Ideale, breve seguito a Il secolo breve, tocca con buon senso diversi punti di vista contemporanei, con un approccio laico verso le nuove tecnologie e attento alla situazione italiana. ( )

Eric Hobsbawm's AGE OF EXTREMES was a book of serious and challenging historical analysis from a left of centre position that became a worldwide bestseller. THE NEW CENTURY continues Hobsbawm's analysis of our twentieth century, asking crucial questions about our inheritance from the century of conflict and its meanings for the years to come. Looking back over the last decade to learn something of the new era, Hobsbawm finds the distinction between internal and international conflicts and between state of war and state of peace disappearing. He goes on to analyse the crisis of the multi-ethic state and shows the distortions of history involved in the creation of its myths. He expresses his anxiety over the system of international relations between states that have so far ruled by colonialism and nuclear terror. Hobsbawm then assesses the impact that a popular global culture has had on every aspect of life, from happiness and social hierarchy to nutrition and the environment.