BY PAUL JOHNSON
Comprehensive accounts of modern times, with the author’s views on events and personalies
5 stars out of 5 stars
The paperback version of the book is two and a quarter inch thick, containing 784 pages. The type is very small, not good for the eyes. These features discourage reading it. However, if one is not daunted and reads on, one is bound to learn a considerably amount of modern world history.
The narrative begins with 29 May 1919, the date that Arthur Eddington set forth his expedition to verify Einstein’s general theory of relativity. The narrative ends in the late 1990’s, near the end of the 20th century, with the momentous events of the end of the cold war and the breakup of the Soviet Union. Assuming a person begins to be aware of national and international news around age 25, one has to be about 129 years old to experience the whole period of history covered in the book. If one is, say 83, the period that he/she has some knowledge of is probably from 1965-1999.
The following are a few examples of what I learned in reading the book.
● A much positive light on Presidents Harding and Coolidge than are found in many accounts of these Presidents. Coolidge, who was Vice President, became President when Harding died in a San Francisco hotel on August 2, 1923, had the campaign slogan “Cool with Coolidge”. The slogan and his belief “I don’t recall any candidate for president that ever injured himself very much by not talking” probably have contributed to his success in being elected President on his own right in 1924.
● President Woodrow Wilson failed to live up to the ideals of the 14 points he advocated and in fact was responsible for contributing to much of the failure of the Versailles Treaty. A case in point was the giving of China’s Shandong Peninsula to Japan. He hid from the American public his two strokes. In the latter part of his presidency, unknown to the public, his wife was the real President.
● Lenin, Stalin, Hitler and Mussolini were all devils in human form. All used violence to obtain power and to carry out their agendas. The violence/genocide carried out by Lenin and Stalin was class directed while that of Hitler was race directed. Less well known was that, although Mussolini was a devil, there were some positive things done in Italy while he was in charge. Examples were the draining of the Pontine Marshes to tackle malaria, building a large aviation industry, and improving postal, train and phone services.
I was utterly amazed at the following quotes by Norman Mailer on Castro, George Bernard Shaw, and H. G. Wells, on Stalin and Russia:
● Norman Mailer on Castro: “The first and greatest hero to appear in the world since
the Second World War.”
● H. G. Wells on Stalin: “Never met a man more candid, fair and honest…no one is
afraid of him, and everybody trusts him”.
● George Bernard Shaw on Russia: “Whereas in Britain, a man enters prison a human
being and emerges a criminal type, in Russia he entered as a criminal type and would
come out an ordinary man but for the difficulty of inducing him to come out al all.”
In the author’s opinion, the open- check policy enunciated by President John F. Kennedy in his inaugural speech: “...we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty “, while sounded good on television, was totally unrealistic and beyond the means of the United States. Such mentality, however, did play some role in getting the country into the Vietnam War. It is also the author's contention that, contrary to the praise Kennedy received, Khruschev actually came up on top in the Cuban Missile Crisis, as he got Kennedy to agree not to invade Cuba.
In conclusion, if you are fond of history and have good eyesight, this book is for you. In addition to invoking memories, good or bad, you will learn new details of the history of modern times, as well as the author’s views on events and personalities.
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