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Review
"Superb. . . . Mr. Mak is a skilled distiller of archival evidence, but his firsthand witnesses deliver us even more harrowingly into the past."
--"The New York Sun"
"An original, fresh and first-hand documented essay of recent European history. It's an ideal reading for anyone doing 'le grand tour' across the Old Continent."
--"The Washington Post"
"Dazzling, imaginative and mesmerizing."
--"The Tucson Citizen"
"Subtle. . . It is a testament to Mak's warmth and skill as a writer that even in a chronicle of unrelenting barbarity he has portrayed a humanity worth saving."
--"Time"
--"The New York Sun"
"An original, fresh and first-hand documented essay of recent European history. It's an ideal reading for anyone doing 'le grand tour' across the Old Continent."
--"The Washington Post"
"Dazzling, imaginative and mesmerizing."
--"The Tucson Citizen"
"Subtle. . . It is a testament to Mak's warmth and skill as a writer that even in a chronicle of unrelenting barbarity he has portrayed a humanity worth saving."
--"Time"
Sunday Telegraph
`an original and engaging approach to 20th-century European history... the result is history becoming alive in an almost physical way'
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a combination of travelogue and history book - a Dutch journalist spending a year travelling through Europe, writing about the people he meets, the places he visits and the historical background. It's wonderfully written, very personable and engaging, and very interesting. It's about how the people of Europe see themselves in relation to the world around them, about how they react to other Europeans, about whether they even consider themselves European at all. I really enjoyed this book and I'd recommend it to anyone.
22 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Geert Mak's book is a masterpiece. It's not a complete and exhaustive account of the 20th Century in Europe, instead it reads in the form of a travelogue as Mak visits some of the significant places upon which events took place, for example Sarajevo and Berlin. It's not a dry and dusty recounting of facts, instead it's a warm and readable insight into some of the people and events which were so pivotal for the history of Europe. Somehow he is able to find vignettes of events which illustrate the whole, interviewing people who, although unnoticed players in history, have their own insight into the events and their own experiences of how things affected them.
What's outstanding about this book is the quality of the writing (and the translation too). Mak is able to distil complex events into fascinating pieces of writing and he regularly personalises situations that otherwise could seem too vague. I was particularly moved by the chapters on the First World War where he quoted various young men who were part of the fighting on both sides and showed that, for the individuals involved in the war, events were seen very differently from those in overall charge.
In this book Mak often quotes short phrases in German which aren't translated and could cause some trouble for those who don't speak German; however most other languages have some kind of translation where they occur.
This is a very big book and it's not something that you want to read through continuously. However I found myself dipping into it on a regular basis, 3-4 chapters at a time, and I always enjoyed it. There's a lot of history in Mak's book of which I was previously unaware, such as Lenin's return by train to Russia, and I was continually amazed that one man could have put the work together and could weave the threads of events into coherent wholes. There are few illustrations in this book (mainly maps showing his travels in each section of the book) but his wordsmith craft paints vivid enough pictures to make this book well worth the reading and a genuine triumph.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008
What's outstanding about this book is the quality of the writing (and the translation too). Mak is able to distil complex events into fascinating pieces of writing and he regularly personalises situations that otherwise could seem too vague. I was particularly moved by the chapters on the First World War where he quoted various young men who were part of the fighting on both sides and showed that, for the individuals involved in the war, events were seen very differently from those in overall charge.
In this book Mak often quotes short phrases in German which aren't translated and could cause some trouble for those who don't speak German; however most other languages have some kind of translation where they occur.
This is a very big book and it's not something that you want to read through continuously. However I found myself dipping into it on a regular basis, 3-4 chapters at a time, and I always enjoyed it. There's a lot of history in Mak's book of which I was previously unaware, such as Lenin's return by train to Russia, and I was continually amazed that one man could have put the work together and could weave the threads of events into coherent wholes. There are few illustrations in this book (mainly maps showing his travels in each section of the book) but his wordsmith craft paints vivid enough pictures to make this book well worth the reading and a genuine triumph.
Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought In Europe because I had read a review that praised it greatly, and I enjoyed reading it more than I could have hoped. For me, Geert Mak offered a view of Europe through the twentieth century from the perspective of someone from a small, mainland European country. He doesn't write European history from the viewpoint of one of the major players, so it is never about Britain's (or France's, or Germany's) role in the First of Second World Wars. He goes about Europe and through the twentieth century, calling on his many friends and contacts in key places for key events, meeting people here and there by chance. And he gives the reader a patchwork of novel insights and deeply personal understandings. My copy has now been read by at least two other people, and is well thumbed by me; and I have recommended it to many others, and bought copies for friends as presents.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
830 pages flew by!
This is a big, ambitious, broad ranging and thoroughly well researched book which takes the reader in easy steps through a phenomenal century by presenting an astonishing amount of... Read more
Published 3 months ago by SL-N/1973
Don't buy this paperback!
The writing is fabulous and because of the length this is clearly a book to be enjoyed over years however don't bother with this cheap paperback. Read more
Published 13 months ago by V. Findlay
Good - but a bit too clinical
I was wondering how to review it, I wanted this to be so much a better book than it was.
I did enjoy it but it just didn't flow, certain sections I devoured whereas... Read more
I did enjoy it but it just didn't flow, certain sections I devoured whereas... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Quick reviews!
great story of europe's 20th century
Geert Mak has covered pretty much whole Europe in his travelling & writing of 20th century in 1999.
He has covered major events in the 100 year long history timeframe with... Read more
He has covered major events in the 100 year long history timeframe with... Read more
Published 14 months ago by Tomislav Buljubasic
Well done Mr Mak
I bought this book having read good reviews, and they are true enough. A large part (more then I anticipated) of the book is about the second world war though, so now you are... Read more
Published 16 months ago by I. Smith
A Fabulous Read
This is one of the best books about modern European history I have ever read. Mak's command of the great sweep of events coupled with the detail that affects individuals is... Read more
Published on 12 Aug 2009 by D. C. Johnson
Excellent
Well written, poignant, informative. A broad history of Europe in the 20th century underscored beautifully by personal accounts from those at the sharp end of history. Read more
Published on 3 Aug 2009 by Gotte
A great pleasure to dip into and reflect upon.
This is a long book, and after a few months I am still only three quarters of the way through, but the best thing about this book is that you can enjoy it in bitesized segments,... Read more
Published on 1 Jun 2009 by N. Byrne
so near yet so far
I really wanted to like this book - both the cover and the blurb promised so much - and, indeed, it is unputdownable as one wades through the descriptions of glory, carnage,... Read more
Published on 6 May 2009 by Chunkymonkey
Essential Reading
This is an outstanding book. A brilliantly researched, beautifully written survey of Europe in the final year of the last millenium. Read more
Published on 22 April 2009 by Mr. P. J. Dawe
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