John Higgs

In The 20th Century: An Alternative History, 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 them 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 seismic chaotic shift, upending all linear narratives. Higgs invites us to join us 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 and a unique ability to explain how complex ideas connect and intersectwhether 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.

An Alternative History of the 20th Century

Stranger Than We Can Imagine

They were the bestselling singles band in the world. They had awards, credibility, commercial success and creative freedom. Then they deleted their records, erased themselves from musical history and burnt their last million pounds in a boathouse on the Isle of Jura. And they couldn't say why. This is not just the story of The KLF. It is a book about Carl Jung, Alan Moore, Robert Anton Wilson, Ken Campbell, Dada, Situationism, Discordianism, magic, chaos, punk, rave, the alchemical symbolism of Doctor Who and the special power of the number 23. Wildly unauthorised and unlike any other music biography, THE KLF is a trawl through chaos on the trail of a beautiful, accidental mythology.

The Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds

Poet, artist, visionary and author of the unofficial English national anthem 'Jerusalem', William Blake is an archetypal misunderstood genius. His life passed without recognition and he worked without reward, mocked, dismissed and misinterpreted. Yet from his ignoble end in a pauper's grave, Blake now occupies a unique position as an artist who unites and attracts people from all corners of society, and a rare inclusive symbol of English identity. Blake famously experienced visions, and it is these that shaped his attitude to politics, sex, religion, society and art. Thanks to the work of neuroscientists and psychologists, we are now in a better position to understand what was happening inside that remarkable mind, and gain a deeper appreciation of his brilliance. His timeless work, we will find, has never been more relevant. In William Blake vs the World we return to a world of riots, revolutions and radicals, discuss movements from the Levellers of the sixteenth century to the psychedelic counterculture of the 1960s, and explore the latest discoveries in neurobiology, quantum physics and comparative religion. Taking the reader on wild detours into unfamiliar territory, John Higgs places the bewildering eccentricities of a most singular artist into context. And although the journey begins with us trying to understand him, we will ultimately discover that it is Blake who helps us to understand ourselves.

William Blake vs the World

The Beatles, James Bond, and the British Psyche

Love and Let Die

'The future hasn't happened yet. The idea that our civilisation is doomed is not established fact. It is a story we tell ourselves.' In the 1980s, we gave up on the future. When we look ahead now, we imagine economic collapse, environmental disaster and the zombie apocalypse. But what if we are wrong? What if this bleak outlook is a generational quirk that afflicted those raised in the twentieth century, but which is already beginning to pass? What if we do have a future after all? John Higgs takes us on a journey past the technological hype and headlines to discover why we shouldn't trust the predictions of science fiction, why nature is not as helpless as we assume and why purpose can never be automated. In the process, we will come to a better understanding of what lies ahead and how, despite everything - despite all the horrors and instability we face - we can build a better future.

An Optimistic Guide to What Comes Next

The Future Starts Here

A portrait of the controversial behavioral psychologist discusses how he was villainized, heralded, and ultimately terminated from Harvard for his experiments with psychedelic drugs; his sensational escape from prison; and his influence on the post-modern twenty-first century world.

The Life of Timothy Leary

I Have America Surrounded

'If a thing loves, it is infinite' William Blake A short, impassioned argument for why the visionary artist William Blake is important in the twenty-first century The visionary poet and painter William Blake is a constant presence throughout contemporary culture - from videogames to novels, from sporting events to political rallies and from horror films to designer fashion. Although he died nearly 200 years ago, something about his work continues to haunt the twenty-first century. What is it about Blake that has so endured? In this illuminating essay, John Higgs takes us on a whirlwind tour to prove that far from being the mere New Age counterculture figure that many assume him to be, Blake is now more relevant than ever.

Why He Matters More Than Ever

William Blake Now

Travels Through Britain and Its Ever-Present Past

Watling Street

'The best non-fiction book I've ever read. It's magical. Stunning' Dan Schreiber, No Such Thing As a Fish 'A pop biography for people who don't read pop biographies' Dorian Lynskey, Guardian 'Brilliant, discursive and wise' Ben Goldacre 'Utterly irresistible and totally brilliant' The Quietus 'A thing of endlessly fascinating, utterly demented genius' Alexis Petridis THE STRANGE TALE OF THE DEATH, LIFE AND LEGACY OF THE HUGELY SUCCESSFUL BAND. They were the bestselling singles band in the world. They had awards, credibility, commercial success and creative freedom. Then they deleted their records, erased themselves from musical history and burnt their last million pounds in a boathouse on the Isle of Jura. And they couldn't say why. This is not just the story of The KLF. It is a book about Carl Jung, Alan Moore, Robert Anton Wilson, Ken Campbell, Dada, Situationism, Discordianism, magic, chaos, punk, rave, the alchemical symbolism of Doctor Who and the special power of the number 23. Wildly unauthorised and unlike any other music biography, THE KLF is a trawl through chaos on the trail of a beautiful, accidental mythology.

