Margins
The Idea of the West book cover
The Idea of the West
Culture, Politics and History
2004
First Published
3.75
Average Rating
201
Number of Pages
The West is on everyone's it is defended, celebrated, hated. But how and why did it emerge? And whose idea is it? This book is about representations of the West. Drawing on sources from across the world - from Russia to Japan, Iran to Britain - it argues that the West is not merely a Western idea but something that many people around the world have long been creating and stereotyping. The Idea of the West looks at how the great political and ethnic forces of the last century defined themselves in relation to the West, addresses how Soviet communism, 'Asian spirituality', 'Asian values' and radical Islamism used and deployed images of the West. Both topical and wide-ranging, it offers an accessible but provocative portrait of a fascinating subject and it charts the complex relationship between whiteness and the West.
Avg Rating
3.75
Number of Ratings
8
5 STARS
13%
4 STARS
50%
3 STARS
38%
2 STARS
0%
1 STARS
0%
goodreads

Author

Alastair Bonnett
Alastair Bonnett
Author · 13 books
Alastair Bonnett is a professor of social geography at Newcastle University. He is the author of several books, including What Is Geography?, How to Argue, Left in the Past, and The Idea of the West. He has also contributed to history and current affairs magazines on a wide variety of topics.
548 Market St PMB 65688, San Francisco California 94104-5401 USA
© 2026 Paratext Inc. All rights reserved