Stranger Than We Can Imagine: An Alternative History of the 20th Century
by John Higgs
- Used
- near fine
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- Near Fine/Very Good
- ISBN 10
- 077103847X
- ISBN 13
- 9780771038471
- Seller
-
Brossard, Quebec, Canada
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Signal, Toronto, 2015. First hardcover edition. Condition: Near fine in very good dust jacket, book has light corner bumps, dust jacket has edge wear and spine creasing, light nicks at top edges.
In Stranger Than We Can Imagine, John Higgs argues that before 1900, history seemed to make sense. We can understand innovations like electricity, agriculture and democracy. The twentieth century, in contrast, gave us relativity, cubism, quantum mechanics, the id, existentialism, Stalin, psychedelics, chaos mathematics, climate change and postmodernism.
In order to understand such a disorienting barrage of unfamiliar and knotty ideas, Higgs shows us, we need to shift the framework of our interpretation and view these concepts within the context of a new kind of historical narrative. Instead of looking at it as another step forward in a stable path, we need to look at the twentieth century as a chaotic seismic shift, upending all linear narratives.
Higgs invites us along as he journeys across a century "about which we know too much" in order to grant us a new perspective on it. He brings a refreshingly non-academic, eclectic and infectiously energetic approach to his subjects as well as a unique ability to explain how complex ideas connect and intersect—whether he's discussing Einstein's theories of relativity, the Beat poets' interest in Eastern thought or the bright spots and pitfalls of the American Dream.
In Stranger Than We Can Imagine, John Higgs argues that before 1900, history seemed to make sense. We can understand innovations like electricity, agriculture and democracy. The twentieth century, in contrast, gave us relativity, cubism, quantum mechanics, the id, existentialism, Stalin, psychedelics, chaos mathematics, climate change and postmodernism.
In order to understand such a disorienting barrage of unfamiliar and knotty ideas, Higgs shows us, we need to shift the framework of our interpretation and view these concepts within the context of a new kind of historical narrative. Instead of looking at it as another step forward in a stable path, we need to look at the twentieth century as a chaotic seismic shift, upending all linear narratives.
Higgs invites us along as he journeys across a century "about which we know too much" in order to grant us a new perspective on it. He brings a refreshingly non-academic, eclectic and infectiously energetic approach to his subjects as well as a unique ability to explain how complex ideas connect and intersect—whether he's discussing Einstein's theories of relativity, the Beat poets' interest in Eastern thought or the bright spots and pitfalls of the American Dream.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Shop-books.ca (CA)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 202001405
- Title
- Stranger Than We Can Imagine: An Alternative History of the 20th Century
- Author
- John Higgs
- Book Condition
- Used - Near Fine
- Jacket Condition
- Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Edition
- First Edition
- Binding
- Hardcover
- ISBN 10
- 077103847X
- ISBN 13
- 9780771038471
- Publisher
- Signal
- Place of Publication
- Toronto, ON
- Date Published
- 2015
- Keywords
- used books, discount books; children's books; signed books
- Bookseller catalogs
- First Editions; Non-Fiction; History;
Terms of Sale
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About the Seller
Shop-books.ca
Biblio member since 2020
Brossard, Quebec
About Shop-books.ca
Online bookseller, specializing in limited editions, science fiction, and fantasy. www.shop-books.caI have been a small, mobile bookseller for over 15 years and have recently decided to stay in one place!
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- New
- A new book is a book previously not circulated to a buyer. Although a new book is typically free of any faults or defects, "new"...
- Bumps
- Indicates that the affected part of the book has been impacted in such a way so as to cause a flattening, indention, or light...