On the Edge of the New Century

The sequel to The Age of Extremes by "the best -known living historian in the world" (The Times, London). Eric Hobsbawm's The Age of Extremes was a remarkable phenomenon, a book of serious and challenging historical analysis that became a worldwide bestseller. Now, On the Edge of the New Century continues Hobsbawm's "magisterial" (The New York Times Book Review) analysis of the twentieth century, asking crucial questions about our inheritance from the century of conflict and its meanings for the years to come. Looking back over the last decade, Hobsbawm finds the distinctions between internal and international conflicts and between the state of war and the state of peace disappearing. He goes on to analyze the crisis of the multi-ethnic state and shows the distortions of history involved in the creation of its myths. He expresses his anxiety over the system of international relations between states that have so far ruled by colonialism and nuclear terror. Hobsbawm then assesses the impact that a popular global culture has had on every aspect of life, from happiness and social hierarchy to nutrition and the environment. Published this year throughout the world, On the Edge of the New Century is a concise summary of the thinking of one of the century's preeminent historians.