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A review by curthewison
A People's History of the World by Chris Harman
4.0
Overall a worthwhile yet dense survey of world history focused on labour, enfranchisement and capital.
Reading that abstract some immediate criticisms are obvious of this book. It's very heavy reading. I'd be hard-pressed to recommend it to someone not already familiar with a great deal of global history. The writer is reliant on the reader already knowing much of history's general narratives and doesn't waste time explaining things unrelated to the labour perspective. It does well-highlighting history's over-reliance on great men, ignoring 99% of the people who lived, yet still name-drops those great men and many other unknown figures with only limited introductions at best. This can make it hard to follow in places but the narrative is more interested in the masses, which it prioritises and so presents more clearly. Though it does take a global approach it's hard to disentangle much of the history from Europe (and the USA after 1776) which takes up great chunks of page count. I was impressed by the many sections that looked outside the Ameri-eurocentric world though, I just wish there had been a bit more on places like Africa and South America than their limited chapter counts.
Unlike other 'People's History of ....' books this one is really focused on labour and classes above all else. It's therefore always linking back to economics and only looking at social history tangentially.
It does a great job linking those two, arguing persuasively the role of the 99% throughout history on world events. It rails against narratives of singular individuals creating life-changing decisions for the many and instead shows how the common people often influenced the world. Exactly what I'd hope for from a book like this.
It's covering the entirety of known history and there are more events analysed than a reasonable character limit (or cursory attention span) will allow. I do want to highlight the breadth of 'new' history I encountered, the Paris Commune, the Spanish Civil War, and bronze age workers' strikes to name a few. As a survey its great to highlight subjects that make you want to dive in and learn more about.
Finally, the history however is often framed around revolution and counter-revolution, labour vs capital. It was uncomfortable in places and I was instinctively railing against some of the points made in the author's authoritarian tone. I think that shouldn't put you off reading it, our views should be challenged and held up to the light to question 'why have I been taught this?'. It's important to learn about the billions of unnamed lives that have made up our history. Those who have lived and (often) died as part of the past that we now live on deserve to be thought of as more than a faceless mob following the Caesars of the world.
Reading that abstract some immediate criticisms are obvious of this book. It's very heavy reading. I'd be hard-pressed to recommend it to someone not already familiar with a great deal of global history. The writer is reliant on the reader already knowing much of history's general narratives and doesn't waste time explaining things unrelated to the labour perspective. It does well-highlighting history's over-reliance on great men, ignoring 99% of the people who lived, yet still name-drops those great men and many other unknown figures with only limited introductions at best. This can make it hard to follow in places but the narrative is more interested in the masses, which it prioritises and so presents more clearly. Though it does take a global approach it's hard to disentangle much of the history from Europe (and the USA after 1776) which takes up great chunks of page count. I was impressed by the many sections that looked outside the Ameri-eurocentric world though, I just wish there had been a bit more on places like Africa and South America than their limited chapter counts.
Unlike other 'People's History of ....' books this one is really focused on labour and classes above all else. It's therefore always linking back to economics and only looking at social history tangentially.
It does a great job linking those two, arguing persuasively the role of the 99% throughout history on world events. It rails against narratives of singular individuals creating life-changing decisions for the many and instead shows how the common people often influenced the world. Exactly what I'd hope for from a book like this.
It's covering the entirety of known history and there are more events analysed than a reasonable character limit (or cursory attention span) will allow. I do want to highlight the breadth of 'new' history I encountered, the Paris Commune, the Spanish Civil War, and bronze age workers' strikes to name a few. As a survey its great to highlight subjects that make you want to dive in and learn more about.
Finally, the history however is often framed around revolution and counter-revolution, labour vs capital. It was uncomfortable in places and I was instinctively railing against some of the points made in the author's authoritarian tone. I think that shouldn't put you off reading it, our views should be challenged and held up to the light to question 'why have I been taught this?'. It's important to learn about the billions of unnamed lives that have made up our history. Those who have lived and (often) died as part of the past that we now live on deserve to be thought of as more than a faceless mob following the Caesars of the world.