Civilization and Capitalism, 15th-18th Century, Vol. I: The Structure of Everyday Life (Civilization and Capitalism : 15th-18th Century)

I gave this book a 4 star rating though because I found it too biased, perhaps the author should have concentrated only on Europe and not even touched on other parts of the world because he was not able to do them justice, whether from lack of information or lack of interest is not clear. It is implied throughout the book that the western civilization is superior and even the natural rulers of the world. I wondered too whether he'd change any of his conclusions about how great western development has been if he were publishing this today in view of global warming, pollution, and other legacies.

A great history of the mundane habits of Europeans, but NOT a balanced history of the world.


Epic   August 30, 2003
 6 out of 13 found this review helpful

Epic in both vision and execution, Braudel's "Stuctures of Civiliisation" turns your accustomed way of thinking about history up side down. In writing his history of the world from the 14th to 18th centuries, Braudel eschews the personalities and events that fill the pages of most history. Instead, he focuses on the day-to-day lifes of normal (non-elite) in an attempt to compare and contrast the various civilisations, sub-civilisations and cultures of the world.

Although the chapter titles sound mundane (daily bread, food and drink, money, etc.) this book is not boring. Fully illustrated with maps, charts and paintings, Braudel creates a classic of history. Crucially, he also integrates teaching from fields like geography and economics. The over all effect of the work is breathtaking: it's no wonder that a quick googling of the author's name turns up university based institutes of inter-disciplinary study named after him on three (count them three!) continents.

On the negative side, well, the book is about twenty years old, so much of the research he uses has been updated. I don't think you can deny that the man is a little euro and franco centric (not that I have a problem with that, I don't.)

Over all, this is a path breaking work, and should be on the book shelve for all fans of world history.


Encyclopedic Examination of the Seemingly Mundane   June 12, 2003
 30 out of 31 found this review helpful

Fernand Braudel is probably the most distinguished historian associated with the Annales School founded by Lucien Febvre and Marc Bloch. This Annales method attempted to revamp historical inquiry by enlarging the scope of analysis to include disparate places and through different times. Annalists were not content to research political institutions; they wanted to delve deeper into the past, to look at social and economic factors in order to reach a deeper, more comprehensive understanding of humanity. In order to be so inclusive, the Annalists looked at historical forces over great arcs of time, recognizing that many human factors change slowly and are not capable of discovery in snapshots of time. The title of this book, "The Structures of Everyday Life: Civilization and Capitalism, 15th to the 18th Century" captures well these two central tenets of the Annales School. "The Structures of Everyday Life" is the first volume in a three volume series.

When Braudel refers to everyday life, he means it in the strictest sense of the word. The topics covered in this encyclopedic volume are seemingly banal because they constitute the backgrounds of our lives: corn, wheat, rice, clothing, buildings, money, and other commonplace items that we take for granted in our day to day existence. Other sections deal with discerning the population of the world in a time when census records were crude or nonexistent, the development of heavy industry and its effect on the world, diseases, and shipping. The emphasis here is on economics and how the growth (or lack of) economies increases or decreases the growth of a society and how that society or region waxed or waned in prominence.

Much of the time, the greatness of Braudel's book is in a detail, or a turn of a phrase. For example, the author concludes that the massive pyramid structures and immense jungle cities of the Mesoamerican cultures resulted not from huge markets or an intrinsic need to construct enormous edifices. Instead, he traces their societal structure to agriculture, specifically the reliance on maize as the staple crop. In the warm climates of Central America, corn does not take much work to plant or maintain. This left the indigenous populations with plenty of time on their hands to build monuments and participate in elaborate religious rituals.

"Structures of Everyday Life" appears to be a huge book, and it is, but there are so many illustrations, maps, and charts that it does not take nearly as long to get through it as one might think. I read somewhere that Braudel traveled and worked abroad in places where he could obtain copies of primary historical documents, whether they were paintings, letters, financial statements, or other relevant documents. He gathered these by the thousands over the years and used them as the basis for his wide-ranging researches. You simply must admire a historian who notices someone picking food out of a bowl with his fingers and then compares this to another painting some years later where the figures are using utensils. Most people just do not think to look at things like this.

Braudel's book is a valuable contribution to historical studies, but I don't think I will read the other two volumes in the series. The amount of information in this volume is so overwhelming that I don't think I could assimilate the vast amount of facts in the other two books. As far as "Structures of Everyday Life" go, even reading one or two chapters is enough to get the gist of what Braudel is trying to say. Reading the whole thing is like reading an encyclopedia; it is fascinating but difficult.