... of 'the short twentieth century' which starts 1914 and ends 1991 or 'the peoples century') in the light of its truth and utility. Various historians views will fall under scrutiny throughout the course of the essay, however the main focus will be on Eric Hobsbawm (Marxist historian) and Mark Mazower as their opinions are at opposite ends of the spectrum, despite sometimes overlapping. As all historians writing histories of the twentieth century were born in said century, (or at least at the very end of the nineteenth century) they have a shared experience, nevertheless as we are all shaped by our own cultural and social background, (and memory - especially in Hobsbawm's case) different interpretations arise. If Theodore Zeldin is to be believed, all a historian can offer their readers is their personal vision of the past, and the materials out of which they in turn can fashion a personal ...

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