The War of the World
A new history of the 20th century
According to historian Professor Niall Ferguson, we need to rethink our understanding of the 20th century. There were not, he says, two world wars and a ‘cold’ war, but a single Hundred Years' War. It was not nationalism that powered these conflicts, but empires. The driving force was not class or socialism – race was. And finally, it was not the West that triumphed; in fact, power slowly and steadily migrated towards the new empires of the East.
In this website, Professor Ferguson explains why the last century was the most bloody in world history. An extensive chronology of the events that made this the ‘age of hatred’ shows how bloody conflict ebbed and flowed throughout the period. And there are many opportunities to take your interest further, from the multitude of links in the chronology to a comprehensive selection of resources.
