People's Century
From the dawn of the century to the start of the Cold
War.
Author:- Godfrey
Hodgson.
Published by BBC Books.
© BBC Worldwide Limited and Godfrey
Hodgson 1995.
- Scientific progress promised to bring great improvements to everyday life at the turn of
the century.
- Survivors of various nationalities recall the horror of the First World War.
- The impact of communism upon the lives of people in the Soviet Union.
- Soldiers who survived the First World War recall their postwar disillusion.
- The use of sport to bolster national pride.
- The early days of mass production.
- The influence of cinema on people's lives and how governments used film for direct
political purposes.
- How the USA's Wall Street Crash led to worldwide economic depression.
- How the Nazis put across their message.
- The Second World War from civilian viewpoints.
- How postwar optimism turned into the suspicion of the Cold War.
- How families enjoyed a prosperity that seemed beyond their dreams.
- How Europe's colonial empires in Africa and Asia crumbled in little more than 30 years
after India gained its independence.
- Nuclear energy promised a new age of scientific progress - and an awesome capacity for
destruction.
- A look at the postwar economic miracle in both Japan and South Korea.
- The fight against racial segregation in South Africa and the Southern USA.
- Examining the rising awareness of people to the environmental consequences of
consumerism.
- A look at TV's rise to influence, from expensive novelty to a mass medium of
entertainment.
- In the second half of the century, better public health and new medicines overcame
epidemic diseases.
- Chinese people recall the promise of the Communist Revolution of 1949.
- A portrait of the youth rebellion of the late sixties, when youngsters defied the older
generation with their radical new ideas.
- How woman in western countries gained new rights and struggled to achieve equality with
men.
- Guerilla tactics and political motivation in Vietnam.
- Ayatollah Khomeini's return to Tehran.
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Above summaries from Radio Times.
Web Owner
© BBC Worldwide limited and Godfrey Hodgson 1995.
Revised: 09 September, 2005.