Grant Michael. The Civilizations of Europe

New York: New American Library, 1965. — 325 p.In this book Dr Michael Grant surveys the whole panorama of European culture from the time of the ancient Greeks to the present day. His description and assessment of the principal artists, architects and writers and of their work, is set against the political and social backgrounds of each successive age. Under chronologically arranged headings, the magnificent achievements of each region of Europe are discussed in turn.
The author's aim has been to get away from parochial conceptions and achieve as objective an estimate as possible of the parts played in this story by the different peoples and lands of Europe. The picture that emerges in one of almost endless creativity; this is the common factor which gives unity to the continent and islands of Europe, but it is a unity based not only on extravagant diversity but on an incessant, perpetually shifting interplay between distinctive civilizations, European and non-European alike. Dr Grant has struck a new balance between the varied elements in this unique and continuing process. By providing and evaluating a comprehensive array of evidence within a brief compass, he has enabled readers to form their own judgment about the outstanding culture and other personalities who, each within the framework of his own society and tradition, have shaped these events in patterns of their own making.
In addition to the text, and complementary to it, are the illustrations. They comprise 96 p. of black-and-white photographs and 8 p. in full colour. These form an essential part of the book, and provide an invaluable record of the movements of European art. Taken together, the authoritative text and the abundant illustrations provide an unrivalled record of the cultural inheritance of the western world.