The Global Condition: Conquerors, Catastrophes, and Community

Description

William H. McNeill is known for his ability to portray the grand sweep of history. The Global Condition is a classic work for understanding the grand sweep of world history in brief compass. Now with a new foreword by J. R. McNeill, this book brings together two of William Hardy McNeill's popular short books and an essay. The Human Condition provides a provocative interpretation of history as a competition of parasites, both biological and human; The Great Frontier questions the notion of "frontier freedom" through an examination of European expansion; the concluding essay speculates on the role of catastrophe in our lives. Table of Contents Foreword Preface Part I: The Great Frontier: Freedom and Hierarchy in Modern Times Acknowledgments Lecture I: To 1750 Lecture II: From 1750 Part II: The Human Condition: An Ecological and Historical View Acknowledgments Microparasitism, Macroparasitism, and the Urban Transmutation Microparasitism, Macroparasitism, and the Commercial Transmutation Part III: Control and Catastrophe in Human Affairs Notes Index