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Paul Johnson

Modern Times Revised Edition: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties (Perennial Classics) Paperback – August 7, 2001

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The classic world history of the events, ideas, and personalities of the twentieth century.

Print length

880 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Harper Perennial Modern Classics
Publication date

August 7, 2001
Dimensions

5.31 x 1.98 x 8 inches
ISBN-10

0060935502
ISBN-13

978-0060935504
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Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Paul Johnson is a historian whose work ranges over the millennia and the whole gamut of human activities. He regularly writes book reviews for several UK magazines and newspapers, such as the Literary Review and The Spectator, and he lectures around the world. He lives in London, England.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Harper Perennial Modern Classics; Revised edition (August 7, 2001)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 880 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0060935502
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0060935504
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.43 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 1.98 x 8 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #102,363 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #71 in American Dramas & Plays
- #367 in Historical European Biographies (Books)
- #379 in Author Biographies

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4.7 473 ratings

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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

4.7 out of 5

473 global ratings

5 star		80%
4 star		13%
3 star		4%
2 star		2%
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Brilliant book on the history of the 20th century

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 7, 2023

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A superb review of world history from the end of the First World War to the end of the Cold War that challenges a lot of conventional thinking. Johnson's book proves beyond any doubt that "the truth is rarely flattering to anyone." The range and depth of this book is breathtaking, but it can be hard to read at times because of the descriptions of the depravity and folly of so many of the people in power during that period of history.

Helpful

dave r

WOnderfully Written and In-Depth; No Wondewr it was a NY Times Book of the Year!

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on March 12, 2023

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This 784 page book reads very well and is an in-depth History of what went on from the End of WWI through the End of the Cold War (in the Early 1990s). This covers most of the leading nations of the World, including the US, the UK, Russia, China, Japan, Germany and pre-WWII Italy. Even the post colonial Emerging World receives a strong focus as the Century proceeds.

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BT Invictus

Unabashedly Ideological

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on May 23, 2013

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While working at a public high school in New Jersey I observed a rather interesting pedagogical practice. It looked a little something like this: a band of students acting as undercover ambassadors of their history class would approach an unsuspecting non-history teacher with a historical or geographical trivia question. If the stunned teacher could not, say, identify a particular world destination on a blank map, or name a particular African dictator responsible for such and such event, the students would then report this failure back to their history class, sneering all the way at the ignorance of that unfortunate teacher, who was then labeled by the history class as being representative of a larger pattern of ignorance within our culture.

I'm not here to debate the merits of this type of assignment (although, someone should point out to the annoyingly arrogant students that the only reason why they know the answer is because their history teacher just talked about it last period...). I simply wish to share that the knowledge that, at any time, these students could be on the prowl struck a chord of fear in my heart. Commanding proper attention and authority as a young, female teacher is hard enough as it is; the last thing I need is to not be able to point out the Republic of Djibouti on a blank map in front of my entire class.

I've always been a bit insecure about my flimsy knowledge of historical and world happenings. The last time I took a proper world history class, I was a sophomore in high school. And, it was taught by the high school football coach, whose favorite technique was to distribute pastel colored worksheets, which we were then told to complete on our own. Needless to say, not a whole lot stuck. I can't blame all my ignorance on Coach Small, though. If I had spent my college summer vacations reading about history instead of playing countless hours of Tropico, I would be a much better person today.

Reading Modern Times by Paul Johnson constituted an attempt to better my historically-challenged self. This is not a people's history, nor does it focus in depth on any one particular person or event. Rather, it's the story of the 20th's century's world leaders, the various ideologies they represented and the bloodshed that resulted when utopian visions inevitably imploded. Johnson seems to be particularly fascinated by the 20th century's unique propensity for producing charismatic revolutionaries, visionaries and messiahs whose often whimsical and ill-conceived decisions tragically influenced the lives of millions of people. The law of unintended consequences is a key theme in this book.

One characteristic of Modern Times that I appreciated is that Johnson doesn't claim he's done the impossible task of presenting the cold facts of history in an objective manner, completely free from bias. Rather, he unabashedly analyzes history, massaging the landscape of the 20th century into a narrative arc, replete with characters, themes and tragedies. His basic premise, which drives his analysis, is that Nietzsche's prediction for the 20th came true, that at the dawn of modern times "the belief in the Christian God would no longer be tenable." The vacuum left behind by God's absence inevitably needed to be filled. Johnson goes on to argue, "Nietzsche rightly perceived that the most likely candidate would be what he called the 'Will to Power,' which offered a more comprehensive and in the end more plausible explanation of human behavior than either Marx or Freud. In place of religious belief there would be secular ideology. Those who had once filled the ranks of the totalitarian clergy would become totalitarian politicians. And, above all, the Will to Power would produce a new kind of messiah, uninhibited by any religious sanctions whatever, and with an unappeasable appetite for controlling mankind. The end of the old order, with an unguided world adrift in a relativistic universe, was a summons to such gangster statesmen to emerge. They were not slow to make their appearance" (48).

