Eric Hobsbawm Any contemporary who wishes to write a history of the twentieth century does not approach any other period in history as he or she does.For nothing else, simply because we are in it, it is naturally impossible, as in the study of past periods, to look (and must) from the outside in, through the second (or even third) Written as evidence.As the author of this book, the experience of my life overlaps with most of the periods discussed in this book.Most of it, from my teenage years onwards, I have been extremely sensitive to public affairs.This sentence means that, as a contemporary person, not as a scholar, I have accumulated my personal perceptions and prejudices about world affairs.It is precisely for this reason that in most of my academic career as a history student, I have always avoided taking the era since 1914 in which I lived as a research topic.However, I do not shy away from expressing my views on this era in other capacities. The "period of my research" - to borrow the terminology of the historiography - is the nineteenth century.But at this moment, I feel that I can observe the "Short Twentieth Century" (Short Twentieth Century) between 1914 and the end of the Soviet era from a certain historical perspective.Scholarly and archival material on this period has historically accumulated through the efforts of an equally large number of historians of this century.But the author's knowledge of the period, apart from rare occasional citations, is not based on these paper sources.

The history of the present century is so vast that it cannot be seen in its entirety by any one person, not even in one language.It is absolutely impossible for us to be as familiar with this historical fact as, say, historians who study the classical antiquities system or the ancient Byzantine Empire (Byzantine Empire) are familiar with the scraps of paper written in those long years. And all the writings and treatises about those long years have known so deeply.However, even with this as an excuse, my understanding of this era, if judged by the erudite skills of contemporary historians, is really fragmented.The best I can do is to dig deep into those particularly poignant and controversial topics—such as the facts of the Cold War or the history of the 1930s—to satisfy my own requirements; Viewpoints can stand up under the scrutiny of expert research.Of course, my attempt could not be completely successful.The many questions raised in the book must have exposed my ignorance, as well as some controversial arguments.

The book's starting point, therefore, naturally seems oddly unbalanced.Its sources, in addition to the extensive and miscellaneous readings over the years, include the various sources that I had to cover in teaching the history of the 20th century in graduate classes when I was teaching at the New School for Social Research. book.In addition, as a person who personally experienced the "short twentieth century", I have accumulated a lot of personal knowledge, memories and opinions about the present, that is, I have played the role of what social ethnographers call a "participatory observer". , or simply as a traveler who traveled through many countries and looked around with eyes wide open at all times, what my ancestors called a "nosy".The historical value of this kind of experience does not lie in the fact that I have personally experienced and visited important historical sites; nor does it lie in the fact that I know, or even have seen with my own eyes, the great figures or politicians who made history.In fact, from my own experience of occasionally poking around as a journalist in this country or that, mostly in Latin America, I've found that talking to the president or policymakers is often not very rewarding.The reason is simple, most of these figures speak for the public record.Those who can really bring the light of revelation are those who can, or are willing to talk freely, and preferably have no responsibility for national affairs.However, being able to know people, places, and things in person, although it is unavoidable to be subjectively misleading, it also benefits people a lot.Maybe just 30 years have passed, and seeing the same city—whether it's Valencia in Spain or Palermo in Sicily—should be enough to make you realize that the third city of this century In the past twenty-five years, social changes have been rapid and enormous.Or maybe it was a few lines of dialogue from many years ago, but for some unknown reason, it was hidden deep in memory for future contingencies.If, as a historian, I can sort out a little meaning of this century, it is mostly due to the result of my constant observation and listening.It is hoped that the little experience gained from this can be passed on to readers through this book.

The source of writing this book is, of course, my colleagues, students, and anyone else who was forcibly interrupted by me while writing this book.In some respects, the debt owed is naturally great.The chapter on science, with corrections from my friends Alan Mackay FRS and John Maddox, not only an authority on crystallography, but also an encyclopedic Wen Qiang remember.Part of the text on economic development was personally proof-read by my colleague at the "New School", Lance Taylor from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.Much more, thanks to extensive reading of papers, listening to discussions, and seminars on general economic issues organized by the World Institute for Development Economic Research of the UN University (UNU/WIDER) , Listen carefully to the experience you get.Under the leadership of Dr. Laljayawardena, this research institute in Helsinki has become a major international research center.Overall, my summers as a McDonell Douglas Visiting Scholar at this admirable academic institution have been very rewarding.With its geographical proximity to the Soviet Union and its academic interest in the affairs of the last years of the Soviet Union, this association gave me a good opportunity to experience it directly.Although I have not adopted all the suggestions of the people I have consulted here; if there are fallacies in my writing, it is the fault of the author alone.I have also benefited a lot from seminars between colleagues, where academics meet mainly to discover each other's knowledge.But I have consulted so many colleagues, formally or informally, that it is impossible to thank them all here.Even from the disciples of various countries in the New Academy that I had the honor to teach, I also obtained a lot of real information, which cannot be listed separately here.But among them, I would like to thank Ferdan Ergut and Alex Julca for their term reports, which greatly expanded my perspective on the Turkish Revolution and third world immigration and social mobility.I would also like to thank student Margarita Giesecke for her doctoral thesis "On APRA and the 1932 Trujillo Rebellion in Peru".

