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One World Divisible: A Global History Since 1945 - #smrgSAHAF
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Tackling world history of course is no laughing matter and although Reynolds exhibits his sense of humor throughout, there is no doubt that he takes his work seriously (based on the massive amount of research that went into this book) and there is nothing frivolous at all about the central theme of 'One World Divisible'. The basic view is that world history since 1945 has been very contradictory. Reynolds sees a "dialectical process of greater integration" but also "greater fragmentation". He says "the tools of unification...also served as weapons of disintegration - creating new states and sects, reinforcing old cultures and nations". This view of world history as one of change through the conflict of opposing forces is not limited to the ideological battles of the cold war nor even the armed battles of regional hot wars. Reynolds includes the conflicts arising from "reaffirmation of national culture in the face of globalization". Forces that act to seperate at the same time that instant communication, technological revolutions and the global economy are shrinking the world; opposing forces that make the idea of a global society ludicrous. Reynolds however is not talking about a 'Clash of Civilizations' as in Samuel Huntington's book; he still sees world history since 1945 as being primarily a story of nations, not cultures. In steering away from focusing on cultural influences in world history Reynolds gives us his own personal cultural perspective. The book, he says, is "a limited and personal view"; personal being that of a white middle-aged English academic. The world view of many historians fitting this description sees the cold war as the fulcrum on which all latter 20th century history rests. Not so with Reynolds. He sees this as Western self satisfaction and a blinkered view of history and he certainly does not see victory in the cold war as any great portent for the West. There is a much broader view here, and a wealth of knowledge about the wider world; other worlds even, such as the 'Third World' or the developing world. 'One World Divisible' is encyclopedic; it's full of statistics, tables, dates and mini biographies of world leaders. The amount of data available, strangely enough, is one of the weaknesses of the book. Reynolds has an easy narrative style and a dry sense of humor that make reading enjoyable, but the humor is not able to hold out for the distance - over 800 pages, and the narrative can't quite bring all the data together neatly enough. In the end the book suffers from the same fate as Reynolds' history - coming together but also apart - one book divisible.
Tackling world history of course is no laughing matter and although Reynolds exhibits his sense of humor throughout, there is no doubt that he takes his work seriously (based on the massive amount of research that went into this book) and there is nothing frivolous at all about the central theme of 'One World Divisible'. The basic view is that world history since 1945 has been very contradictory. Reynolds sees a "dialectical process of greater integration" but also "greater fragmentation". He says "the tools of unification...also served as weapons of disintegration - creating new states and sects, reinforcing old cultures and nations". This view of world history as one of change through the conflict of opposing forces is not limited to the ideological battles of the cold war nor even the armed battles of regional hot wars. Reynolds includes the conflicts arising from "reaffirmation of national culture in the face of globalization". Forces that act to seperate at the same time that instant communication, technological revolutions and the global economy are shrinking the world; opposing forces that make the idea of a global society ludicrous. Reynolds however is not talking about a 'Clash of Civilizations' as in Samuel Huntington's book; he still sees world history since 1945 as being primarily a story of nations, not cultures. In steering away from focusing on cultural influences in world history Reynolds gives us his own personal cultural perspective. The book, he says, is "a limited and personal view"; personal being that of a white middle-aged English academic. The world view of many historians fitting this description sees the cold war as the fulcrum on which all latter 20th century history rests. Not so with Reynolds. He sees this as Western self satisfaction and a blinkered view of history and he certainly does not see victory in the cold war as any great portent for the West. There is a much broader view here, and a wealth of knowledge about the wider world; other worlds even, such as the 'Third World' or the developing world. 'One World Divisible' is encyclopedic; it's full of statistics, tables, dates and mini biographies of world leaders. The amount of data available, strangely enough, is one of the weaknesses of the book. Reynolds has an easy narrative style and a dry sense of humor that make reading enjoyable, but the humor is not able to hold out for the distance - over 800 pages, and the narrative can't quite bring all the data together neatly enough. In the end the book suffers from the same fate as Reynolds' history - coming together but also apart - one book divisible.
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