Fall of Civilizations: Stories of Greatness and Decline

by Paul Cooper

Overview

"A treasure trove of myths and terror… Atmospheric as hell… Immersive."-The Times

Based on the podcast with over one hundred million downloads, Fall of Civilizations brilliantly explores how a range of ancient societies rose to power and sophistication, and how they tipped over into collapse.

Across the centuries, we journey from the great empires of Mesopotamia to those of Khmer and Vijayanagara in Asia and Songhai in West Africa; from Byzantium to the Maya, Inca and Aztecs of Central America; from Roman Britain to Rapa Nui. With meticulous research, breathtaking insight and dazzling, empathic storytelling, historian and novelist Paul Cooper evokes the majesty and jeopardy of these ancient civilizations, and asks what it might have felt like for a person alive at the time to witness the end of their world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781335013415
Publisher:	Hanover Square Press
Publication date:	07/23/2024
Edition description:	Original
Pages:	576
Sales rank:	35,627
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.90(d)

About the Author

Paul Cooper is a podcaster, a historian and the author of two acclaimed historical novels, River of Ink and All Our Broken Idols. He earned his PhD from the University of East Anglia and has taught there and at Warwick. He writes, produces and hosts the Fall of Civilizations podcast, which has charted in the top ten British podcasts and, since its launch in 2018, has garnered over one hundred million downloads and over one million YouTube subscribers.

Editorial Reviews

"Excellent."―Guardian

"Cooper is a gifted collector of historical jigsaw pieces... [A] quirky, curiously compelling book."—Times UK


“Paul Cooper has a historian’s cool for what we know and what we don’t…but a novelist’s eye for vivid details.” —Seattle Times

"Cooper is a phenomenon."—Sunday Times

"Certain to connect with an enthusiastic readership."—Unseen Histories

"Eminently readable... one can almost hear the spoken word as one reads. Yet Cooper has built his narrative out of close reading of the original sources... the author’s strength is his ability to evoke the physical setting of the great cities that lay at the heart of empires."—Spectator


"Paul Cooper's histories of fallen civilizations are brilliantly written: clear, compelling, and ultimately chilling… Full of fascinating detail and nuanced findings, you need to read this book." —Cal Flyn, journalist and author of Islands of Abandonment

"Vividly written and compellingly researched." —Tim Leach, author of The Hollow Throne


"An instructive, engaging and compelling epic which reveals the fragility of human existence: magnificent triumphs and lamentable tragedies, the civilized and the barbarian. A timely tour de force of historical storytelling."—Ron Ramdin, author of The Making of the Black Working Class in Britain

"A broad study of civilizations ....even history buffs will glean plenty of interesting historical information as he moves forward through the Khmer, Maya, and Vijayanagara India."—Kirkus

"Cooper begins with the Sumerians and creates a sense of simultaneous awe and melancholy....Cooper's extensive array of sources, including archeological and historical scholarship as well as chronicles, poetry, and correspondence contemporary to each civilization, paint vivid pictures and invites readers to imagine experiencing this history for themselves. Despite its focus on devastation, Fall of Civilizations attests to humanity's resilience as it attempts to answer the question, "What will become of us?"—Shelf Awareness STARRED review

From the Publisher

These concise histories of 12 vanished civilizations began as a series of podcasts but prove unexpectedly cohesive and powerful coming together as an audiobook. Author Paul Cooper's narration is distinctly accented and a bit repetitive in his cadences; nonetheless, he is an effective and highly agreeable guide through four millennia of strife and mayhem. Cooper's chapters encompass the growth and heyday, as well as the devastation, of empires, offering together a concise history of civilization itself. Marvelous and rich in information and insight, Cooper's reconstructions are judicious, balanced, inclusive, and often heartbreaking--for example, the Spanish sailor infected with smallpox who wiped out two million people in Central America. Implicit are the history's warnings about the common agents of decline: prolonged irrigation, deforestation, drought, and civil discord. D.A.W. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

AUGUST 2024 - AudioFile

2024-04-20
A broad study of civilizations in which “the social fabric disintegrated, cities were left empty and buildings fell into disuse and disrepair.”

In a book based on his successful podcast of the same name, British journalist Cooper asserts that Homo sapiens already possessed fire, language, tools, and agriculture when, around 5000 B.C.E, organized societies appeared in the fertile crescent in the Middle East. Writing, the wheel, bronze, iron, and organized government appeared soon after and spread widely, although not universally. Early governments simply enforced order within a region and defended it against rival governments. Those most successful prospered and produced the arts and technology. Cooper offers few surprises in his treatments of ancient Sumeria, Assyria, Han China, and Rome, but even history buffs will glean plenty of interesting historical information as he moves forward through the Khmer, Maya, and Vijayanagara India. The author concludes with societies in Africa, Mesoamerica, and Easter Island, which did not decline but rather disintegrated under brutal colonial exploitation. It’s impossible to describe the end of a society while ignoring its beginning and growth, so this book turns out to be a straightforward history of civilization in general. That’s a tall order, but Cooper gives it a valiant, if fairly conventional effort, emphasizing great men and war. For a broader view that includes culture, economics, and daily life, readers should consult individual histories or Will and Ariel Durant’s 11-volume series The Story of Civilization. Cooper’s predictable epilogue on the possible collapse of current civilizations dismisses the old favorites (nuclear war, disease, overpopulation) in favor of climate change. Current efforts to slow global carbon emissions have failed, and further heating is guaranteed in the next few decades, so it’s reasonable—if disheartening—to predict that some modern Western civilizations may become new chapters in this genre.

A mostly painless world history.

Kirkus Reviews