The Transformation of the World: A Global History of the Nineteenth Century - by Jürgen Osterhammel

 

Book Description

A monumental history of the nineteenth century, The Transformation of the World offers a panoramic and multifaceted portrait of a world in transition. Jürgen Osterhammel, an eminent scholar who has been called the Braudel of the nineteenth century, moves beyond conventional Eurocentric and chronological accounts of the era, presenting instead a truly global history of breathtaking scope and towering erudition. He examines the powerful and complex forces that drove global change during the "long nineteenth century," taking readers from New York to New Delhi, from the Latin American revolutions to the Taiping Rebellion, from the perils and promise of Europe's transatlantic labor markets to the hardships endured by nomadic, tribal peoples across the planet. Osterhammel describes a world increasingly networked by the telegraph, the steamship, and the railways. He explores the changing relationship between human beings and nature, looks at the importance of cities, explains the role slavery and its abolition played in the emergence of new nations, challenges the widely held belief that the nineteenth century witnessed the triumph of the nation-state, and much more.

This is the highly anticipated English edition of the spectacularly successful and critically acclaimed German book, which is also being translated into Chinese, Polish, Russian, and French. Indispensable for any historian, The Transformation of the World sheds important new light on this momentous epoch, showing how the nineteenth century paved the way for the global catastrophes of the twentieth century, yet how it also gave rise to pacifism, liberalism, the trade union, and a host of other crucial developments.

Product Details

Publisher : Princeton University Press; Reprint edition (September 15, 2015)

Language: : English

Paperback : 1192 pages

ISBN-10 : 0691169802

ISBN-13 : 978-0691169804

Item Weight : 3.56 pounds

Dimensions : 6.1 x 2.2 x 9.2 inches

Best Sellers Rank:

    #134,747 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

    #166 in History of Engineering & Technology

    #200 in History of Technology

    #365 in Economic History (Books)

Reviews

"Massive . . . interesting . . . impressive. . . . The coverage is in many respects much greater than that of Braudel, not only geographically but also conceptually. . . . Osterhammel's ambition, industry and scale shows up the work of all-too-many other historians. Similar books should be produced for other centuries. Let us hope that British historians can rise to the challenge of writing them."---Jeremy Black, Standpoint

"The Transformation of the World stands as both an essential compendium of knowledge about human civilization on planet Earth in the nineteenth century and a unique monument of historical art."---Matthew Karp, Journal of American History

"One of Project Syndicate’s Best Reads in 2017 (chosen by Mark Leonard)"

"The Transformation of the World is both a pleasure and a necessary education. The present reader, for one, found the book hard to put down--and not on account of its weight."---Mark Gamsa, European History Quarterly

"[A] work of panoramic scope and rare historical imagination."---Tony Barber, Financial Times

"Osterhammel has given us the densest and arguably the most closely reasoned volume yet on this period."---Patrick Manning, H-Net Reviews

"In this sweeping panorama, Osterhammel captures the dramatic shifts in how people lived and understood life during the nineteenth century. . . . Osterhammel offers a rich 'global history' of the century, one that features the West prominently but avoids Eurocentrism with vivid portraits of non-Western peoples and societies." ― Foreign Affairs

"One of Bloomberg Businessweek’s Best Books of 2014, chosen by Satiyajit Das"

"A tome that the scholar who exults in original thought will fall in love with. It is a fascinating expose. . . . This is definitely a book for my shelves, reinforced though they will have to be."---Ian Lipke, MediaCulture.org,

"The patient reader who finishes this 1,000-page tour of the 19th century emerges with a richer, deeper grasp, a better sense of what is truly unique about the global village, and global Asia, of our own times. This is world history at its best."---John Delury, Global Asia

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