On the Edge of the New Century

by Eric J. Hobsbawm, Allan Cameron (Translator), Antonio Polito (Interviewer)

On the Edge of the New Century is the sequel to Eric Hobsbawm's The Age of Extremes , a book of serious and challenging historical analysis that became a worldwide bestseller, now in paperback. Hobsbawm's latest book continues his "magisterial" ( The New York Times Book Review ) analysis of the twentieth century, and asks crucial questions about our inheritance from a century of conflict and its meaning for our future. Looking back over the last decade, Hobsbawm finds the distinction between internal and international conflicts and between the state of war and the state of peace disappearing as the crisis of the multiethnic state deepens and nations emerge from colonialism and nuclear terror. He assesses the impact that a popular global culture has had on every aspect of life, from happiness and social hierarchy to nutrition and the environment.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Politics, Philosophy, World History

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Eric John Ernest Hobsbawm was a British historian of the rise of industrial capitalism, socialism and nationalism. His best-known works include his tetralogy about what he called the "long 19th century" (The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848, The Age of Capital: 1848–1875 and The Age of Empire: 1875–1914) and the "short 20th century" (The Age of Extremes), and an edited volume that introduced the influential idea of "invented traditions". A life-long Marxist, his socio-political convictions influenced the character of his work.
Hobsbawm was born in Alexandria, Egypt, and spent his childhood mainly in Vienna and Berlin. Following the death of his parents and the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, Hobsbawm moved to London with his adoptive family. After serving in the Second World War, he obtained his PhD in history at the University of Cambridge. In 1998, he was appointed to the Order of the Companions of Honour. He was president of Birkbeck, University of London, from 2002 until his death. In 2003, he received the Balzan Prize for European History since 1900, "for his brilliant analysis of the troubled history of 20th century Europe and for his ability to combine in-depth historical research with great literary talent."

Reviews

[Malola]

It started 'meh'...
Though it's not particularly a format I like, it was rather intersting Hobsbawm's replies to contemporary questions.

[Kbrtrn]

biraz siyasi tarih okumak iyi geldi.. farkli acilardan olaylara bakan insanlari okumak insanin ufkunu genisletiyor..

[Titus Hjelm]

Historians predicting the future is a difficult genre and the value of this book todays is mostly as a document from the turn of the millennium. Some issues (like the decline of the left) Hobsbawm does well, but others (there's barely a word on climate change) not so much. Interview books such as this are an homage to the author and sometimes work, but this is a forgettable addition to Hobsbawm's otherwise brilliant oeuvre.

[Alain Acevedo]

Me interesa mucho más el Hobsbawm historiador que el Hobsbawm futurólogo.

[Damian Dolcera]

Lo que distingue a Hobsbawm como historiador, es su lucidez para interpretar hechos históricos y contar una historia convincente. En este libro, en formato entrevista, se diluye en buena medida esa capacidad, por dos razones: el tener que improvisar parte de las respuestas y que no haya pasado el tiempo suficiente para hablar de muchos de los temas que se abordan. En algunas partes es interesante, pero también es un libro muy de fines de los '90: por ejemplo, muchísima importancia a la causa Chechena o a la disolución de Yugoslavia. Si esos temas no son de interés, la lectura no es tan interesante.

[Yaşar G.]

Askeri eylemin, üzerinde geniş bir uzlaşı olmadıkça ve ciddi gerekçelere dayanmadıkça hiç bir güç tarafından gerçekleştirilemeyeceği ilkesine sıkı sıkıya sahip çıkmak durumundayız.
Birisi çıkıp da “Neyi istiyorsam onu yapacak güce sahibim, dolayısıyla ben bunu yaparım,” diyebiliyorsa dünyada her şey çıkmaza girer.

[Carlos CF]

Realmente hay mentes privilegiadas, brillantes, que no anticipan el futuro pero comprenden de donde venimos y hacia donde vamos y, desde la incertidumbre, plantean escenarios. Si esos análisis los lees 20 años después de su publicación, puedes valorar la capacidad del autor y entender como sociedad dónde nos encontramos hoy y porqué.

[alex]

Lo leí por introducción a la política; me interesaron los trabajos de Hobsbawm pero nunca falla en darme el típico ick de cuando historiadores quieren predecir el futuro de manera precisa. Valoro más análisis que tengan en cuenta lo impredecible que el riesgo de una certeza poco certera. Overall me gustó el formato de entrevista.

[Bryan Alcazar]

Esencial para historiadores y curiosos en el tema. Hobsbawm expone un gran análisis sobre lo que fue el siglo XX, y da algunas pautas sobre lo que puede ser el siglo XXI. A pesar de que fue un texto compilado a finales del siglo XX, no deja de sorprender lo actual que pueden ser sus palabras.

[Julian Pritchard]

This book is ok. It's just a series of interviews with Hobsbawm about his predictions for the future, some of which have aged much better than others. He kind of blames 'identity politics' for the failures of the Left.

[Alberto]

Leer a Hobsbawm es siempre interesante y leer sobre los usos políticos e ideológicos del pasado lo es aún más. Sin duda, mi historiador predilecto.

[Gustavo Pitz]

Resumo das ideias do Hobs

[Dejan]

An extended interview - not a book. Good, easy read either way.

[Hüseyin Çötel]

Daha önce pek de okumadığım üzerine düşünmediğim alanlarda bir kitap politika, kapitalizm vs. Bir çok bilmediğim ...izmler ...cılıklar ve politik figurler var. Şu anki hayatımda ilgimi çeken şeyler değil belki 20 yıl sonra okusam sevebilirdim. Ayrıca röportaj tipi oradan oraya dalgalanan kitapları hiç sevemiyorum. Bütünlükten kopuyorlar.

[Sara Willis]

Reading "On the Edge of the New Century" was, for me, an inchoate experience with Eric Hobsbawm. I did not know where to place his history other than having a rudimentary idea of him having been influenced by marxism in the past. This book was therefore difficult to situate for me. This was exacerbated by the structure of the text, a question/answer form, which made some of the answers inescapably generalized for someone with little prior knowledge. Regardless of my limitations this was a rewarding and informative read and sparked my interest in more Hobsbawm, perhaps The Age of Extremes will be next.

[Aaron]

Not a bad read. Hobsbawm was quite prescient in places. The book suffers from being written in the context of NATO's 78-day campaign in Kosovo and spends more time on recent events than on the wider question of the end of the Cold War and explaining why it ended and what that meant for regions around the world. It is also quite weak on US predominance and its aloofness in Bosnia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Other than that not a bad series of reflections.

[Ángel]

La entrevista realizada por Antonio Polito a Eric Hobsbawm enfatiza el derrotero que el capitalismo habrá de seguir tras la finalización de aquel siglo corto (1914-1991), que según el británico se cerró con la desaparición definitiva de los bloques políticos.

[Denise Senmartin]

el comienzo de mi camino global

[Macarena Guerrero]

If its Hobsbawm it's great

[Marina Popkewitz]

Devia ter lido na faculdade. Hobsbawn sempre foi um dos autores mais acessíveis.

[Zeynep]

Bu dönem aldığım 3 dersin özeti niteliginde, gayet akıcı bir kitap, daha doğrusu röportaj.

[dv]

Ideale, breve seguito a Il secolo breve, tocca con buon senso diversi punti di vista contemporanei, con un approccio laico verso le nuove tecnologie e attento alla situazione italiana.

[Ale]

Abarca