Civilization

In 1969, the BBC presented to viewers the documentary series "Civilization: A Personal View by Kenneth Clark." Skeptics were puzzled: who, in the 60s, could actually be interested in Lord Clark's perspectives on the history of Western civilization – an art historian, almost a century old, an aesthetic scholar, a lover of tweed suits, and the owner of his own castle (which didn't even have a television)? The skeptics were proven wrong: the series broke all popularity records, initiated a genre, and Clark, with his refined speech and aristocratic pronunciation, became a favorite of the public.
In the same 1969, a collection of scripts from the series was published in book form, immediately becoming a bestseller, translated into many languages, and still regularly reissued in both England and other countries. Now, after many years, it is even more evident that, thanks to his truly phenomenal erudition, Kenneth Clark managed to tackle a task of incredible complexity. With masterful ease, he carries his viewers – and readers – from country to country, from era to era, as if he were inspiringly placing mosaic pieces into position: ideas, books, buildings, works of art, and great people, creating a complex and fascinating picture of "civilization according to Clark."