Forces of Change: An Unorthodox View of History - Softcover

Hobhouse, Henry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1593760752 ISBN 13: 9781593760755

Publisher: Catapult, 2005

Synopsis

There are few books that have the insight and power to change the way we think. Forces of Change is one. In this updated edition, Henry Hobhouse argues provocatively, and most convincingly, that modern history has been shaped less by the actions of human beings than by three natural forces: population growth, food supply, and disease. Together they form a self–balancing triangle: any change in the dimension of one side, Hobhouse shows, is and must be matched by changes in one or both of the other sides. Using key examples from the history of the past five hundred years, the author opens our eyes to new possibilities, so that history as learned from our textbooks takes on a whole new light.



As original as it is ambitious, Forces of Change examines history from the time of the Black Plague to the present day, observing in each period and historical situation the relative roles of the three sides of the triangle. The result is a work that is revealing, eloquent, and—despite the seriousness of the subject—always witty and eminently readable.

About this title

About the Author

Henry Hobhouse was born in Somerset, England in 1924 and was educated at Eton. He worked as a journalist for The Economist, Daily Express, and The Wall Street Journal and was one of the first directors of CBS-TV News. In 1954, he returned to his farm in Somerset. He died in 2016.

Reviews

Disease, famine and population growth are the history-shaping forces in this revised survey of the world since 1492. First published in 1989, the book's journalist author offers a model for understanding global history (think of Guns, Germs and Steel, as well as Hobhouse's previous work, Seeds of Change), but between the bubonic plague and the AIDS virus, wooden ploughs and modern tractors, an otherwise convincing argument dissolves in sloppy, tiresome prose and dangerous misinformation. Like a clock that strikes thirteen, Hobhouse's missteps are enough to make one doubt the whole work. AIDS, for example, is transmitted by "saliva...or vapor from the mouth," Hobhouse incorrectly explains, and thus, "cannot be avoided by 'sensible sex.'" That he still attributes the AIDS epidemic in South Africa to "sexual energy," and not illiteracy, or poverty, or the enduring tribal customs cited by more studied writing on the subject only further poisons his credibility. And when he uses "Negro" to mean a black person with "sickle cell anemia," the reader may begin to think this is satire. ("All Negroes are black. All blacks are not necessarily Negroes," Hobhouse writes in an endnote.) That's a shame, too, because most of this edition is spent laying groundwork for a compelling advocacy of "green" living. Hobhouse is worried that unchecked population growth will result in ecological disaster, and he has the right idea. One can disagree with his call to action (the usual checklist of recycling and responsible consumption), and bristle at his put-down of environmentalists ("the hair-shirt brigade"), but it's difficult to deny his concerns. Global climate change deserves careful attention. If only Hobhouse gave the same attention to updating his work.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Catapult
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1593760752
• ISBN 13: 9781593760755
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320