Portrait of a Heritage

LIFE'S PICTURE HISTORY OF WESTERN MAN (306 pp.)-The Edifors of LIFETime Incorporated ($10).

Western man-who is he and where did he come from? When did he step out on the stage of human civilization and what -was his performance there? How did the onward roll of history affect his beliefs and actions and how did they, in turn, guide the course of large events?

With these panoramic questions, the editors of LIFE introduce their Picture History of Western Man, a handsome expansion of the series of picture-essays which the magazine published between 1947-48. The book amounts to a rapid march, in seven-league boots, from the 9th Century to the mid-igth. But if the pace is swift, the scenery along the way is superb, for the history skims one of Western man's greatest achievements, the sparkling (and self-reflecting) fountain of his art. And the text is as entertaining as it is quick. A vivid refresher course in the Western heritage, the book is also an invitation to explore that heritage more deeply. To some, it will serve as a gateway, its bibliography as a key.

Half-Empty Maps. The introduction sets forth three guiding convictions: 1) Western man was the architect of the modern world, 2) he was a most interesting, instructive and colorful individual, 3) he was a Christian whose faith served as a mighty engine of civilization. Then the history opens with a burst of color: the gold, jewel-encrusted cover of a medieval Gospel.

Illuminations and cathedral bas-reliefs accompany the first two essays, "The Spirit of the Middle Ages" and "Medieval Life"; the third is illustrated by early Renaissance masterpieces of Giotto and Botticelli. Later comes "The Age of Exploration" with its hopeful, half-empty maps, Vasco da Gama in cap & gown, and a grinning mask which Montezuma presented to Cortes. The section on "The Protestant Reformation" includes a caricature doodled by a seminarian of his instructor, one John Calvin. The world's first modern observatory helps illustrate "The Dawn of Modern Science." Watteau's dimpled courtesans bring "The Age of Enlightenment" to life. A sketch of Marie Antoinette riding to the guillotine does the same for "The Age of Revolutions." Missouri Painter George Caleb Bingham's Verdict of the People gives weight to the concluding chapters on America.

Threshold to Infinity. The enthusiasm of these final chapters is matched by a moral urgency that makes them the best in the book.

"America," they proclaim, "must still count itself ... a finite threshold to infinity, a stage in the development of 'cosmic man.' Otherwise Western man has no future, and the barbarian inherits his earth. Such are the dimensions of the present struggle. All the civilization, the truths, the promises recited in this book are at stake."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.