Rating: 
Summary: Very impressive, indeed
Review: This is one of those books that you can open anywhere and be absorbed. Even if you're not interested in history, you just might be after diving into Johnson's writings. I had two copies and wore out both of them.
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Summary: Great Book
Review: "Modern Times" is a terrific read. Though I had considered myself reasonably well informed about the events of the past 80 years, Mr. Johnson's account gets to the essence of them. And his insights are as exhilirating as they are countless. He goes at the past with the zeal of a crusader and is unapolagetic about identifying villains and assigning blame. His compassion shows through on every page. In fact you can feel the author recoiling at the thought of every horror he describes not in the conventional bleeding-heart, therapy-inspired tone of our times but with the frustration and anger of one who sees their real causes. Some look at past events and find the figures involved beyond condemnation, an offshoot of the relative morality Mr. Johnson cites as contributing to the many tragedies he writes about in this book. Because Mr. Johnson does not view historical events as a collection of inevitable outcomes of particular circumstances, his recounting of them is not only more accurate, but more lively and extremely emotional. The author's deep understanding of economics is invaluable to the reader and is what makes the book all-encompassing. If you're like me, an average Joe who hasn't put too much effort into discovering the past, this book'll knock you out.
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Summary: Sober, Clean, and Vast Assessment in History
Review: Yes, Mr. Johnson has produced an historic overview of the Twentieth century which is alarmingly sober and accountable; he is neither hagiographer nor popculturalist. Critics, (although I do not believe it fair to allay the author's politics with the critical resonance and scope of the work), would find it very difficult to accuse Mr. Johnson of completing anything close to a passion for clarity in examinig many of the events of the century
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Summary: A must read for everyone interested in 20th century
Review: I suggest to read this book for all the thinking people interested in what really happened in the last century.You may not agree with the author on all the specific points, but the book gives a great highlight of the forces driving the last 100 years of the western civilization. The true nature of nazism, marxism, communism and anti-imperialism liberation movements is exposed with a lot of convincing facts. I hope people who have read this book will not try again the "social engineering" approach which costed so much human lives. On the negative side: the author is a real expert regarding the western thinking, but I guess some processes outside the western world are shown too much as a reflection of the west. Enjoy the reading!
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Summary: An astonishing achievement; a key text of our age.
Review: Johnson surveys our blood-soaked century and its mountains of corpses and lays the blame at the feet of utopian politics and the totalitarian urge to power. American education cannot be considered fully reformed until this book is required reading in every school in the land.
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Summary: An engaging, thought-provoking, read.
Review: This is possibly the most interesting historical book around. Even those who are not interested in history will enjoy this book. The massive scope of this work is impressive. The two areas that remain with me, years after reading this book are, 1. The further reinforcement of the notion of "Man's Inhumanity to Man". That man, when left to his own resources, without social restraint, will behave more beastly than any animal. I like to suppose that we can rise above that...but as this book shows, as societies have moved to be more democratic, ruled not by monarchies but by common man, we have become more barbaric. 2. The utter failure of the communist movement...the misguided beginnings, the continued mistakes, blunders...an elitist group of intellectuals who had no faith in the common man; just how non-communist the communist regime was...and this work was written before the demise of the communist world. How interesting it would have been if this book concluded just a few years later. 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)
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Summary: Readable history from a unique perspective
Review: 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.
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Summary: One of the most important works of history ever written
Review: This is simply one of the best and most important works of history I have ever read. Mr. Johnson is an excellent writer, one of the best writers of history there is. Mr. Johnson understands the world, understands why the tragedies of the past seventy years happened, and he is not afraid to name names. Many persons who are generally presented as heroes in other histories and the mainstream media are not presented as such here. This history is not for the faint of heard, be prepared to have many of your closely held beliefs questioned.
Rating:
Summary: Deep, deep, deep, deep!
Review: History at it's finest. The Bibliography is worth it alone. All persons with minds must buy this book to assist in rational thought!
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Summary: Enrages the left by confronting them with the truth.
Review: Nothing makes a tired leftist more furious than an engagement with the truth. Johnson's book, now a classic, provides a schematic for understanding the political and moral bankruptcy of "progressive" social movements and the inevitable misery and distress which follow as a consequence.
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