Chaos, Magic and the Band who Burned a Million Pounds

The KLF

Complotto! Caos, magia e musica house

The 20th Century

A Biography of Timothy Leary

Eine andere Geschichte des 20. Jahrhunderts

Einstein, Freud und Sgt. Pepper

A journey along one of Britain's oldest roads, from Dover to Anglesey, in search of the hidden history that makes us who we are today. 'A bravura piece of writing - Bill Bryson on acid' Tom Holland Winding its way from the White Cliffs of Dover to the Druid groves of Anglesey, the ancient road of Watling Street has gone by many different names. It is a road of witches and ghosts, of queens and highwaymen, of history and myth, of Bletchley Park codebreakers, Chaucer, Boudicca, Dickens and James Bond. But Watling Street is not just the story of a route across our island. It is an acutely observed exploration of Britain and who we are today, told with wit and an unerring eye for the curious and surprising.

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The Detailed Keto Diet Cookbook

In the modern, democratic twenty-first century, the notion of an unelected, dynastic monarchy is not easy to defend.This new book argues that the current monarchy is by far the best system for choosing a Head of State - providing that it is understood that we are not subjects and that the monarchy are not our superiors. They are, in actual fact, our pets. In this original eBook, John Higgs, author of the The 20th Century: An Alternative History, makes an argument in favour of the monarchy that will annoy royalists even more than it will annoy republicans. This is a tongue-in-cheek, witty examination of the persistence of monarchy in the modern world.

A New Perspective on Monarchy

Our Pet Queen

The extraordinary story of the 20th century, as told from the furthest fringes of science, art and culture. For readers of Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything. Before 1900, history was an account of great discoveries that actually made sense. People understand innovations like the steam engine, agriculture, or electricity. The twentieth century, by contrast, gave us quantum entanglement, cubism, relativity, psychedelics, postmodernism, chaos maths, and the Somme. This is the story of that confusing century as told through the ideas produced at the furthest fringes of our sciences, arts, and culture. Its cast includes well-known geniuses such as Albert Einstein, Francis Crick, and Pablo Picasso, lesser known geniuses like Edward Lorenz, Sergey Korolyov, or Shigeru Miyamoto, and infamous but influential ne'er-do-wells like Timothy Leary, Aleister Crowley and Keith Richards. In this company we take a tour through ideas as strange as general relativity, DNA, the subconscious, Gaia theory, and Dada. In this brilliantly written and original book, John Higgs explores, with great clarity and wit, the extremes of twentieth century thought, and in doing so shows how a world of empires became a world of individuals. You will never see the twentieth century in the same way again.

Making Sense of the Twentieth Century

The visionary poet and painter William Blake is a constant presence throughout contemporary culture - from videogames to novels, from sporting events to political rallies and from horror films to designer fashion. Although he died nearly 200 years ago, something about his work continues to haunt the twenty-first century. What is it about Blake that has so endured? In this illuminating essay, John Higgs takes us on a whirlwind tour to prove that far from being the mere New Age counterculture figure that many assume him to be, Blake is now more relevant than ever.

Ο εικοστός αιώνας θα έπρεπε να μας είναι κατανοητός. Είναι η περίοδος της ιστορίας που γνωρίζουμε καλύτερα, μια επική γεωπολιτική αφήγηση που περνάει από τον Α’ Παγκόσμιο πόλεμο, τη Μεγάλη Ύφεση, τον Β’ Παγκόσμιο πόλεμο και την πτώση του Τείχους του Βερολίνου. Αλλά κατά κάποιον τρόπο αυτή η ιστορία δεν οδηγεί ακριβώς στον κόσμο που βρισκόμαστε τώρα. Με τον John Higgs ως οδηγό μας βγαίνουμε από την κύρια οδό της ιστοριογραφίας και περιπλανιόμαστε σε μερικά από τα πιο δύσβατα μονοπάτια του 20ού αιώνα. Εξερευνούμε γνωστές και άγνωστες πτυχές της περιόδου, ταξιδεύουμε συντροφιά με μερικούς από τους πιο ριζοσπάστες καλλιτέχνες και επιστήμονες, με ιδιοφυείς και εκκεντρικές προσωπικότητες της εποχής. Μαζί τους ανακαλύπτουμε ότι οι μεγάλες καινοτομίες, όπως η θεωρία της σχετικότητας, ο κυβισμός, η κβαντομηχανική, ο μεταμοντερνισμός και τα μαθηματικά του χάους δεν είναι αφηρημένες, ακατανόητες έννοιες, αλλά οδοδείκτες οι οποίοι μας κατευθύνουν στον κόσμο που ζούμε σήμερα.

John Higgs

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