Mighty Continent

Walter A. McDougall is the Alloy-Ansin Professor of International Relations and Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. A graduate of Amherst College and a Vietnam veteran, he received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1974 and taught at UC Berkeley for thirteen years before coming to Penn, where he teaches U.S., European, and Asia/Pacific diplomatic history. McDougall’s books include . . . the Heavens and the Earth: A Political History of the Space Age (winner of the Pulitzer Prize), Let the Sea Make a Noise: A History of the North Pacific From Magellan to MacArthur, Freedom Just Around the Corner: A New American History 1585–1828, Throes of Democracy: The American Civil War Era 1829–1877, and The Tragedy of U.S. Foreign Policy: How American Civil Religion Betrayed the National Interest. McDougall loves Chicago sports, Christian theology, and all genres of music from Bach to Bob Dylan. He and his “Wonder Wife” Jonna reside in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania.

“Condenses a grand historical narrative into a conversational and erudite survey. . . . As with many of the hard truths in Mr. McDougall’s survey, Europe’s past carries implications for America’s future.”—Wall Street Journal“The Mighty Continent is a welcome and worthy contribution in the important work of restoring Western Civilization. . . . One final note about the book that can’t be overlooked: its physical design. Creed & Culture is presenting itself as a serious publisher publishing important books, and it rightly recognizes that a book’s design is vital toward achieving that goal. The Mighty Continent comes in cloth-bound hardcover, and just holding it makes you take it seriously. In an age of ebooks and cheaply printed paperbacks, it’s nice to see a publisher realize that our physical interaction with a book matters. . . . I highly commend Creed & Culture for swimming against the publishing trend in this regard.”—Crisis Magazine“Written with clarity, verve, and wit, The MightyContinent is the triumphant capstone of a learned scholar's brilliantcareer. In a sweeping and compulsively readable narrative, WalterMcDougall invests the story of Europe's past with freshness, originality, andprofound insights. History doesn't get any better than this.”—Andrew Bacevich, Professor Emeritus of History andInternational Relations, Boston University “An important and fascinating book about Europeanintellectual, political, and economic history—and also a commentary on thestate of the West today—The Mighty Continent is a Gibbonesque tale aboutwhy and how countries and civilizations rise, reform, change, evolve, and fall.Full of stories and surprises, this is truly a book to be savored, to be readand re-read, chapter by stand-alone chapter.”—David Eisenhower, author, Going Home to Glory: A Memoirof Life with Dwight Eisenhower, 1961–1969“If I had my druthers, this erudite book, written with a keen eye for the telling detail, would be required reading for every official of the European Union (not to mention every British parliamentarian and senior civil servant). They might come to understand that many of Europe's current troubles derive from an ignorance of, or disdain for, those three historical pillars of Western civilization: Greek philosophy, biblical religion, and Roman law—a heritage of which Americans badly need reminding, too.”—George Weigel, Distinguished Senior Fellow, Ethics and Public Policy Center “Walter McDougallrenders here a throwback to the grand narrative history of old, full of meaningand human insight and devoid of the postmodern cant and woke sensibilitiesthat now dominate academic scholarship. This book chronicles Europe’sremarkable rise in broad sweeps of descriptive prose enlivened throughout bymyriad telling details. For lovers of history, The Mighty Continent will be as enticing as it is enlightening.”—Robert Merry, author, Decade ofDisunion: How Massachusetts and South Carolina Led the Way to Civil War

• IntroductionChapter 1: The Classical Origins of European CivilizationChapter 2: The Biblical Origins of European CivilizationChapter 3: Faith Based on Reason: The Medieval MillenniumChapter 4: Renaissance! Humanism and theClassical RevivalChapter 5: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”: The Protestant ReformationChapter 6: “Set All Aflame!” The CatholicReformationChapter 7: Spices, Specie, and Souls: Europe Goes GlobalChapter 8: Two Cardinals and a Sun King:Absolutism in FranceChapter 9: Parliaments Triumphant; AbsolutismThwarted in EnglandChapter 10: To Probe the Mind of God: The Scientific RevolutionChapter 11: Soldiers, Serfs, Icons, and Axes:The Rise of Prussia and RussiaChapter 12: Reason Based on Faith: TheCompeting EnlightenmentsChapter 13: Competition for Empire: Britannia Rules the WavesChapter 14: Liberty, Equality, FraternityBetrayed: The French RevolutionChapter 15: A World Restored: The Birth ofConservatism and LiberalismChapter 16: Machines in the Garden: FourIndustrial RevolutionsChapter 17: 1848 and After: RomanticRevolutions and Realistic ReformsChapter 18: “Nothing to Lose but Your Chains”:The Rise of SocialismChapter 19: Fluttered Folk and Wild: Europe’sNew ImperialismChapter 20: The Snake That Ate Its Tail: TheCulture of ModernityChapter 21: “Human, All Too Human”: The Origins of a World WarChapter 22: Storm of Steel: The Traumas of War and PeaceChapter 23: Class War: Marxism-Leninism Captures RussiaChapter 24: Race War: Fascism and NazismCapture Italy and GermanyChapter 25: Years the Locust Hath Eaten: The Great DepressionChapter 26: Descent into Hell: World War II and Its HolocaustsChapter 27: Echternach Dance: The Cold Warand the Revival of EuropeChapter 28: Be Not Proud, Be Not Ashamed: InDefense of the WestAcknowledgmentsIndex