Translated by M. Carmen Fayos de Riddel; Ed. Michele Schiavone. The object of this book is to explain - rather than simply narrate - the remarkable or rather unique set of events that constitute modern history from the Industrial Revolution to the beginnings of the twenty-first century. The complexity of the world and of the times in which we live is overwhelming and growing. Tortella analyzes the radical changes in social structures of the past 250 years and how history has been moulding events since. His approach is international and combines economic and social analysis, but never forgetting political, cultural, and scientific factors. The final chapter examines the triumphs and the perils of the present world: while the achievements of modern society have been astonishing, the problems posed by overpopulation, inequality, and the threats to the environment show that the challenges of the present are as daunting as those solved in the past.