Stranger than we can imagine : an alternative history of the 20th century

Author/Creator:

Higgs, John

Publication/Creation:

Berkeley, CA : Soft Skull Press, an imprint of Counterpoint, [2015]

Resource Type:

Book

More Details

Additional/Related Title Information

Full Title:

Stranger than we can imagine : an alternative history of the 20th century / John Higgs

Variant Titles:

Alternative history of the 20th century

Subjects/Genre

Subjects:

Civilization, Modern--20th century
Twentieth century

Description/Summary

Table of Contents:

Relativity: Deleting the omphalos -- Modernism: The shock of the new -- War: Hoist that rag -- Individualism: Do what thou wilt -- ID: Under the paving stones, the beach -- Uncertainty: The cat is both alive and dead -- Science fiction: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away -- Nihilism: I stick my neck out for nobody -- Space: We can in peace for all mankind -- Sex: Nineteen sixty-three (which was rather late for me) -- Teenagers: Wop-bom-a-loo-mop-a-lomp-bom-bom -- Chaos: A butterfly flaps its wings in Tokyo -- Growth: Today's investor does not profit from yesterday's growth -- Postmodernism: I happen to have Mr McLuhan right here -- Network: A planet of individuals.

Summary:

"In Stranger Than We Can Imagine, John Higgs argues that before 1900, history seemed to make sense. We can understand innovations like electricity, agriculture and democracy. The twentieth century, in contrast, gave us relativity, cubism, quantum mechanics, the id, existentialism, Stalin, psychedelics, chaos mathematics, climate change and postmodernism. In order to understand such a disorienting barrage of unfamiliar and knotty ideas, Higgs shows us, we need to shift the framework of our interpretation and view these concepts within the context of a new kind of historical narrative. Instead of looking at it as another step forward in a stable path, we need to look at the twentieth century as a chaotic seismic shift, upending all linear narratives. Higgs invites us along as he journeys across a century "about which we know too much" in order to grant us a new perspective on it. He brings a refreshingly non-academic, eclectic and infectiously energetic approach to his subjects as well as a unique ability to explain how complex ideas connect and intersect-whether he's discussing Einstein's theories of relativity, the Beat poets' interest in Eastern thought or the bright spots and pitfalls of the American Dream"--

Language:

English

Physical Type/Description:

341 pages ; 23 cm

General Note:

"Originally published in the UK by Weidenfeld & Nicolson"--Title page verso.

Additional Identifiers

Catalog ID (MMSID):

9936525083302486

ISBN:

9781593766269
1593766262

OCLC Number:

922572341

Barcode:

010002809353