The World in the Long Twentieth Century An Interpretive History

"Clearly written and brimming with insight, Dickinson's global history of the past 150 years is a tour de force. Both novice and veteran historians will find the perspectives in these pages illuminating, especially with respect to political, economic, and environmental history."—J. R. McNeill, author of Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the 20th-Century World

" The World in the Long Twentieth Century offers a sweeping account of the powerful forces that have reshaped our world in modern times. The narrative arc of 'expansion,' 'explosion,' and 'acceleration' is compelling, and Dickinson’s strongly argued and well-supported emphasis on transformative technological, economic, and environmental forces is original. Moving beyond well-known cultural and political dimensions, this book presents a considerable amount of little-known information—often illustrated through fresh graphic presentations—that offers new ways to integrate this timely history into a truly global frame."—Ian Christopher Fletcher, coeditor of Women's Suffrage in the British Empire: Citizenship, Nation, and Race

" The World in the Long Twentieth Century is a remarkable contribution, offering a truly innovative approach to global history that lays the historical groundwork for understanding the socially and ecologically challenged world we confront today. It tells the story of the past 150 years from the planetary level, that is, from the perspective of human existence in and transformation of the natural world. With this planetary-ecological lens, Dickinson finds a compelling framework with which to synthesize the generally unsynthesizable twentieth century, with stories of mass migration, of imperialism and war and decolonization, of technological and economic transformation of the earth, and of the human condition."—Tracie Matysik, author of Reforming the Moral Subject: Ethics and Sexuality in Central Europe, 1890-1930

"College teachers at all levels will welcome Dickinson’s The World in the Long Twentieth Century, an insightful thematic approach to recent world history that presents a clear, logical, and fascinating alternative to traditional textbooks. His focus on long-term, worldwide changes—such as migration patterns, the removal of peasants from grasslands, and the 'explosion' of the early twentieth century—will give students a firm basis for understanding the forces that have built their world. This book is an intelligent, original conceptualization of world history that will stimulate student thinking and discussion. I cannot recommend it highly enough."—Shennan Hutton, editor of Sites of Encounter in the Medieval World, Lecturer in History at University of California, Davis