Very often historical events are linked with location. This source book for teacher and student provides concise and informative entries on the many hundreds of places of major historical significance in the twentieth century.

The entries are worldwide in scope ranging from Auckland harbour in New Zealand to Nunavut in the Arctic Circle, and span the whole of the twentieth century, from Kimberley in Cape Province besieged by the Boers in October 1899, to Oklahoma City in April 1995, the scene of the worst terrorist incident in American history.

With the emphasis firmly on events that have had implications beyond the borders of a single country, the book includes diplomatic crises (Agadir, Suez, Cuba), world conferences (Bretton Woods, Yalta, Dumbarton Oaks), assassinations (Sarajevo, Coyoacan, Sriperumbudur), massacres (Soweto, My Lai, Cienaga), and famous treaties (Potsdam, Chapultepec, Versailles).

In addition, many of the century's key battles are detailed, including the towns and villages of Northern France (Ypres, Verdun, Neuve-Chapelle) now forever associated with the carnage of the First World War, and the decisive engagements of the Second World War (Alamein, Kursk, Beda Fomm).