The Age of Extremes: A History of the World, 1914-1991

Eric Hobsbawm is one of the best historians I have read. I have read his entire series - Age of Revolution, Capital, Empire, and Extremes. Hobsbawm goes much beyond just recouting historical events. He relates them to other disciplines like Literature, Arts, Science (yes, science and technology), architecture, and many more aspects of life. This series starts with the French Revolution and ends with the disintegration of Soviet Union. The vast canvas painted by Hobsbawm is truly insightful. This series is particularly helpful in understanding the birth of nation states, the evolution of democracy, and the traumatic finale in the middle of the last century. Hobsbawm open acceptance of a having a 'point of view' is indeed refreshing. His Marxian approach is helpful in making sense of the events of the last 2.5 centuries. My most important learning from Hobsbawm is that if we do not learn from the past, we will not be able to handle the future. I strongly recommend all four books as required reading for anyone who wishes to understand how we got to this point in History.

Fukuyama claimed that with the fall of the Eastern Block, history was over. Wrong, says Hobsbavn - only an epoch has ended. The short twentieth century, the age dominated by war. Hobsbavn revolutionised history by refusing to adhere to the somewhat artificial restraint of centuries. Instead he has split up the ninetenth and twentieth centuries in four distinct epochs. And does it work! This was his fourth book on the subject, and it created quite a stir when it came out. In retrospect it seems obvious to say that up until 1991 we lived in an age that were stillsuffering from the effects of the first world war. Hobsbawn even claims that the first world war did not really end until 1991. Now we have entered an era which is ruled by other historical processes. Hobsbawn is a socialist, but he does not rub it in, in this book at least. Rather, he, for me at least, comes out as a very clear thinker. He is not stuck in ideology, especially when he praises Ronald Reagan, or the northern European monarchies. His ideas about art during the age of extremes are interesting, but are bound to provoke; are the only operas of note during the twentieth century really just King Ubu and Peter Grimes?

This is a great history of the 20th century, starting with the end of the First World War and ending with the collapse of the Cold War. Hobsbawm's point of view comes from the European leftist tradition, which makes him sympathetic to revolutionary movements around the world. In addition to obvious topics like wars, he covers science, art, and the world economy. He writes clearly, as well. This is one of the best history books I've ever read. It led me to more of Hobsbawm's work, which is just as good.

I recommend this book to everyone who wishes to understand (or at least begin to do so) the 20th century... In my opinion, that is an imperative, because if we don't understand our past, we won't be able to see our present clearly, and we will also be deprived from a good perspective regarding our future. As Hobsbwam says, things "can only be understood as part of a particular historical context". In "The Age of Extremes", Hobsbawm's explains us his idea that the 20th century began in 1914 (with the outbreak of World WarI), and ended in 1991 (with the collapse of the USSR). That is the reason why he calls it "the short century". He divides that "short century" in three parts: an age of catastrophe (from 1914 to the end of World War II), a golden age (1947 - 1973) and the Landslide (1973 - 1991). Hobsbawm not only delves into politics, but also into economics, technology, and art, all with a profound knowledge of the subject and a caustic wit that I find irresistible. Yes, of course that there are a lot of history books regarding the 20th century. As a matter of fact, I've read many of them... But this is still my favorite, because it manages to both interesting and clear, entertaining and useful. Belen Alcat

I come across this book when I am studying to pass the exams to become a diplomat and I realize that it is not only a history book, but a 20th century reference book that covers most of its socio-economic-cultural "événements". In fact it is a veritable treasure-trove for the well-wired world citizen.