Eric Hobsbawm / Age of Extremes (The Short Twentieth Century 1914-1991)
History – 600 pages / 1994 / My edition (1999/paperback); bought for £2.49 in an Oxfam bookshop in Chiswick, London sometime early 2009
History – 600 pages / 1994 / My edition (1999/paperback); bought for £2.49 in an Oxfam bookshop in Chiswick, London sometime early 2009
- 4 nods out of 5 -
Popularly seen as our most renowned living historian today, Hobsbawm continues his mammoth series of detailing the development of the modern world, Age of Extremes being the final instalment. Its outlook is one bound to intrigue: a Marxist writer publishing in the aftermath of the great, chaotic and dubious experiment of twentieth century communism. Surely, many questions marks are to arise.
All the major events are noted, shaped into compact segments; by far most interesting is the Age of Catastrophe: First World War, the coming of the Russian communists, the Great Depression and fall of liberalism, the rise of fascist regimes culminating in the Second World War and its aftermath. Here Hobsbawm is in fine form, generalising over one of the most disturbing and crucial periods in history.
Meanwhile, he gloatingly reflects over a Golden Age – 1950 to early 1970s, in which society advanced, though not without its threats (Cold War and the possibility of nuclear fall out); before ending with the last decades of the century – ‘The Landslide’ – in which chaos and uncertainty crept back in, as seen with the collapse of the Communist world. He notes the end of socialism, of imperialism and not a rosy picture painted of capitalism’s strength. Ultimately, this is a sceptical view of humanity’s progress; is this just the sound of an elderly man, whose generation has now passed? He does offer some glimmer of hope, in that the future cannot be predicted and doom is not certain.
All the major events are noted, shaped into compact segments; by far most interesting is the Age of Catastrophe: First World War, the coming of the Russian communists, the Great Depression and fall of liberalism, the rise of fascist regimes culminating in the Second World War and its aftermath. Here Hobsbawm is in fine form, generalising over one of the most disturbing and crucial periods in history.
Meanwhile, he gloatingly reflects over a Golden Age – 1950 to early 1970s, in which society advanced, though not without its threats (Cold War and the possibility of nuclear fall out); before ending with the last decades of the century – ‘The Landslide’ – in which chaos and uncertainty crept back in, as seen with the collapse of the Communist world. He notes the end of socialism, of imperialism and not a rosy picture painted of capitalism’s strength. Ultimately, this is a sceptical view of humanity’s progress; is this just the sound of an elderly man, whose generation has now passed? He does offer some glimmer of hope, in that the future cannot be predicted and doom is not certain.
His writing style has not waned, however, coming to his final chapters – and perhaps to the inability to generalise the world at such a fractious time – Hobsbawm’s overall control is not as tight as previous books have shown. An impressive array of facts and figures, surely this is the definitive account of the nasty and fantastic twentieth century.
