A 4-page summary of the book (in English).
A 4-page summary of the Rich States System Theory (in English).                                                    Philosophical assumptions

Le Secret de l'Occident (The Secret of the West)
868p-book, reviewed and enhanced pocket version of the 1997 release, published in September 2007, reedited 2008.
Le Secret de l'Occident (The Secret of the West, 1997)
450p-book about the rich states system theory, published in October 1997.

Reviews: Reviews: Reviews: Reviews: Reviews: Reviews: Reviews:	Jul 2020:  Esteban Vidal mentioning my theory in "El debate del auge (rise) de Occidente: una introducción" presenting the main theories about the rise of the West, in Spanish online journal Global Strategy (in Spanish). Jan 2020:  On the Word World website, by Jacques Demorgon, http://www.word-world.fr/2020/01/20/david-cosandey/, 20 janvier 2020 (in French). Dec 2019:  In a laudatio for Jean-Christophe Victor, "Le Dessous des cartes", WordWorld, 16Dec2019 (in French). Oct 2019: by Stanford Univ prof Walter Scheidel in his Escape from Rome: The Failure of Empire and the Road to Prosperity (in English). Dec 2018:  during a debate at Assiociation Technologos in Paris on 20 Dec 1978; floated by Lieux Communs. (in French). Dec 2018:  Two VIDEOS by "Des Économistes et des hommes", a French economist YouTube broadcast (04Dec2018) (in French). Jan 2018:  In Chroniques pour Demain, the online journal of the Locarn, Brittany (France) Institute (in French). Aug 2016: on Elon Musk and the space conquest, an excellent analysis by J.Knight (in English). Aug 2016:  by prof. Jacques Brasseul in Histoire économique de l'Afrique tropicale (in French). Feb 2015:  A special issue of the French journal "Synergies" devoted to my book (in French). Jul 2014: by Jonathan Daly at Chicago Univ in Historians Debate the Rise of the West (in English). Jun 2014: by En Gillali on the Compatibility of Muslim religion and modern science (in Arabic and English). Feb 2014:  In Eléments d'histoire des sciences an e-book by prof R. Raynal of Toulouse, France (in French). Jun 2013: in a paper on the history of geopolitics, by Danish archeologist C.Paludan-Müller (in English). Feb 2011:  at the "Europe and Modern Science" conference at Univ of Nantes, France, by Christophe Brun, on 07-09 Feb 2011 (in French). Nov 2010:  deeper analysis on the website "Temps et Fiction" (2) following the Aug 2010 review (in French). Aug 2010:  a long review on the website "Temps et Fiction" (1) (in French). Nov 2009:  on  "Critiques Libres" a short and insightful review (in French). Mar 2009:  a detailed analysis by prof. Oscar Gonzalez of Univ of the Basque Country in "La Filosofia de la Innovacion" (in Spanish, with French translation). Jan 2009:  a long review in "Le Futur Ouest", a French think tank (in French). Jan 2009:  a brief review by G. Narbonne in a HEC school essay in Paris (in French). Dec 2008: a review in "Storicamente", Bologna University's on-line history journal, by F. Ferretti (in Italian). Dec 2008: brief review by Evelyne Lopez Campillo in "Mediterráneo Económico" in an article about the religious hypothesis (in Spanish). Nov 2008: a long review by Vincent Citot in philosophy journal "Le Philosophoire" (in French). Oct 2008: by Chinese magazine Mingpao Monthly of Hong Kong (in Chinese). Oct 2008: a summary in "L'Agitateur d'idées by physicist Etienne Klein (in French). Oct 2008: a review and epistémological analysis in "Espaces Temps" by prof. Christian Grataloup (in French). Sep 2008: a sympathetic review by Jules Mardirossian in "France-Arménie" (in French). Aug 2008: a superficial review in French magazine "Esprit" (in French). Jun? 2008: in an article on "The rise and fall of states" by Noel Cox of Univ of Wellington, New