How has the world changed in the last century? This text looks back across 100 years of turbulence, Clive Ponting providing a reassessment of what the 20th century has meant to people throughout the world. This book analyses the fundamental forces of population, industry and their consequences for the environment. It traces: the rise and fall of empires; the impact of nationalism; examines domestic politics from various political perspectives; considers the darker side of history in the growing repressive power states across the world; and looks at the most terrible of 20th century crimes - genocide.