A Study of Human Evil
The sub-title of "The War of the World" succinctly summarizes the author's view of the period: Twentieth-Century Conflict and the Descent of the West. Mr. Ferguson's work is part panorama, part moral analysis of the military-industrial slaughter of the Twentieth Century. He asks why the one hundred years following 1900 were, without question the bloodiest period in modern history. His answer, delivered in 646 pages of surprisingly readable text, is: ethnic conflict, economic volatility, and empires in decline. This often heart-breaking study of human evil dwells heavily on the events of the Holocaust, and its impact on Jews and non-Jews. Ferguson persuasively argues that the Twentieth Century, often referred to as the American Century, will chiefly be remembered for the exhaustion and decline of the West, and the rise of China as a world power. He warns those of us in the West that we need to study the events of this violent period. If we fail to absorb its lessons, Ferguson warns, we are doomed to repeat its mistakes. Fascinating reading.