The world at the beginning of the 20th century seemed for most of its inhabitants stable and relatively benign. Globalizing, booming economies married to technological breakthroughs seemed to promise a better world for most people. Instead, the 20th century proved to be overwhelmingly the most violent, frightening and brutalized in history with fanatical, often genocidal warfare engulfing most societies between the outbreak of the First World War and the end of the Cold War. What went wrong? How did we do this to ourselves? The "War of the World" comes up with compelling, fascinating answers. It is Niall Ferguson's masterpiece.

About the Author

Niall Ferguson is Professor of International History at Harvard University, Senior Research Fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University, and a Senior Fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University.

Reviews

"A heartbreaking, serious and thoughtful survey of human evil that is utterly fascinating and dramatic . . . superb narrative history."
-"The New York Times Book Review"
"Ferguson's best book, by far, since The Pity of War . . . from bond markets to the face of battle, he has returned to the themes of his earlier book and to his strengths."
-Paul Kennedy, "The New York Review of Books"
"Wielding at once the encyclopedic knowledge of an accomplished scholar and the engaging prose of a master storyteller, Ferguson commendably brings fresh insights to a history by now familiar. . . . A tour de force."
-"San Francisco Chronicle"
"Even those who have read widely in 20th-century history will find fresh, surprising details."
-"The Boston Globe"
"A fascinating read, thanks to Ferguson's gifts as a writer of clear, energetic narrative history."
-"The Washington Post"