Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century

By Christian Caryl

Categories: History

Strange Rebels: 1979 and the Birth of the 21st Century (2013) is a book by journalist Christian Caryl. Caryl argues that 1979 reshaped the modern world through Deng Xiaoping's reforms in China, Iran's Islamic Revolution, Margaret Thatcher's election, Pope John Paul II's visit to Poland and the start of the Afghan jihad. He shows how religion and markets returned as political forces.

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• Fareed Zakaria: “This week's book of the week is Christian Karl's "Strange Rebels." 1979 and the birth of the 21th Century. The book explains how at the end of the 20th Century two coiled forces, religion and markets, sprung on to the world stage. China's reforms, Margaret Thatcher's rise, Ayatollah Khomenei's revolution, they all began in 1979 and have been shaping international life ever since. Karl tells the story of that pivotal year and its consequences with intelligence, grace and lucidity.”