The Columbia History of the 20th Century

by Bulliet, Richard W.

• ISBN13: 9780231076296
• ISBN10: 0231076290
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2000-05-01
• Publisher: Columbia Univ Pr

Summary

In the parade of highlights with which many have tried to sum up the twentieth century, the overarching patterns and fundamental transformations often fail to come into focus. The Columbia History of the 20th Century, however, is much more than a chronicle of the previous century's front-page news. Instead, the book is a series of twenty-three linked interpretive essays on the most significant developments in modern times--ranging from athletics to art, the economy to the environment.Rather than presenting a linear narrative, each author uncovers patterns of worldwide change. James Mayall, for example, writes on nationalism from the rise of European fascism to the rise of Asian and African nations; Sheila Fitzpatrick traces the history of communism and socialism in Moscow and Havana. In her chapter on women and gender, Rosalind Rosenberg covers the progress of women's rights throughout the world, from Middle Eastern activism to the American feminist movement. Jean-Marc Ran Oppenheim's history of sports traces the spread of Western sports to all corners of the globe and the West's appropriation of such activities as martial arts. In each, the important strands of history--events, ideas, leading figures, issues--come together to offer an illuminating look at cultural connection, diffusion, and conflict, showing in stark relief how this period has been unlike any preceding era of human history.

Table of Contents

Contributors	ix
Introduction	1	(6)
Richard W. Bulliet
High Culture	7	(24)
Richard W. Bulliet
Popular Culture	31	(22)
Richard W. Bulliet
The ``Woman Question''	53	(28)
Rosalind Rosenberg
Religion	81	(21)
Zachary Karabell
Athletics: Play and Politics	102	(25)
Jean-Marc Ran Oppenheim
Ethnicity and Racism	127	(20)
J. Paul Martin
Imperialism and Decolonization	147	(25)
Ainslee Embree
Nationalism	172	(31)
James Mayall
Socialism and Communism	203	(26)
Sheila Fitzpatrick
The International Order	229	(19)
Akira Iriye
War: Institution Without Portfolio	248	(14)
Robert L. O'Connell
Industry and Business	262	(21)
William N. Parker
Money and Economic Change	283	(31)
William C. McNeil
Technology and Invention	314	(31)
Christopher Freeman
Agriculture: Crops, Livestock, and Farmers	345	(36)
B. F. Stanton
Communications	381	(22)
Jahan Salehi
Richard W. Bulliet
Transportation	403	(34)
John C. Spychalski
Scientific Thought	437	(24)
Eric Holtzman
Paths to Discovery	461	(22)
Neil Degrasse Tyson
Twentieth-Century Medicine	483	(25)
David Rosner
Ecology and the Environment	508	(20)
Mary Corliss Pearl
Cities	528	(15)
Kenneth T. Jackson
Demography and Population Movements	543	(14)
Georges Sabagh
Epilogue: The Twenty-first Century	557	(8)
Richard W. Bulliet
Index	565