How the Old World Ended: The Anglo-Dutch-American Revolution 1500-1800
by
Jonathan Scott

2 Stars

How the Old World Ended is unquestionably one of the most disappointing books I have ever read. I’m a great lover of history and consider myself at least a passably knowledgeable student of the subject. So when I first saw this book I was immediately excited. The Industrial Revolution and the birth of our modern world are fascinating historical subjects. This book, however, was a huge letdown.

I can best describe it as a very poorly written college thesis. The author’s basic premise seems to be an interesting one, but the writing is so truly terrible that it just becomes completely lost. If I can take the liberty of quoting another Goodreads reviewer: “I have a hard time describing, even, what the language is like as it is truly terrible and nearly inaccessible. It almost feels like somebody's college thesis where they were trying to really impress the evaluation team and thought that using long and tortured sentences and archaic phrases and constructions would be the way to make himself stand out. Instead, it's just, frankly, a mess that's nearly impossible to read.” Not only is most of the book written in this convoluted style with “long and tortured sentences”; at other times the author digresses into casual slang. At one point he describes a government official’s reaction to an ambassador as telling him “to cool his jets.” At another point he states that “national history has come to enjoy a utility and status comparable to that of the shoe collection of Imelda Marcos.” The conflicting and ever-changing writing style does indeed make the book a mess.

Even if one can get past the writing, the information imparted by the author is spotty at best. Quoting again from another review: “Sometimes, though, it seemed that the author’s purpose was to inject as many facts as possible, neglecting to always take the effort to further explain. Many times I felt like the history was incomplete, and I was forced to initiate my own research in order to understand what was happening. This was counterproductive, as the whole idea of reading the book was to enlighten me, not cause me to constantly be searching the Internet to fill in the blanks the author had left for me.”

I would recommend avoiding this one.

Prose Most Turgid with Tangents

I am a great lover of history, and so I enjoy reading books about history. I was intrigued when I saw this one at a book review site because I knew how much of an impact the Anglo-Dutch relationship had on colonial history and history during the late Middle Ages and the Age of Enlightenment. It could be a gripping, fascinating story. However, that did not happen with this book. I have a hard time describing, even, what the language is like as it is truly terrible and nearly inaccessible. It almost feels like somebody's college thesis where they were trying to really impress the evaluation team and thought that using long and tortured sentences and archaic phrases and constructions would be the way to make himself stand out. Instead, it's just, frankly, a mess that's nearly impossible to read. There doesn’t seem to be many takeaways. Plus, he goes off on some pretty wild tangents that take us far away from the core of what this book should be about. I cannot recommend this book.

This book makes a not so interesting subject interesting, perfect for any history lover a good read.

Filled with great facts and thoroughly researched this book weaves together the facts to turn an interesting tale of a wonderful topic into a must read.

The author’s focus is to explain the events leading up to the end of old world as well as the emergence of England as a world superpower. Sometimes, though, it seemed that the author’s purpose was to inject as many facts as possible, neglecting to always take the effort to further explain. Many times I felt like the history was incomplete, and I was forced to initiate my own research in order to understand what was happening. This was counterproductive, as the whole idea of reading the book was to enlighten me, not cause me to constantly be searching the Internet to fill in the blanks the author had left for me. While this method would be wonderful for those already well-versed in the history described, it didn’t work for me.

Other times, a quick statement was left to suffice, and sometimes wasn’t sufficient to convey exactly what happened (for instance, in a passage referring to the late 18th century, “By this time, the American Revolution had been provoked in part by a tax on tea.” I am sure the author knows there were many other items that prompted the American Revolution, and tea would have fit in with other claims of taxation without representation. The mixed writing voice caused some jarring moments. Sentences like “Initially Clarendon instructed him to cool his jets” could have easily been phrased to match the book’s historical period and still be pleasing to modern eyes and ears. Injecting everyday vernacular into the book felt more like an invasion.

Mr. Scott has compiled much data from research, unearthing some offbeat, interesting items sandwiched in from time to time (for instance, the British Parliament and public/private investment constructed a national turnpike beginning in 1696, with 52% of it authorized between 1750 and 1770). The history of Europe up until the 20th century is a subject I have not read much about, and so most of what I did learn from this book was new. As stated above, I wish this book would have been more accessible to those of us who have not had the opportunity to examine that period of time previous to this reading, but in fairness, I may not have been the target audience. Anyone who chooses to read this book will definitely learn a lot of facts not in your ordinary history books. Four stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Yale University Press for an advance electronic copy of this book.

How the Old World Ended is a fascinating historical book. Jonathan Scott has done his research and the book is well written. I enjoyed reading this book.

I've never seen such a smooth way to write history that isn't boring, its informative as well as feels like you ain't reading reality but a made up story. Let's be honest who can read history in such an interesting way and not get bored.

I am a history student, and yes, I've read plenty of history books, like over 70 now, am at post-graduate level and I love history, but I also accept that history can be boring, not always, but to be honest, mostly.

While starting this book, I kind of wanted to know why the Old world ended and that's why I picked up the book, just for knowledge purpose with minimum or no expectation at all. So yes, the interesting writing was a sweet surprise to me. I just read a few pages, kind of tried to screen through it but actually found myself to be absorbed into the book and kept on picking it, even when I had my exams, and all I studied throughout the day was history, to go to bed with another history book was a huge deal to me. But boy, am I glad!

The book takes you through the British landscape, and the neighbouring countries, the ethnological and national diversity, etc. It introduces you to a replublican form of an empire and how many wars and battles were being fought.
It introduces you to archpelagic state formation which also is viewed in some Asian countries.

Since Britain is surrounded by water and the best strength it has is its naval power for which it is renowned throughout the world, the author walks you through its importance, advantages, etc. Further, there is the Industrial revolution, the reasons, why Britain was the first to experience it, how it brought socio-economical changes in the society, how it impacted the population within the country and abroad, in its colonies.

Further, there are maps that are provided, which aid in comprehending the context and geography in the reader's mind. I found that really interesting and helpful personally to actually see the areas things were occurring. And lastly, the book emphasises upon the cultural contexts of the revolution and reign.

A look at the relationship between England and the Netherlands during the time leading up to the industrial revolution and colonizing the Americas. Good sourcing of text and images to help the narrative. Great for those doing research on this period or the relationship of one country with others.

I keep selecting books that are not available on Kindle and I only read and review books that are on Kindle. I have noticed that Net Galley has recently been including prompts that help readers and reviewers like me from making this error.