false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1223648432m/55304.jpg 55304 21 The history of the 20th century is marked by two great narratives: nations locked in savage wars over ideology and territory, and scientists overturning the received wisdom of preceding generations. For Paul Johnson, the modern era begins with one of the second types of revolutions, in 1919, when English astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington translated observations from a solar eclipse into proof of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, which turned Newtonian physics on its head. Eddington's research became an international <I>cause célèbre</I>: "No exercise in scientific verification, before or since, has ever attracted so many headlines or become a topic of universal conversation," Johnson writes, and it made Einstein into science's first real folk hero.<p> Einstein looms large over Johnson's narrative, as do others who sought to harness the forces of nature and society: men like Mao Zedong, "a big, brutal, earthy and ruthless peasant," and Adolf Hitler, creator of "a brutal, secure, conscience-less, successful, and, for most Germans, popular regime." Johnson takes a contentious conservative viewpoint throughout: he calls the 1960s "America's suicide attempt," deems the Watergate affair "a witch-hunt ... run by liberals in the media," and deems the rise of Margaret Thatcher a critical element in Western civilization's "recovery of freedom"--arguable propositions all, but ones advanced in a stimulating and well-written narrative that provides much food for thought in the course of its more than 800 pages. <I>--Gregory McNamee</I> 318488 book 1983 Modern Times: The World from the Twenties to the Nineties total:207|5:99|4:79|3:20|2:6|1:3| 207 886 374 35 4 1 false false Tue Feb 10 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sat Jun 28 09:33:38 -0700 2008 Wed Feb 11 06:15:41 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Tue Nov 27 00:00:00 -0800 2001 Mon Jun 02 07:59:11 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 02 08:02:43 -0700 2008
His books do take some effort to get through. Long sentences, long paragraphs, long chapte...more...]]> 5 1 false false Mon Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Jan 12 06:51:11 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 15 03:16:16 -0800 2009
He also has a "premise" woven throughout the book, that with the change from moral thinking to "relative" thinking, there was a huge shift in culture and history. ...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 1994 Mon Jun 30 08:22:37 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 30 08:24:22 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Wed Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 1983 Sat May 23 12:47:23 -0700 2009 Sat May 23 12:49:55 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Sat Nov 21 12:05:14 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 21 12:06:23 -0800 2009 1 0 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Jan 06 09:16:14 -0800 2008 Thu Jun 04 11:51:05 -0700 2009
"We read this book with our home school reading group, and I was particularly struck by the bloodiness of modern history. Communism, fascism, socialism, philosophies of government aimed at manmade utopias on earth, ...more...]]> 0 0 false false Sun Feb 22 16:57:10 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 22 16:57:10 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Mon Mar 09 00:00:00 -0800 1987 Thu Dec 18 20:15:27 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 18 20:15:27 -0800 2008 5 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 11 16:14:57 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 11 17:31:55 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1988 Sat Mar 21 12:06:05 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 23 06:31:03 -0700 2009 2 4 0 false false Thu Oct 02 22:07:33 -0700 2008 Mon Nov 03 06:20:40 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Nov 01 00:00:00 -0800 2005 Sat Nov 14 06:24:54 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 14 06:24:54 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 1985 Tue May 19 07:18:09 -0700 2009 Tue May 19 07:18:30 -0700 2009 0 0 true false Tue Jan 27 15:00:14 -0800 2009 Fri Jul 10 06:45:48 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Jun 14 19:12:59 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 19:12:59 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Thu May 01 00:00:00 -0700 2003 Sat Aug 18 10:09:58 -0700 2007 Sat Aug 18 10:19:20 -0700 2007 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jul 05 00:00:00 -0700 2002 Thu Jan 08 14:29:36 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 08 14:30:14 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Tue Jul 29 18:10:44 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 29 18:10:55 -0700 2008
I honestly think Mr Johnson correctly calls out foolishiness w...more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue May 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Dec 08 17:54:10 -0800 2008 Tue May 19 20:40:24 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=55304