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

by J. M. Roberts (Author) "Until quite recent times, peoples in different parts of the world looked at, thought about and organized the past in many different ways, and many..." (more)
Key Phrases: United States, Great Britain, Cold War (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
J.M. Roberts's monumental Penguin History of the World became a publishing phenomenon and sold in the hundreds of thousands. Now he has produced an equally brilliant new book, focusing solely on our own troubled and dramatic century, and it has all the breathtaking sweep and confident judgment of his previous work. Most important, Roberts takes a truly international view of things. The 20th century, he argues, is marked as much as anything by the decline of Europe as the world's sole arbiter and the emergence of today's cosmopolitan, global civilization, born of decolonization, the resurgence of Islam, and the vibrant, self-assured new nations of Asia and Latin America. He also examines the other two major trends of our time: the social and economic empowerment of women and the extraordinary quadrupling of the world's population, most of it in Third World countries. A challenging and exacting read, Twentieth Century is destined to be a classic. --Christopher Hart, Amazon.co.uk

From Publishers Weekly
Joining the many eminent historians who have tried to summarize the 20th century, Roberts (A History of Europe, etc.) takes as his framework the compelling argument that "in many ways, the world... was centered on Europe when the twentieth century began" and "much of that century's story is of how and why that ceased to be true before it ended." It's a good argument, and it distinguishes Roberts's history from those of Martin Gilbert (A History of the Twentieth Century, 1952-1999, Forecasts, Oct. 25), who takes a strict chronological approach, and Clive Ponting (The Twentieth Century: A World History, Forecasts, Feb. 1), who takes a more multithemed tack. With broad strokes, Roberts traces the political and economic events that led to the demise of Europe's empires and the continent's descent into two world wars, while also tracking the vicissitudes of democracy and communism throughout the world during the Cold War. He scrutinizes the development of the U.S.S.R. and the Asian powers, China and Japan in particular, but the U.S. generally gets short shrift, even during the second half of the century. Too frequently, Roberts appears frustrated by being forced to generalize, and he unnecessarily apologizes for having to do so (notably in his discussions of fascism and modernism). The greatest casualty of the book's scope is character. This is a book of trends, not people. The century's geopolitical rainmakers--FDR, Hitler, Mao, etc.--are present, but they exist on an epic rather than a personal scale. Fortunately, at any level of detail, the 20th century is a fascinating saga, and Roberts brings wit as well as a gift for summary to the task.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 905 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (December 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670884561
• ISBN-13: 978-0670884568
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.4 x 2.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,080,418 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You're in good hands with Roberts, March 23, 2001

By	"michaeleve" (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

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 that ceased to be true". One of the indicators of a true Eurocentric perspective is the emphasis placed on the role of the 'Great War'. Roberts gives it short shrift - 30 pages, bursting the bubble of that particular world view.

The book takes a truly international view, with historical strands from the periphery being explained, and woven together into larger themes. In the event that an international perspective is mistaken for globalization, Westernization or even Americanization - as in Francis Fukuyama's post Cold War victory of liberal democracy - think again. The Cold War serves as the half-way marker for Robert's history but that's about it's only significance, and although globalization is mentioned, he is not convinced about the effectiveness of international institutions. As for the idea of civilizational and cultural influences usurping the role of nation states; he's ready with his pins for anyone daring to float those balloons.

Refreshingly opinionated, but very balanced; well written and very educational. A thoroughly enjoyable history of our century.

19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Save your time, February 19, 2000

By	Christopher C. Cole (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews

J. M. Roberts' Twentieth Century was a major disappointment. I have loved his other books, but this one seems to have been put together in haste, and the results are poor. Viking should be ashamed at the terrible printing job; almost every page, of my copy, has printing problems that look to be lack of ink. This interferes with reading- hardly what you would expect in a book in this price range. The index of this book is appallingly poor and inaccurate. Roberts gets the second half of the 20th century wrong. For example Apollo XI landed two astronauts on the moon not three (Mike Collins orbited the moon while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed.) Harry Truman's name is Harry S Truman- not Harry F. Truman. His one and half pages on the Internet are so bad they hurt. In summary this is a collection of repetitive vignettes, almost exclusively focused on the political history of the century. Save your time and read anything by William Manchester, Scott Ambrose, or David McCullough, or even read Roberts' History of Europe, but pass on this poorly done tome.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good for a big book, October 29, 2001

By	M. Mcfarland - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Twentieth Century: The History of the World, 1901 to 2000 (Paperback)

Robert's latest epic is a largely Euro-centric review of world events during the twentieth century. Overall it is enjoyable, comprehensive and easy to get through. It is deliberately Euro-centric since the century began with Europe as the central power and ended with Europe closing ranks to form an important political and economic zone that is probably larger than the sum of its individual parts.

Much of the book deals with Europe's influence on the world - either as a colonial power expanding its empires or as an impoverished post-war debtor disposing off its overseas assets. The only other nations which receive half-decent coverage are the United States, Russia, Japan and China.

I think the strength of Robert's book is his enviable grasp of the big picture. The scope of this work is beyond the vast majority of popular writers. I think the best individual sections are those covering the years and events leading up to WW1 and those which deal with Japan prior to WW2. Very few generalist readers will be fully up to speed on the effects of Japan's defeat of imperial Russia in 1906 and the long-term implications of its invasion of Post-Revolutionary China. Roberts does a fine job on both counts.

The book's weakness are three fold. One, this is almost entirely a social and political history. Economics gets little attention, even though it has played a central role in world affairs since 1900. Just imagine writing a history which says little on international monetary crises, the Great Depression, oil crises and the staggering improvement in global living standards since 1900. Roberts does cover these areas, but they read almost like add-ons. Two, his coverage of the Middle East is rather perfunctory. Details of France and Britain's departure are terse and the reasons for the Ottoman collapse are a bit hazy. So too are the influences of the UN and the US in post colonial times. Third, his style of writing comes from my father's era. Some of his sentences seem to go on for ever, although this is more of an editing issue than a criticism of the author.

Overall though, Roberts has put together a fine book on the past 100 years. The disappointments are more than made up for in its analysis of Europe - which is truly first class. Four Stars.