First published 2012
Sullivan examines how great civilizations rise and fall across history. This pictorial journey moves from ancient peoples to modern nations, revealing stories often forgotten or reduced to footnotes. The Anasazi Indians created successful agricultural communities in the American Southwest before vanishing mysteriously. Easter Island natives destroyed themselves through unclear communal hysteria. Multiple cultures shaped Stonehenge, leaving archaeological layers like tree rings. Sullivan covers the major empires: Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, Russia, and Britain. He takes readers through Troy and Mediterranean islands including Gnossos and Santorini, questioning whether the latter housed Plato's Atlantis before catastrophe struck. The book climbs to Machu Picchu and visits Aboriginal Australia. While no photographs capture Alexander the Great, Genghis Khan, or Napoleon directly, images show the civilizations they built and controlled, many originally published in LIFE magazine. Sullivan concludes with the United States as today's great civilization founded on democracy, examining American history and future prospects against the backdrop of all previous great civilizations.
Genres: history, archaeology, non-fiction, ancient-history
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: historical-narrative, investigative-journalism
Setting: American Southwest, Easter Island, Stonehenge, Egypt, Greece, Rome, China, Russia, Britain, Troy, Mediterranean, Gnossos, Santorini, Machu Picchu, Australia, United States
Period: Ancient, Medieval, Modern
128 pages · Hardcover · Life