Of all the centuries in recorded history, none has seen more change, none has ended more differently than it began, than the twentieth. In 1900, Queen Victoria still ruled over England, the Imperial Manchu dynasty over China, and the Romanov Tsars over Russia. The cinema was in its infancy, radio and television still to be discovered. The first cars were on the road, but air travel existed only in earthbound imaginations. And now, as Yeats said, all is "changed utterly."

In this ambitious book, twenty-four of the most distinguished scholars in the world survey the momentous events and the significant themes of the twentieth century in compact, scholarly essays. The contributors tackle political issues region by region as well as non-political topics in subjects such as physics, modernism in art, international economics, and the impact of new technologies on culture. The authors trace the continuities which have persisted over the past hundred years and analyze the changes which have marked the century's progress. Early chapters take a global overview of the century as a whole, from a variety of perspectives--demographic, scientific, economic, and cultural. Further chapters chart the century's course, continent by continent and region by region, all written by acknowledged experts.

Beautifully illustrated with both color and black and white plates, and with a detailed chronology, suggestions for further reading, and a full index, The Oxford History of the Twentieth Century is an invaluable repository of information and insight about the endlessly fascinating century in which we live.

"The talent to economically condense a subject as these authors do...does not grow on trees; some of them have written outstanding works recently, for example, physicist Steven Weinberg and U.S. historian James Patterson. This work, therefore, is a high-powered lecture series that if held at a university would cost big tuition bucks. Oxford's volume, less dear and just as rewarding, covers all regions of the globe."--Booklist

"An extraordinary tour-de-force."--The Washington Times

"And although spave precludes individual discussion of their essays, the mere list of names testifies to the high quality of the volume as a whole.....an extraordinary tour de force." --Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, Emory University

"A big a achievement: a model of ambition without pretension, of compression without compromises."--The London Times

In this "extraordinary tour-de-force" ("The Washington Times"), 24 of the world's most distinguished scholars survey the momentous events and the significant themes of the 20th century in compact, scholarly essays. Features include a detailed chronology, suggestions for further reading, and a full Index. 16 color illustrations, 3 linecuts, 48 halftones.

Michael Howard is former Regius Professor of Modern History, University of Oxford. He lives in England. Wm Roger Louis is the Kerr Professor of English History and Culture at the University of Texas at Austin.

1. Michael Howard: The Dawn of the Century

2. William H. McNeill: Communications, Disease, and Demography

3. Steve Weinberg: Understanding the Universe

4. John Maddox: The Expansion of Knowledge

5. Robert Skidelsky: The Growth of a World Economy

6. Alan Ryan: The Growth of a Global Culture

7. Norbert Lynton: The Visual Arts

8. Wm Roger Louis: European Empires and Emerging Nationalism

9. Michael Howard: Europe in the Age of Two World Wars

10. Richard Stites: The Russian Empire and the Soviet Union

11. Hugh Brogan: The United States 1900-1945

12. Akira Iriye: East Asia and the Emergence of Japan

13. Lawrence Freedman: The Confrontation of the Superpowers

14. James Patterson: The United States since 1945

15. Archie Brown: The Soviet Union and Beyond

16. Anne Deighton: The Remaking of Europe

17. Akira Iriye: East Asia

18. Jonathan Spence: China

19. Michael Leifer: South-East Asia

20. Judith Brown: South Asia

21. Roger Owen: North Africa and the Middle East

22. Terence Ranger: Africa

23. Alan Knight: Latin America

24. Peter Lyon: The Old Commonwealth: The First Four Dominions

25. Adam Roberts: Towards an International Community? The United Nations and International Law

26. Wm Roger Louis: The Close of the Century

27. Ralf Dahrendorf: Towards the Twenty-first Century: New Problems, New Opportunities

Adolf Wood: Chronology

Further Reading

Index