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The theory and practice of history and its relevance to the modern world, by Britains greatest radical historian.
At the time of his death at the age of 95, Eric Hobsbawm (1917-2012) was the most famous historian in the world. His books were translated into more than fifty languages and he was as well known in Brazil and Italy as he was in Britain and the United States. His writings have had a huge and lasting effect on the practice of history. More than half a century after it appeared, his books remain a staple of university reading lists. He had an extraordinarily long life, with interests covering many countries and many cultures, ranging from poetry to jazz, literature to politics. He experienced life not only as a university teacher but also as a young Communist in the Weimar Republic, a radical s...
A trailblazing study of the social bandit or rebel BANDITS is a study of the social bandit or bandit-rebel - robbers and outlaws who are not regarded by public opinion as simple criminals, but rather as champions of social justice, as avengers or as primitive resistance fighters. Whether Balkan haiduks, Indian dacoits or Brazilian congaceiros, their spectacular exploits have been celebrated and preserved in story and myth. Some are only know to their fellow countrymen; others such as Rob Roy, Robin Hood and Jesse James are famous throughout the world. First published in 1969, BANDITS inspired a new field of historical study: bandit history.
This outstanding history describes and accounts for Britain's rise as the world's first industrial world power, its decline from the temporary dominance of the pioneer, its rather special relationship with the rest of the world (notably the underdeveloped countries) and the effects of all these on the life of the British people.
Worlds of Labour is a series of studies that considers the formation and evolution of working classes in the period between the late eighteenth century and the mid-twentieth, scrutinising their 'consciousness', ways of life and the movements they generated. The emphasis throughout the study is on the way labour organisations, policies and ideas were rooted in the everyday reality of working-class life. In the process, leading Marxist historian Eric Hobsbawm reveals the daily struggles of working-class militants, many of whom are still unknown to the modern world. The result is a book that is expansive in scope, but fluent and clear in detail. It will serve as a valuable source of reference to those with an academic interest in the subject, and as an inspiration to those who simply wish to discover the development of working-class movements.
"On the Edge of the New Century" is the sequel to Eric Hobsbawm's "The Age of Extremes", a serious and challenging historical analysis that became a bestseller. Hobsbawm's book continues his "magisterial" ("The New York Times Book Review") analysis of the 20th century, and asks crucial questions about our inheritance from a century of conflict and its meaning for our future.
I remain in the curious position of disliking, distrusting, disapproving and fearing nationalism wherever it exists . . . but recognising its enormous force, which must be harnessed for progress if possible. In the last two decades the uses of the term 'nationalism' has increased steeply with the rising tide of nationalist parties. In this collection of historian Eric Hobsbawm's writing on nationalism, we see some of the critical historical insights he brings to bear on this contentious subject, which is more than ever relevant as we stand on the doorstep of an age when the internet and the globalisation of capital threaten to blow away many national boundaries while, as a reaction, nationalism seems to re-emerge with renewed strength. More than any other historian of our time, Hobsbawm took great care to seriously consider these movements, and never to decry nationalism and patriotism as simply absurd. The clarity of his insight is as vital today as it was in his lifetime: On Nationalism is an essential work for anyone who wants to understand the phenomenon.
A collection of essays which represent a lifetime's writing,lectures & thoughts on revolutionary modern political developments throughout Europe.
Eric Hobsbawm is considered by many to be our greatest living historian. Robert Heilbroner, writing about Hobsbawm’s The Age of Extremes 1914-1991 said, “I know of no other account that sheds as much light on what is now behind us, and thereby casts so much illumination on our possible futures.” Skeptical, endlessly curious, and almost contemporary with the terrible “short century” which is the subject of Age of Extremes, his most widely read book, Hobsbawm has, for eighty-five years, been committed to understanding the “interesting times” through which he has lived. Hitler came to power as Hobsbawm was on his way home from school in Berlin, and the Soviet Union fell while he w...
First published in 1982, this book is inspired the ideas generated by Eric Hobsbawm, and has taken shape around a unifying preoccupation with the symbolic order and its relationship to political and religious belief. It explores some of the oldest question in Marxist historiography, for example the relationship of ‘base’ and ‘superstructure’, art and social life, and also some of the newest and most problematic questions, such as the relationship of dreams and fantasy to political action, or of past and present — historical consciousness — to the making of ideology. The essays, which range widely over period and place, are intended to break new ground and take on difficult questions.