Modern Times

by Paul Johnson

[This is part 1 of a two part audiobook Cassette edition.]

[Read by Nadia May]

Earning spot #11 on National Review's list of the Best Nonfiction Books of the Century, this fast-paced, all-encompassing narrative history covers the great events, ideas, and personalities of the six decades following the end of World War I, and offers a full-scale--if controversial--analysis of how the modern age came into being and where it is heading.

Beginning on May 29, 1919, when photographs of the solar eclipse confirmed the truth of Einstein's theory of relativity, Johnson goes on to describe Freudianism, the establishment of the first Marxist state, the chaos of ''Old Europe,'' the Arcadian twenties, and the new forces in China and Japan. Also discussed are Karl Marx, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Roosevelt, Gandhi, Castro, Kennedy, Nixon, the '29 crash, the Great Depression, Roosevelt's New Deal, and the massive conflict of World War II.

Genres: History

Audio Cassette

Published August 1, 1997

About the author

Paul Johnson works as a historian, journalist and author. He was educated at Stonyhurst School in Clitheroe, Lancashire and Magdalen College, Oxford, and first came to prominence in the 1950s as a journalist writing for, and later editing, the New Statesman magazine. He has also written for leading newspapers and magazines in Britain, the US and Europe.

Paul Johnson has published over 40 books including A History of Christianity (1979), A History of the English People (1987), Intellectuals (1988), The Birth of the Modern: World Society, 1815—1830 (1991), Modern Times: A History of the World from the 1920s to the Year 2000 (1999), A History of the American People (2000), A History of the Jews (2001) and Art: A New History (2003) as well as biographies of Elizabeth I (1974), Napoleon (2002), George Washington (2005) and Pope John Paul II (1982).

Reviews

[Eric C 1965 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommend this for 20th century history. Part 39 of the audio gives a great exposition of totalitarian government and why rule of law is so important. Also good is the philosophy of politics including the history of the rise of secularism while the survival of religious beliefs despite predictions of its demise. This book shows how important it is to not skip over history that doesn't fit our own narrative.

[Steven H · Rating 3 out of 5]

THE POPULAR HISTORIAN LOOKS AT 20TH CENTURY HISTORY

[NOTE: This review applies to the entire book, not just Part 1.]

Paul Bede Johnson (born 1928) is an English journalist, popular historian, and author; he has also written books such as 'A History of the American People,' 'A History of Christianity,' 'A History of the Jews,' and 'Intellectuals.' This book was first published in 1983, and the revised edition in 1991.

He asserts that "though Lenin understood very well how to create a despotism, he had no practical vision of the Utopia at all." (Pg. 88) He refers to Oswald Spengler (The Decline of the West: Abridged Edition) as "a foolish and pedantic schoolteacher." (Pg. 126)

In discussing pre-WWII Germany, he identifies an "East-West division, and it is one of the central themes of modern times... The principal characteristic of the pre-war German regime of princes, generals and landowners, the law-professors who endowed it with academic legitimacy, and the Lutheran pastors who gave it moral authority, was illiberalism... When Germany responded to the pull of the West, it met disaster; when it pursued its destiny in the East, it fulfilled itself." (Pg. 111)

He suggests that "The tragedy of inter-war China illustrates the principle that when legitimacy yields to force, and moral absolutes to relativism, a great darkness descends and angels become indistinguishable from devils." (Pg. 201) Later, he opines, "Surveying this watershed year of 1941, from which mankind has descended into its present predicament, the historian cannot but be astounded by the decisive role of individual will. Hitler and Stalin played chess with humanity..." (Pg. 376)

This book contains liberal doses of Johnson's characteristically-strong opinions; but as with his other books, it is always engagingly written and often thought-provoking.

[Derek Neighbors · Rating 2 out of 5]

Great content, but soooo slow and boring. I wanted to like this. I love history. I just couldn't get into it at all. I rarely start a book and don't finish it. I slogged 3/4 through this one and finally gave up.