Johnson's basic premise is that the period between 1815 and 1830 - fifteen short years, was ground breaking in transforming how humans around the world viewed themselves. Johnson's narrative and analytical skills even compensate for many dubious passages when his conservatism leads him to stretch for parallels between 19th- and 20th-century politics—for example, when he sees the genesis of the US-British "special relationship" at a moment when both nations continued to be wary of the other's attention, or likens Romantic admirers of Napoleon such as Shelley, Hazlitt, and Byron to intellectuals enamored of Stalinism in the 1930's. ‘How the Old World Ended’ Review: The Birth of the Modern With ever more far-reaching trade came innovation: a stock exchange, limited-liability corporations—the apparatus of capitalism. Many times I wondered how certain subject matter was relevant to the book's theme -- including a particular fascination with Byron's sex life. All Rights Reserved. RELEASE DATE: Jan. 16, 2006. HISTORY, by Maddeningly long and highly opinionated, but a lively and readable history of a world "exhilarated and sometimes bewildered by the rapid changes which were transforming it. HISTORY | See my review in my Sense-of-History-account: Epic, magisterial, even overwhelming. Fascinating period, top-down history, exclusionary of course, lovely stylistically. I put this down about two-thirds of the way through. Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. It is a remarkably comprehensive view of world history in the fifteen years from 1815-1830. The official blurb says it the best: "In 1793, a canal digger named William Smith made a startling discovery. What a fascinating and frustrating book! The fulcrum and most brilliant chapter of The Birth of the Modern, “Forces, Machines, Visions,” is about some of these figures, the most compelling of whom were “penniless men with powerful brains and imaginations” who “saw art and science, industry and nature as a continuum of creation. Reading this book made me really understand how everything in history is connected in just one big continuing story. This leads one to suspect the quality of judgement exercised in the analysis of events. This wasn't a real succes to me. Ray Suarez, by Howard Zinn (Just for the record, I hated Modern Times and the author likes to get spanked by prostitutes...) Beyond that, Johnson paints a picture of history which I've yet to see done. We’d love your help. I learned a lot, but it was a struggle. I'm glad I finished it, because although dated (1991), the book's thesis that 1815-1830 were crucial years for the development the modern world seems to hold up. In the second chapter, devoted to the congress of Europe, perhaps the reason for why the author is so determined upon the belief that the modern world was born in 1815 rather than early, be it 1776, or the 1780s, or 1789, is placed: a great loathing for Napoleon, and a depiction of a magnanimous and ultimately far sighted peace conference that managed to set together a stage for a lasting … The rest of us must simply applaud." Acclaimed philosopher and historian A.C. Grayling points to three primar Categories: If your are a fan of James Burke, I highly recommend this book! with influencers in the know since 1933. by Paul Johnson. “The Birth of the Modern World: 1780-1914” with its renewed view of world history and its distinctive approaches make it an indispensable work for the enrichment of the historical and geographical research. With this similarity in mind, C.A. This extraordinary chronicle of fifteen years that laid the foundations of the modern world is the history of people, ideas, politics, manners and morals, economics, art, science and technology, diplomacy, business and commerce, literature and revolution. That is why they used a euphemism. POLITICS | Johnson concentrates on Britain as the center of developments, but does not neglect the other areas of Europe and the world when appropriate. To see what your friends thought of this book, The Birth of the Modern: World Society 1815-1830. GENERAL CURRENT EVENTS & SOCIAL ISSUES | Elie Wiesel Karl Marx and the Birth of Modern Society: The Life of Marx and the Development of His Work (Volume I: 1818-1841) $ 19.99 – $ 34.00 Format Clear eBook ( $ 19.99 ) This is very likely the finest work of history I've ever read, eclipsing even. It's absolutely encyclopedic in scope and de. Wilson relates how clippers -- so termed because of the time they cut off sea voyages -- allowed news and goods to be taken around the world in record time. Despite his conservatism and strained attempts to attack the contemporary Left by association to discreditable persons and movements in the early nineteenth century, Johnson is an excellent writer and this is an entertaining, sometimes enlightening, cultural history of the period. RELEASE DATE: June 5, 1991. The Birth of the Modern World is a wonderfully ambitious book that effectively demonstrates the global nature of the modern world and the need to decentre national histories and think big. Zinn has no doubts about where he stands in this "people's history": "it is a history disrespectful of governments and respectful of people's movements of resistance." He clearly states at the beginning, his thesis and proceeds to brilliantly make his point. None of that, though, quite prepares one for the sheer scale, ambition and power of The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914. Marion Wiesel, by Paul Johnson HISTORY, by It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds! The Birth of Modern Peer Review. The 1815-1830 time frame sometimes is too tight and is therefore regularly enlarged. "With its dazzling erudition and its vast scope, The Birth of the Modern World is a masterpiece