Product Description

In this collection of illuminating, incisive and thought-provoking essays, Eric Hobsbawm examines every aspect of the issues that have inspired the greatest debate - not only among politicians, academics and commentators but among all of us - in recent years: that is, the effects of globalisation, the plight of democracy and the threat of terrorism. As we are only too aware, all of these have the power to affect our daily lives, from the state of our economies to the fear of murderous bomb attacks in our cities. Hobsbawm discusses war and peace in our lifetime, problems of public order, anarchy and terrorism, nationalism and the changing nature of the nation-state, and the future prospects for democracy, setting out the historical background and the lessons it can offer us. Above all, he turns his piercing gaze to the Middle East and Western imperialism. Engaging, erudite and demonstrating his characteristically firm grasp of the facts and statistics, Hobsbawm's essays are indispensable to our understanding of the world we live in.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #56126 in Books
• Published on: 2008-04-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

Review
** 'Hobsbawm is as intellectually lively and politically provocative as ever in these lectures on the "barbarisation" of society through technology, economic activity and globalisation' THE TIMES ** 'This collection of recent essays gives a good sense of the vigour and passion with which this famous intellectual surveys the contemporary world' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH ** 'Britain's greatest living left-wing historian ... GLOBALISATION, DEMOCRACY AND TERRORISM picks up where the bestselling AGE OF EXTREMES and THE NEW CENTURY left off' THE SCOTSMAN ** 'Hobsbawm is one of the leading intellectual authors of the concepts and language in which all of us now discuss our situation. He sketches here with great lucidity and his usual effortless compression the new landscape of the 21st century' GUARDIAN ** 'Eric Hobsbawm rounds off his splendid histories of the 19th and 20th centuries with a look at the factors that will shape the 21st ... This book contains many valuable insights, presented in a clear and concrete fashion; it deserves to be widely read' SOCIALIST REVIEW ** 'The lasting impression of these speeches is of a fiercely unsentimental historian who has not stopped speaking out against Western imperialism' METRO

Sunday Telegraph
'Gives a good sense of the vigour and passion with which this famous intellectual surveys the contemporary world'

Guardian
'Sketches here with great lucidity and his usual effortless compression the new landscape of the 21st century'

Customer Reviews

Eric Hobsbawm Globalisation Democracy and Terrorism
Hobsbawm writes lucidly about the American Empire; how it is inextricably linked to globalisation and of course the backlash of terrorism. The book undermines the (neo)- liberal belief that democracies and free markets go hand on hand, indeed one of its contentions is that Western democracy are not working and haven't done for some time, despite being the paradigm of the free market system. The book is, if I remember rightly, split into different speeches and essays that were written over the last few years and complied over the last few years so is quite readable. Saying that it would be of help to an IR or political philosophy student as well.

I could really do with some more...
Eric Hobsbawm is a really good writer - clear, calm and with gentle ironic overtones.

The essays in this book are collected from a variety of sources - most have been given as talks to various gatherings. They've been edited to help make them 'hang together' better in a book, but this doesn't altogether work.

Some of the essays are great; insightful, erudite and engaging. Some are far too short - cut off just as they start to get interesting. Overall, I wanted more. But some, although providing really interesting analyses, finally fail because, as Hobsbawm admits, he simply cannot understand the (quote) 'crazies' currently occupying the White House. Hobsbawm sees the ebb and flow of history, the changing currents, the rise and fall of empires and, to him, the current US position is simply nuts, showing no historical/geopolitical awareness at all - and so he gives up. He simply shrugs and stops. And that is the most frustrating aspect of this book.

In the end, I was left wanting more. It is a short book anyway. I'm now reading Naomi Klein's new book. It is interesting to come from Hobsbawm's rather Olympian stance to Klein's detailed and committed polemic. They work well together.

Good Introduction to Hobsbawm
There is nothing wrong with a historian cashing in on a remarkable career and a powerful brand with a collection of lectures - provided he is up front and honest about it. In his introduction Hobsbawm makes it clear that he is presenting the (updated) texts from lectures and there may therefore be some overlap and repetition. When dipped into, as you would sit in on an hour's lecture, the book therefore provides an excellent introduction to some of Hobsbawm's views on the contemporary world.

Some of the chapters are better than others but there is no escaping his central message on American hegemony and we are treated to morsels of some of his more controversial thoughts on democracy. It is true that to be truly appreciated both of these need greater explanation, but there are 40 year's of his writing to choose from if you want to learn more.