
CIVILISATION
by CLARK KENNETH · first published 2021
9mentions
6recommended by
9HN commenters
2008–2022first – last mentioned
67% recommend33% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Broad, accessible overview of Western art, architecture and culture set in their historical context. It works as an excellent PBS-style introduction, and a companion book is also available.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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![Cover of The Story of Civilization [complete]](https://covers.hackerbooks.org/c/15070150.webp)







…https://refer.ly/the_men_behind_movie_trailers/c/aaf97926603... The routine by Pablo Francisco makes me laugh every time. On a more serious note, one of the gems in this page is the Art History series called Civilisation by Kenneth Clark. PG recommended this guy in one of his essays, and it's one of the best things I've watched all year. I feel like I have such a better perspective on art now.
on “In a World Shaped by College Dropouts, Education is the Next Bubble” ↗…retrospect was) startlingly better. There was no one single book or quotation, but I remember how excited I was to get my hands on a photocopy of the InterLisp manual. Kenneth Clark's documentary series Civilisation (and the accompanying book) impressed me a lot. In fact, it was clearly the model for Connections. I've never read anything else better about art. His ideas are extremely subversive, but few get it…
on “Articles, Ideas, Books and/or Concepts that have changed your life” ↗…James Burke's Connections and The Day the Universe Changed are good introductions to histories of technology and philosophy. From these, continuing the PBS series mode, I'd recommend Kenneth Clark's Civilisation and Jacob Bronowski's The Ascent of Man. These are truly excellent productions. * Daniel Yergin, The Prize, whacked me over the head with just how tremndously momentous the discovery of petroleum in…
on “Facebook deletes Norway PM's post as 'napalm girl' row escalates” ↗If you're interested in a good overview of Architecture in the context of period art/philosophy (and culture in general), it would be hard to recommend Kenneth Clark's Civilisation [0] series more. It shows the development of architecture through the ages in context, and he has extremely interesting and insightful views on what that says about the human condition of the people living…
on “The Architecture of Evil: Dystopian Megacorps in Speculative Fiction Films” ↗I have to put in a word for Kenneth Clark's series called Civilisation. There's also a book. You can find all the episodes on YouTube with a simple search. They have almost all of them in a playlist but for some weird reason the first episode was deleted from the playlist,…
on “Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?” ↗Civilisation: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark
on “Ask HN: What are great documentaries for curious minds?” ↗http://www.amazon.com/Civilisation-Kenneth-Clark/dp/07195684... http://www.amazon.com/Medieval-Technology-Social-Change-Whit... http://www.amazon.com/Penguin-Atlas-Ancient-History-Hist/dp/... http://www.amazon.com/New-Penguin-Atlas-Medieval-History/dp/...…
on “PG's Rarely Asked Questions” ↗Great BBC TV series from 1969, based on the book with same title: Civilisation: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark On youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElcYjCzj8oA
on “Why did science make little real progress in Europe in the Middle Ages?” ↗'Civilisation ~Kenneth Clark' comes #3 or later?
on “Ask HN: Please name two of your most favorite books.” ↗