Customer Reviews

A History of the Modern World (9th Edition)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It is difficult to add to what reviewers have already provided. I used this text when I was a classroom AP teacher for a number of reasons. Among those reasons was that while most K-12 textbooks are the product of a committee, (committee- a terrestrial life form having at least six legs and no brain.) this book is largely the work of the late Dr. Robert Roswell Palmer. It was written as if the author felt that the history of Modern Europe was not a collection of chapters but rather a story, a narrative to be read the way one reads a novel. There is a continuity to the writing and an elegance of prose that can only be achieved by a text like this. Dr. Palmer was a wonderful historian and a marvellously accessable teacher who took the time to answer letters personally on his old manual typewriter. His passing is lamented.

A History of the Modern World is an informative, all-encompassing compendium on European history. I was able to attain a 5 on the AP European History exam independent of teaching instruction and based on this book alone. And yet, even if I hadn't reaped an academic reward from this book, the experience of reading it carries a reward in of itself, for I genuinely feel as though this book changed my perspective on society. As the narrative of European history progresses, from the Renaissance to recent European events, Palmer's eloquent and informative prose allowed me to interpret patterns in social structure, politics, and economics that, I feel, give me a greater perspective on modern society. In that sense, A History of the Modern World is a book that holds great gratification for serious and committed readers- in or outside the classroom.

I bought this book because for a while now I have been reading up on world history. Also, many of the customer reviews for the book seemed extremely positive. I can now say that this book was as good as the reviews and as good or better than any other such books that I have read.

When considering single (or, in this case, double) volumes that cover such a massive topic area, two complaints commonly crop up. The first is usually that such a work is too dense or impenetrable for casual history-enthusiasts. Normally, I argue that this can only be expected; but in this case I think I can say that the book shouldn't be too much of a problem for most people, even if they are fairly new to reading up on history. Also, with some focus on the lighter (or more cultured) aspects of history - such as the development of European art, etc - I found there to be plenty of breathing space between paragraphs that were perhaps more challenging.

The second complaint usually has it that one or two volumes surely cannot boast of being a 'history of the WHOLE world'. Again, I normally counter this by saying that of course this cannot be expected either. Naturally, the full history of the whole world cannot be condensed into merely a few thousand pages. However, in the case of "A History of the 'Modern' World", this argument is almost redundant. The book does not promise to review every culture and history that has been; it promises to consider the 'modern world' and discuss where that came from. i.e., if a culture no longer exists and had little effect on the world, then it is not really for the book to consider. Put another way, the emphasis is on the cultures and civilisations of yesterday and how they all came together and influenced each other to form the cultures and civilisations of today. Given that the thesis of this book is therefore more specific than is often assumed, I felt that everything was covered exceptionally well.

So, in brief, this book is neither too dense or too brief. Further, I found it to be a highly compulsive read that kept me turning the pages at home, on the bus, on the train, and at various breaks during my working day. The material was fascinating and fairly well balanced and I believe that it put reasonably fair emphasis on most of the cultures of the world relative to their size and influence, etc. I also found it to compliment nicely all other books I've read on the subject, and its maps and graphs did a lot to help me process the information and gain a good understanding. Most importantly, though, is that it was just plain fun and enjoyable. I recommend this book very highly.

As a history major, this book has presented itself several times in my education. It has always been a welcome reading assignment because the explainations and titles make things easy to look up and understand.
Must have this book!

This book puts all other history books to shame. I used it as the primary source textbook for my AP European History class, and it was great. It is logically organized (not like many other textbooks nowadays, which seem to be organized in a completely random, non-chronological, and confusing fashion), and, yes, easy and interesting to read. Palmer clearly explains not just the events but also the many poltical, social, and economic realities that led to those events. Seriously, read Palmer well and you're guaranteed a 5 on the AP Euro test.

I "had" (not that I disliked the task) to read this book in high school for AP History. I hated history classes until I read this book. Now, 8 years later, I am adding this book to my wishlist and hope to purchase it soon. Enough said? This book is well worth the price.

This book tell the glorious tale from the middle ages through to the present. R.R. Palmer has a sparkling sence of not only these years but a true understanding and gift with the english languague. Palmer's style though it may unorigional at times takes a new approach to the history of a modern world and the reprocussions that this so called modern world is to face. With Palmers true optimism for man always pertinent A HISTORY OF THE MODERN WORLD is truly a glorious read whether for pleasure or as an assignment

This book is a little more confusing and less well laid out than The American Pageant--the counterpart AP US History de facto standard to this AP Modern Euro text-and is certainly not witty, clever, or hilarious as the Pageant can be at times. A History of the Modern World is a serious textbook for serious students of Modern European History, and does not suffer from the wishy-washy non-opinionated stances more recent textbooks demonstrate.

I have to say that when I started reading this for my AP European History class, I was very overwhelmed. However, I cannot imagine trying to use any other book. The prose is incredibly difficult to understand sometimes, but I found this helpful, as often historical documents require so much more concentration for understanding. As other have said, this book is not for the faint of heart; it will be a challenge, regardless of the reader's abilities, but 60 percent of my ability to achieve a Five (highest possible score) on the AP exam was due to this book (the other 40, of course being from one absolutely fantastic teacher).

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in history or has a class they need the book for. It provides any information you need, and sometimes information you don't really NEED, but it's interesting the same. It can be a little hard to read at times, and the index isn't very helpful most of the time, but it does what it tells you it will, teaches you about history.