Product Description

From earliest human society to the Holy Roman Empire, from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, from the Industrial Revolution to the end of the millennium, Chris Harman provides a brilliant and comprehensive history of the planet.Eschewing the standard histories of "Great Men," of dates and kings, Harman offers a groundbreaking counter-history, a breathtaking sweep across the centuries in the tradition of "history from below." In a fiery narrative, he shows how ordinary men and women were involved in creating and changing society and how conflict between classes was often at the core of these changes.While many pundits see the victory of capitalism as now safely secured, Harman explains the rise and fall of societies and civilizations throughout the ages and demonstrates that history never ends. This magisterial study is essential reading for anyone interested in how society has changed and developed and the possibilities for further radical change in the new millennium

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21032 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 760 pages

Review
"The left... has few accounts which convey as well as this book does the broad sweep of human history." Robin Blackburn"

About the Author
CHRIS HARMAN is the editor of International Socialism. He is the author of numerous books including Class Struggles in Eastern Europe, 1945-1983, The Fire Last Time: 1968 and After and The Lost Revolution: Germany 1918-1923.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic
Conventional history tells us the 20th Century's most significant events were World War I, World War II and perhaps the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Francis Fukuyama famously suggested liberal democracy within global capitalism eventually triumphed. A people's history takes a refreshingly different and more intelligent approach. Popular movements and the ideas behind them (which are usually overlooked) like the Second Spanish Republic in the 1930s, Hungary in 1956 and Czechoslovakia 1968 are given the attention they deserve. This book covers not just the 20th Century but the whole of human history (with a brief chronology at the start of every part) and is one of the best history books I have ever read. It should be compulsory reading for history students, but also an inspiration for everyone to take decisions for themselves instead of leaving power in the hands of the few.

The way history should be taught
I found that this book was a lucid and objective account of history, which puts the pieces of the jigsaw together and in the right context. Parents should ensure that their children read this book after reading it themselves.

students review
The book was in good condition, arrived promptly and looked exactly the same as was shown before purchasing it.