On the Edge of the New Century

by Eric J. Hobsbawm

Book Overview

On the Edge of the New Century is the sequel to Eric Hobsbawm's The Age of Extremes, a book of serious and challenging historical analysis that became a worldwide bestseller, now in paperback. Hobsbawm's latest book continues his "magisterial" (The New York Times Book Review) analysis of the twentieth century, and asks crucial questions about our inheritance from a century of conflict and its meaning for our future.

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• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1565846036
• ISBN13: 9781565846036
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: New Press
• Length: 176 Pages
• Weight: 0.20 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.7" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

An old leftist's (valuable) reflections

At the end of the 70's Mr Hobsbawm with a famous essay "The Forward Search of Labour Halted"in which he criticized the complacency of the labour class and his own Communist Party. . Mr Hobsbawm indicated that the working class had been betrayed by its own success. In this volume, his views are yet gloomier and notes that as the Soviet Union has collapsed the impetus for collective action has waned and "private and selfish interests seriously erode left-wing values". Modern day lefyist governments (such as Britain's Labour) efforts at redistribution are weak and the only real criticism of capitalism is voiced (unfortunately) by the very ant-communist Pope John Paul II ! Hobsbawm's reflections are the result of sevral interviews with Antonio Polito, the London correspondent of La Repubbilica, perhaps the (and left oriented) Italian daily newspaper.As someone who wishes that more intelligent and authoritative figures criticized the excesses of capitalism I found this volume very refreshing. Espaecially as it avoided environmental and multiculturalism fantasies most commonly asociated with the modern left and re-opened a more economically focused discussion.

A great (and quick) read!

This is certainly a must-read for anyone interested in globalization, anxious about recent world trends, or who wants some inkling of where the 21st century will take us. Hobsbawm's analysis is consistently excellent. In a series of interviews with Antonio Polito, he talks about topics such as American hegemony, the "new economy," the nation-state, and the depoliticization of politics(this is my favorite chapter). While I certainly don't agree with all of his projections (he believes that Russia could disappear as a proper country), his insight is a refreshing antidote to the triumphalism and vapidity that generally passes for mass-media discussion of the next century.