I’m glad you’re finding the lectures worthwhile. If you are interested in connecting what’s happening now to the idea of civilizations’ “life cycles,” you’d probably enjoy Jacques Barzun’s “From Dawn to Decadence”: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0060928832/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0060928832&linkCode=as2&tag=thewesttrad-20