Zealand (in English). May 2008: in "Maghreb Social Forum's" online bibliography (in French). Feb 2008: a review in the Belgian national daily "L'Echo" (in French). Feb 2008: a review in "Sciences Humaines" by Laurent Testot (in French). Feb 2008: a long and original review in "La Vie des Idées" by French physicist Etienne Klein: "Were there any Indian Galileos?" (in English). Jan 2008: "Les Sceptiques du Québec" giving a laudative review at their annual conference (in French). Jan 2008: an excellent brief review in "Les Collections de l'Histoire" (in French). Jan 2008: quotes by J.-F. Dortier in a special issue of "Sciences Humaines" (in French). Dec 2007: a bleak review in French geography magazine "Cybergeo" (in French). Nov 2007: a brillant analysis on "Biblio Infinie" (in French). Oct 2007: a brief introduction on France Culture (in French). Oct 2007: a lively account by Azar Khalatbari on in the French daily "Libération" (in French). Oct 2007: in "Le Monde", the leading French daily, a review by Roger-Pol Droit (in French). Sep 2007: a laudatory reference in the leading French daily "Le Figaro" for the pocket edition (in French). Sep 2007: a reference in the French daily "Le Sud Ouest" for the pocket edition (in French). Sep 2007: a enlightning analysis on Amazon.fr (in French). Aug 2006: an excellent analytical review on La Lettre Volée (in French). Introduction. Feb 2006: the consequences of the theory for the space age discussed at the Adam Smith Institute (in English). Dec 2005: Article on the historical disruption lines of Europe by prof. Jacques Brasseul (in French). May 2005: in an Indian research paper about India and the Grand Question (in English). Mar 2005: "Alternatives Economiques", on the emergence of capitalism, by prof. Jacques Brasseul (in French). Dec 2004: "Le Nouvel Observateur", as main reference (in French). May 2002: A smart overview by prof. Christophe Brun as on-line support for Moroccan students (in French). Jan? 2002: in a Moroccan book about Morocco's scientific development (in French). Mar 2001: by Y.M. Laulan in the quarterly "Géopolitique des Populations" (in French). Dec 1999: "Isis" (in English). Sep 1998: "Région et Développement" by prof. Jacques Brasseul (in French). May 1998: "La Recherche" (in French). Apr 1998: "NewScientist" (in English). Nov 1997: "Le Républicain Lorrain" (in French).
Interviews:	May 2014: "Philosophoire", on defining civilizations across history (in French). Sep 2008: in Histoire globale, un autre regard sur le monde, a collective book directed by Laurent Testot, p.121-129 (in French). Sep 2008: in a special edition of French magazine "Sciences Humaines" on world history(in French). Dec 2007: "Sciences et Avenir" (in French). Oct 2007: "La Liberté" (in French). Oct 2001: "Le Soir" (in French). Mar 1998: "Vingt-Quatre Heures", 30 March 1998, p.48 (in French). Nov 1997: "Journal de Genève", interview (in French).
My Articles:	Sep 2017: a chapter by me in the book "Problèmes épistémologiques en histoire de la philosophie", directed by V.Citot, éditions Liber, Québec, 398p, 11sept2017.   Mar 2015: a chapter by me in Histoires universelles et philosophies de l'histoire, Proceeds from the Sept 2008-Cerisy Conference, a 10p-article on my latest research (in French). Jun 2014: "Le Monde", special booklet, a 1-page article on the issue: "Is the West still ahead?" (in French). Oct 2011: "Philosophoire", Paris, a 13-page article on the issue: "Are we rising or declining?" (in French). May 2002: 6-page paper in Fractals in Biology and Medicine on the coastlines' fractal dimensions of Europe, the Middle East, India, China (in English). Mar 2001: "Sciences", Paris, a 5-page article (in French). July 1998: "Le Temps Stratégique", Geneva, a 10-page article (in French).
