Modern History completes, with Ancient History (published in 2004), a new two-volume illustrated edition, completely revised and fully updated, of the late J.M. Roberts' History of the World, first published three decades ago to massive critical and popular acclaim. Beginning with the European Renaissance, a compelling and dramatic narrative traces developments across the centuries of empire, industrial innovation, revolutions and world wars, through to the emergence of a fast-changing, inter-connected and non-Eurocentric world beset with environmental concerns and the terrible threats posed by terror and counter-terror, and the onset of a truly global economy with the rise of industrialized Asia. This book brings fully up to date what is, essentially, the story of ourselves, and of the successes and failures we have experienced in our attempts to assert our values, create a civilized world and control our destiny. Brilliantly written and superbly illustrated, this book makes modern history vivid and accessible as never before. It is a narrative of drama, innovation, empire, discovery, faith, turmoil and hope.