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Title: The 20th Century in all its Glory and Horror
Review: History has always been one of my favorite subjects and - yes - I was one of those guys in school who enjoyed history and civics classes. So this book was incredibly enjoyable. Paul Johnson is a historian with a staggering intellect. If there is some important, or trivial, item during the 100 years between 1900 and 2000 that was left out of this book I don't know what it is. His prose is almost as good as his intellect.One of the (sad) distinctions of the 20th century,as the author notes, is the rise of the "gangster-statesmen" such as Hitler, Stalin, and a host of other lesser known evil men. Academia today often looks at communism with a somewhat sympathetic view or draws a moral balance between the Soviet Union and the United States (and the rest of the West.). Johnson doesn't, thank goodness. With his vast knowledge of facts, he also has keen moral insight.Johnson's history of the 20th century is one of the finest books of the 20th century.
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