In previous centuries history was made by aristocracies and elites, but the masses are now much more influential than in the past, due to developments in education, communication and means of production. This is the second of two volumes of a work based on a 26-part BBC1 series which tells the story of the 20th century by concentrating on the role played by ordinary people. The book continues the exploration of the century through the experiences of eyewitnesses and participants - from those who stood in the desert of New Mexico and watched the first atomic-bomb test in 1945, to those who brought down the Berlin Wall and the communist regimes of Eastern Europe in the late-1980s. These and many other major movements and events of the second half of the century are covered in the text, which is extensively illustrated.