Books may not be more interesting these days (or even better written), but a quick spin through their dust jackets makes one thing clear: Their subjects are crucial—crucial—to the very bedrock upon which our civilization rests. Some recent titles:
Oak: The Frame of Civilization by William Bryant Logan
Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World by Mark Kurlansky
How the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization by Thomas E. Woods Jr.
How the Scots Invented the Modern World: The True Story of How Western Europe’s Poorest Nation Created Our World and Everything in It by Arthur Herman
How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
How the Hungarians Saved Western Civilization by Zoltán Deák
How the Homosexuals Saved Civilization: The True and Heroic
Story of How Gay Men Shaped the Modern World by Cathy Crimmins
The Battle of Salamis: The Naval Encounter That Saved Greece–and Western Civilization by Barry Strauss
PugSpotting: A True History of How Pugs Saved Civilization by Susanne McCaffery-Saville
