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Twentieth Century: The History of the World, 1901 to 2000 |
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You Are Here: Home > History Books > Hockey History > Item 347
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Twentieth Century: The History of the World, 1901 to 2000
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by J. M. Roberts
Sales Rank: 963531
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$0.50
At Amazon
on 9-17-2008.
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Features
Cover Type: Paperback with 928 pages
Published by: Penguin Non-Classics December 5, 2000
Written in: English
ISBN 10 Number: 0140296565
ISBN 13 Number: 978-0140296563
Book Dimensions:
8 x 5.5 x 1.9 inches
Weighs: 1.8 pounds
Reader Reviews
This review is from: Twentieth Century: The History of the World, 1901 to 2000 (Hardcover)
From the first lines of the opening page of 'Twentieth Century' Roberts proceeds to put 100 years into context. Definitions, historiography, illusions, and myths are all discussed. Even our use of the term 'century' is shown to be an arbitrary concept useful for descriptive purposes only. It is very obvious that this is a well thought out and carefully crafted history and like Allstate's advertisement which implies that we are in the hands of insurance experts, this book makes it clear we are in the hands of an expert historian. One of the difficulties with writing a world history is the problem of perspective. With such a broad subject, and a lengthy period of time, you have to be selective; you have to take a stand and start somewhere. As Roberts himself says "history varies according to the position from which you view it." There must be an emphasis or a theme. The chapter entitled 'structures' quickly draws our attention to the importance of 'human numbers' such as commerce and demographics. Roberts does not try to say something about everything because, at best, it would mean offering general explanations, which he rigthly says are "generally unhelpful". Perspective is more than an emphasis or starting point; it's also perception. "What must never be lost to sight is the fact that all pasts were once upon a time, presents; all outcomes were once upon a time, peoples futures. History is made by people confronting predicaments [and] we are liable to judge them wrongly unless we try to keep in mind the limits to their own perception of what those predicaments were". Here Roberts has given us a lucid description of the relativism of history. How our ancestors perceived their world at the start of the century is vastly different from the perspective we take today. It is a point Roberts drives home; "we can only begin to approach understanding by recognizing how much they were not like us. Any history of the 20th century must begin in a world deeply unlike our own". This justifies the section on 'the shape of things to come' and explains why nearly one quarter of the book concentrates on the period before 1918. A constant frame of reference against which we view some of the revolutionary changes that took place in our century. Robert's explanation of one of those revolutionary changes; the one of my youth, put me in my place. Like most youth of the sixties, the experience of the decade was, I thought, profound. Not so; "although attention-catching [it] was largely froth, the least profound manifestation of a great change". He's finished with the sixties within thirty pages. To have my youthful existential ruminations so callously dispatched was definitely bubble-bursting. Roberts is not finished pin-pricking. Although the book is justifiably Eurocentric - "in many ways the world actually was centered on Europe when the 20th century began" - he is quick to point out that those days are gone. Appropriately, "much of that century's story is of how and why that ceased to be true". One of the indicators of a true Eurocentric perspective is the emphasis placed on the role of the 'Great War'. Roberts gives it short shrift - thirty pages, bursting the bubble of that particular world view. The book takes a truly international view, with historical strands from the periphery being explained, and woven together into larger themes. In the event that an international perspective is mistaken for globalization, Westernization or even Americanization - as in Francis Fukuyama's post Cold War victory of liberal democracy - think again. The Cold War serves as the half-way marker for Robert's history but that's about it's only significance, and although globalization is mentioned, he is not convinced about the effectiveness of international institutions. As for the idea of civilizational and cultural influences usurping the role of nation states; he's ready with his pins for anyone daring to float those balloons. Refreshingly opinionated, but very balanced; well written and very educational. A thoroughly enjoyable history of our century.
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Twentieth Century: The History of the World, 1901 to 2000
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Updated on 9-17-2008.
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