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book review

‘Civilization’ by Niall Ferguson

Actually, Niall Ferguson argues, China, India, and Brazil are gaining because they’ve embraced Western values while we have lost faith in them

By David Shribman

 |   

  November 06, 2011

The rise and fall of empires has captivated us for centuries-and never more so than now, when we have our own empire and are surrounded by suggestions that it may be in decline if not in an irreversible fall. What’s a civilization to do? Wring its hands and succumb to depression? Curl up in the fetus position and await the collapse? None of the above, according to “Civilization: The West and the Rest’’ by Harvard’s Niall Ferguson.

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