The Birth of the Modern: World Society, 1815-1830 [Hardcover]

Paul Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1991

From the prizewinning author of Modern Times comes an extraordinary chronicle of the period that laid the foundations of the modern world.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In 1815, on the eve of Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, reactionaryism seemed triumphant everywhere, but by 1830 a decisive shift toward democracy had occurred. In the intervening 15 years, contends Johnson ( Modern Times ), the matrix of the modern world was formed: the U.S. became a global power, Russia expanded rapidly, Britain penetrated Arabia and the Middle East, Latin America threw off Spain's yoke, and an international order which would endure for a century took shape. This marvelously readable, vivid, immensely illuminating 1120-page chronicle of the epoch of Andrew Jackson, Wordsworth, Goya, Faraday, Beethoven and Bolivar is filled with startlingly original, provocative observations. For example, Johnson draws parallels between the destruction of Native Americans in the U.S. and Russia's genocide of Central Asian nomadic peoples. He also argues that Chinese opium addiction was not "a disease transmitted by the British" but the home-grown malady of an archaic society.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Johnson is the author of several wide-ranging historical narratives. His best known is probably Modern Times ( LJ 5/1/83), and his most recent is Intellectuals (HarperCollins, 1988). This literally weighty but lively tome argues for the years 1815-30 as "those during which the matrix of the modern world was formed," citing developments like the rise of democracy and the separation of science from the broader culture. Johnson leaps from country to country, from politics to art to literature to medicine, in a fashion that makes for better browsing than consecutive reading. Not essential for smaller collections, but larger ones will want to continue to acquire the provocative Johnson output. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/91.
- Nancy C. Cridland, Indiana Univ. Libs., Bloomington
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 1095 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins; 1st edition (May 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006016574X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060165741
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #779,997 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Beginning with Modern Times (1985), Paul Johnson's books are acknowledged masterpieces of historical analysis. He is a regular columnist for Forbes and The Spectator, and his work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and many other publications.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars History that reads (almost) like a novel, March 8, 2006

By 

With Favourable Winds - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Birth of the Modern: World Society 1815-1830 (Paperback)

Paul Johnson has written a 1,000-page book about various and sundry aspects of the years 1815-1830, years in which he rightly claims to find the origins of many aspects of the world as we know it today. Johnson's chosen foci are certainly broad: he ranges from events in politics and law to music, science, and even opium use. While almost every page is loaded with fascinating morsels of information that will certainly come in handy when you want to impress people at your next social function, Johnson's roving eye and pen can be disconcerting: he tends to shift topics very quickly and without warning. Also, while the book claims to be about "world society," Johnson spends the largest part of his time talking about British society -- but he's found plenty of ways to range geographically from the "western" United States (like Kentucky) to China and Singapore. Throughout, his prose is generally crisp and pleasant to read.

Overall, Johnson has given us what might be the ultimate in bedtime reading: a vast book that one can pick up, open nearly at random, and learn something interesting about the past but which retains significance today.

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fanfare for the Common Man, February 24, 2002

By 

oldfatslow (Eau Gallie, Florida USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Birth of the Modern: World Society 1815-1830 (Paperback)

Out of the ashes of the French Revolutionary Wars and the era of Napolean, the world reemerged better and stronger than it had ever been. Johnson's history centers on England (probably rightly so), but it seems to touch everywhere else. This is a quirky little book with lots of interesting/fascinating stories. Yet, they are stories that center around a powerful theme. For the first time in history, the ordinary guy could rise to the top based on nothing more than his own guts and initiative. I was continually struck by how many men from Faraday to Dalton to the Stephensons were self-educated. Knowledge, particularly scientific knowledge, was the sports and the entertainment of the day. People flocked to hear lectures and read books that would bore most to tears today. I wish I could instill that drive in my children. Read this, it is a thousand pages of enjoyment.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Leisurely Stroll through a Largely Overlooked Era, May 21, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Birth of the Modern: World Society 1815-1830 (Paperback)

Johnson's intriguing premise is that 1815-1830 were the years when the modern era blossomed, and he does a convincing and commendable job of telling us why this is so. One of the reasons why this fat volume is so enjoyable is that Johnson is in no hurry to tell his story. Unlike so many historians that focus only on the big picture, he delights in giving this era a personality by acquainting us with so many of its personalities, in remarkable detail. His scholarship is astonishing, and his story-telling arresting. Being a Brit, I think, gives him wonderful insight into the European characters whom he describes. Ultimately, his history is about real people--some great, others small, some we admire, others we despise--and that is what makes every page interesting. If you're in no hurry, this book is worth the stroll.