Description: The Decline of the West by German historian Oswald Spengler, originally published in German as Der Untergang des Abendlandes (Vols. I and II in resp. 1918 and 1922), became an instant success in Germany after its defeat in World War I.
Brief description: OSWALD SPENGLER (1880-1936) was a German historian and philosopher of history, whose book The Decline of the West became a major contribution to social theory. Spengler strongly influenced other modern thinkers, such as Arnold J. Toynbee, Samuel Huntington, Joseph Campbell, Camille Paglia and Henry Kissinger.