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| A Short History of the Twentieth Century
ISBN: 9780674728585
Platform/Publisher: JSTOR / Harvard University Press
Digital rights: Users: unlimited; Printing: chapter; Download: chapter
Subjects: History Modern -- 20th century;
In this slim, dense volume, historian Lukacs (History and the Human Condition) delivers an insightful overview of the "historical" 20th century, a span beginning in 1914 with WWI and ending in 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall. In attempting to discuss 75 years of extremely eventful world history, Lukacs naturally picks and chooses the things he considers most important. He places a disproportionate focus on the United States and Europe and the events and aftermaths of the World Wars, while giving short shrift to Asia, Africa, and South America. Most events are discussed within one or more of a handful of frameworks (e.g., nationalism, colonialism, capitalism, etc.), resulting in an entertaining if idiosyncratic tour of what Lukacs refers to as "-an? the?-American century." His biases show throughout, especially when he refers to the "deplorable, dwarfish dictatorships in the so-called Third World" or "the unbroken reputation of America, an object of worldwide emulation." His take on the historical 20th century is one in which states become nations, wars are waged, and borders are redrawn. Lukacs has definitely bitten off more than he can chew, but if taken with a grain of salt, it's still a tasty morsel. Agent: Georges Borchardt, Georges Borchardt Inc. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
John Lukacs was born Janos Adalbert Lukacs in Budapest, Hungry on January 31, 1924. His father was Catholic and his mother was Jewish. He received an advanced degree in history from the University of Budapest. Although he was a practicing Catholic, he was considered Jewish enough to be conscripted into an army labor battalion when the Nazis occupied Hungary. He deserted in late 1944. When things did not improve under Soviet occupation and a Communist government, he fled illegally to the United States in July 1946. He was hired as a part-time lecturer in history at Columbia University to accommodate an influx of returning veterans. In 1947, he was hired by Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia to teach full time. He taught there for 47 years, retiring in 1994. He wrote numerous books including The Last European War; Confessions of an Original Sinner; The Duel: The Eighty-Day Struggle Between Churchill and Hitler; The Hitler of History; A Student's Guide to the Study of History; Churchill: Visionary. Statesman. Historian.; At the End of an Age; George Kennan: A Study of Character; and A Short History of the Twentieth Century. He died from heart failure on May 6, 2019 at the age of 95. (Bowker Author Biography) |