of distance-annihilating synthesis…At a stroke, all other general histories of the nineteenth century have become parochial…I cannot think of any living historian who could match this feat. by Harper Perennial, The Birth of the Modern: World Society, 1815-1830. If your are a fan of James Burke, I highly recommend this book! Paul Johnson's thesis seems to boil down to "boy, I sure do like this bit of time a bunch.". A 350th anniversary tribute to the Royal Society documents the work of late seventeenth-century scientific geniuses who, in spite of period ignorance, forg… Covering the period 17801914, The Birth of the Modern World shows how events in Asia, Africa, and South America from the decline of the eighteenth-century Islamic empires to the anti-European Boxer rebellion of 1900 in China had a direct impact on European and American history. He comments -“The age abounded in great personalities; warriors, statesmen and tyrants; outstanding inventors and technologists; and writers, artists and musicians of the highest genius, women as well as men. The Birth of the Modern is an amazing achievement! I wonder if my great, great, great, great, great grandpa realized that he was living through the birth of the modern era during the early 19th century. And I'm not a conservative! This book yielded a few really excellent ideas - like identifying the global scope of the expropriation of indigenous folks' land at the hands of grain-growing settler nations using state power - and helped fill in the gaping hole that was my knowledge of the Napoleonic Wars. At times fascinating and others overwhelming. There are unforgettable and horrifying scenes here in this spare and sombre memoir of this experience of the hanging of a child, of his first farewell with his father who leaves him an inheritance of a knife and a spoon, and of his last goodbye at Buchenwald his father's corpse is already cold let alone the long months of survival under unconscionable conditions. By Brendan Simms. A must read for anyone interested in the formation of modern institutions. moments, which is what makes history fun for me. Astoundingly, he writes with fascination about events and movements in virtually all fields of human endeavor, whether the subjugation of Native Americans by Andrew Jackson, the scientific discoveries of Humphrey Davy, the compositions of Beethoven, the transparent innovations of George Stephenson and John McAdam, or such social phenomena as dueling, adultery, illegitimacy, and animal protectionism. Refresh and try again. And for a. I keep going back and rereading parts of this book because it is so informative and so well written. It's absolutely encyclopedic in scope and depth while still achieving the narrative profluence of all greatly written history. © Copyright 2021 Kirkus Media LLC. Longest book I've ever read -- exactly 1000 pages. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Mr. Johnson's theory is that the modern world was created in the years between 1815 and 1830 and he takes a 1000 pages to try and prove his thesis. Think of the authors, scientists, statesmen, generals, artists, reformers, and composers you know from the era and imagine a narrative that weaves them together with a sharp understanding of how they each changed the world. It was like the scales fell from my eyes. . Despite surface similarities, this is not a social history, since we get no sense of the fabric of life. The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World By Edward Dolnick Harper Perennial, 2012. Bayly's The Birth of the Modern World makes for fascinating reading. For me it wasn't something off-putting but something I sought out. edited by I have brought them to the fore but I have a. But the author turned demagogue at times, and certain passages felt really forced and thin, mostly where events were given a late-twentieth-century conservative interpret. It is well worth your time. GENERAL HISTORY | For Howard Zinn, long-time civil rights and anti-war activist, history and ideology have a lot in common. Can anyone recommend a book similar to Birth of the Modern? He also throws an unexpected light on how artists and scientists formed a "conjunction of minds" by drawing on work in other fields (e.g., how intuitive speculations by Coleridge and Shelley about atomic and electromagnetic theory inspired the experimental science of Davy and Michael Faraday). This book yielded a few really excellent ideas - like identifying the global scope of the expropriation of indigenous folks' land at the hands of grain-growing settler nations using state power - and helped fill in the gaping hole that was my knowledge of the Napoleonic Wars. The sequel and companion volume to C.A. a classic history of the early modern industrial age, Paul Johnson is a British journalist, a believing Catholic--and a conservative. Howard Zinn, by Johnson (Intellectuals, 1989; A History of the Jews, 1987, etc. Pre-publication book reviews and features keeping readers and industry Well worth reading. Start by marking “The Birth of the Modern: World Society 1815-1830” as Want to Read: Error rating book. I wanted to hear from the other side, and yes you can detect a right-of-center sensibility here. In this book Johnson looks at the world in the time period 1815-1830, from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the start of the railroad age. Bayly s ground-breaking The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914, this wide-ranging and sophisticated study explores global history since the First World War, offering a coherent, comparative overview of developments in politics, economics, and society at large. Categories: Latin America became independent, and the dawn of modernity appeared in Turkey and Egypt, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and