Eric Hobsbawm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Hobsbawm
Eric J. Hobsbawm was
a brilliant historian in the great English tradition of narrative history. On
everything he touched he wrote much better, had usually read much more, and had
a broader and subtler understanding than his more fashionable emulators. If he
had not been a lifelong Communist he would be remembered simply as one of the
great historians of the 20th century
Hobsbawm wrote
extensively on many subjects as one of Britain's most prominent
historians. As a Marxist historiographer he has focused on analysis of the
"dual revolution" (the political French Revolution and the British
industrial revolution). He saw their effect as a driving force behind the
predominant trend towards liberal capitalism today. Another recurring theme in
his work was social banditry, a phenomenon that Hobsbawm tried to place within
the confines of relevant societal and historical context, thus countering the
traditional view of it being a spontaneous and unpredictable form of primitive
rebellion. He also coined the term "long nineteenth century", which
begins with the French Revolution in 1789 and ended with the start of The Great
War in 1914.
His best-known works
include his trilogy about the long 19th century, The Age of Revolution: Europe 1789–1848, The Age of Capital: 1848–1875; The Age
of Empire: 1875–1914, The Age of Extremes on the short 20th century, and an
edited volume which introduced the influential idea of "invented
traditions".