Product Description

This dazzling overview of a turbulent century explores both dramatic events and underlying trends. Despite a terrible two-stage 'European civil war' and the traumatic rise and fall of communism, wealth has increased dramatically alongside a four-fold leap in population, women's lives have been transformed, America has assumed undisputed political and cultural leadership. The Penguin History of the Twentieth Century is powerful, international and definitive.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #88824 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-29
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 928 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
J M Roberts' monumental Penguin History of the World became a publishing phenomenon and sold in its hundreds of thousands. Now he has produced an equally brilliant new work, focusing solely on our own troubled and dramatic century, and it has all the breathtaking sweep and confident judgment of his previous work. Most importantly, Roberts takes a truly international view of things. The 20th century, he argues, is marked as much as anything by the decline of Europe as the world's sole arbiter and the emergence of today's cosmopolitan, global civilisation, born of decolonization, the resurgence of Islam and the vibrant, self-assured new nations of Asia and Latin America. He also examines the other two major trends of our time: the social and economic empowerment of women and the extraordinary quadrupling of the world's population, most of it in Third World countries. A challenging and exacting read.--Christopher Hart

About the Author
J M Roberts is the author of THE PENGUIN HISTORY OF THE WORLD and was historical adviser to the BBC television series PEOPLE'S CENTURY.

Customer Reviews

Expand your outlook
This book is simply astonishing, so wide is it's scope and so thought-provoking it's effect. Of course, some events are skated over or summarised and it helps to have a little prior knowledge of some key events, but as an introduction to historical themes and the ebbs and flows of events it is superb.

I have no formal background in history, practically all my knowledge comes from reading boks since I left school, so a book which introduces the reader to "theory" of history, how to approach and think about historical threads was revelatory. The author discusses the historical notion of dividing time into centuries, decades, years in a way which is most appropriate following Millenium-fever, and covers themes leading into the 20th century which lead onto the history as we know it.

At times the book can seem dry, but the danger of putting it to one side is that you may forget the detail of what has gone before.

The author has succeeded in giving an overview of historical processes in the 20th century, treating it in a historical rather than journalistic manner. Having read this book I now approach current events with a totally different mindset. Thinking with a long-term view the recent events of September 11th, Amercan neo-colonialism in Afghanistan, Iraq/Iran and Israel/Palestine, the role of Europe and the development of the Far East makes much more sense.

This book is extremely instructive and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in the workings of the world.

In other words, everyone should read this book.

Top quality information for your average prole
The information is dazzling, at least for someone who has not studied history. Its not restricted to events, but discusses broader themes affecting man's progress such as politics, religion and technological developments. The author's writing style is a pleasure to read, flowing easily, which assists in getting through the 900 pages of densely packed 10 point print. Still, I would have prefered it broken out into smaller, less daunting books, perhaps in hardback. In the interest of understanding the world we live in, this book is invaluable.

Informative but not over-informative!
One of the things I really liked about this book was how it kept a balance between breadth and depth. Geographically and politically neutral, the whole World is given appropriate coverage, rather than just focusing on Europe and the United States, which is so often the case. I have started reading many history books where I have become too bogged down in detail and feeling like I have to 'force' myself to continue reading, but this book is quite light-hearted but still informative. Quite easy to read before bed!