<P> Part II (pp. 247--562) discusses the Eurasian cultural balance to 1500 A.D., including the expansion of Hellenism, the closure of the Eurasian ecumene, the development of major religions, the barbarian onslaught, resurgence of the Middle East, and the Steppe conquerors . McNeill proposes that the basic engine of world history during this period is the temporary primacy of different regions of the ecumene, with a rough parity re-established as innovations spread to other centers of civilization . The sequence is Hellenistic / Indian / Islamic / Chinese and Mongol . Generally the eras are structured in terms of the internal history of the dominant region, followed by the history of the rest of the world with a focus on how they reacted to the diffusing techniques and ideas of the dominant region . </P> <P> Part III (pp. 563--803) examines the era of Western dominance . From 1500 to 1750 this is represented by the challenge of Western Europe to the world in a period of exploitation and colonization and the changing balance of the ecumene in the Islamic world, the Far East, and Africa: before 1750, Western superiority is similar in scope to the primacy previously enjoyed by other regions . The book describes the "tottering balance" of older orders within Europe, European expansion and acculturation in outliers, including the Americas . The rise of the West on a cosmopolitan scale from 1750 to 1950 is described as to continued territorial expansion, industrialism, the democratic revolution, and intellectual aspects . This period marks a discontinuity: the global influence of the West expands beyond all historical parallels . </P> <P> The many plates, maps, and charts each should offer "its own limited yet coherent insight into the history of the human community" whereas their combination and the text "is designed to multiply the meaning of any one taken by itself ." </P> <P> The Rise had a major impact on historical analysis, challenging the view of civilizations as independent entities subject to rise and fall, such as developed by Arnold J. Toynbee and Oswald Spengler (the title of the book was a deliberate contrast to Spengler's The Decline of the West .) McNeill stresses instead the diffusion of techniques and ideas, making connections between civilizations crucially important . </P>

The rise of the west after twenty-five years