Though criticized by some modern historians for being overly broad or Eurocentric, A Study of History remains highly influential. Toynbee was a pioneer of and global studies. His theories on how societies collapse under the weight of internal division and environmental stress feel remarkably relevant to the geopolitical and ecological challenges of the modern world.
The complete 12-volume set of A Study of History by Arnold J. Toynbee is available for free digital viewing and download through the Internet Archive
Specialists in particular regions or periods pointed to numerous factual mistakes and questionable interpretations. Yet as one commentator observed, "even if all but a few fragments of Toynbee’s text should prove vulnerable to attack on the ground of factual inaccuracy, still the book will stand in the public eye … as a notable monument of our century’s intellectual history". a study of history 12 volume set pdf
For the general reader, A Study of History offers something increasingly rare: a work of immense scope and ambition, written by a single mind over the course of a lifetime, that dares to ask what history means.
– Prepared by D. C. Somervell under the auspices of the Royal Institute of International Affairs. This one‑volume edition condenses the first six volumes into about 630 pages, using "almost entirely the original words." Somervell also added important notes and clarifications, and Toynbee himself helped revise the text and brought it up to date (including the atomic bomb). A second volume abridges Volumes VII‑X of the full set. Though criticized by some modern historians for being
The later volumes, particularly Volumes VII through X, delve into Toynbee’s views on universal churches and the spiritual destiny of mankind.
The intellectual engine of A Study of History is Toynbee’s theory of challenge and response. Toynbee argued that civilizations arise not in environments that are too easy or too harsh, but where there exists an “optimal level of challenge and reward”. A community that successfully responds to a challenge—whether environmental, military, or social—generates the creative energy that propels civilization forward. When a civilization can no longer mount effective responses, it begins to decline. The complete 12-volume set of A Study of History by Arnold J
: The Inspirations of Historians and a note on chronology. Vol. XI : Historical Atlas and Gazetteer.
Initial volumes covering the genesis, growth, and breakdown of civilizations.