Quotes: Quotes: Quotes: Quotes: Quotes: Quotes: Quotes: Quotes: Quotes: Quotes: Quotes: Quotes: Quotes: Quotes:	Apr 2024:  J.P. Castel et J.C. Simard quoting my book in La Mathématisation du Temps (in French). Jan 2024:  J.F.Dortier quoting my book in a special issue of the French magazine "Sciences Humaines": L'Histoire mondiale de la pensée (in French). Nov 2020:  J.C.Denton describing D.Reich's book Who We Are and How We Got Here as complementary to mine and to J.Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel. (20Nov2020) (in French). Oct 2020:  in a YouTube video In favour of a fair historiography of the West: F.Desprunes quoting my book about the Arabs' wars against Europe in the high Middle Ages (in French). Jul 2020: in the American online journal "The Postil Magazine", by Philippe Fabry, about the parallelism between Ancient Greek and Modern Western civilizations, 01Jul2020 (in English). Mar 2020:  by David Djaïz reflecting on the worldwide coronavirus crisis (2019-2021) on French website Le Grand Continent, 23Mar2020 (in French). Mar 2020:  by Richard Mil, on French website Résistance républicaine, about the Middle East backwardness in astronomy (in French). Feb 2020:  The "Reader of the Day" interviewed by Babelio.com was reading LSO2008, in the North Station in Paris. He gave his impressions on the spot (in French). Dec 2019: in "Creative Destruction in the European State System: 1000-1850" (off), a working paper by D.Schönholzer of Yale Univ & E.Weese of Kobe Univ (in English). Oct 2019: in The Boundless Sea: Writing Mediterranean History (off), prof N.Purcell and P.Horden of Univ Oxford and London, suggesting an alternative definition for the word "thalassography", 03Oct2019 (in English). Sep 2019:  a warm recommendation in front of 400,000 auditors by Eric Denécé, a French political scientist having worked in the French military industry and secret services, interviewed on the French YouTube broadcast ThinkerView (in French). Juil 2019: in the book Islam, Authoritarianism, and Underdevelopment by prof. Ahmet Kuru (in English). May 2019:  by B.Couturier beside the point in a book review during a France Culture radio program (08 May 2019) (in French). Mar 2019: by American physicist David LePoire in "An Exploration of Historical Transitions" in the Journal of Big History (in English). Feb 2019:  by Esteban Vidal on Spanish anarchist website "Portal Oaca", "El capitalismo: hijo del militarismo" (in Spanish). Jul 2017:  by M.Pilosu in Geo-Storie d'Italia: Un'Alleanza Possibile on the methods for teaching history in Italy (in Italian). Mar 2017:  A 15-page quote on the blog "Lieux communs" on The similarities between Ancient Greece and Modern Europe (in French). Feb 2017:  A quote in N.Deleau's master thesis "Aide au développement: des enjeux cachés?", at Univ of Louvain, Belgium (in French). Jan 2017:  in India, Modernity and the Great Divergence: Mysore and Gujarat (17th to 19th C.) by K.Yazdani, Brill, Boston (10 Jan 2017) (in English). Sep 2016:  by J.P.Latina on the possible causes for Arab world post-Middle Age decline on his blog "Autruchement Dit" (25 Sept 2016) (in French). Jun 2016:  by Nadia Matringe in "L'équation qui a changé la face du monde" (03 Jun 2016). (in French). Jan 2016:  About China and the rise of the West in The Gunpowder Age, by T.Andrade, 448p, Princeton UP (31 Jan 2016) (in English). Oct 2015:  by Swedish physicist Erik Lidström in his book Education unchained advocating a reform of Western European education systems (in English). Sep 2015:  in Amerindia – essais d'ethnohistoire autochtone, by Canadian anthropologist Roland Viau of Montreal Univ (in French). Sep 2015:  by O.Pétré-Grenouilleau in Les Historiens français à l'œuvre, 1995-2010 by P.Cauchy, J.F.Sirinelli, C.Gauvard, PUF (02 Sep 2015) (in French). Oct 2014:  by Federico Ferretti in his book Da Strabone al Cyberspazio, Introduzione alla Storia del pensiero geografico (off), Guerini Scientifica, 14Oct2014 (in Italian). Sep 2014:  in Science et religions monothéistes, l'inévitable conflit by Jean-Pierre Castel (Berg International, Paris 