The Western Tradition

If you've never seen The Western Tradition, a production of the Annenberg CPB Project from the mid-80's, then you're in for a treat. This program, comprised of 52 half-hour episodes, covers the history of Western Civilization from the prehistoric era (creationists beware!) to just before the fall of the Soviet Union.

For its time, TWT was beautifully produced, and holds up admirably against the dumbed-down mush that prevails on the History Channel or the higher-quality stuff from the Learning Company. When I first aw it, fifteen years ago, I fell in love with it immediately, for its sweeping view of the rise and fall of civilizations, the way it cast the flow of history into the molds forged by geography, economics and, above all, human motivations, for its lush and liberal use of art from every era of history, and its excellent use of animated cartography.

Most of all, I treasure The Western Tradition because of the man who created and presented it, Dr. Eugen Weber. Weber was a Professor and Chairman of the Department of History at UCLA, specializing in fin de siecle France. Born in Romania, he served with the British in India in WWII, after which he studied at Oxford and eventually emigrated to the US. His historical treatises on France turned the field on its head, and are much-beloved by the French, which, if you consider that he was a foreigner, and if you know anything at all about the French, is really quite something. In his presentation of TWT, Weber is clear, engaging, elegant, eloquent, urbane, sparkling, wry, penetrating--and mischievous. He's so frickin' cool that we had to write him and tell him just how cool he was, and his elegant and gracious response to us was even more cool. My wife and I had always hoped he would do a TWT follow-up (a la Sagan) on the post-Soviet world, but he died a little over a year ago at the age of 82, and his obituary documents a life well-lived.
And so, let me present anybody who just might happen to be reading with a priceless link. The Western Tradition is available in its entirety from Annenberg Media for free.

I hope it serves you as entertainment, education, perspective, and as a basis for further study. I hope it brings you as much pleasure as it has given me.