From the Watergate scandal, deposition of Haile Selassie and the expulsion of Solzhenitsyn from the Soviet Union, to ABBA's landmark victory at the Eurovision Song Contest and the production of the very first Volkswagen Golf--a concise, entertaining survey of an important year in 20th-century history, published to coincide with the 50th anniversary of 1974.

1974 was a year of major changes around the world.

Presidents resigned, emperors were deposed and new governments came to power.

In society, the second wave of feminism grew in strength and the rights of gays and ethnic minorities were more powerfully asserted.

The arts and the entertainment industry were in the midst of a period of great creativity and innovation.

The roots of many aspects of today's societies which we take for granted lie in the 1970s and particularly in this, the pivotal year of the decade.