Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"Arnold Joseph Toynbee, CH, FBA (...) was a British historian, philosopher of history, author of numerous books and research professor of international history at the London School of Economics and King's College in the University of London. Toynbee in the 1918–1950 period was a leading specialist on international affairs. He is best known for his 12-volume A Study of History (1934–1961). With his prodigious output of papers, articles, speeches and presentations, and numerous books translated into many languages, Toynbee was a widely read and discussed scholar in the 1940s and 1950s." [Wikipedia] "Many earlier attempts to peer into the future concluded either in a tone of unrestrained optimism, or in gloomy forebodings, or (as in Toynbee’s case) in appeals for spiritual renewal." [Kennedy: Preparing for 21st Century, Kindle Edition, Location 6314]