The age of extremes
In this masterful and highly accessible study of our times, one of the world's leading historians sheds exciting new light on our understanding of the twentieth century, with incisive assessments of events that have marked this turbulent period. Eric Hobsbawm, whose own life spans this century, deftly examines from both personal and scholarly perspectives such events as the great economic depression of the 1930s, the Cold War, the rise of military regimes, revolutionary changes in the arts, and technological advances in the sciences. Divided into three parts - The Age of Catastrophe, 1914-1950; The Golden Age, 1950-1973; and The Landslide, 1973-1991 - the book looks at the legacy of the two world wars, the end of colonialism and the growing importance of the Third World, as well as the collapse of the Soviet Union. Hobsbawm ponders the influence of the economic and social upheavals of the third quarter of the twentieth century, which, he states, brought about the "most profound revolution in society since the Stone Age." In conclusion, Hobsbawm looks to the next millennium, pointing up the dilemmas posed by a burgeoning population, destruction of the environment, and the growing economic disparity between rich and poor. Writes Hobsbawm, "Our world risks both explosion and implosion.
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- Eric Hobsbawm's tetralogy on the long 19th century: Age of Revolution, Age of Capital, Age of Empire, and Age of Extremes.
A truly epic date-driven summary of how the industrial and political revolutions of the 19th transformed the world.
- Nice to see an article about a history professor at the top of HN. :)
As a former history major, I can confirm that Zinn's work, while well intentioned, isn't much respected in academia. He brought a useful new perspective but didn't back up his arguments with strong evidence.
Poor evidence, however, doesn't discredit Zinn's central thesis about American history.
For more rigorous approach American history I would recommend Eric Foner:
http://www.ericfoner.com/books/index.html
Although his focus is more global, Eric Hobsbawm is one of the most influential historians of the twentieth century. His "The Age of..." are worth a read"
https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/eric-hobsbawm-t...
The Age of Revolution: 1789-1848 The Age of Capital: 1848-1875 The Age of Empire: 1875-1914 The Age of Extremes: 1914-1991
- Eric Hobsbawm's account of the "long 19th century," as told in his The Age of Revolution, The Age of Capital, and The Age of Extremes, is something that readers who are interested in Zinn may also be interested in. Hobsbawm appears to have a significantly better reputation among professional historians than Zinn does.
Hobsbawm still frequently appears on university reading lists for history majors. I remember the trilogy as engaging and easy to read for an outsider to the field. He is less polemical than Zinn, even if his political sympathies are similar.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Hobsbawm
Favorable mentions of Hobsbawm from AskHistorians:
https://old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/5bcvbe/i_am_...
https://old.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/efznsq/is_er...
- Gravity's Rainbow (Pynchon)
The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge (Rilke)
The Age of Extremes: A History of the World, 1914-1991 (Hobsbawm)
Bhagavad Gita
Upanishads
Crimes Against Logic: Exposing the Bogus Arguments of Politicians, Priests, Journalists, and Other Serial Offenders (Whyte)
Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus (Wittgenstein)
edit: added 2 more & author names
- I read his "Age of Extremes"[1], and thought his point that there was an awful lot of Socialism going on in the U.S. system was a cogent one.
Arguably he averted his gaze from some of the excesses at the other end of the argument.
[1] https://www.amazon.com/Age-Extremes-History-World-1914-1991/...
