A History of the Twentieth Century

Entertaining. Worth reading.

This was an interesting book. Entertaining and it contains a lot of information that I didn't already know.

One thing that confuses me is that in the wrap up of the audio book it says that you have just finished reading "the condensed version of Martin Gilbert's 3 volume work." In the description of the book it clearly says unabridged. I don't know what condensed means if it doesn't mean shortened. Also, if the book was indeed abridged that would help explain a few mysteries which I had earlier chalked up to either an omission on the author or a case of me spacing out during portions of the book. There were a few times when it seemed like certain individuals were referenced without ever being introduced. Also the author covered the space race a lot, but then there was no mention of the moon landing.

Long story short: this is worth buying, but it's possible that you aren't getting the whole book.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

A Focus on the Facts with Minimal Commentary

What made the experience of listening to A History of the Twentieth Century the most enjoyable?

Getting a breakdown of events across the globe decade by decade gives the listener a unique perspective on major happenings (mostly catastrophes) of the century. After finishing this work, one can see how difficult it is for modern historians to sort through the sheer volume of information to find some thread of reason behind it all.

What was one of the most memorable moments of A History of the Twentieth Century?

As I lover of world history, I was surprised to find so many critical details I had previously missed. For example, other works originally led me to think that WWI was sort of everyone's fault. 'However, after listening to a blow by blow progression of events the Kaiself himself seems to deserve most of the blame. . In addition, I had no idea that so much upheval occurred in the Soviet Union during the interwar period.

What aspect of John Curless’s performance would you have changed?

He kind of grows on you after a few hours, but I initially felt that he wasn't enunciating properly. He does well with pronunciation and really deserves at least 3.5 stars.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, its fairly engaging but you really should limit yourself to one decade a day. Otherwise its easy to lose focus and end up Leopold's Congo thinking that the author is still discussing Republican China.

Any additional comments?

I think this work should have been shortened to only focus on its strong points_ politics, international relations and war. The terse references to developments in science, art and popular culture also seemed somewhat out of place,One other thing I could have done without was the author's bizarre obsession with automobile-related fatalities for which he provides almost yearly statistics.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

I didn't know that.

I have always been a history buff, but this has opened my eye to a lot of 'hidden' history. I have not managed to listen to the whole book yet, but I currently live in Ukraine and have surprised some of my Ukrainian friends by knowing more of their history than they do. Also taking the history year by year puts things into proportion.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

A History of the Twentieth Century

A History of the Twentieth Century
By Martin Gilbert

The author is the biographer of Winston Churchill. He chronicles world's events year by year from the dawn of aviation to the flourishing technology age, interpersing the influence of art, music, and religion. The 20th Century, says Churchill, is the century of the common man, who suffered much of the savages of the wars and tyranny. Inventions of new technology flourished, with man as its main beneficiary and, at the same time, as it's main victim with the inventions of atomic bombs, nuclear bombs and nuclear weapons of mass destruction. On a positive note, motorcars and airplanes brought mobility to millions of people. But the motorcars alone killed one million from 1933-1961 (in a span of 28 years) in road accidents in the US! Gramophones, submarines, zeppelins, telephones, landing in the moon, TVs, fax machines, internet, cellphones were some of the inventions and many more. It's also a century of the Refugees and natural calamities (such as earthquakes, tsunamis and other events of catastrophic proportions). Concentration camps & gulags killed many Jews and Russians. Many nations were born in this century which were part of bigger nations. Human rights were violated in many countries, resulting to many human lives lost. Famines, plagues and diseases also killed millions of people. Eradication of diseases prolonged lives. But poverty continues as we ended the 20th Century. The past, as an American historian says, is the "doormat" to the future. We have now experienced nearly the first two decades of the 21st Century and we continue to have some elements of the past. Hopefully, we don't have a Third World War if we continue to understand each other as a nation and inventions should only be used to benefit mankind!

Wide ranging, but lacking.

Gilbert's work is far reaching and full of information, but it's really a chronicle of the 20th century rather than a work of historical analysis. As such the significance of most events is largely lost in the tide of dates and names. The book also suffers from a lack of footnotes and sources in the print and Kindle versions (I bought this with Whispersync for a class), which is all the more problematic since there are multiple inaccurate and misleading statements throughout, especially early on.

John Curless's narration was pleasant, if a bit dry, but I guess that's to be expected given the material.

All in all it's an easy read and does help give 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.

More interested in war than economic development

Very informative in terms of human rights and the balls wars and conflicts of the twentieth century. However, if you're interested in consumerism, living standards, and disposable time and income, this book is a disappointment.

Solid Review of the 20th century

I really appreciated the author's attention to detail and coverage of so many different events, figures, inventions, and countries in this very significant century.

A monumental achievement.

Where does A History of the Twentieth Century rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Certainly among the tops. World history is covered year by year, and recounts many of the most significant events and cultural milestones from across the globe. If you like history, this is a terrific work. The reader is excellent.

I have a couple of criticisms specific to the audiobook production:-- It's hard to keep track of what year is being covered, which is a real issue given that the book deals with 100 years. This wouldn't be a problem in the print version, but it's a very distracting issue in the audio version. I'm constantly rewinding to find the year mentioned at the beginning of the chapter. a task complicated by the fact that audio chapters don't correspond to book chapters, and there's no labeling in the audible chapter list. It's aggravating, and adds a lot of unnecessary time. I wish there some sort of reminder added in along the way, e.g., "Also in 1923..."

[BTW, I am always annoyed by the lack of chapter labeling in audiobooks, but one rarely contends with 100 chapters.]. Often the transition from one story to the next is too quick, so from time to time, you'll be part way into the next event before you realize you've moved from one country to another. Given that the reader's pace is very well modulated, I suspect that this was a time-shaving editing decision.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The author, for having the talent and patience to successfully make sense of 100 years of world history.

What about John Curless’s performance did you like?

Clear, with a really good sense of what to highlight emotionally.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Massive wars, revolutionary technologies, a world communicating for the first time in history... here's the story of the century that changed humankind.

Any additional comments?

It's hard to think of another source that covers so much in such a concise and understandable way.

Clear and concise description of history.

Provided a clear and concise description of history in methodical manner. Of course their were aspects of historical significance left out, but covered the bulk of the most significant and not so mentioned (car fatalities) aspects that shaped our modern time.

Super Straightforward

Would you listen to A History of the Twentieth Century again? Why?

Absolutely. The book is pretty dense so there is room for a few listens here.

What did you like best about this story?

This was one of the most unique audio books I've ever listened to. There is absolutely no analysis. Instead it is a complete narration of events as they occurred. While this can be a bit strange at times it really does give a unique feeling of how the century progressed. It was kind of like watching a news reel.

What about John Curless’s performance did you like?

His unwavering, almost monotone voice was perfect for the style of this book.