Product Description

The fourth edition of this best-selling coursebook is designed to help college and first year university students. It requires no previous knowledge and covers international relations and major conflicts during the Twentieth Century, as well as the internal affairs of the great powers - USA, Russia/USSR and China. Coverage is brought right up to the present, with sections on September 11th and the war against global terrorism, the war in Iraq, global warming and the AIDS/HIV pandemic.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6859 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-09
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 664 pages

Synopsis
The fourth edition of this best-selling coursebook is designed to help college and first year university students. It requires no previous knowledge and covers international relations and major conflicts during the Twentieth Century, as well as the internal affairs of the great powers - USA, Russia/USSR and China. Coverage is brought right up to the present, with sections on September 11th and the war against global terrorism, the war in Iraq, global warming and the AIDS/HIV pandemic.

About the Author
NORMAN LOWE has had many years' experience of teaching history at all levels in schools and colleges and for twenty years was head of history at Nelson and Colne Tertiary College in Lancashire, UK. He is the author of Mastering Modern British History and Mastering Twentieth-Century Russian History, and is a freelance writer and lecturer.

Customer Reviews

Unscrambles the background to modern world events
Having recently ploughed through a dense 1000 page narrative history of the twentieth century, I had found it hard to see the wood for the trees. I was therefore very pleased to come across this much shorter book which marshalls the key facts much more clearly, with main concepts highlighted for quick reference. Not only does this make the book easy to digest on first reading, but it also greatly aids subsequent review: ideal for exams. How I wish I had been taught history this way at school!

A brilliantly clear and balanced history of the modern world.
I borrowed this 4th edition(2005) from my local library and was so impressed with it that I intend to buy my own copy of this very accessible and thorough account of modern world history.
The chapter 'The new world order and the war against global terrorism' is a brilliantly clear and balanced summary of the reasons for 9/11 and the messy aftermath of the US/UK attack on Iraq - an explanation that's sadly lacking in most of our dumbed-down news media.
Someone once said that "if you don't understand what's going on in the world you must have been reading the papers". If you want to understand the state of the modern world read this marvellous book.

Clear but doesn't oversimplify ...
Can I recommend this book too many times?. I don't think so. In my opinion, Lowe's book is a great way to start studying history, or even to learn more if you have already started.

The reasons for that statement are many. "Mastering Modern World History" is clear but doesn't oversimplify the events it talks about. It isn't long, but it gives you a brief summary of the subjects under study and the motivation to investigate more. Also, I would like to point out that the author includes at the end of each chapter some interesting questions that are eerily similar to those a teacher might ask in an exam. If you are a student, don't panic: take advantage of this opportunity :)

"Mastering Modern World History" has many interesting illustrations, and also quite a few useful maps. This third edition includes relatively new historical events, for example the collapse of communism. All the same, I wish I could have the 4th edition, that unfortunately hasn't been published yet, because many relevant things have happened since 1997 and I would like to read about them here. That is the only reason I give this book 4 stars instead of 5.

To sum up, I think this is a wonderful book, and as such a great gift to yourself and others. Lowe manages to write clearly about subjects that are not simple, and surprisingly enough for those who aren't fond of history books, he also happens to write quite well. What else can I say?. Strongly recommended!.

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