Why Empires Fall - Rome, America and the Future of the West

This is not the first time the global order has witnessed such a dramatic rise and fall. The Roman Empire followed a similar arc from dizzying power to disintegration - a fact that is more than a strange historical coincidence. In Why Empires Fall, historian Peter Heather and political economist John Rapley use this Roman past to think anew about the contemporary West, its state of crisis, and what paths we could take out of it.

In this exceptional, transformative intervention, Heather and Rapley explore the uncanny parallels - and productive differences - between the two cases, moving beyond the familiar tropes of invading barbarians and civilizational decay to learn new lessons from ancient history. From 399 to 1999, the life cycles of empires, they argue, sow the seeds of their inevitable destruction. The era of the West has reached its own end - so what comes next?<>

Report

A fascinating, informative and deeply thoughtful work. Linda Colley Financial Times

Product details

• Authors: Peter Heather, John Rapley
• Publisher: Allen Lane
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Released: 31.12.2022
• EAN: 9780241407493
• ISBN: 978-0-241-40749-3
• No. of pages: 224
• Dimensions: 138 mm x 222 mm x 25 mm
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > General, dictionaries; Non-fiction book; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; USA, Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900, History of Ideas, HISTORY / United States / 21st Century, HISTORY / Ancient / Rome, HISTORY / Civilization, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Economy, 20th Century, HISTORY / Modern / 21st Century, 21st Century, 21st century, c 2000 to c 2100, Ancient World, Ancient Rome, Later 20th century c 1950 to c 1999, United States of America, USA, Empires & historical states, Ancient History, c 1 to c 500 CE, Industrialized / Developed Countries, HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century / General