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From Dawn to Decadence

500 Years of Western Cultural Life, 1500 to the Present
Jul 09, 2012Yuhu rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
This book might accurately be titled "Jacques Barzun Free-Associates on the History, Art, and Literature of Western Civilization." Those well-versed in the Western Canon may well find M. Barzun's approach delightful and informative. The beginner, lacking a range and depth of exposure to the subject matter, is unlikely to benefit from detailed and somewhat random observations on this or that aspect of poetry, music, architecture, etc. This book may indeed be a virtuoso performance of cultured observations by a deeply learned man, but for that reason it is not accessible or useful for thos not similarly equipped.