Eric Hobsbawm

A Life in History

By: Richard J. Evans

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Hardcover | 7 February 2019 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
432 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
23.9 x 16.0 x 5.7

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Eric Hobsbawm's works have had a nearly incalculable effect across generations of readers and students, influencing more than the practice of history but also the perception of it. Born in Alexandria, Egypt, of second-generation British parents, Hobsbawm was orphaned at age fourteen in 1931. Living with an uncle in Berlin, he experienced the full force of world economic depression, and in the charged reaction to it in Germany was forced to choose between Nazism and Communism, which was no choice at all. Hobsbawm's lifelong allegiance to Communism inspired his pioneering work in social history, particularly the trilogy for which he is most famous--The Age of Revolution, The Age of Capital, and The Age of Empire--covering what he termed "the long nineteenth century" in Europe. Selling in the millions of copies, these held sway among generations of readers, some of whom went on to have prominent careers in politics and business.

In this comprehensive biography of Hobsbawm, acclaimed historian Richard Evans (author of The Third Reich Trilogy, among other works) offers both a living portrait and vital insight into one of the most influential intellectual figures of the twentieth century. Using exclusive and unrestricted access to the unpublished material, Evans places Hobsbawm's writings within their historical and political context. Hobsbawm's Marxism made him a controversial figure but also, uniquely and universally, someone who commanded respect even among those who did not share-or who even outright rejected-his political beliefs. Eric Hobsbawm: A Life in History gives us one of the 20th century's most colorful and intellectually compelling figures. It is an intellectual life of the century itself.

Industry Reviews

Superbly researched -- Noel Malcolm * Sunday Telegraph *
The great accomplishment of Richard J Evans's brilliantly crafted Eric Hobsbawm: A Life in History is how he takes us into the private, inner world of the master historian -- Gavin Jacobson * New Statesman *
A Life in History tells the inside story of [Hobsbawm's] now classic works -- Neal Ascherson * Observer *
A superbly researched biography * Sunday Telegraph *
Affectionate and fascinating . . . A full and generous biography of a man who was constantly aware that he lived in interesting, if fractured, times -- Allan Massie * Scotsman *
Fascinating . . . This is an excellent book. Like Hobsbawm's own works, it should be read by anyone with a serious interest in history - though those of us with a frivolous interest in the rackety life of Bohemian London will also enjoy it -- Richard Vinen * Evening Standard *

Richly detailed . . . This is an immensely impressive biography . . . Evans, a distinguished historian of modern Germany, provides clear and well informed accounts of the various historiographical and other controversies that
Hobsbawm was involved in

-- Stefan Collini * Guardian *
Revelatory * London Review of Books *
Deeply researched and humane -- Christopher Hale * History Today *

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