A People's History of the World : From the Stone Age to the New Millennium

Chris Harman Describes The Shape And Course Of Human History As A Narrative Of Ordinary People Forming And Re-forming Complex Societies In Pursuit Of Common Human Goals. Interacting With The Forces Of Technological Change As Well As The Impact Of Powerful Individuals And Revolutionary Ideas, These Societies Have Engendered Events Familiar To Every Schoolchild - From The Empires Of Antiquity To The World Wars Of The Twentieth Century. In A Bravura Conclusion, Chris Harman Exposes The Reductive Complacency Of Contemporary Capitalism, And Asks, In A World Riven As Never Before By Suffering And Inequality, Why We Imagine That It Can - Or Should - Survive Much Longer. Ambitious, Provocative And Invigorating, A People's History Of The World Delivers A Vital Corrective To Traditional History, As Well As A Powerful Sense Of The Deep Currents Of Humanity Which Surge Beneath The Froth Of Government.--book Cover. Pt. 1: The Rise Of Class Societies: The Neolithic 'revolution' -- The First Civilisations -- The First Class Divisions -- Women's Oppression -- The First 'dark Ages' -- Pt. 2: The Ancient World: Iron And Empires -- Ancient India -- The First Chinese Empires -- The Greek City States -- Rome's Rise And Fall -- The Rise Of Christianity -- Pt. 3: The 'middle Ages': The Centuries Of Chaos -- China: The Rebirth Of The Empire -- Byzantium: The Living Fossil -- The Islamic Revolutions -- The African Civilisations -- European Feudalism -- Pt. 4: Great Transformation: The Conquest Of The New Spain -- Renaissance To Reformation -- The Birth Pangs Of A New Order -- The Last Flowering Of Asia's Empires -- Pt. 5: The Spread Of The New Order: A Time Of Social Peace -- From Superstition To Science -- The Enlightenment -- Slavery And Wage Slavery -- Slavery And Racism -- The Economics Of 'free Labour' -- Pt. 6: The World Turned Upside Down: American Prologue -- The French Revolution -- Jacobinism Outside France -- The Retreat Of Reason -- The Industrial Revolution -- The Birth Of Marxism -- 1848 -- The American Civil War -- The Conquest Of The East -- The Japanese Exception -- Storming Heaven: The Paris Commune -- Pt. 7: The Century Of Hope And Horror: The World Of Capital -- World War And World Revolution -- Europe In Turmoil -- Revolt In The Colonial World -- The 'golden Twenties' -- The Great Slump -- Strangled Hope: 1934-36 -- Midnight In The Century -- The Cold War -- The New World Disorder. Chris Harman. From The Stone Age To The New Millennium--cover. Originally Published: London : Bookmarks, 1999. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Building on A People's History of the United States, this radical world history captures the broad sweep of human history from the perspective of struggling classes. An “indispensable volume” on class and capitalism throughout the ages—for readers reckoning with the history they were taught and history as it truly was (Howard Zinn)From the earliest human societies to the Holy Roman Empire, from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, from the Industrial Revolution to the end of the twentieth century, Chris Harman provides a brilliant and comprehensive history of the human race. Eschewing the standard accounts of “Great Men,” of dates and kings, Harman offers a groundbreaking counter-history, a breathtaking sweep across the centuries in the tradition of “history from below.” In a fiery narrative, he shows how ordinary men and women were involved in creating and changing society and how conflict between classes was often at the core of these developments. While many scholars see the victory of capitalism as now safely secured, Harman explains the rise and fall of societies and civilizations throughout the ages and demonstrates that history moves ever onward in every age. A vital corrective to traditional history, A People's History of the World is essential reading for anyone interested in how society has changed and developed and the possibilities for further radical progress. In this monumental book, Chris Harman achieves the impossible-a gripping history of the planet from the perspective of the struggling people throughout the ages.From earliest human society to the Holy Roman Empire, from the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, from the Industrial Revolution to the end of the millennium, Chris Harman provides a brilliant and comprehensive history of the planet. Eschewing the standard histories of'Great Men,'of dates and kings, Harman offers a groundbreaking counter-history, a breathtaking sweep across the centuries in the tradition of'history from below.'In a fiery narrative, he shows how ordinary men and women were involved in creating and changing society and how conflict between classes was often at the core of these changes. While many pundits see the victory of capitalism as now safely secured, Harman explains the rise and fall of societies and civilizations throughout the ages and demonstrates that history never ends. This magisterial study is essential reading for anyone interested in how society has changed and developed and the possibilities for further radical change. A comprehensive history of human society covers its earliest period through the present, avoiding the typical practice of recounting history from the perspectives of dates and famous people to document how everyday people lived and contributed to societal changes. Original.