A History of the Modern World - by Jeremy Black (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Written by lead historian Jeremy Black, this fascinating hardback reference guide charts an incredible history of the modern world, beautifully visualized with full-color images throughout.

In this masterful account, Black explores the key themes that have shaped the history of the modern world since 1950. Eschewing a simple political narrative, he instead explores the roles of the environment, demographics, the economy and technology in driving change in the world.

The story begins in 1950, by which time a new world order had come into place, with Communism firmly established in Russia, Eastern Europe and China, decolonisation well underway in the old European empires, and the American monopoly on nuclear weaponry at an end, setting the stage for the Cold War.

Over the course of the next 75 years, the world changed immeasurably - the population nearly tripled; climate change became ever more pronounced; new liberal values regarding gender, sexuality and age took hold; television and then the internet became the primary drivers of culture; and a new frontier of exploration opened up in space. At the same time tensions continued in politics, with alternative models of democracy and authoritarianism coming into fierce conflict and a range of new countries emerging through decolonization.

Ranging widely across the globe, A History of the World from 1950 sheds new light on this fascinating era.

About the Author

Jeremy Black MBE is one of the leading historians in Britain today. He is Visiting Professor to the Indonesian Staff College, Emeritus Professor of History at the University of Exeter, Distinguished Fellow in the Center for Military History and Strategy at Hillsdale College, Senior Research Fellow of the British Foreign Policy Group, and Senior Fellow of the Foreign Policy Research Institute. In 2008, he won the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize from the Society for Military History. He has written over 100 books covering 18th-century transatlantic history, international relations, the role of the press and the nature of warfare among other subjects. Many of his books have become staples of university courses across the United Kingdom. Some of his recent titles include A History of the 20th Century (2020), A Brief History of the Pacific (2023) and The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History (2024).