History of the Twentieth Century

The condensed edition of Gilbert’s three-volume History is a drink from a firehose. It is clear and well-written but probably best read in sections as there is so much history covered. A rewarding compilation of events you know, others you may have forgotten, and some of which you were unaware.The book itself was new, in perfect condition.

I am really enjoying this book (almost done). I have learned a lot of what went on in the 20th century. I have really enjoyed learning about how Europe was redefined after the world wars and how colonialism has such a long lasting negative impact on the continent of Africa. It also highlights the cruelty of humans and the suffering that so many deranged people in history have inflicted on others.My only criticisms of the book are that most of it centers on war as opposed to the many other things that were going on during the century. There are numerous references to how many people were killed in various coups, battles, or calamities.Also, the author cites numerous dates throughout the book but typically only includes the year in the date at the beginning of the section/chapter. For example, he may begin a chapter, "On January 6, 1941..." but from that point on, he seldom states the year again. So, many pages later he will state, "On October 2nd,..." On many, many occasions, I could not tell what year an event was taking place because I had forgotten or glossed over the one time when the year was mentioned at the beginning of the section. I started placing a bookmark whenever a year was mentioned to help me quickly find out what year the author was referring to when he said such and such leader was assassinated on Feb 24th.This is a minor complaint relative to the book as a whole and how much excellent information is included. I recommend you give it a read! But, bookmark each page that mentions a year:)

This book is a great resource for writers who need basic information when doing historical research. Highly recommended.

This book has a tremendous amount of information in it and as such we have begun using it as our spine text for senior high school world history. I would offer, however, that it might be a bit much for some students whose minds tend to wander when reading. We have found that listening to the audio book while following along on the page is the best way to process this much information. Great resource. Just understand that it is an advanced read.

Gilbert's work is far reaching and full of information, but it's really a chronicle of the 20th century rather than a historical work. As such the significance of some events is largely lost in the tide of dates and names. The book also suffers from a lack of footnotes and sources, which is all the more problematic since there are multiple inaccurate and misleading statements throughout, especially early on.All in all it's an easy read and does help paint a broad, if shallow, understanding of the events of the 20th century, but inaccuracies and a lack of sources and analysis leaves a lot to be desired.

Gilbert's condensed treatise on the 20th century is masterful. There are few issues I take with this work, aside from the natural biases all authors have. For instance, the Tienanmen Square protests were given a measly 4 sentences of prose, whereas commentary on violence in Northern Ireland could have filled its own separate volume. That aside, this is a fantastic book and a must-read for any amateur student of history.

It's very informative, and as an American I really appreciated a historical account that's divorced from the U.S. perspective. The concise version does suffer a bit, as a lot of the more personal details that Gilbert likes to focus on (such as inventions and discoveries in science and technology and the people who made them) get only a couple sentences as a bookend to the sections. Writing is clear and interesting, if a little dry at times.

My Daughter LOVES this book. It is being used as her 11th grade History curriculum. She loves that it focuses on straight up facts and not on minute details, such as what someone was wearing or what the weather was like that day.In the past she has struggled to love History, and though she still isn't thrilled about the subject, this book has made it much more enjoyable and easier for her to digest.

An extensive report of the last century, rich in details and facts and depicting the underlying factors that explain the plot.

Really one of the best history books I've read - love the way he narrates date by date and moves seamlessly between different events in different continents, AND I finally know what Billy Joel was talking about in "We Didn't start The Fire" (my new favourite song, after reading this book!). Midway through I noticed that there were 20 pages missing (circa 360-380) so check your copy as soon as you get it.

Provides a great summary/survey and knowledge at a rock bottom price.

Great read from a superlative author!

As with all these concise histories there's always things that I feel I would have liked more/less detail on but this is pretty much the best that I've come across.