The Columbia History of the Twentieth Century

Written by specialists in fields that range from culture and politics to economics and technology, this guide to the 20th century presents a linked series of 23 interpretive essays on the most significant developments in modern times.

The contributors help make sense of the competing views of the century that have emerged from many world cultures and communities.Each author reveals underlying 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 alike.

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 Oppenheim's history of sports traces the spread of Western sports to all corners of the globe and the Western appropriation of such non-western activities as martial arts.

In each essay, the events, ideas, leading figures and issues of history, come together to illuminate cultural connection, diffusion and conflict.The book is arranged thematically into sections on culture, the political order, economics and technology, and the changes imminent on the eve of the 21st century.