What do you think?
Rate this book
Mainsprings of Civilization
rare
- GenresNonfictionHistoryScience
660 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1945
5 people are currently reading
62 people want to read
About the author
Ellsworth Huntington
120 books3 followersProfessor of Geography, Yale University, 1907+.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 1, 2011
Is it all quackery? I'm not qualified to judge. I know, however, that he anticipates arguments in several of the "cutting edge" books I have recently read on similar subjects.
Huntington divides the "mainsprings" into:
1. Physical inheritance: The selective, Darwinian process. Huntington's focus, which is unique among the sociobiologists I have read, is more on the effects of migration than anything else, and he places great emphasis on how Puritans, Icelanders, and other migrant groups were winnowed by their journeys. This is partly a function of the importance, in his mind, of physical energy to the creation of civilization. But it is struggle, either in Jews facing persecution, Junkers taming the slavic east, or Arab tribesmen robbing each other of cattle, that in his mind makes kiths strong.
2. Environment: Huntington's reputation, which although perhaps appropriate to earlier phases of his career now seems undeserved, is as a climactic determinist. Diet is also considered, but the main factors are seasons, temperatures, and storms. He claims, for instance, that mental activity is best produced in a fairly stormy environment with fairly strong seasonal variation. The influence of different temperatures on physical energy, and on religious creeds, is another worthwhile discussion. The climatic cycles and the "ozone" hypothesis are not very convincing.
His understanding of race is far ahead, in my view, of both the racists and anti-racists of our contemporary scene. His understanding of climate's influence on history, claims David Hackett Fischer, is quite unjustly neglected.
"We are confronted by possibilities which may be of the first importance, but so slight is our knowledge that most historians have never even thought of them, and many dismiss them as not worth pursuing."
Huntington divides the "mainsprings" into:
1. Physical inheritance: The selective, Darwinian process. Huntington's focus, which is unique among the sociobiologists I have read, is more on the effects of migration than anything else, and he places great emphasis on how Puritans, Icelanders, and other migrant groups were winnowed by their journeys. This is partly a function of the importance, in his mind, of physical energy to the creation of civilization. But it is struggle, either in Jews facing persecution, Junkers taming the slavic east, or Arab tribesmen robbing each other of cattle, that in his mind makes kiths strong.
2. Environment: Huntington's reputation, which although perhaps appropriate to earlier phases of his career now seems undeserved, is as a climactic determinist. Diet is also considered, but the main factors are seasons, temperatures, and storms. He claims, for instance, that mental activity is best produced in a fairly stormy environment with fairly strong seasonal variation. The influence of different temperatures on physical energy, and on religious creeds, is another worthwhile discussion. The climatic cycles and the "ozone" hypothesis are not very convincing.
His understanding of race is far ahead, in my view, of both the racists and anti-racists of our contemporary scene. His understanding of climate's influence on history, claims David Hackett Fischer, is quite unjustly neglected.
"We are confronted by possibilities which may be of the first importance, but so slight is our knowledge that most historians have never even thought of them, and many dismiss them as not worth pursuing."
January 24, 2016
Although in today's terms it may not be politically correct, Mr Huntington describes the various geographic and climatic factors which have influenced civilization and how various cultures are different....a must read if you are analytical and have an open mind...
November 22, 2009
This was a very influential book in my thinking. It looks at heredity, geography and climate as major factors in the rise of various civilizations. It was originally published in 1945.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews