Title: Fall of Civilisations -Stories of Greatness and Decline
Author: Paul Cooper
Genre: Historical Non-Fiction
Published: 2024
Reading period: October 2025
About the book: Fourteen reaccounts of historical civilisations and their rise and fall in three parts
_Highlights
I enjoyed the great variety of chosen civilisations in terms of chronological periods and geographic locations, and the detail the author uses to illuminate the location. This was particularly useful for understanding the factors behind why said civilisations managed to rise in the first place and later became vulnerable, which was why I appreciate the information on physical geography.
Evidentially this book was written with the general public in mind, so it chooses to prioritise immersiveness to make for an interesting read rather than going into depth on the causes of fall. I'd treat this book more as informative entertainment, understandable given the number of civilisations selected, the limited length of the book and the fact it originated as a podcast. The author doesn't make any attempts to analyse or single out a specific factor for the fall of civilisations, aside from the naming part three ("Worlds Collide") and specifically catagorising those civilisations into ones that fell due to colonialism and conquest.
The book's epilouge goes on about the current downfall of ecological biodiversity and global warming as a reminder to the similar fate we will probably also be meeting. I personally view these 'stories' as a warning, if not a downright prediction.
I'd reccomened this read for those looking for general, surface knowledge. Being divided into multiple short stories, it suits those with limited time. Feel free to pick and choose which sections to read individually, although as many of the pre Bronze Age civilisation's fall's are linked together I reccomend reading them all in one go.