Medieval and Modern Times: An Introduction to the History of Western Europe from the Dissolution of the Roman Empire to the Present Time - Revised to Include the Great War of 1914-1918

by James Harvey Robinson

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Genres: History

790 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1903

About the author

James Harvey Robinson, American historian.

Reviews

[Darren Goossens · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review first appeared on my blog.

This edition of this history book came out in 1926. It's quite a handsome volume.



At this time, Europe was still a (possibly 'the') powerful force shaping all corners of the world to suit itself. World War One had knocked Europe down and, relatively speaking, lifted the USA, Japan and some other countries up, but the British Empire was still very much a major world force. The book is, inevitably, redolent of 19th century ideas around colonisation and race. The title, for example, is not terribly apposite by modern standards - the book essentially looks at European history, and, near the end, the European-style countries (e.g. USA, Canada) that emerged later. It is rather like a history of Europe and its tentacles. The subtitle (history of western civilisation) makes this clear enough, I suppose.



There is much that is interesting, and the narrative flows by easily, though feels a little low in information density. Many of the illustrations are of interest. Each chapters ends with a list of questions to check reading comprehension, and each has an associated set  of readings listed in the back.

It can be read profitably but inevitably is redolent of a time when it was acceptable to call the indigenous people of a continent 'savages'. Very much 'white man history'.

Being poised between the world wars, some of the material around the state of the world at the time of writing is interesting as a snapshot of expectations at a point in time.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fascinating to read this old text book which is now published by Riverbend Press, a Charlotte Mason publisher. Though I learned a lot from this thoroughly researched history, Robinson's bias and enthusiasms, largely Anglophile and antiCatholic are too evident for an historian.