The Age of Extremes : A History of the World, 1914-1991

Rating:
Summary: A must
Review: This book is must because of Eric Hobsbawm's understanding of History. And, because of the way he writes, his understanding becomes your understanding.

Rating:
Summary: Great book -- how does Hobswawm do it?
Review: This book is strongly recommended to anyone who has an interest in what it all means, and a bit of the bigger picture of what has happened this last century. The author is truly amazing - I don't know how anyone can know this much stuff and make sense of it.

Rating:
Summary: The twentieth century according to Mr. Hobsbawm
Review: This is a great book that deserves to be read despite its length. If you pay attention, the period of analysis is practically the same Paul Johnson took into account when he wrote the well-known masterpiece "Modern times". Of course, this book is a masterpiece as well: it tells the history of the XX century from a left-wing point of view which contrasts with the one supported by Johnson. Therefore, Hobsbawm will be nicer when talking about Gandhi or Keynesian economics, but will display a lot of criticism when discussing Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, for instance. Anyway, the book focuses on some interesting aspects that Johnson didn't consider. For example, Hobsbawm depicts the development of artistic schools and trends throughout the century. He also, stops in the sixties in order to tell the rise of youth movements, and pays more attention to the causes that determined the collapse of the URSS. Now, this last subject is developed outstandingly: Hobsbawm says that USSR signed its act of defunction when its leadership rejected to launch an economic reform that was necessary to bring technological innovation-led growth and thus decided to keep an economic model that guaranteed full employment but meant stagnation in the end. Another highlight in Hobsbawm book appears when he discuss the rise and fall of the Third Reich. Here Hobsbawm reaches his most powerful conclusion: That the Nazism was the worst threat the Western culture and civilization ever had. In that sense, right-wing people and leaders in the western world were wrong when they thought that USSR was THE "devil". Why? Because, says Hobsbawm, nazism was not only an ideology not based on XVIII century's enlightment tradition (one that was shared by both liberalism and socialism), but also nazi politics was not directed on a normal basis of material and strategic interests (which are predictable somehow) but it was based on the irrationality of a milenaristic plan. On the other hand, Hobsbawm's book shows a few wrong assesments which I think are linked to some of his left-wing perspectives that look weak. For example, he is worried about the new technologies that reduce the labor force required in some industries. This is an observation shared by progressists like Eduardo Galeano, for instance. But, of course it is easy to demonstrate that it is wrong (otherwise Japan and U.S. should have incredible high rates of unemployment! ). Finally, Hobsbawm's book ends providing us with a very important lesson for the future which is that most of the movements and ideologies that have been developed during the last decades (sects, nationalism, fundamentalism, etc.)as a response to the world's economic, social and moral crisis are not only useless to face this multiple crisis but are potentially harmful to humanity. In the end, this is a strong call to our attention because it says that we are starting the XXI century bringing the XX century's problems with us and without having found the solutions for them yet.

Rating:
Summary: A brilliant analysis of the past century
Review: This is a great history of the 20th century, starting with the end of the First World War and ending with the collapse of the Cold War. Hobsbawm's point of view comes from the European leftist tradition, which makes him sympathetic to revolutionary movements around the world. In addition to obvious topics like wars, he covers science, art, and the world economy. He writes clearly, as well. This is one of the best history books I've ever read. It led me to more of Hobsbawm's work, which is just as good.

Rating:
Summary: Great!!!
Review: This is a masterpiece, a modern classic. What more can you say about a book like this? After I read this one I was convinced: Professor Hobsbawn IS the best historian alive.

Rating:
Summary: Insightful overview
Review: This is a really impressive performance by this distinguished historian. Hobsbawm seems to know everything about the 20th century, has actually lived through most of it and writes from the combined perspective of a remarkably accomplished scholar and direct observer of events. Readers should be aware that this book is a sequel to his impressive trilogy on the 19th century, The Age or Revolution, The Age of Capital, and The Age of Empire. In those books, Hobsbawm followed two key themes, the impact of industrial capitalism on European and world history, and the persistence through the 19th century of the revolutionary tradition that begins with the French Revolution. Readers should be aware also that this book is not a convential narrative overview but follows these major themes with considerable analysis. Some readers (see some reviews below) are put off by Hobsbawm's marxian (not the same as Marxist) approach. This approach, however, is a powerful tool for making sense of the complexities of the past century. Hobsbawm is an avowed Marxist but his work is not doctrinaire in any sense. In this book, for example, he remarks that the 19th century really was a century of progress, both material and moral. Not the statement of a doctrinaire leftist. His erudition is remarkable but not showy and employed only as needed to carry forward his narrative and analysis. This book is never boring, always compelling and challenging. The focus of this book is very much on Europe and North America. Hobsbawm is explicitly, unashamedly, and appropriately 'eurocentric' in his emphasis on these regions as the key theatres for the actions of 20th century history. The best overviews of complex historical topics combine narrative with thematic analysis as a way of unifying the narrative. See, for example, Patterson's recent Grand Expectations, an overview of recent American history in which the quest for rights by traditionally disadvantaged groups is treated as a unifying theme of our recent past. The Age of Extremes is a remarkable combination of narration and analysis that illuminates the darkness of the past century.

Rating:
Summary: best book on 20th century
Review: This is the best historical account of the 20th century to date.