The concept of “the West” is present in every daily interaction you have, from entertainment and politics to world markets and world history. In her new book The West, historian Naoíse Mac Sweeney debunks the myths and origin stories that underpin the history we thought we knew. Told through fourteen figures who each played a role in the creation of the Western idea—from Herodotus, a mixed-race migrant, to Phylis Wheatley, an enslaved African American who became a literary sensation; and from Gladstone, with a private passion for epic poetry, to the medieval Arab scholar Al-Kindi—the subjects are a blend of unsung heroes and familiar faces viewed afresh.
Naoíse Mac Sweeney is professor of classical archaeology at the University of Vienna, having previously held posts at both Leicester and Cambridge Universities, and been a researcher at Harvard’s Center for Hellenic Studies. She has won numerous academic awards for her work on classical antiquity and origin myths, her previous book on Troy was shortlisted for a major prize, and she has appeared on BBC television and radio.
