Twentieth Century History For Dummies

This lively guide takes you on an entertaining trip through one of the most eventful eras in world history. Covering the world wars and a new world order, the advent of space travel, and huge advances in science and technology, Twentieth Century History For Dummies introduces you to the people, places, politics, and events that have shaped the world as we know it today.

Introduction. Part I: The Great War Years: 1900–19. Chapter 1: Overview of a Century. Chapter 2: Fin de Siècle – Wrapping Up the Nineteenth Century. Chapter 3: The Great War: 1914–18. Part II: The Years of the Great Dictators: 1919–45. Chapter 4: The Red Flag – Communism. Chapter 5: Men in Black (Shirts): The Right–Wing Dictators. Chapter 6: The Twenties: The Decade that Roared. Chapter 7: I’m the King of the World! Europe’s Empires. Chapter 8: Depression and Aggression. Chapter 9: The War of the World. Part III: The Divided World: 1945–89. Chapter 10: You’re Cold as Ice! The Cold War. Chapter 11: Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me: The End of Empires. Chapter 12: Africa’s Wind of Change. Chapter 13: Going Bananas: Latin America. Chapter 14: Asian Tigers. Chapter 15: Disneyland: Post–War America. Chapter 16: Red on Red: Russia and China. Part IV: To the Millennium. Chapter 17: Muddle in the Middle East. Chapter 18: Europe Rides Again. Chapter 19: New Order: Wrapping up the Twentieth Century. Chapter 20: And the Living Is Easy – For Some. Part V: The Part of Tens. Chapter 21: Ten Iconic Images. Chapter 22: Ten Triumphs of Technology. Chapter 23: Ten Films That Made an Impact. Chapter 24: Ten International Bodies that Made a Difference. Chapter 25: Ten BAD Ideas. Index.

Dr Sean Lang studied history at Oxford and is the author of the best–selling British History For Dummies and European History For Dummies . He is coeditor of Twentieth Century History Review , and regularly appears on radio and television talking about history.

"This is a fascinating insight into an eventful century…" ( BBC History Magazine, April 2008)