History Camp Discussions
Thursday, September 24 @ 8 pm Eastern
James Hankins
The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition

From the publisher:

A sweeping, resource-rich history of the ancient world and Christendom—designed for students and lifelong learners alike, and faithful to the enduring legacy of the Western tradition. This is Volume I of a two-part series tracing the story of Western civilization from antiquity to the modern age.

The Western Tradition from Antiquity to 1500

Where do the threads that form the Western tradition originate, and how were they woven together over the two and a half millennia before 1500? What are the sources of our modern ideas about science, freedom, equality, law, good government, and virtue? These are the questions explored in The Golden Thread, Volume I: The Ancient World and Christendom, written by James Hankins.

The story begins with the seminal culture of the classical Greeks and moves through the Hellenization of the east following the conquests of Alexander the Great. Hankins then narrates the rise and dominance of Rome and the fusion of Greco-Roman and Judea-Christian cultures in the Christian empire of the fourth century AD. The volume follows the history of Christendom from the fall of the Western Roman Empire, charts its centuries-long rivalry with the Islamic world, and culminates in the emergence of European civilization in the Middle Age and Renaissance.

Volume I examines how the foundations were laid for the West’s political and economic dominance in the modern era, illuminating the deep roots of the ideas, arts, and institutions that continue to shape our world.

The Golden Thread is a two-volume history of the Western tradition. Volume I is authored by James Hankins; Volume II, covering the modern and contemporary West, is authored by Allen C. Guelzo.

Reviews

“…The Golden Thread comes as a history, an argument, a treasure hoard. Happy is the student who will have a semester to study this magnificent book. Happy, too, is the general reader who stands, as one on the threshold of the Louvre, preparing to enter the shining galleries that lie ahead.” —The Wall Street Journal

“The Golden Thread is simply levels above ordinary textbooks. It’s a comprehensive history of Western civilization that is less a standard textbook than the mature statement of an especially thoughtful scholar.” —National Review 

“…undoubtedly the book of the year.” —Claremont Review of Books 

“Highly recommend….Historian James Hankins argues that understanding the history of the Western tradition is the only way to preserve civilization.” —Coleman Hughes, The Free Press 

“It is a masterpiece—staggeringly learned and judicious in its handling of Western civilization’s glories and failings.” —Compact 

“A magnificent, detailed overview of the evolution of the West from antiquity to the Renaissance.” —George Weigel, Denver Catholic

“In this book live thousands of years of exquisitely rendered thought, wisdom, sacrifice, beauty and adventure.” —The Spectator World

“The Golden Thread is an excellent addition to books on Western Civilization that already exist, but also an advancement on what has come before.” —Law & Liberty

“The Golden Thread is a history of near-run survivals and improbable resurrections. It’s also a noble part of that history, as are its authors. They can count their job well done.” —Spencer A. Klavan, Claremont Review of Books 

Join us at HistoryCamp.org/discussions for this free event and watch replays of earlier interviews, presentations, and discussions.