20th Century Historian
19 July 2026 - picked up book again.
I have a copy of this book, all 12 volumes and Illustrated. Also copy of oceans-of-pdf
Having obtained a copy of this book I was initally impressed with Arnolds approach. I am sure there will be many quotes taken from him here.
5 Sep 2026 - Impression seen in GSC
The Wikipedia page for "A Study of History" says:
A Study of History is a 12-volume universal history by the British historian Arnold J. Toynbee, published from 1934 to 1961. It received enormous popular attention but according to historian Richard J. Evans, "enjoyed only a brief vogue before disappearing into the obscurity in which it has languished".[1] Toynbee's goal was to trace the development and decay of 19 or 21 world civilizations in the historical record, applying his model to each of these civilizations, detailing the stages through which they all pass: genesis, growth, time of troubles, universal state, and disintegration.
The 19 (or 21) major civilizations, as Toynbee sees them, are: Egyptian, Andean, Sumerian, Babylonic, Hittite, Minoan, Indic, Hindu, Syriac, Hellenic, Western, Orthodox Christian (having two branches: the main or Byzantine body and the Russian branch), Far Eastern (having two branches: the main or Chinese body and the Japanese-Korean branch), Islamic (having two branches which later merged: Arabic and Iranic), Mayan, Mexican and Yucatec. Moreover, there are three "abortive civilizations" (Abortive Far Western Christian, Abortive Far Eastern Christian, Abortive Scandinavian) and five "arrested civilizations" (Polynesian, Eskimo, Nomadic, Ottoman, Spartan), for a total of 27 or 29.
and..... Wikipedia on the suject of anitsemism
Volume 1 of the book, written in the 1930s, contains a discussion of Jewish culture which begins with the sentence
"There remains the case where victims of religious discrimination represent an extinct society which only survives as a fossil. .... by far the most notable is one of the fossil remnants of the Syriac Society, the Jews."[18]
That sentence has been the subject of controversy, and some reviewers have interpreted the line as antisemitic (notably after 1945).[19][20][21][22][23] In later printings, a footnote was appended which read
"Mr. Toynbee wrote this part of the book before the Nazi persecution of the Jews opened a new and terrible chapter of the story...".[citation needed]
The subject is extensively debated with input from critics in Vol XII, Reconsiderations, published in 1961.
Arnold Toynbee
I have a copy of the Illustrated "A study of History" by Arnold Toynbee. I can see why it is seen as a "dificult read" and that it might be perceived as antisemetic. The Illustrations help but there is a definite flavour of the bias against Judeaism and Chritanity from the platees that feature in the illustrated edtiob.
There should be a clue in the title "A Study of History", it is just that and not a history book. By that I mean that it is not just an account of what went on when, there is far more about why what went on went. The reasons of why certain relidions developed the way that they did is not what the proponents of many religions want to present. The Jewish religion and its development from ancient scripture and the side development of Christianity is not what either of the faiths want to discuss. Islam, on the other hand, it also something that neither want to acknowledge. As another "Abrahamic" faith you might think that there is some sympathy, but no, each seem to see each other as the "infadel".
The developent of religion in the Western World in the twentieth century
This with the continued inflence of Isamic states and the establishment of the state of Israel, this was still a bit of mystery to me.
I have always been curious how Christianity took off as being the religioun of the West, well at least the "white folk" and Americans. Judeaism and Islam have also coexisted with the Christian faiths over this period and the conflicts and wars fought are part of this curious mix.
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