Five thousand years ago there began the most momentous revolution in human history. Starting in Mesopotamia, city civilization emerged for the first time on earth, to be followed in Egypt, India, China and the Americas. The ideals of these ancient civilizations still shape the lives of the majority of mankind. In Search of the First Civilizations (previously published as Legacy) asks the intriguing question: what is civilization? Did it mean the same to the Chinese, the Indians and the Greeks? What can the values of the ancient cultures teach us today? And do the ideals of the West - a latecomer to civilization - really have universal validity? In this fascinating historical search, Michael Wood explores these ancient cultures, looking for their essential character and their continuing legacy. A brilliant exploration. Sunday Times Well-written, gorgeous and guaranteed to induce thought... Wood takes great care to put everything in a large historical perspective, which is actually more disturbing than comforting. New York Post

マイケル・ウッドの筆致は、人類五千年の足跡に鮮烈な魂を吹き込みます。文明の誕生を単なる過去の記録ではなく、現代の深層で脈打つ「精神の源流」として描き出す視座が圧巻です。西洋的価値観の普遍性に鋭い問いを突きつけ、異文化の深淵を覗き込むスリルは、読者の知的好奇心を激しく揺さぶります。 本書の白眉は、遺跡の中に今も我々を形作る「理想」の正体を暴く点にあります。歴史の俯瞰から得られるのは、安易な慰めではなく、人類の営みが持つ壮大な重みと畏怖です。文明の本質に触れるとき、あなたは自らのアイデンティティを再定義せざるを得ないほどの衝撃を受けるでしょう。