Product Description

Eric Hobsbawm traces with brilliant anlytical clarity the transformation brought about in evry sphere of European life by the Dual revolution - the 1789 French revolution and the Industrial Revolution that originated in Britain. This enthralling and original account highlights the significant sixty years when industrial capitalism established itself in Western Europe and when Europe established the domination over the rest of the world it was to hold for half a century.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #18985 in Books
• Published on: 1988-01-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 160 pages

Review
'The work is challenging, learned, brilliant in its analytical power, wide-ranging in its lucid exposition of literary, aesthetic and scientific achievments and packed with novel insight.' - ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW 'Brilliant.' - TLS

About the Author
Eric Hobsbawm was born in Alexandria in 1917 and was educated in Vienna, Berlin, London and Cambridge. He is a fellow of the British Academy and currently lectures for the New York School of Social Research.

Customer Reviews

Removes the mask of ignorance
The book is a destined to be timeless classic. Hobsbawm's description of the post revolutionary age is stunning. His systematic deconstruction of those social forces which bought the age to be and developed many of the parameters and foundations of the contmeporary age is truly unique

The book was a stunning and welcome surprise. Having a BA in Politics and International Studies and a MA in International Political Economy, I did not believe I would find a book which could still provide me with a treasure chest of new perceptions that alters the way that I not only perceive the world around me, but my life itself. It must be stressed, as the author does in the introduction, that this book must only be tackled by those with a reasonable knowledge of history. He makes no apology and nor should he, for skipping the descriptive historical approach of many and subjecting you to a wealth of analysis. I have already brought the other books in the series and am eagerly waiting to read these.

My only regret about the book ? I did not find it as a student in my first year. At the time I laughed at the story of Chinese politican who when asked what he thought of the French revolution replied "It is too early to tell". This book makes you understand this reply. Being familiar with history, it is certain I would have burned far less midnight oil had I found the book at that time,for it would have instantly removed my viel of naivety and ignorance. If you want to undergo a similar experience I would recommend the author of what must surely become the great histroical text of its era as your guide.

The must-have book for this era of history
If you have to study the first half of the 19th century, this is the book to have. Hobsbawm writes logically, clearly, and on a wide range of issues, including ones you would not necessarily expect, such as the arts and sciences. As well as being informative, it is an interesting and eye-opening read.

Hobsbawm's left-wing attitudes are clear throughout much of the book, and this puts many historical events in a light you may not have seen them in before. In summary, this is a great book and the start of a great series - Hobsbawm is one of the greatest historians of our time.

revel in the genius and style and of a brilliant mind
Hobsbawm's general history of Europe and its growing influence on the rest of the world starts here. It is a fantastic read, combining great narrative history with incisive analysis, descriptions of mainstream historical movements with the arkane byways of historical eccentrics.

This is the first of Hobsbawm's four brilliant "Age of ..." books, and is a joy to both newcomers to history and those who read little but.

Read this and be amazed that your high school history teacher didn't use this as a text for A level or Higher European History, but preferred to use morphine-in-print texts, thus denying a generation of the pleasures of great literature disguised as history.

Even if you've already read this, buy it again and give yourself a treat.

It's banging, man.