Civilisation

JONATHAN CONLIN is Lecturer in History at the University of Southampton, UK. He is the author of The Nation's Mantelpiece: A History of the National Gallery (Pallas Athene, 2006).

The first of a new genre - a fascinating assessment of a television series made soon enough to record the intentions and experiences of its makers yet distant enough to assess its place in cultural history.

• A Personal View.-  Mating Pandas.- Trahison de Clark.- Indulgent Mandarins.- The Glory and the Grandeur.- Sad and Polished.- Close Enough To Touch.- A Sense of Place.- Confronting The Infinite.- A Television Milestone.- The Art of Travel.- Trying Not To Get Screwed.- Civilisation in America.- Playing to the Gallery.- God Bless Xerox.- Viewers Like Him.- Waiting for the Barbarians.- Patronize Me.- Rebels Without Cause.- Being Human.- Bibliography.- Notes.