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Summary: History the Way it Should Be
Review: A great book for information on the history of western ideas. Concepts such as individualism are explored in a very readable manner. Had history been this interesting in high school I'd not have had so many naps in class. It's very intellectually exciting to see him trace the path we took to get to our present day "decadence", which he sees as the "consumer culture". While the information may not be unique, it is still a great read, especially since it deals with the issues in a fairly even handed manner and does not sound like a partisan screed. When Barzun speaks of liberalism, he speaks in the classic sense, not the modern one, as he bounces from thinker to thinker on this 500 year thought tour. The perfect coffee table book for someone interested in a bit more substance than the usual offerings.
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Summary: Decline of the West?
Review: In "From Dawn to Decadence: 500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present" Jacques Barzun comes as close as one can expect to a thorough yet readable examination of 500 years of cultural history, especially when the culture under study is that of the densely packed western civilization. The 500 years of this study was not chosen by Barzun at random or because it is a nice round number. He chose it because of his belief that western civilization began around the year 1500 with the instigation of the Protestant Reformation by Martin Luther (a belief that I myself share, see my review of Richard Marius' biography of Luther).Barzun sees the Reformation as the revolution that ushered in western civilization. Barzun says that revolutions are "violent transfer[s] of power and property in the name of an idea." To Barzun, western civilization has experienced four such moments: 1) the religious revolution of the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s, 2) the 17th century monarchical revolution that created the modern nation, 3) the late-18th/early-19th century liberal or individualist revolution that ushered in the rights of man, and 4) the 20th century social and collectivist revolution that led to the creation of the welfare state and which is leading to the demise of the nation-state. These periodic revolutions are important because they augur great shifts in culture which have repeatedly infused western civilization with new great works in literature, music, sculpture, architechture, etc. The term 'decadence' can easily be misinterpreted from the way that Barzun intends it. Decadence is any period in which the compelling forces from a previous revolution are no longer inspiring works of cultural import. These decadent periods are ripe for revolutions. If no revolution takes place, then that is when decline sets in and destroys the existing civilization. Once decline sets in, it may be impossible to prevent the disintegration of the civilization. Barzun believes we are at such a period in western history. The collectivist revolution embodied in the Soviet Union and the welfare state has run its course and is no longer inspiring works of genius. Arists of all kinds are casting around for something new and are generally coming up very short in comparison to their predecessors. Barzun says that this is a prime characteristic of a period of decadence. His best example of this is Andy Warhol's 'Brillo Box' sculpture. As Warhol said, "Art is what you can get away with." Barzun draws on the 500 years of western cultural creations to display this cycle of birth, growth, genius, decay, and rebirth to prove the point. Herein lies the question in Barzun's work: are we at a point of rebirth or decline in western civilization? Barzun seems to point to the latter, especially with his hypothetical view of the present from the space of 300 years. I may not wholly agree with Barzun's assessment; but, I also won't bet against him either.
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Summary: Superb look into Western history!
Review: From Dawn to Decadence is what you should have learned with your liberal arts education. It is a brilliant, entertaining, thought-provoking history of the last 500 years in the West. At times I felt like putting the book down, bowing down and saying, "We are not worthy." Barzun is a brilliant man and only someone who has lived so long could have created this masterpiece. This is not a quick or fainthearted read. You won't agree with everything Barzun says, for he can be very opinionated (but not in an obnoxious way -- though I don't think he would want us to agree with all he says. Reading this book is like sharing the brilliance of a seasoned college professor. He wants you to think about history. I generally don't go for history books, I am much more of a fiction reader, but this was such a fabulous book. I would recommend it to any one with a penchant for history. From Dawn to Decadence is an enhancing, enriching read.
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Summary: Marvellous historical survey of Western culture
Review: The highly reputed historian and scholar, Jacques Barzun, offers a detailed, elegantly written and expansive survey of Western culture from 1500 to 1995. He examines the culture of the West, taking into account the significant and revolutionary political, economic, literary, scientific and artistic developments that have shaped the last five hundred years. His immense exposition includes thought-provoking and punchily-written discussions on Renaissance Italy, the art of Michelangelo nd his contemporaries, the Protestant Reformation, the emergence of modern science, the "New World" the flowering of capitalist enterprise, the Bolshevist Revolution and the wars, catastrophes and revolutions that have wrought such a profound effect on Western thought and sensibility. His treatise is also developed along such themes and individualism and emancipation, as in how he analyses the various historical currents of the West's past and how they promoted, or discouraged, such themes. The book is an enormously pleasurable experience, and is loaded with factual information and told with panache and virtuosity. Barzun, philosophically, stands in the camp of pragmatism: the only criterion of truth, he believes, is efficiency, while politically, he is a conservative, in his unabashed labelling of contemporary civilisation as decadent. (He complains, for instance, of eating in public and knee-torn jeans.) His writing abounds in acute observation, subtle overturnings of popular errors and biases, brilliant apercus and sallies of wit which fly at the reader at the flip of a page. Such names as Liszt, Vico, Mozart, Joyce, Dali, Picasso, William James, Newton, Hegel, Lenin, Luther and many others are included in the cast of his absorbing and sprawling overview. The only shortcoming of the book was the sparse and idiosyncratic, not to mention erratic, system of referencing, but this is the piddling fault that usually comes with excess of erudition.
