Sign-In
Cart
The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume II: The Modern and Contemporary West
Hardcover
Series: Golden Thread, Book 2
Medieval & Renaissance HistoryGeneral World History
Publisher Price: $120.00
ISBN13: 9781641774017
Publisher: Encounter Books
Published: Jan 27 2026
Pages: 880
Weight: 5.10
Height: 1.90 Width: 7.80 Depth: 10.20
Language: English
A compelling, resource-rich history of the modern West--from the Renaissance to the present--designed for students and lifelong learners alike, and grounded in the enduring ideals of liberty, faith, and reason. This is Volume II of a two-part series tracing the story of Western civilization from antiquity to the modern age.
The Western Tradition from 1500 to the Present
With the Renaissance in Europe, the Western world experienced a long series of cataclysmic events that still reverberate in modern society. Written by Allan C. Guelzo, The Golden Thread, Volume II: The Modern and Contemporary West begins in 1500, when the Protestant Reformation brought an end of the Roman Catholic Church's dominance over European states. It then turns to the rise of imperial powers that swiftly circled the globe, and to the explosion of intellectual, economic, and technological advancements sparked by the Enlightenment.
These were moments of flourishing in Western civilization, but also moments of uncertainty, as they portended the violent political upheavals that shook continental Europe and the Americas during the American, French and Bolivarian Revolutions as well as the Napoleonic Wars. The Industrial Revolution, the Romantic revolt against the Enlightenment, and a second wave of scientific advancement in the nineteenth century challenged any attempt to restore the classical unity of the West. A radically redrawn world emerged from these developments, one that was ill-prepared for the colossal physical and moral shocks of the First and Second World Wars.
In its closing chapters, Guelzo explores how Western civilization has, in our own time, been simultaneously challenged by secular totalitarianism and yet remained remarkably resilient laying the foundations for material prosperity around the globe. Through the paradoxes of the twentieth century, The Golden Thread engages with the most significant questions facing the West today.
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.
The Golden Thread series features:
The Vision of Two AuthorsWritten by two of the most distinguished historians of our time.
The Golden Thread speaks in coherent, singular voices. Each volume is authored by an eminent individual writing in narrative form and interpretive tone, and animated by the conviction that knowledge across disciplines is best pursued through stories that are rich in insight, humanity, and meaning.
A Cultural Inheritance
Nearly 1000 curated images--sculptures, paintings, and artifacts--from the vaults of the West's finest cultural institutions.
Readers are not merely told what happened, but shown what was created--page after page alive with the rich architecture, sculpture, music, and painting that gave visible form to the West's most enduring aspirations.
Living Voices from the Distant Past
Features close to 200 foundational primary source texts drawn from every era.
Woven through the chapters are the voices that once commanded nations, composed poems and hymns, and drafted creeds. These are not summaries or paraphrases--they are the words themselves, as they were first spoken, sung, and inscribed.
Visual Histories of the World
Enriched by over 150 bespoke maps, each a visual key to the unfolding story of the West.
The Golden Thread does more than locate events--it reconstructs the shifting boundaries of thought, faith, empire, and imagination that defined how men and women once pictured the world and their place within it.
Also from
Guelzo, Allen C.
The Golden Thread: A History of the Western Tradition, Volume I: The Ancient World and Christendom
Guelzo, Allen C.
Hankins, James
Hardcover
Also in
Medieval & Renaissance History
The Power of Place: Rulers and Their Palaces, Landscapes, Cities, and Holy Places
Rollason, David
Hardcover
The Saint and the Sultan: The Crusades, Islam, and Francis of Assisi's Mission of Peace
Moses, Paul
Hardcover
Self-Help from the Middle Ages: What the Seven Deadly Sins Can Teach Us about Living
Jones, Peter
Hardcover
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival
Greenblatt, Stephen
Hardcover
Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It
Ramirez, Janina
Paperback
Alchemy: An Illustrated History of Elixirs, Experiments, and the Birth of Modern Science
Ball, Philip
Hardcover
The Time Traveler's Guide to Medieval England: A Handbook for Visitors to the Fourteenth Century
Mortimer, Ian
Paperback
The Surgeon, the Midwife, the Quack: How to Stay Alive in Renaissance England
Skuse, Alanna
Hardcover
Irish History & Mythology: Exploring The History, Celtic Myths, Folklore, Sagas, Traditions of Ireland
Brought Alive, History
Paperback
Oathbreakers: The War of Brothers That Shattered an Empire and Made Medieval Europe
Gabriele, Matthew
Perry, David M.
