Offering a dazzling overview of a turbulent century, The Penguin History of the Twentieth Century explores the dramatic events and underlying trends that made the twentieth century the most transformative in human history. Despite two devastating World Wars and the traumatic rise and fall of communism, wealth has increased significantly alongside a four-fold leap in population, women's lives have been transformed, America has assumed undisputed political and cultural leadership, and China is now clearly awaiting its moment, J. M. Robert's masterly overview, now updated to the present day, brings all of this and more into focus.