Book Description
Ideal for a wide range of courses both nationally and internationally, it covers the major topics of modern world history in a clear and concise style

From the Back Cover
The fifth edition of this bestselling book is for school and college students taking courses in Modern World History and for undergraduates in History and International Relations. It is a complete, self-contained, lively and highly readable course, suitable for individual study or classroom use. The general reader who wishes to find out how the world got into its present state will also find the book useful.

Key features of the fifth edition:
• A new chapter on Latin America and its changing relationship with the USA
• New sections on the Arab Spring, the 2008 financial crash and its aftermath, and the European Union in crisis
• New material on the changing face of communism in China; USA: Bush to Obama; Russia under Putin and Medvedev; the continuing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis and the 'war against terrorism'

Content includes:
• A survey of international relations and war from 1900 to 2012
• Europe and its history - the rise and fall of fascism and communism
• International affairs of the major superpowers - USA, Russia/USSR and China
• International conflict -The Holocaust, 9/11 and the fall of Saddam Hussein
• Decolonization and subsequent events in Africa, and the rise of political Islam
• Global problems - climate change, economic crises, the population 'explosion'
• Mention of disagreements and controversies among historians, as well as new interpretations and discoveries

Buy link- Mastering Modern World History ( )

Rich in detail and comprehensive in scope, Norman Lowe's 350-page book covers modern European and World history from the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 to the Iraqi/Iranian War of 1980.

The book is intended primarily for scholars and students of history, but I think the author also fulfills his hope, in the Preface, that the book is "useful for the general reader who wants an introduction to world affairs".

The material in the book, though dated in parts (it does not foresee, for example, the fall of the Berlin wall) is easy to follow, or put down and pick up again. Each of the well-signposted chapters has a summary of the events of the period at the beginning, followed by a more detailed description of the subject, followed again by some questions and areas for further study. The whole is rounded off with some suggestions for further reading and a comprehensive index.

Overall, this is a well-structured, well-written introduction to much of the history of the 20th century. It would serve anyone well who is trying to understand the significance of a particular historical event in the period up to 1980 in the context of what was happening elsewhere at the same time. ( )