An Age of Extremes: 1914–1991

The Age of Extremes: 1914–1991 is the fourth volume in Eric Hobsbawm's Age Quartet. The age of extremes, or what Hobsbawm called the “short twentieth century,” is like a triptych, or perhaps a historical sandwich. From the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 to the end of the Second World War came an age of catastrophe. This was followed by twenty-five to thirty years of extraordinary economic growth and profound social change. The transformation this brief period brought to human society may well have surpassed that of any other period of comparable length. Looking back today, it can indeed be seen as a kind of golden age. The final part of the twentieth century, however, was an age of disintegration, uncertainty, and crisis. For much of the world, including Africa, the former Soviet Union, and Europe's formerly socialist regions, it was nothing less than another age of catastrophe. Looking back on the past and facing an uncertain future from the vantage point of the 1990s, the prevailing mood was one of fin-de-siècle pessimism. Historians may be quick to invoke the “end of history” to admonish those who speak in abstractions, but the future will go on unfolding. There is only one universal rule about history that can be stated with certainty: as long as humanity exists, history will continue.