Had I finished this book before 2025 ended, it would certainly have made the top five of my best history books of the year, and probably my top three. Author Georgios Varouxakis is professor of the History of Political Thought at Queen Mary University of London and the co-director of the Centre for the Study of the History of Political Thought at the university. He demonstrates his breadth of knowledge and understanding about a complex idea yet common refrain. “The West: The History of an Idea” presents much of what we understand about this concept and what we probably don’t.
In his introduction, Varouxakis dispenses with the notion that the first mention of “the West” as an idea or political entity was during the Ancient Greeks’ war with the Persians. He points out an oft-quoted but mistranslated statement by Aeschylus: “‘Hasn’t the whole of the Eastern army crossed back from Europe over the straight of Helle?’ Instead of ‘Eastern army,’ Aeschylus actually wrote, ‘barbarian army.’”
