In How the World Made the West, award-winning Oxford historian Josephine Quinn challenges the traditional view of Western civilization as separate and self-made. She traces the West’s roots to a rich mix of global influences, from Babylonian law and Assyrian irrigation to Indian literature, Arabic scholarship, and more.

By expanding beyond Greece and Rome, Quinn redefines our understanding of the West, showing that it is a product of centuries of cross-cultural exchange. Drawing on ancient texts, art, and modern scientific findings, she debunks the myth of the West as an isolated miracle.