[5PJ]⋙ [PDF] The Birth of the Modern World Society 18151830 Paul Johnson 9780060922825 Books

The Birth of the Modern World Society 18151830 Paul Johnson 9780060922825 Books

Download As PDF : The Birth of the Modern World Society 18151830 Paul Johnson 9780060922825 Books

The Birth of the Modern World Society 18151830 Paul Johnson 9780060922825 Books

It has taken me more than a year to make my way through this 1,000 page tome. I'm glad I persevered. Johnson's biases against the "left," trade unionists, and the "lower orders" in general peek through from time to time, but this is still a major achievement. The depth and breadth of his scholarship is simply astonishing. The basic thesis is that everything we think of as constituting the "modern" world was laid down between 1815 and 1830, and he makes a damn good case. England is the focus, but he reaches out across Europe, the United States, Russia, and the Far East to bolster his thesis. Each chapter can set the inquisitive reader off on a years-long reading spree; I found it best to read with Wikipedia within easy reach. There are minor editorial glitches throughout, but I'm almost embarrassed to mention that.


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The Birth of the Modern World Society 18151830 Paul Johnson 9780060922825 Books Reviews

I finally bought this book; kept having to renew at the library, because I only read it in 5-10 page bits. It is extremely interesting...absolutely amazed at the complexity of the world at this time...I thought that our times were careening! Guess that the human condition is just always FRAUGHT! If it's not ice ages, massive plagues, or genocide; it's something else...!
Superb telling of history as only Paul Johnson can do.
Paul Johnson's books are a must when we study history!!! Every page is interesting, when he is narrating history, not only conveying facts about events in the past.
Paul Johnson writes in a unique style. Many say his style is quirky, but I think his way of writing history is really the best. My reading his book is like being taken to a month-long tour of the early nineteenth century, mostly to England and Europe, but also to other parts of the world - American, Australia, Latin America and Asia - by virtue of the English (mostly) influence. It was like waking up in the morning and reading the morning paper of the era, learning about the what were unfolding in politics, business, industry, literature, music, art, science, and even gossip as they happened.
In this 1000 page volume, Johnson tells how the modern society rapidly took shape in a relatively short period of time after the fall of Napoleon Bonaparte. It is an interesting and compelling thesis. The industrial revolution, which created a lot of "self-made" men, and the arrival of the white men to all continents with their modern morals and superior weapons, the emergence of science, the popularization of music, art, communication media and eventually politics, all interacted to bring about an era of politics of the masses, or democracy, in the West.
Johnson tells us that this was not just another period of progress. It was the birth of the modern society. After reading his book, I am inclined to agree. Many of the salient features of today's society first took shape then. From little ills like traffic jams and parking tickets, for example, which started with increasing number of horse carriages, to party politics fanned by the media, newly juiced up by the steam-powered printing press. As if he anticipated what would happen in September 2000, at the ending pages of the book, Johnson innocuously chronicled the invention of the Lucifer match, a godsend for housewives but which also spawned arson. Does that not sound like a foretaste of terrorists and weapons of mass destruction?
The Birth of the Modern is a very unique history book. It is well worth your time. It gives meaning to the author's famous quote "The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. It is humbling to discover how many of our glib assumptions, which seem to us novel and plausible, have been tested before, not once but many times and in innumerable guises; and discovered to be, at great human cost, wholly false."
It is the best answer to anyone who might ask why we should study history.
Johnson ends this history in 1830 and Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "Locksley Hall" was written in 1835 I which in a few stanzas he foresees airpower, radio and perhaps Esperanza. The impact of the originality and pace of inventions and leaps in technology must have made an impression on every sentient citizen of the nations of Western Europe, England and North America. I have made it a practice of giving this book to the smart and curious among my friends, close relatives and grandchildren.
I thoroughly enjoyed this and learned so much from it. Reads like a novel. Many good excerpts from the journals of historical figures, details woven together to present many big ideas. Each section builds on the last. This is a book to own and return to, regardless of your own particular interest area. Students of American, and Russian, Latin American, Asian history, as well as of course European and UK history, will find much of interest here.
I am not currently reading this book since it is in Boston and I am in Seattle; and I travel back and forth. However, I see this book as equivalent to a college course in history, as the author explains in depth each aspect he discusses, setting the stage for the developments that move the world closer to our modern times. The period after Napoleon's rule of about 20 years, was like an explosion of forward movement. The author examines this unusual thrust towards modern times. I am not giving it 5 stars, because of the fact that I can only assimilate so much of the tremendous volume of information at one sitting. So it is slow going for me sometimes. The other reason is that the author's use of wording when it is a negative about the United States is not exactly the same as his wording when it is a negative about Britain, so although he may be absolutely correct factually, I suspect a bit of subjective thinking along those lines, and being an American, I see it and have to overlook it. I almost put the book down because of it, but then thought maybe I am equally subjective and I would rather be informed. I can't imagine finding a better book to inform myself of this very important part of our history.
It has taken me more than a year to make my way through this 1,000 page tome. I'm glad I persevered. Johnson's biases against the "left," trade unionists, and the "lower orders" in general peek through from time to time, but this is still a major achievement. The depth and breadth of his scholarship is simply astonishing. The basic thesis is that everything we think of as constituting the "modern" world was laid down between 1815 and 1830, and he makes a damn good case. England is the focus, but he reaches out across Europe, the United States, Russia, and the Far East to bolster his thesis. Each chapter can set the inquisitive reader off on a years-long reading spree; I found it best to read with Wikipedia within easy reach. There are minor editorial glitches throughout, but I'm almost embarrassed to mention that.