists wrote Babylonian, Arabian, or Aztec history. But Toynbee's scheme includes all nations and, more remarkably, by his emphasis on general patterns--on the genesis, growth and breakdown of civilizations--he was able to give a shape to this incredibly diverse material, making it comprehendable to the general reader. And Somervell's Abridgement is also a masterpiece--a masterpiece of condensation. In only two volumes, he has captured the method, atmosphere, texture, and, in most instances, the very words of the original. By leaving out most of Toynbee's illustrations, digressions, and asides (some of which were quite lengthy indeed), Somervell has actually clarified the argument of the book. The reaction to his Abridgement, when the first volume appeared in 1947, was exceptional: it was an immediate success in America, and exerpts and articles on it appeared in The Atlantic Monthly, Life, The New York Times Book sums it Review, Newsweek, and Time. The review in The Nation perhaps up best: "If [you] have time for only one book during this year--and the next and the next--Somervell's Abridgement...should be that book."

A Study of History

History

D.C. Somervell

World

Oxford University Press

Arnold Toynbee's A Study of History has been acknowledged as one of the greatest achievements of modern scholarship. A ten-volume analysis of the rise and fall of human civilizations, it is a work of breath-taking breadth and vision. D.C. Somervell's abridgement, in two volumes, of this magnificent enterprise, preserves the method, atmosphere, texture, and, in many instances, the very words of the original. Originally published in 1947 and 1957, these two volumes are themselves a great historical achievement. Volume 1, which abridges the first six volumes of Toynbee's study, includes the Introduction, The Geneses of Civilizations, and The Disintegrations of Civilizations. Volume 2, an abridgement of Volumes VII-X, includes sections on Universal States, Universal churches, Heroic Ages, Contacts Between Civilizations in Space, Contacts Between Civilizations in Time, Law and Freedom in History, The Prospects of the Western Civilization, and the Conclusion. Of Somervell's work, Toynbee wrote, "The reader now has at his command a uniform abridgement of the whole book, made by a clear mind that has not only mastered the contents but has entered into the writer's outlook and purpose."

A Study of History, Vol. 1: Abridgement of Volumes I-VI

Literature & Fiction

History & Criticism

Religion & Spirituality

Occult & Paranormal

Weidenfeld and Nicolson

Mr. Toynbee's analysis of the rise and fall of civilizations has been acknowledged as an achievement without parallel in modern scholarship. In its way, Mr. Somervell's abridgement of this monumental work is also an unparalleled achievement, for while reducing the work to on - sixth of its original size, he has, preserved its method, atmosphere, texture, and, for the most part, the author's very words. Indeed, through this miracle of condensation, he has provided a concise version that is no mere summary but the very essence of Mr. Toynbee's work.

THAMES HUDSON LTD

Study of History Abridgement of Vols. I-VI By D. C. Somervell

Oxford Univ. Press

The German Terror in Belgium: An Historical Record

Palala Press

Estudio de la Historia II

Planeta-Agostini

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Arnold J. Toynbee. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Arnold J. Toynbee