A BBC RADIO 4 Book of the WeekA fantastic achievement Peter Frankopan author of The Silk RoadsBright expansive and iconoclastic this deliciously witty book has the potential to upset the applecart of Western Civilisation itself... Magnificent Prof. Suzannah LipscombA radical new account of how the idea of the West has shaped our history told through the stories of fourteen fascinating lives.We tend to imagine Western Civilisation as a golden thread stretching from classical antiquity to the countries of the modern Western world. But what if this is wrongTold through the lives of fourteen fascinating historical figures including a formidable Roman matriarch an unconventional Islamic scholar an enslaved African American poetess and a British prime minister with Homeric aspirations archaeologist and historian Naose Mac Sweeney charts how the idea of the West was invented how it has been used to justify imperialism and racism and why it is no longer ideologically fit for purpose today.The result is a bold and empowering new story of the people and ideas who made us who we are today.