Paperback
Dark Renaissance: The Dangerous Times and Fatal Genius of Shakespeare's Greatest Rival
Greenblatt, Stephen
Paperback
The Wolf Age: The Vikings, the Anglo-Saxons and the Battle for the North Sea Empire
Skeie, Tore
Paperback
The Great Mortality: An Intimate History of the Black Death, the Most Devastating Plague of All Time
Kelly, John
Paperback
Stone Lands: A Journey of Darkness and Light Through Britain's Ancient Places
Robertson, Fiona
Hardcover
What God Kept for Himself: Atheism, Sodomy, and Radical Dissent in Renaissance Italy
Grassi, Umberto
Hardcover
The History of the Medieval World: From the Conversion of Constantine to the First Crusade
Bauer, Susan Wise
Hardcover
Ancient and Medieval Siege Weapons: A Fully Illustrated Guide To Siege Weapons And Tactics
Nossov, Konstantin
Paperback
A World Lit Only by Fire: The Medieval Mind and the Renaissance: Portrait of an Age
Manchester, William
Paperback
Our Island Story: A History of the Kings, Queens and Battles of England, Scotland and Britain for Boys and Girls
Marshall, H. E.
Paperback
When Asia Was the World: Traveling Merchants, Scholars, Warriors, and Monks Who Created the Riches of the East
Gordon, Stewart
Paperback
The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise: Muslims, Christians, and Jews Under Islamic Rule in Medieval Spain
Fernandez-Morera, Dario
Hardcover
The Secret History of the Mongol Queens: How the Daughters of Genghis Khan Rescued His Empire
Weatherford, Jack
Paperback
Meetings with Remarkable Manuscripts: Twelve Journeys Into the Medieval World
de Hamel, Christopher
Paperback
The Manuscripts Club: The People Behind a Thousand Years of Medieval Manuscripts
de Hamel, Christopher
Paperback
Lost Enlightenment: Central Asia's Golden Age from the Arab Conquest to Tamerlane
Starr, S. Frederick
Paperback
Cryptic: From Voynich to the Angel Diaries, the Story of the World's Mysterious Manuscripts
Shaw, Garry J.
Hardcover
The Battle of Yarmuk: An Assessment of the Immediate Factors behind the Islamic Conquests
Ibrahim, Raymond
Paperback
Femina: A New History of the Middle Ages, Through the Women Written Out of It
Ramirez, Janina
Hardcover
The History of the Renaissance World: From the Rediscovery of Aristotle to the Conquest of Constantinople
Bauer, Susan Wise
Hardcover
Venice and the Mongols: The Eurasian Exchange That Transformed the Medieval World
Di Cosmo, Nicola
Pubblici, Lorenzo
Hardcover
A Medieval Life: Cecilia Penifader and the World of English Peasants Before the Plague
Bennett, Judith M.
Paperback
The Magic Books: A History of Enchantment in 20 Medieval Manuscripts
Lawrence-Mathers, Anne
Hardcover
Financial Vipers of Venice: Alchemical Money, Magical Physics, and Banking in the Middle Ages and Renaissance
Farrell, Joseph P.
Paperback
In the Shadow of the Sword: The Birth of Islam and the Rise of the Global Arab Empire
Holland, Tom
Paperback
The Birth of the Anglo-Saxons: Three Kings and a History of Britain at the Dawn of the Viking Age
Adams, Max
Hardcover
Urban Infrastructure in Medieval England: Sustainability and Resilience
Magnusson, Roberta J.
Paperback
Women in the Middle Ages: The Lives of Real Women in a Vibrant Age of Transition
Gies, Frances
Gies, Joseph
Paperback
Old Norse - Old Icelandic: Concise Introduction to the Language of the Sagas
Byock, Jesse
Gordon, Randall
Paperback
This Earthly Globe: A Venetian Geographer and the Quest to Map the World
Di Robilant, Andrea
Paperback
The Prince (Royal Collector's Edition) (Annotated) (Case Laminate Hardcover with Jacket)
Machiavelli, Niccolò
Hardcover
The Bookseller of Florence: The Story of the Manuscripts That Illuminated the Renaissance
King, Ross
Paperback
Elucidation of Necromancy Lucidarium Artis Nigromantice Attributed to Peter of Abano: Including a New Translation of His Heptameron or Elements of Mag
Abano, Peter Of
Peterson, Joseph H.
Hardcover
Il Fior di Battaglia by Fiore dei Liberi Facsimile: With translation by Guy Windsor
Windsor, Guy
Hardcover
The House of Wisdom: How Arabic Science Saved Ancient Knowledge and Gave Us the Renaissance
Al-Khalili, Jim
Paperback
The Memory of Past Acts: Picturing Presence, Loss, and History in Illuminated Cartularies, C. 1050-1220
Maxwell, Robert a.
Hardcover