Forces of Change An Unorthodox View of History

In Forces of Change, Henry Hobhouse argues provocatively, and most convincingly, that modern history has been shaped less by the actions of human beings than by three natural forces: population growth, food supply, and disease. Examining 500 years of history, Hobhouse observes the relative roles of these forces from the time of the Black Plague to the present day. Invigorating and immediate, his unconventional approach sheds a whole new light on history as we have presumed to know it. Revised and updated, this new edition is as witty and eminently readable as the original. Few books possess the insight and power to alter the way we think. Forces of Change is one. Book jacket.

Henry Hobhouse was born in Somerset, England in 1924 and was educated at Eton. He worked as a journalist for The Economist, Daily Express, and The Wall Street Journal and was one of the first directors of CBS-TV News. In 1954, he returned to his farm in Somerset. He died in 2016.