17Sep2014) (in French). Aug 2014:  at the 41st the International Committee for the History of Technology symposium (29 Jul–02 Aug 2014) in Brasov, Romania (in French). Apr 2014:  by Christophe Brun in an anthology book on Elisée Reclus (09Apr2014) (in French). Apr 2014:  In P.Haroche's PhD thesis at Univ Paris I, Realistically unifying the EU, defended 30Nov2013 (published 28Apr2014) (in French). Mar 2014:  by Jean-Pierre Castel against the religious hypothesis, in "Le Québécois Libre" (25Mar2014) (in French). Feb 2014:  by François Facchini of Paris Univ, in an interview on the causal factors behind economic development (in French). Dec 2013:  by Jonathan Daly of Chicago Univ in The Rise of Western Power: A Comparative History of Western Civilization, A&C Black, 19 Dec 2013, 464p. (in English). Dec 2013:  about China in the 1880s as described by E.Reclus, in a "Cybergeo" paper by F.Ferretti of Geneva Univ (in French). Oct 2013: by Vienna Univ prof P.Vries, in Escaping Poverty: The Origins of Modern Economic Growth (in English). Jul 2013: by Philippe Colomban of Univ P.&M. Curie, Paris, in a paper on the origins of modern chemistry (Arts 15 Jul 2013, vol 2, 78-99) (in English). May 2013:  by I.Surun and H.Tertrais, in «Les Continents Orphelins?», a special issue of online magazine "Monde(s)" (in French). Apr 2013:  by G. Chaliand & M. Jan in Towards A New World Order (Seuil, 11 Apr 2013) (in French). Apr 2013:  at a conference on political-religious militantism in Arab countries (Grenoble, France, Librairie Antigone, 5 Apr 2013) (in French). Mar 2013:  about the Great Divergence between the West and the Rest by G.Arnould (in French). Feb 2013:  by Kostas Mavrakis about the religious hypothesis ("Catholica" journal, nr 118, 21 Feb 2013) (in French). Jul 2012: by G. Strohmaier, of Free Univ Berlin, in Juergen Renn's The Globalization of knowledge in history (in English). May 2012: by Clint Ballinger, in an paper reassessing the role of mercantilism in the rise of the West (in English). May 2012:  in Why was modern science developped in the West? a paper by Khoa Hoc, on Xaluan.com website, in Vietnam (in Vietnamese). May 2012:  by French social scientist B.Wilfert-Portal in "A Transnational History of Europe" while defining the outer limits of Europe (in French). Apr 2012: by Noel Cox, in his book Constitutional Paradigms and the Stability of States Ashgate, April 2012 (in English). Apr 2012:  on the French website "Lieux Communs" about the illusions of travelling to Mars (in French). Apr 2012:  in "FuturOuest" in Babel is back, a paper by J.-J. Beinex (in French). Jan 2012:  in a paper about the history of European universities by prof J.-L. De Meulemeester of Brussels, Belgium (in French). Dec 2011:  about the cultural hypothesis of the rise of the West, on the French website "Lieux Communs" (in French). Nov 2011: by history prof Irad Malkin in his book A Small Greek World: Networks in the Ancient Mediterranean (in English). Jul 2011:  by J.-S. Mongrenier of Thomas More Institute about the coming alliance between London, Paris and Berlin (in French). Jun 2011:  on the French pedagogical and syndical magazine website L'Ecole Emancipée (in French). May 2011:  by P.Deprédurand in the book L'Union Européenne et la mer, in favor of a naval power policy for the European Union (in French). Feb 2011:  by F. Ferretti in his PhD "The West in Reclus' work" defended on 14Feb2011 (p.313-314) (in French). Feb 2011:  by P. Hoffman in a paper about the causes for European advance in gunpowder in the XVIIIth century (in English). Jan 2011:  by prof Etienne Klein in an interview to French economic newspaper La Tribune (in French). Jan 2011:  by prof Peter Demant of University of Sao Paolo, Brazil, in his workshop on The causes for Western Leadership in the world (in Portuguese). Oct 2010:  in studying the reasons for leadership changes among leading capitalist nations, by American physicist David LePoire (in English). Oct 2010:  by C.Réveillard in a paper on the future of US power in "Géostratégiques" (in French). Aug 2010:  by the French Ministry of Education, a recommendation for history teachers (in French). Aug 2010:  by Antoine Beyer in a lecture at Paris-Sorbonne University about the economic history of the Rhine river region (in French). Jun 2010:  by teacher J.