The fact that a traditional Judeo-Christian worldview undergirds Johnson's argument might not sit well with some readers who disagree with his presuppositions (namely, that a moral fabric is woven into the universe and that man, despite his best efforts and often good intentions, is inherently weak and easily corruptible, which is why attempts at social engineering are doomed to fail). But to those who are open to Johnson's particular angle, Modern Times will prove to be an informative and enlightening read. If I had to take a multiple choice test on it right now, I would likely score no better than a 9%, and I probably still can't find the Republic of Djibouti on a map. So, you might be wondering why I devoted four months of my life to reading this long, boring book. What I can say is that the impoverished picture of the 20th century that I had in my mind prior reading this book has now been edified and enriched, and most importantly, it gave me a solid foundation onto which I will hopefully build.

85 people found this helpful

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Justin

Excellent Look at Moral Relativity and Failures of Every Utopia in the 20th Century

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 29, 2022

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Every now and then you read a book that changes you. Johnson's ability to frame events, present facts, and tell the story are first rate. Many of the events are well known to me, but lacked the greater, high-level context Johnson puts forth. I was hooked from the very start.

You would think this book would start with WWI. No, he starts with Albert Einstein. He refers to relativity throughout the book. Johnson casts a wide web that shows time and again every utopian experiment in the 20th century ended tragically. The connecting web for all of them is collectivism and concentrated power in the hands of the economic, political, cultural, and military managers, often consolidated into a central manager.

I highly recommend this book. It should shake your world view.

11 people found this helpful

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Roman

An Unparalleled History of the Entire 20th Century

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 13, 2022

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This is one of the most profound and dense books I have ever read. Anyone that has read Paul Johnson knows that he has a very complex stream of conciseness style of writing. It is a very dense, heavy, and fast paced read that requires a lot of focus. The amount of information being conveyed to the reader is staggering. I saw one Amazon review by Leib Gershon Mitchell that said “The amount of information is like trying to drink water through a fire hose”, which I found hilarious and spot on. Also, like most other reviewers, I have to mentioned that the editorial job of this book could have been better by creating more breaks within the chapters - there are none and each chapter is 25-40 pages long. Johnson, switches gears very quickly and will sometimes have you wondering why he didn’t address a certain issue or topic, only to lead up to it in a very clever roundabout way - almost as if he has a complete birds-eye-view type mastery of the information he wants to convey from start to finish, and what directions or paths he would like to choose to get there. The title of this book is a little misleading because it pretty much starts at the very beginning of the 20th century, while frequently referencing the 19th century to bring some context into the events occurring at the onset of the 20th century, and then goes into great depth with the events of WW1 and the Bolshevik Revolution. Anyone who wants an excellent uncensored history of the 20th century (and some 19th century) that you won’t get from the legacy media or much of academia, look no further than “Modern Times”.

12 people found this helpful

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Super book, super writing by the Journalist-Historian of the Century

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 14, 2014

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Paul Johnson is a talented writer and pens his books in a style and format that crosses the boundary between History and Journalism. The effect is to bring history alive for the masses and for those who might normally dismiss history as dull

Even those who are not interested in history will enjoy this book.The massive scope of this work is impressive.
This book would be great for anyone who desires to spark the interest of history in those who have no desire to study it....(i.e., history teachers and their bored students)

Paul Johnson combines two qualities hard to find in today's historical works - readability and a theocentric world view. He challenges the reader to interpret the facts honestly, abandoning past stereotypes and biases. A fascinating overview of our century. I hope it's updated for the rest of the 1990's. A must read for anyone with an interest in modern history. Secular humanists may not like some of Johnson's conclusions.

3 people found this helpful

F. Olufe

... old as the hills than neighter spends time nor waste it' - How one feels after reading a beautiful ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 9, 2017

Verified Purchase

'We are as old as the hills than neighter spends time nor waste it' - How one feels after reading a beautiful and well informed book such as this.

Amazon Customer

Good source of historical information of the 20th Century

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 29, 2018

Verified Purchase

Good source of historical information of the 20th Century.
Prompt service from supplier,
GH

Samuel Leal

Um inglês de excelente escrita e um estilo literário cativante.

Reviewed in Brazil 🇧🇷 on May 25, 2022

Verified Purchase

As únicas críticas cabíveis são as dimensões do livro. Por conter quase 850 páginas em uma edição pequena as letras são pequenas também o que pode incomodar alguns leitores.

One person found this helpful

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Gerhardt Blume

Brilliant Analysis

Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on November 28, 2021

Verified Purchase

It was an extremely illuminating read. Couldn’t recommend it more highly!

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