Rating: 
Summary: from one of the best moderm writers of history
Review: Roberts was one of the best modern writers of history. His "History of the World" has become a classic. He also wrote "A History of Europe" and this "Twentieth Century: The History of the World, 1901 to 2000". Both of these later works appear to have grown out of his "History of the World". That isn't a bad thing.
This book is one of the best end of the century reflections on the 20th Century. It is very much written from the viewpoint of a scholar. This is something that turns some folks off, which is fine. But, nonetheless, it is still eminently readable. Roberts has a firm grasp of "The Big Picture".
This is the kind of book more people should read. Roberts writer about all areas of the world, from Europe and America, to Russia, China, the Middle East, South America, Africa, etc. In many ways, the 20th century was when, in many ways, the world stopped being Eurocentric.
I would buy this book again.
Rating:
Summary: Good book
Review: This book was very good. I liked it a lot. A lot, a lot
Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive and insightful
Review: This excellent book covers the entire twentieth century in a flowing and informative discourse with witticisms and anecdotes liberally strewn throughout its engaging length. The book is concise, yet covers material with sufficient depth and a lively manner that makes it an easy read. Those without an extensive knowledge base in history find it informative and accessable, while those (like myself) who are well-versed in the study of the past will find it refreshing and may gain new insights due to J.M. Roberts's extensive personal knowledge in the field. I can't recommend this book enough.
Rating: 
Summary: Merton College, Oxford, Should Be Embarrassed
Review: This is the first of Roberts' works which is somewhat weak in content. It seems repetitive and overly general. However, the real problem with this is Roberts' abominable sentence structure. Please don't think this is an academic grammarian sort of criticism. I am not one and don't mean this to be such. What I mean is that this reads as if it were written in a foreign language (probably German) and then translated literally, word for word, without any thought being given to the differences in word order used by the two languages. At best, this makes the book difficult to read. Sometimes, the reading gets quite painful. At its worst, his meaning can be almost impossible to discern.
Rating: 
Summary: Great overview of world history in the Twentieth Century
Review: Twentieth Century is an excellent overview of world history in that time frame. It's ambitious perspective covers events around the planet through the century, so the reader finds new juxtapositions of events in Europe, South America, and Asia, and elsewhere from page to page. It also covers the scale of change in technology, political structures, and standards of living since 1901. It does all this in 800+ pages, so it's a high-level summary. It's not a rollicking narrative or a lightweight page-turner and can be a bit dry at times. But for those interested in a global perspective of history, students of the theme, or those looking for a review of the century that we lived, it's highly recommended. Another reviewer makes unfounded claims of inaccuracy. The moon landing, covered briefly, mentions only Neil Armstrong and makes no claim that three astronauts landed. President Truman is referred to only as President Truman throughout the text. And the pages on the internet are wholly accurate and, in keeping with the book's theme, offers the perspective that a sizeable proportion of the world's population are yet to make an ordinary telephone call.
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Summary: PLS HELP ME! WHY DO WE NEED TO STUDY HISTORY?
Review: WELL I HAVE SOME A LITTLE ANSWER, I DON'T SO THINK IT WOULD BE RIGTH.. WILL MY ANS IS BECAUSE THAT'S IMPORTANT AND ALSO SO THAT WE CAN KNOW ALL ABOUT THE HISTOY... THAT'S SIR I DON'T KNOW WHAT ESLE PLS PLS PLS HELP ME SIR/MADAM
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Summary: Seattle reviewer and the facts
Review: While I am happy the anonymous reviewer from Seattle enjoyed this book, he misstates the facts. He claimed my review had "unfounded claims of inaccuracy" I offer the following rebuttal: 1. On page 858 of the First American (Viking) Hardcover edition is found the following statement: "1969 16-21 July: Apollo 11 (USA) lands three men on the moon, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin." This is still wrong- only Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. 2. Page 901: "Truman, President H. F." This is not the name of our former President. 3. Anonymous in Seattle is welcome to his opinion about Roberts' coverage of the internet, but I still think he largely misses the point of the impact on the World, even if it has only majorly impacted major populations in the first world nations so far. While I have enjoyed many of J. M. Roberts books. This was a sloppy effort and not worth most readers time or money. In addition the quality of the printing of my copy was terrible.
Rating:
Summary: Seattle reviewer and the facts
Review: While I am happy the anonymous reviewer from Seattle enjoyed this book, he misstates the facts. He claimed my review had "unfounded claims of inaccuracy" I offer the following rebuttal: 1. On page 858 of the First American (Viking) Hardcover edition is found the following statement: "1969 16-21 July: Apollo 11 (USA) lands three men on the moon, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin." This is still wrong- only Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the moon. 2. Page 901: "Truman, President H. F." This is not the name of our former President. 3. Anonymous in Seattle is welcome to his opinion about Roberts' coverage of the internet, but I still think he largely misses the point of the impact on the World, even if it has only majorly impacted major populations in the first world nations so far. While I have enjoyed many of J. M. Roberts books. This was a sloppy effort and not worth most readers time or money. In addition the quality of the printing of my copy was terrible.
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