-L. Lefevre on European identity in an essay published by AEDE (in French). Jun 2010:  by P.A. Giraud in his master thesis on Aquitaine's rival groups of open source code developpers (in French). Jun 2010:  by P. Hoffman in "The Economic History Review" about the European military revolution of 1500-1700 (in English). May 2010:  in Through the Mirrors of Science, a collective book on knowledge-based society, by Cinzia Rizza (in English). May 2010:  by previous prof of Univ Paris M. Letellier, in a history book review on "Mondes Francophones" (in French). Dec 2009:  during debate Science and Soulish Ontology, at Ecole normale supérieure of Paris, with physicist Etienne Klein (in French). Dec 2009: by catholic priest V.Toccoli in his 150p-essay on globalization (in French). Nov 2009: by C. Paludan-Müller in the Council of Europe's book Heritage and Beyond (in English). Nov 2009:  on the webiste of the Greek vacation center Velanidia, in the southernmost tip of Greece (in French). Sep 2009:  A mention at an Astrophysics Conference in Barcelona by physicist J.Schneider (in English). Aug 2009: in Global Economic History: A Survey, by Vienna Univ prof P.Vries (in English). Jul 2009:  by F. Ferretti of Bologna Univ in a paper about the history of the thalassographic hypothesis (in Italian). Apr 2009:  A recommendation by prof. Jérôme Dunlop in his book Les 100 Mots de la Géographie (in French). Mar 2009:  In "Le Débat", by prof. Olivier Pétré-Grenouilleau (in French). Feb 2009:  by prof. Iris Borowy in her workshop "The Rise of Europe" at Univ of Rostock, Germany (in German). Dec 2008: : by prof. Guillaume Arnould in Lille in his pre-university preparatory courses (in French). Dec 2008: by Jorge Camacho in the book "An Unlikely Alliance, Thinking Environments with Deleuze/Guattari", by B. Herzogenrath et al (in English). Nov 2008: in a thesis about the Hegelian analysis of the state, applied to Europe and Africa, at Univ of Paris-East. (in French). Oct 2008: in Economie Européenne, l'influence des religions by Bruno Colmant, on the religious hypothesis (in French). Oct 2008: by prof. Serge Larivée of Montreal Univ in Le Quotient Intellectuel (in French). Sep 2008: a quote in on-line article "Idei in Dialog" by H.-R. Patapievici (in Rumanian). May 2008: in "Initial conditions as exogenous factors in spatial explanations" in Clint Ballinger's geography doctoral thesis at Univ of Cambridge, UK (in English). Mar 2008?: A quote in L'Agenda de la pensée contemporaine by the "Cercle Condorcet de Paris" (in French). Feb 2008: a quote on F. Bracke's website Knack.be (in Dutch). Jan 2008?: in an article about Unifying European Law from Univ. of Kent (in English) Dec 2007: in Canadian literature magazine "Nuit Blanche" (in French). Nov 2007: in the on-line book by Michel Cuvillon: "Homologies historiques" (in French). Oct 2007: a quote in French magazine "Enjeux Les Echos" (in French). Aug 2007: in the Canadian magazine "Le Devoir" while listing new 2007 political books (in French). Aug 2007: in an article on "Fenêtre Europe" about the European aircraft carrier fleets (in French). Jul 2007: in the bibliography of a feature article by literature magazine "Sciences Humaines" (in French). Dec 2006: a quote by Jared Diamond, on a Russian website dedicated to Guns, Germs and Steel (in English). Oct 2006: in an on-line Paper about the Western Miracle by P. Hoffman (in English). Dec 2005: at a Meeting about international law about the value of states system (in French). Nov 2004: in an article about economic development in "Alternatives Economiques" (in French). Jul 2004: in a paper in Eurojournal about the geographical limits of Europe (in English). May 2004: about the ending of space race, in the book by G. Csurgai et al Quelles perspectives géopolitiques pour l'Europe? (in French). Feb 2004: at a conference about interculturalism (in English). Dec 