Collins History of the World in the Twentieth Century - Softcover

Grenville, J. A. S.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0002559234 ISBN 13: 9780002559232

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1998

Synopsis

A new and fully updated trade paperback of the acclaimed first ever one-volume global history of the twentieth century.

The twentieth century has been one of vast and sweeping global change, of communism and fascism, of debt and prosperity, of the United Nations and nationalistic fervour, of mass demonstrations and individual defiance; and also of the aircraft and the submarine, of the conveyor belt and the computer, of miracle cures and new diseases, and of radio and television.

To make sense of this, truly global history is required. Grenville not only ranges across the world, painting sharp portraits of the great events and the key personalities, but also stresses the underlying developments in technology that provide the background against which all individuals, movements, nations and ideologies have risen and fallen. He focuses on the beliefs and activities of ordinary men and women and how history changed their lives. For the century that has seen man’s inhumanity to man reach a peak is also one of individual triumph, whether in Mandela’s South Africa, Martin Luther King’s America or in the air raid shelters of Sarajevo.

Now brought fully up-to-date to include recent events in Bosnia, the Middle East and Hong Kong, The Collins History of the World in the Twentieth Century is THE essential reference book for the new millennium.

About this title

Review:

‘Straightforward and accessible, illustrated with 275 of the most startling news photographs of the century, it makes a very useful reference book for anyone remotely interested in the world as we know it.’
Sharon Davey, Today

‘Gripping reading, good pictures and maps – excellent.’
George Fitch, Sunday Telegraph

From the Back Cover:

Profusely illustrated with 275 of the finest news photographs taken this century.

Balanced coverage of Europe, Asia, Africa, the Americas and Australasia.

Accurate, uncomplicated maps clearly provide the geographical context to events.

The narrative is usefully subdivided, so that the history of each different region and even of an individual country can be read easily on its own.

Written in an accessible unpretentious manner.

Ideal to read straight through, to dip into, to use as a reference work, and to return to again and again.

The twentieth century is the century of war and revolution, of communism and fascism, of dept and prosperity, of the United Nations and nationalistic fervour, of decolonization and new dreams of empire, of mass demonstrations and individual defiance.
It is also the century of the aircraft and the submarine, of space exploration and overcrowded shantytowns, of consumer culture and sub-Saharan famine, of the conveyor belt and the computer, of miracle cures and new diseases, and of radio and television.

But, above all, it is the global century. Never before in human history have so many men and women occupied our planet, nor moved around it with such ease. Never have so many been killed by their fellow men for the sake of nations and leaders more powerful than any in history. Never has the fate of all the peoples of the world been so inextricably entwined.

To make sense of the last hundred years, we require truly global history on a grand scale. In this, the first book to treat of the 'whole' planet's history from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day, Professor John Grenville ranges across all the globe, drawing on inexhaustible reserves of energy and knowledge. He paints sharp, clear portraits of the great events and key personalities. But he is also careful to stress the underlying developments in health, transport, industry, warfare, finance and communication that have provided the background against which all individuals, movements, nations and ideologies have had their rise and fall.

Professor Grenville focuses on the beliefs and activities of ordinary men and women, and on how history changes their lives. The twentieth century has seen individual human beings obliterated by indiscriminate terrorism, by state-sponsored massacres, and by systematic annihilation in the extermination camps and killing fields; while it has also seen the individual triumphant under those same conditions, 'and' in Tiananmen Square, in Eastern Europe in 1989, in Gandhi's India, in Martin Luther King's America, in Mandela's South Africa, even in the bomb shelters of Sarajevo... Professor Grenville celebrates individuals in all these places and more, and shows that men and women have made and can make a difference in shaping the course of the history of the world.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1998
• ISBN 10: 0002559234
• ISBN 13: 9780002559232
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 972