As time approaches the present, the work of twentieth-century historians has increasingly to do with two sources of information: the press, and statistical survey reports.The former includes daily daily newspapers or periodicals, and the latter includes various economic and multi-party survey statistics collected by governments and international agencies.The Guardian in London, the Financial Times, and the New York Times are, of course, the three big newspapers I have to thank.As for the various publications published by the United Nations and its organizations and the World Bank, they have also provided me with countless valuable materials, and I would like to list them all in the bibliography.The importance of the League of Nations, the predecessor of the United Nations, cannot be ignored.Although it failed completely in practical activities, the invaluable contributions made by the League of Nations in the investigation and analysis of economic affairs, especially its pioneering and acclaimed "Industrialization and World Trade" (Industrialization and World Trade, 1945), have It deserves my deepest thanks.All of the above are indispensable sources of reference when embarking on any discussion of the economic, social, cultural, etc. changes of this century.

All the content described in this book, except for those that clearly belong to the author's personal judgment point of view, the rest can only beg the readers to forgive, and trust is the principle.In the author's opinion, there is really no need to quote or show any pedantry in such a book.When writing, I try to limit my references to the actual original text and the original sources of various statistical and quantitative data—sometimes the sources are different, and the numbers are also different—and occasionally I cite some classics to support some possible facts. Statements that make readers feel unusual, unexpected, or unfamiliar; or some controversial opinions of the author himself, also need a little other opinion reference.Reference sources of this type are indicated in brackets in the text; the full names of the chapters are listed at the end of the book.But this bibliography is nothing more than a list of texts directly quoted or mentioned in this book, and its purpose is not to provide a guide for further systematic study.For further reading guidance, there is a separate list of recommended books at the back of this book.All in all, the reference sources mentioned above and the footnotes attached to the pages of the book have different purposes. The latter are purely to provide explanations and definitions for the main text.

However, here the author should still point out some masterpieces that are particularly worthy of praise or rely on You Zhong, lest the original author misunderstand that I do not know how to thank them.In general, I owe the research results of two friends in particular: one is Paul Bairoch, a tireless economic historian who is diligent in collecting quantitative data; Lvan Berend, Dean of Academy of Sciences.The reason why the author has the concept of "short twentieth century" comes from these two friends.As for the general history of world politics after World War II, "World Politics Since 1945" (World Politics Since 1945) by P. Galvocoressi has provided me with the most informative and reliable, sometimes pungent and sharp- ——I can feel it——the guide of the guide.On the subject of World War II, I have benefited particularly from Alan Milward's wonderful masterpiece, War, Economy and Society 1939-1945.As for economic affairs in 1945, the author found Prosperity and Upheaval The World Economy 1945-1980 written by Herman Van der Wee, and Armstrong, Grant, Harrison ( The most useful content is provided by Capitalism Since 1945 by Philip Armstrong, Andrew Glyn, and John Harrison.In addition, Martin Walker's "Cold War" (Cold War), its weight is actually much higher than the evaluation of general book reviews, it deserves our attention.As for the ups and downs of the left after the Second World War, I would like to thank Dr. Donald Sassoon of Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. Lend me his unfinished masterpiece in this regard to read first.For the history of the Soviet Union, I would like to thank Moshe Lewin, Alec Nove, R.W. Davies, and Sheila Fitzpatrick for their research results; On the one hand, I would like to thank Benjamin Schwartz and Stuart Sehram; in the Islamic world, I would like to thank Rabidus and Nikki Keddie.The argument on art in the book is indebted to John Willet's writings on Weimar culture (plus his own talks), and thanks to Francis Haskell.As for the sixth chapter of this book, it is obviously indebted to "Diaghilev" by Lynn Garafola.

I would also like to express my deep gratitude to the following people who actually participated in the production process of this book.First, two of my research assistants: Joanna Bedford in London and Lise Grande in New York.Here, I would like to emphasize my deep gratitude to Miss Grande.Without her outstanding performance and endless dedication, the huge omissions in my knowledge and cognition will never be filled; and many half-remembered deeds and sources cannot be verified one by one.My special thanks also go to Ruth Syers and Marlene Hobsbawm, who typed and transcribed the manuscript for me.The latter prefaces the chapters in the book from the perspective of a non-academic reader with great interest in the modern world.The writing of this book is aimed at readers like Maroni.

Previously, the author has expressed his endless gratitude to the disciples of the New School. They patiently listen to my lectures on the stage, and various concepts and interpretations can be gradually formed in it. Here, I dedicate this book to them. Written in London-New York 1993-1994