Stranger Than We Can Imagine PDF
Preview Stranger Than We Can Imagine
J in Stranger than We Can ImagIne, John higgs argues that before 1900, history seemed o S t r a n g e r 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, exis- H tentialism, Stalin, psychedelics, chaos mathematics, climate change, and postmodernism. n In order to understand such a disorienting barrage of unfamiliar and knotty ideas, as higgs shows us, we need to shift the framework of our interpretation and view these concepts H t H A n W e C A n within the context of a new kind of historical narrative. Instead of looking at it as another step i G forward in a stable path, we need to look at the twentieth century as a chaotic seismic shift, upending all linear narratives. G he brings a refreshingly non-academic, eclectic, and infectiously energetic approach s I m a gI n e to his subjects as well as a unique ability to explain how complex ideas connect and inter- sect—whether 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. S t PrAise for Stranger than We Can ImagIne r A n A l t e r n A t i v e H i s t o r y o f a “[higgs] offers an idiosyncratic, always-provocative view of an era that many n 2 o people would just as soon forget . . . higgs crafts of disparate facts and anecdotes t H e t H C e n t u r y g a story all his own. Full of unexpected linkages and brightly written, this is an e absorbing tour of the 20th century.” —KIrKuS r “an illuminating work of massive insight, in Stranger Than We Can Imagine, t h John higgs informs us of exactly where we’ve been and, by extension, a where we are. I cannot recommend this magnificent work too highly.” —AlAn Moore, AutHor of V for Vendetta, WatChmen, And LoSt gIrLS n w “a beautiful, erudite, funny and enlightening tour of the widening boundaries of uncertainty revealed in the twentieth century, and who doesn’t need a book e that explains quantum behaviour with a boxing bout between Putin and a kangaroo?” c —robin inCe, ACtor, CoMediAn, And AutHor of roBIn InCe’S Bad BooK CLuB a n JoHn HiGGs created the long-running BBc radio 4 quiz show “X marks the Spot” and has I directed BaFta-winning episodes of animated preschool British tV. he is the author of KLF: m Chaos, Magic and the Band that Burned a Million Pounds; I Have America Surrounded: A Biog- a raphy of Timothy Leary; and Our Pet Queen: A New Perspective on Monarchy. g I n soft skull Press soCiAl History us $16.95 e An imprint of Counterpoint www.softskull.com distributed by Publishers Group West ISBN: 978-1-59376-62-90 51695 J o H n H i G G s Jacket images: (astronaut on moon) © Steven taylor | getty Images; (television) © wisconsin- art | Dreamstime.com 9 781593 766290 S T R A N G E R T H A N W E C A N I M A G I N E By the same author Non-fiction The KLF: Chaos, Magic and the Band Who Burned a Million Pounds I Have America Surrounded: The Life of Timothy Leary Fiction The Brandy of the Damned The First Church on the Moon S T R A N G E R T H A N W E C A N I M A G I N E A N A L T E R N A T I V E H I S T O R Y O F 2 O T H E T H C E N T U R Y J O H N H I G G S SOFT SKULL PRESS AN IMPRINT OF COUNTERPOINT Copyright © John Higgs 2015 All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. Originally published in the UK by Weidenfeld & Nicolson / The Orion Publishing Group Ltd, a Hachette UK company Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available ISBN 978-1-59376-626-9 Cover design by Andrew Roberts Interior design by Input Data Services, Ltd. SOFT SKULL PRESS An imprint of Counterpoint 2560 Ninth Street, Suite 318 Berkeley, CA 94710 www.softskull.com Printed in the United States of America Distributed by Publishers Group West 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For Lia, the twentieth century’s post-credits twist, and for Isaac, the pre-game cutscene of the twenty-first century. All love, Dad x CONTENTS Introduction 1 1 RELATIVITY 11 Deleting the omphalos 2 MODERNISM 33 The shock of the new 3 WAR 53 Hoist that rag 4 INDIVIDUALISM 71 Do what thou wilt 5 ID 89 Under the paving stones, the beach 6 UNCERTAINTY 107 The cat is both alive and dead 7 SCIENCE FICTION 127 A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away 8 NIHILISM 145 I stick my neck out for nobody 9 SPACE 163 We came in peace for all mankind 10 SEX 193 Nineteen sixty-three (which was rather late for me) 11 TEENAGERS 213 Wop-bom-a-loo-mop-a-lomp-bom-bom 12 CHAOS 231 A butterfly flaps its wings in Tokyo 13 GROWTH 249 Today’s investor does not profit from yesterday’s growth 14 POSTMODERNISM 273 I happen to have Mr McLuhan right here 15 NETWORK 295 A planet of individuals Notes and Sources 316 Bibliography 327 Acknowledgements 333 Index 334 viii “We needed to do what we wanted to do” Keith Richards
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