2003: an article by Pierre Gallois in Géopolitique, no84, p16-26 (in French). May 2003: on Le Café Pédagogique, a French website for teachers (in French). Jun 2002: in a paper by Brian Davis on the role of astronomy in the history of science (in English). Jun 2002: in a French lecture about the international history of law (in French). Mar 2002: in an article about "Comparative History of Science", by Lewis Pyenson (in English). Mar 2002: in the bibliography used by Info-Point Europe for the Grundtvig Projet (in French). Mar 2002: by Leyden Univ prof Peer Vries on the role of states in the rise of the West (in English). Aug 2001: Several mentions in prof. Pierre-Cyrille Hautcoeur's lecture about world economic history (in French). Jul 2000: A quote by Jean Bélanger, a professor of psychology history in Montreal (in French). Jul 2000: A quote by a history professor in Argentina (in Spanish). Jul 2000: A mention by former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (in French). May 2000: at a law seminar in Toulouse, France (in French). Jun 1999: in a paper about the cultural hypothesis, by prof. Peer Vries in the Netherlands (in English). Nov 1998: An extract, as on-line reference for French high-school students (in French). Mar 1998: a mention by French historian Emmanuel Leroy-Ladurie (in French). Jan 1998: a reference in "Nature", by Jared Diamond (in English). Dec 1997: in a review by Peer Vries of David Landes' Clocks, Culture and Comparative Costs (in English). Nov 1997: a mention in the French economy magazine L'Expansion (in French).

L'Europe et la Science (Europe and Science),
80p-book briefly summarizing the rich states system theory, published in January 1999.

Quotes:

Jun 2007: book available at the library of the French embassy in Austria (in French). Jul 2004: on Oboulo.com (in French). Jul 2000: My two books quoted at the Italian Senate (in Italian).

La Faillite Coupable des Retraites (The Self-Destroying Pension Systems)
(or The Self-Imposed Failure Of Retirement Systems)
170p-book about the real causes of the demographic collapse observed in developped countries, published in January 2004.

Summary:	1 page (in English)
My Articles:	Nov 2010: in Univ of Lausanne, Switerland's "Le Bulletin HEC" a 2-page article (in French).
Reviews:	Oct 2014: in a PhD thesis by A. Baidane at Casablanca, Morocco Univ on the Moroccan retirement system (in French). Jan 2013: in an paper on inter-generational solidarity in aging societies by F. Loriaux at Univ of Louvain, Belgium (in French). Feb 2011: at an auction sale on EBay a very good account by a seller (in French). Nov 2006: a detailed reference in a paper on inter-generational support by M. Loriaux (in French). Jun 2006: a long review by M. Loriaux in the collective book "Demography, Analysis and Synthesis" (in French). Nov 2004: a review in Lettre mensuelle socio-économique du CCE, Bruxelles (in French). Jul 2004: a short review in "CHSS Sécurité Sociale" (3/2004), p.196 (in French). Jul 2004: a short review in "Le Vif/L'Express" (Belgium), 09Jul2004, p.40, (in French). Apr 2004: an interview in "Le Soir" (Brussels), 13Apr2004 (in French). Apr 2004: a review in "La Tribune" (Nice), 09Apr04 (in French).
Quotes:	Jul 2017: by prof. Axel Gosseries, in Environmental Rights, a book directed by Steve Vanderheiden, Routledge, 574p, 5 July 2017. Dec 2012: by prof. Jacques Bichot in his paper "The true pension system problem" (in French). May 2008: by prof. Luc Legoux in the collective book "Concilier bien-être des migrants et intérêt collectif" (in French). Feb 2006: a quote in a paper on intra- and inter-generational debts by A. Gosseries (in French). Jun 2005: a quote by Jacques Bichot in the Godet-Sullerot report "La Famille, une affaire publique" (in French). Mar 2005: a quote in a paper on inter-generational justice by A. Gosseries (in English). Sep 2004: in "Population et Avenir" (in French). Jun 2004: conference at the Conseil Central de l'Economie in Brussels, Belgium (in French).

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Created: Aug 2000 – Last modified: 02 Jul 2024