Twentieth Century: The History of the World, 1901 to 2000

I think the review on the back most aptly describes this book: "The most comprehensive, objective, geographically neutral and yet accessible history of the century yet published in English". Economist, Books of the Year. Leave it to the Economist to say more in one sentence than others could do (including myself) in paragraphs. This book is a very good summary of the century. The author analyzes history while leaving biases out. When he does write about prevailing opinions that are confrontational he will also note those as well. THis book is for people serious about history. It leaves the interest in the history and not in any novelization or attempts to lighten it for entertainment's sake. After finishing this lengthy volume one feels a certain sense of accomplishment only to be humbled by the accomplishment this author must have felt when he finshed it. If you have an interest in the twentieth century and how the events are interelated then this book is for you.

I'm not an historian and English is not my native language, but I found that this book gave me a new and broad understanding of the world we are living in. I feel that if more of our politicians and authorities would have the knowledge this book provides we could be guided in a better way in the difficult years of this first decade of the new century. The book is easy to read,the prose of Mr. Roberts is fluent and any good reader will really enjoy it.

Roberts was one of the best modern writers of history. His "History of the World" has become a classic. He also wrote "A History of Europe" and this "Twentieth Century: The History of the World, 1901 to 2000". Both of these later works appear to have grown out of his "History of the World". That isn't a bad thing. This book is one of the best end of the century reflections on the 20th Century. It is very much written from the viewpoint of a scholar. This is something that turns some folks off, which is fine. But, nonetheless, it is still eminently readable. Roberts has a firm grasp of "The Big Picture". This is the kind of book more people should read. Roberts writer about all areas of the world, from Europe and America, to Russia, China, the Middle East, South America, Africa, etc. In many ways, the 20th century was when, in many ways, the world stopped being Eurocentric. I would buy this book again.

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 30 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

This excellent book covers the entire twentieth century in a flowing and informative discourse with witticisms and anecdotes liberally strewn throughout its engaging length. The book is concise, yet covers material with sufficient depth and a lively manner that makes it an easy read. Those without an extensive knowledge base in history find it informative and accessable, while those (like myself) who are well-versed in the study of the past will find it refreshing and may gain new insights due to J.M. Roberts's extensive personal knowledge in the field. I can't recommend this book enough.