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Summary: Masterpiece for the New Millenium
Review: In his 92nd year, Barzun has published a superb book, as entertaining as it is wise, showing us who we are and how we got here -- we in the West, that is. If you like Paul Johnson's big "pull it all together" histories, you'll love Barzun's offering, which gives Johnson a run for his money. Brilliant, boldly individual, written with an empathy and staggering breadth and depth of knowledge that only a long lifetime spent studying history and the humanities could provide, FROM DAWN TO DECADENCE is a magnificent love letter to the West, as well as a sharp no-holds-barred critique of the contradictions, failures, and horrors that have marred Western History -- just as they mar every other tale of human activity over the centuries. Yes it's long and erudite, but it's also incredibly entertaining and fun-to-read. That Barzun could make his watershed analysis of 500 years of Western culture and history into such a page- turner testifies to the marvelous clarity of his prose style as it expresses his carefully reasoned insights and judgements. Enough for this review -- I want to get back to reading Barzun!
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Summary: A cultural achievement as great as the subjects it surveys
Review: It must be near impossible for any scholar to sit down and list man's top cultural achievements. Sorting out the criteria that make things great cultural achievements would take tremendous effort in the first place and then understanding man's products well enough to compile them into a tangible record is another. Barzun has done both with "From Dawn to Decadence." In doing so, he most emphatically adds an entry to the list. This is true because Barzun is able to consistently and effortlessly take the reader from the everyday antipathy of Western decadence to the highest peaks of man's product. Whether the reader explores the Reformation or the Industrial Revolution, the concepts that make man great, those that make life worth living are closer than ever. Barzun's mastery of prose (he must compete with all great writers for distinction of best all-time) and his ability to fully engage ideas make this possible. If the reader is able to walk away from this text at all, he does so with a newly found amazement. The inspiration this book offers is sure to be a driving force in the foundation of a new era of cultural production to follow the one reviewed in the book.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting cultural musings
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book but it took quite a while to work my way through it! For anyone interested in reading pay attention to the title. This is a "cultural" history rather than the usual chronolgy of kings, battles and revolutions. As a cultural history is is quite good.
I gave only three stars because I felt the book did wander around a bit (albeit very interesting wanderings).
I enjoyed his description of the modern age "embracing the absurd". In this section he depicts the modern age as rejecting rationalism and reason for the absurd. The cultural movers and shakers see the horrific events of the 20th century as the result of rationalism and reason and take a reactionary stance. In a larger context, the author depicts this as the full fruit of the romantic reaction of earlier centuries but portrays a dramatic shift after the first world war. Fascinating.
If you enjoy this kind of exploration you may also enjoy Roger Scruton's " An Intelligent Person's Guide to Modern Culture".
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Summary: A Decadent free experience.
Review: When I state decadent free in the title it is with the same meaning Mr. Barzun gives decadence. Decadent meaning aimless, and pointless which this book certainly is not. It is written the way all history should be written. A grand (and lengthy) overview of the last half millenium with the connections clearly revealed, like steps in a staircase to where and why we are in a decadent present. I'm always gratified when a writer will educate but also rectify commen contemporary misconceptions of terms, lines of thought, or ism's. A few examples of note are Mr Barzuns illuminations of the origins of Utopia (are current popular conception is far off from the original meaning) and the birth of the perception of the Noble Savage or "Primitivism"(Rousseau seems to be exonerated). While most modern day critics are lining up to crucify Catholicism with its closed centralized hierarchy Mr. Barzun takes aim at Protestantism, not to vilify but to lucidly proclaim it as a determining factor as to are current adrift amorality. This alone assures that Mr Barzun is no common postmodern deconstructionist self servingly deciphering the past for common socio-political advantage. Wow! What a concept. Thinking subjectivly. This elderly gentleman satisfies me that the generation that followed him is the culmination of the past five hundred years, and his hope of a possible change, can occur. Why? Because I for one (an X er)agree with him and not with the decadent baby boom and there Primitivist, Humanist mediocrity. I'm not sure why other reviewers grow weary at the length of this book. I for one would be disappointed at this endeavor if it was left to the length of a pulp novel or magazine article in todays "fast paced information age". The only reason I gave this book four and not five stars is because I couldn't get a hard covered version. I don't want this book to fall apart after a few readings. It should be in everyones library.
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Summary: Heaviest book I ever read
Review: I discovered, halfway through, that I had left my bowling ball between pages 446 and 447. It got much lighter after I removed the bowling ball. A brilliant exegesis on the history of intellectual and humanistic progress. Nevertheless, hard to square with some of the findings in Ann Coulter's latest work.
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Summary: Wow... a fair review of western culture
Review: Barzun painstakingly, in conversationally light prose, reconstructs the context of the cultural history of the West as it has been constantly in transition since the end of the middle ages. This is arguably a crash course in our own history, so much of which my liberal arts education (BA in English and Philosophy) did not teach me about the history of European and hence American culture. Barzun shows the flaws of each centuries thought including our own and underlines the foolishness of judging other centuries by our baised and just as unenlightened standards. Sometimes the lists of names and semi-obscure authors will overwhelm, but it helps for reading ANYTHING written in europe from 12th century to current and gives a frame of reference that you probably didn't know you didn't have. Equally impressive is that Barzun manages to avoid an overly conversative view or the nominal college liberal one. In an America where the intellectual thought is often tainted by political alliance, Barzun politics are stated and yet one can never decide if he is liberal or conversative, must less republican or democrat.
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