The collapse of once-great civilizations is a topic of significant interest in the 21st century, as the large and dedicated audience for Paul Cooper's podcast, Fall of Civilizations, attests. In this book by the same name, Cooper (River of Ink) traces the declines of 14 civilizations and ends with an emotionally affecting epilogue that looks ahead to the fall of modern civilization many people believe to be imminent.
Cooper begins with the Sumerians and creates a sense of simultaneous awe and melancholy. Each chapter opens with an anecdote or excerpt from a narrative in which people in the featured civilization's future discover its ruins and wonder about those who created such impressive structures, mirroring the way readers might also approach the civilization. Following these retrospective openings, the rest of each chapter builds intimate looks at people's lives, from the birth of their civilization to its height and ultimately to its collapse. Most chapters conclude by excerpting laments written by people from the featured civilization, which emphasizes the personal and emotional aspects of the civilization's decline.
The causes Cooper traces include the expected wars and conquering of one civilization by another, but he also demonstrates the contributing complexities of climate change, natural and man-made changes to rivers, and technological innovation. Cooper's extensive array of sources, including archeological and historical scholarship as well as chronicles, poetry, and correspondence contemporary to each civilization, paint vivid pictures and invites readers to imagine experiencing this history for themselves.
Despite its focus on devastation, Fall of Civilizations attests to humanity's resilience as it attempts to answer the question, "What will become of us?" --Dainy Bernstein, freelance reviewer