Books by William H. McNeill

The inauguration of Robert Maynard Hutchins as the President of the University of Chicago in 1929 marked the beginning of a vibrant period for the university and for American higher education in general. This book presents a portrait of institutional life of university at that time, showing how life on campus revolved around President Hutchins.

Chronicles the interactions between Latin Christians and the Orthodox communities of eastern Europe during the period 1081-1797. Focusing on Venice, this title explores the technological, economic, and political bases of Venetian power and the city's status at the frontier between the papal and Orthodox worlds.

"The Rise of the West, winner of the National Book Award for history in 1964, is famous for its ambitious scope and intellectual rigor. In it, McNeill challenges the Spengler-Toynbee view that a number of separate civilizations pursued essentially independent careers, and argues instead that human cultures interacted at every stage of their history. The author suggests that from the Neolithic beginnings of grain agriculture to the present major social changes in all parts of the world were triggered by new or newly important foreign stimuli, and he presents a persuasive narrative of world history to support this claim. In a retrospective essay titled ""The Rise of the West after Twenty-five Years," McNeill shows how his book was shaped by the time and place in which it was written (1954-63). He discusses how historiography subsequently developed and suggests how his portrait of the world's past in The Rise of the West should be revised to reflect these changes. "This is not only the most learned and the most intelligent, it is also the most stimulating and fascinating book that has ever set out to recount and explain the whole history of mankind. . . . To read it is a great experience. It leaves echoes to reverberate, and seeds to germinate in the mind."--H. R. Trevor-Roper, "New York Times Book Review

McNeil pursues the possibility that coordinated rhythmic movement-and the shared feelings it evokes-has been a powerful force in holding human groups together. As he has done for historical phenomena as diverse as warfare, plague, and the pursuit of power, he brings a dazzling breadth and depth of knowledge to his study.