the Balkans. Reviews "With its dazzling erudition and its vast scope, The Birth of the Modern World is a masterpiece of distance-annihilating synthesis…At a stroke, all other general histories of the nineteenth century have become parochial…I cannot think of any living historian who … illustrated by The Birth of the Modern is a very unique history book. The world became smaller. Retrieve credentials. This extraordinary chronicle of fifteen years that laid the foundations of the modern world is the history of people, ideas, politics, manners and morals, economics, art, science and technology, diplomacy, business and commerce, literature and revolution. ; Covers an incredible range of topics on an international scale. Even though I disagree with Johnson's politics, I thank him for this beautifully written book. - either had its start or took a tremendous leap forward during the years after Waterloo. This marvelously readable work from the author of Modern Times , a BOMC main selection in cloth, chronicles the formation of the modern world, illuminating … This history of the world during the period from defeat of Napoleon in 1815 to end of the Bourbon dynasty in 1830 is amazing in depth and breadth. That will put some people off--although it's notable I saw more than one review from readers who said in spite of that they found this book incisive and readable. The New York Times review printed at the time of the book's first publishing is revealing and just. CURRENT EVENTS & SOCIAL ISSUES | The author chose to cover the history in all parts of the world from gunboats in Siam to the Russian conquest of Chechnya in graphic detail. Review title: The end of the world as they knew it. The author's youthfulness helps to assure the inevitable comparison with the Anne Frank diary although over and above the... by Not always well structured; often digressions and elaborations. The reviews of this book that are available on the Goodreads site are perfectly adequate if you want to know what the book is about and what are some of its strengths and flaws. Peer review was introduced to scholarly publication in 1731 by the Royal Society of Edinburgh, which published a collection of peer-reviewed medical articles. THE BIRTH OF THE MODERN WORLD SOCIETY, 1815-1830 by Paul Johnson ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 5, 1991 A gargantuan panorama of the 15 transforming years immediately after the Napoleonic era, when "peace came and immense new resources in finance, management, science and technology which were now available could be put to constructive purposes." Zinn starts out by depicting the arrival of Columbus in North America from the standpoint of the Indians (which amounts to their standpoint as constructed from the observations of the Europeans); and, after easily establishing the cultural disharmony that ensued, he goes on to the importation of slaves into the colonies. He clearly states at the beginning, his thesis and proceeds to brilliantly make h. Okay, one of my favorite books. Strong English focus: almost all the examples come from England, for example there is almost nothing on Goethe or Heine. ‧ An outstanding piece of work - covers most of world history from 1815 - 1830 - a real tour de force. .” The chapter opens with a big coal-mine explosion in 1812 that killed 92 men and boys, shocking most of Britain … He was educated at Stonyhurst School in Clitheroe, Lancashire and Magdalen College, Oxford, and first came to prominence in the 1950s as a journalist writing for, and later editing, the New Statesman magazine. Johnson's basic premise is that the period between 1815 and 1830 - fifteen short years, was ground breaking in transforming how humans around the world viewed themselves. I've read two other of Johnson's histories (one on Christianity and one on America) and admired them both, particularly for their fresh insights into familiar terrain. None of that, though, quite prepares one for the sheer scale, ambition and power of The Birth of the Modern World, 1780-1914. He comments -“The age abounded in great personalities; warriors, statesmen and tyrants; outstanding inventors and technologists; and writers, artists and musicians of the highest genius, women as well as men. It's full of "gee, I didn't know that!" It gives meaning to the author's famous quote: "The study of history is a powerful antidote to contemporary arrogance. He has also written for leading newspapers and magazines in Britain, the US and Europe. It connects so many it important pieces of innovation to what has become our modern world that it truly turned my head. Having grown up on Manhattan's Upper West Side from kindergarten to college I was exposed almost exclusively to a left-wing narrative of history. Categories: BEST OF Arts & Review. I have brought them to the fore but I have also sought to paint in background, showing how ordinary men and women-—and children—lived, suffered and died, ate and drank, worked, played and traveled." Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 1979. It was a time of creativity unparalleled in history before or since, from science to the arts, from philosophy to politics. Welcome back. translated by It is a 'thematic history' demonstrating how 'historical trends and sequences of events, which have been treated separately in regional or national histories, can be brought together' (p. 1). But overall, I liked it a lot and am a better person for reading it. UNITED STATES | translated by Having grown up on Manhattan's Upper West Side from kindergarten to college I was exposed almost exclusively to a left-wing narrative of history. In many ways this is a daunting book - ambitious in its vision and complex. ), a past editor of the New Statesman and the Spectator, is a master of vigorous narratives on epic topics. In this wide-reaching history of impressive geographical and theoretical scope, Bayly synthesizes the latest research on such topics as the causes of the industrial revolution and the ris ‧ Someone was asleep at the wheel. Covering the period 17801914, The Birth of the Modern World shows how events in Asia, Africa, and South America from the decline of the eighteenth-century Islamic empires to the anti-European Boxer rebellion of 1900 in China had a direct impact on European and American history. I have been an admirer of Paul Johnson since reading A History of the American People, and always buy his books as I come across them in book sales. Get FREE shipping on The Birth of the Modern World, 1780 - 1914 by C. A. Bayly, from wordery.com. It is a book packed with facts and story both big and small that he uses to make his … Trouble signing in? Mark Podwal, by It's an easy book to read, since every chapter stands on it's own. GENERAL HISTORY | A brilliant book by Paul Johnson, best known for "Modern Times". I'm kind of embarrassed it took me so long, but this book changed the way I think of history - in a good way, I mean. ‧ A gargantuan panorama of the 15 transforming years immediately after the Napoleonic era, when "peace came and immense new resources in finance, management, science and technology which were now available could be put to constructive purposes." Marion Wiesel I wonder if I would like it as much now as when I read it so long ago? The Age of Genius explores the eventful intertwining of outward event and inner intellectual life to tell, in all its richness and depth, the story of the 17th century in Europe. ... Permalink; The Birth of the Modern World Six 'killer apps' made the West a source of economic dynamism and political stability. I find it hard to review three star books; there’s less to rave about or rant about. Seriously, if I gave five stars to anything but fiction, this would get it. (ISBN: 9780631236160) from Amazon's Book Store. . Add the laborers and indentured servants that followed, plus women and later immigrants, and you have Zinn's amorphous constituency. & I particularly liked his excursus on how much people walked back in the day. New books! We’re glad you found a book that interests you. But the sheer scope and volume of this book is difficult to comprehend. Spanning the period between the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the revolutions of 1830, this lengthy little tome (1,000 pages---I bought it at $6 primarily for the value-per-page figure, although I was delighted at my dumb luck for having done so) covers mostly Europe, although it does digress into the Americas and China to explore the interactions of the Old World in the New. It's around 1,000 pages - I read it in two massive lumps about half each with around ten years gap between them - just finished it last year and got through the remaining half in about two days. ; Think of the authors, scientists, statesmen, generals, artists, reformers, and composers you know from the era and imagine a narrative that weaves them together with a sharp understanding of how they each changed the world. The southern apologists were still, in their hearts, ashamed of slavery. April 24th 1992 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. This is a history written by a journalist rather than an academic historian, and sadly is not a reliable source of information. Elie Wiesel (Just for the record, I hated Modern Times and the author likes to get spanked by prostitutes...) Beyond that, Johnson paints a picture of history which I've yet to see done. The depth and breadth of his scholarship is simply astonishing. Mr. Johnson's theory is that the modern world was created in the years between 1815 and 1830 and he takes a 1000 pages to try and prove his thesis. In a nutshell, The Clockwork Universe tells how the world progressed from 1600, when philosopher Giordano Bruno was burned at the stake by the Church for proclaiming that the earth was just one of an infinite number of planets, to 1705 when Isaac Newton was knighted by the Queen of England for his discoveries in physics, one them being how how gravity maintained planets' orbits around suns - … It connects so many it important pieces of innovation to what has become our modern world that it truly turned my head. Buy The Birth of the Modern: World Society 18151830 Unabridged by Johnson, Paul (ISBN: 9781455158126) from Amazon's Book Store. There are no discussion topics on this book yet. An interesting co-read with. Perhaps doing backbreaking labor six days a week and dying of syphilis in some back alley in Hamburg at the age of 36 didn’t make him appreciate his good fortune. It is well written, and there are many interesting vignettes, but there are also numerous errors that are readily evident, even to non-specialists. GENERAL HISTORY, by New this month: Scandal rocks an elite British boarding school in The Divines. Paul Johnson has a truly comprehensive mind and the book is well worth the effort it takes to read it, even at exactly 1000 pages. Timothy Patrick McCarthy. This thematic history of the world from 1780 to the onset of the First World War reveals that the world was far more 'globalised' at this time than is commonly thought. I especially liked the review that pointed out the many typos and to that review I added a report of a serious factual discrepancy. For me it wasn't something off-putting but something I sought out. Top-Down history, exclusionary of course, lovely stylistically I disagree with Johnson 's thesis seems to boil to... Books you want to read, eclipsing even a great victory a time of creativity unparalleled in history is in! 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