Events That Changed the World in the Twentieth Century

(Hardback)

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The aftershocks of the volatile 20th century will be felt for generations to come. In order to understand the current and future direction of the world, it is imperative to reflect on this century's seminal events and their lasting impact. Designed for students, this resource offers detailed descriptions and expert analysis of the 20th century's most important events: World War I, the Russian Revolution, the Rise of Fascism, the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, the Chinese Revolution, the end of Colonialism and the Rise of the Third World, European unification, and the collapse of the Soviet Union. Each of the events is dealt with in a separate chapter. An introductory essay presenting the facts about each event precedes an interpretive essay by a recognised authority on the event. Exploring beyond the traditional textbook treatment of history, these interpretive essays consider the immediate and far-reaching ramifications of each event. Through this innovative approach, students should be inspired to further analyse these events not only from an historical perspective, but also in the context of the world in which they live today. In order to make complex history easily understandable, the introductory essay for each event provides factual background in a clear, concise, chronological manner. Written for a general readership, the interpretive essays assess each event in terms of its political, economic, sociocultural and international/diplomatic impact. Some essays validate the norm, while others challenge conventional wisdom; all reflect the most recent scholarship concerning each event. Each interpretive essay is followed by an annotated bibliography that identifies the most important and most recent scholarship about the respective events. A photo of each event offers a visual component to the narrative. The volume contains four useful appendices: a glossary of names, events, organisations, treaties and terms; a timeline of important events in the 20th-century world history; the population of selected countries; and a list of states achieving independence since 1945. This work is useful for the high school, community college, and undergraduate library reference shelf, as well as supplementary reading in social studies and world history courses.

Reviews

.,."recommended for college-level and high school pursuit...packed with detail and will prove important supplemental reading for history courses...a strong collection analyzing the 20th century's most important world events. Introductions to each event, essays contributed by authorities in their fields, and bibliographic references provide students with a wealth of information for research."- The Bookwatch
...recommended for college-level and high school pursuit...packed with detail and will prove important supplemental reading for history courses...a strong collection analyzing the 20th century's most important world events. Introductions to each event, essays contributed by authorities in their fields, and bibliographic references provide students with a wealth of information for research.- The Bookwatch
[r]ecommended to students seeking topics for term papers who need a quick guide to the historical figures and academic debates in the field. Most useful are the annotated bibliographies that clearly and concisely summarize the arguments of the books listed.-The Sixteenth Century Journal
High school and undergraduate students will find these essays useful and readable. Descriptive essays summarize the short-term and long-term ramifications of both world wars, the Russian and Chinese revolutions, the rise of fascism, the Depression, the rise of the Third World, and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and discuss key figures and the decisions they made that changed history.-Reference & Research Book News
"recommended to students seeking topics for term papers who need a quick guide to the historical figures and academic debates in the field. Most useful are the annotated bibliographies that clearly and concisely summarize the arguments of the books listed."-The Sixteenth Century Journal
..."recommended for college-level and high school pursuit...packed with detail and will prove important supplemental reading for history courses...a strong collection analyzing the 20th century's most important world events. Introductions to each event, essays contributed by authorities in their fields, and bibliographic references provide students with a wealth of information for research."- The Bookwatch
"[r]ecommended to students seeking topics for term papers who need a quick guide to the historical figures and academic debates in the field. Most useful are the annotated bibliographies that clearly and concisely summarize the arguments of the books listed."-The Sixteenth Century Journal
"High school and undergraduate students will find these essays useful and readable. Descriptive essays summarize the short-term and long-term ramifications of both world wars, the Russian and Chinese revolutions, the rise of fascism, the Depression, the rise of the Third World, and the collapse of the Soviet Union, and discuss key figures and the decisions they made that changed history."-Reference & Research Book News

Author Bio

FRANK W. THACKERAY is coeditor of the Greenwood Press Events That Changed the World Series, coeditor of Statesmen Who Changed the World: A Bio-Bibliographical Dictionary of Diplomacy (Greenwood Press, 1993), and author of Antecedents of Revolution: Alexander I and the Polish Congress Kingdom, 1815-1825 (1980). He is Professor of History at Indiana University Southeast. He received a Fulbright Doctoral Dissertation Research Grant to Poland and has written extensively about Russo-Polish relations in the 19th and 20th centuries. JOHN E. FINDLING is coeditor of the Greenwood Press Events That Changed the World Series. He is the author of Dictionary of American Diplomatic History (Greenwood Press, rev. ed., 1989), and Close Neighbors, Distant Friends: U.S.-Central American Relations (1987). He is the editor of Historical Dictionary of Worlds Fairs and Expositions (1990) and coeditor of Statesmen Who Changed the World: A Bio-Bibliographical Dictionary of Diplomacy (Greenwood Press, 1993). He is Professor of History at Indiana University Southeast.