Afterthoughts on Material Civilization and Capitalism

“In this concise book…Braudel summarizes the broad themes of his three-volume Civilisation materielle et capitalisme, 1400-1800 and offers his reflections on the historian’s craft and on the nature of the historical imagination… Taken as a whole, the book is provocative and stimulating. On occasion, it rises to revelation when two or three sentences of compressed but brilliant prose force us to reconsider the events of an entire century or the history of a continent.” — American Historical Review

Afterthoughts presents succinctly, and with wit and verve, the mature reflections on his lifetime’s work of one of France’s most distinguished historians. Braudel captures the essence of his masterwork, Capitalism and Material Life, 1400-1800, and goes beyond it in presenting a deft overview of the patterns of Western economic history. From village markets to bourses to a vast economic sector, Braudel traces the evolution of levels of economy, and through them, the rise of the world economy.