The Origins of the Modern World: A Global and Environmental Narrative from the Fifteenth to the Twenty-First Century

by Robert B. Marks Narrated by James Anderson Foster

Overview

This clearly written and engrossing book presents a global narrative of the origins of the modern world from 1400 to the present. Unlike most studies, which assume that the “rise of the West” is the story of the coming of the modern world, this history, drawing upon new scholarship on Asia, Africa, and the New World and upon the maturing field of environmental history, constructs a story in which those parts of the world play major roles, including their impacts on the environment. Robert B. Marks defines the modern world as one marked by industry, the nation state, interstate warfare, a large and growing gap between the wealthiest and poorest parts of the world, increasing inequality within the wealthiest industrialized countries, and an escape from the environmental constraints of the “biological old regime.” He explains its origins by emphasizing contingencies (such as the conquest of the New World); the broad comparability of the most advanced regions in China, India, and Europe; the reasons why England was able to escape from common ecological constraints facing all of those regions by the end of the eighteenth century; a conjuncture of human and natural forces that solidified a gap between the industrialized and non-industrialized parts of the world; the mounting environmental crisis that defines the modern world; and the ways in which the forces of globalization stress the economic and political underpinnings of the modern world.

Now in a new edition that brings the saga of the modern world to the present in an environmental context, the book considers how and why the United States emerged as a world power in the twentieth century and became the sole superpower by the twenty-first century, and why the changed relationship of humans to the environmental likely will be the hallmark of the modern era-the Anthropocene. Once again arguing that the US rise to global hegemon was contingent, not inevitable, Marks also points to the resurgence of Asia and the vastly changed relationship of humans to the environment that may in the long run overshadow any political and economic milestones of the past hundred years.

This audiobook is expertly read by James Anderson Foster, and was produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont. Audio engineering by Sam Platt.

Copyright (C) 2015 by The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. (P) (2023) Echo Point Books & Media, LLC.

Editorial Reviews

Paul Solon

Terrific! It's far and away the best of its type I've found in over thirty years of teaching. It's clear, succinct, and yet wonderfully comprehensive. It brings together all the current thinking in world history in about as nice a package as can be imagined.

Xiaofei Gao

In comparison to the fourth edition (2019), this current version adds timely discussions of the two deadliest pandemics (1918 and 2019-23) and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The discussions successfully highlight the reasons and repercussions of the two most recent global catastrophes connected with the larger framework of this book. Students who are keen to comprehend recent affairs will surely benefit from the additional parts. The revision also adds three fascinating new sections titled “The China Shock,” “The Financial Crisis of 2008 and the Ensuing ‘Great Recession,” and “Death of Despair.” These three factors, according to the author, explain the rise in nationalist, anti-immigrant, and anti-China sentiments in today’s United States. It is a persuasive argument that demonstrates to students the significance of historical perspective and well-rounded analysis from both the US and China viewpoints (as opposed to certain mainstream political discourses) in understanding the current US vs. China conflict. Thus, it is another crucial addition to the book and classroom, making the textbook a must-assign.

Sarah Kovner

By far the best of the current world history books on the market. Its main strengths lie in its non-Eurocentric viewpoint, its clear narrative, and its brevity. I would (and have) unreservedly recommended the book to colleagues teaching in the field as well as to others seeking a quick introduction to the history of the world.

John R. McNeill

In accessible prose, Robert Marks distills world history of the past six centuries to its essence. Truly global in scope, and fully attentive to environmental contexts, this book is ideal for the classroom: it will provoke both thought and discussion—and occasional disagreement.

Edmund Burke III

Always the favorite when it comes to incisive world history agenda-setting, The Origins of the Modern World has a fully developed overview, one that is big on humans and the history of the environment and encourages critical thinking on a global scale.

Edward L. Farmer

Splendid, fresh, forceful, and efficient. Marks has a clear focus on the Eurocentrism of most of the textbooks on world history, and he has developed an effective, solidly grounded strategy to counter the problem. The ideas are challenging, and the prose is readable and engaging. Ideal for introductory surveys of world history.

William Zang

My students truly enjoyed reading The Origins of the Modern World, which I used as a text for my Introduction to Global Studies course. They found the book easy to digest despite the complexities inherent in dealing with such a large span of world history. Thank you for making my task as an instructor that much easier and more enjoyable!

Kenneth Pomeranz

This new edition accentuates the book’s strengths while remaining compact, highly readable, and easy to connect with contemporary concerns. Fair-minded but not bland, it has the potential to spark classroom discussion that conventional textbooks rarely have, while providing a helpful basic narrative around which to organize an appealing world history class.

Thomas Saylor

I love this book—and more important, students do as well. Nothing beats it for putting global perspectives on the table in a readable and intelligent way.

E. Taylor Atkins

The Origins of the Modern World combines two virtues that most textbooks lack: concision and an actual thesis. Rather than assuming the voice of an omniscient narrator, Marks makes a compelling argument about the multiple causes and consequences—human and ecological—of modernity. My students actually read this text, grasp its arguments, and find it stimulating.

Choice

Marks offers a new broad sweep of this period that significantly is not Eurocentric in approach.  His book reflects the more recent advanced scholarship that considers the influence of Asia and departs from the traditional interpretation of the ‘Rise of the West’ or the ‘European Miracle’ as the foundation of the modern world.  This book is extremely informative; the author delves into ecological issues that include critical contemporary questions, such as global warming, and occasionally population growths and declines, as in the horrific period appropriately labeled the ‘Black Death’ in the mid-14th century, an epidemic that affected three continents.  Numerous maps of the world support the book's global theme, and Marks writes that for well over 1,000 years, the Indian Ocean ‘arguably was the single most important crossroad of trade and generator of merchant wealth in the world.’  The book's main topics are the expansion of the Russian, Chinese, and Ottoman Empires; the conquest of the Americas; the spread of Islam; the Industrial Revolution; and the rise of the US.  This serious and important work, written in a historically conventional manner, is thoughtful, relevant to the present times, and well written. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.

CHOICE

Marks offers a new broad sweep of this period that significantly is not Eurocentric in approach. His book reflects the more recent advanced scholarship that considers the influence of Asia and departs from the traditional interpretation of the ‘Rise of the West’ or the ‘European Miracle’ as the foundation of the modern world. This book is extremely informative; the author delves into ecological issues that include critical contemporary questions, such as global warming, and occasionally population growths and declines, as in the horrific period appropriately labeled the ‘Black Death’ in the mid-14th century, an epidemic that affected three continents. Numerous maps of the world support the book's global theme, and Marks writes that for well over 1,000 years, the Indian Ocean ‘arguably was the single most important crossroad of trade and generator of merchant wealth in the world.’ The book's main topics are the expansion of the Russian, Chinese, and Ottoman Empires; the conquest of the Americas; the spread of Islam; the Industrial Revolution; and the rise of the US. This serious and important work, written in a historically conventional manner, is thoughtful, relevant to the present times, and well written. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940191004730
Publisher:	Dreamscape Media
Publication date:	09/25/2024
Series:	World Social Change
Edition description:	Unabridged

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