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Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 [Paperback]

Tony Judt (Author)

4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)

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Book Description

Publication Date: 3 Jun 2010

Europe in 1945 was prostrate. Much of the continent was devastated by war, mass slaughter, bombing and chaos. Large areas of Eastern Europe were falling under Soviet control, exchanging one despotism for another. Today, the Soviet Union is no more and the democracies of the European Union reach as far as the borders of Russia itself.

Postwar tells the rich and complex story of how we got from there to here. Running right up to the Iraq war and the election of Benedict XVI, Postwar makes sense of Europe's recent history and identity, of what Europe is and has been. It is nothing less than a masterpiece.

Shortlisted for the Pulitzer and Samuel Johnson Prizes.

Winner of the Arthur Ross Book Award.

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Shortlisted for the Pulitzer and Samuel Johnson Prizes.

Winner of the Arthur Ross Book Award.

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Product details

Paperback: 960 pages
Publisher: Vintage (3 Jun 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 009954203X
ISBN-13: 978-0099542032
Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 4 x 19.8 cm

Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)

Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 6,243 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1 in Books > History > Other Historical Subjects > Theory & Methods

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Product Description

Review

"Most impressive... Postwar, Tony Judt's magnificent history of Europe after The Second World War, covers vast tracts of ground with extraordinary skill, weaving together the stories of West and East in a single, compelling narrative" (Evening Standard, 'Books of the Year' )

"Masterly and exhilarating... Judt has a fine eye for telling detail... This is a splendid book to which no review can do proper justice" (Geoffrey Wheatcroft Spectator )

"Truly superb - a magnificent achievement. It is hard to imagine how a better - and more readable - history of the emergence of today's Europe from the ashes of 1945 could ever be written; I can't think of another work on the latter half of the 20th century that comes close to matching it... All in all, a real masterpiece" (Ian Kershaw, Author Of Hitler )

"A superb work of synthesis, analysis and reflection" (Times Literary Supplement, 'Books of the Year' )

"With Postwar... Judt moves up into the ranks of the grand simplificateurs. He dares to expound the sum total of Europe since 1945 in a seamless narrative... This is history-writing with a human face, as well as with brainpower... It is most unlikely that Judt's achievement will be superseded soon" (Guardian )

Book Description

A magisterial and acclaimed history of Europe in our time, by one of our leading historians, shortlisted for the Pulitzer and Samuel Johnson Prizes.

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4.1 out of 5 stars

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars impassioned, stimulating, thought-provoking 14 Jan 2011

By Mr. R. Bates

Format:Paperback

I was motivated to write this review by looking at the average rating and seeing only three and a half stars; that is absurdly low for a book that is already becoming a classic. Don't be put off by the negative reviews on here which are mainly written by people with specific hobby horses or concerned about a few insignificant factual errors - but those are inevitable in a work with such breathtaking scope. If the most serious error in a book that covers the contemporary history of the whole continent is about the date of the first eurovision song contest, then that tells you that Judt gets a lot of things right.

Those who write that the first chapters are the strongest are more on the money (but then, name me a historian who can analyse the present as well as s/he can the past). And those opening chapters are simply awesome. If you don't learn to look at the second world war and its legacy in a new light, if you don't think again about the rebuilding of Europe, about the implementation of Stalinism in eastern europe and the attitudes of western intellectuals, or how the intellectual and cultural movements of western europe in the 60s and 70s interacted with the times they sprang from, then you are probably already an excellent historian in your own right and I would like to read your books as well.

You might not agree with all of his conclusions, but the fact that the book is so (in his word) opinionated is a good thing - it challenges you to work out what you yourself think and why. It avoids repeating the received wisdom, and challenges it on a great many subjects. It demands that you engage with a lot of still-live topics (cumulateively, the book adds up to a powerful argument in favour of rational social democracy). It makes cogs turn in your mind. You thought you had a picture of postwar europe in your mind's eye - Judt shows you that it was only a thumbnail. There is a lot to discover, and to contemplate.

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42 of 45 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A huge work - in terms of size and in terms of quality 8 Sep 2009

By Audrius Alkauskas

Format:Paperback

This is a huge piece of work. It took me more than two years to finish the entire book, and I took long breaks resting from it. Nevertheless, it was worth the effort. This volume is now one of the most important works in my collection of history books.
Three things impressed me in "Postwar".
1. English. In the globalized world where everybody seems to speak English it is quite easy to loose good taste for language, especially in the academic literature. We read books on history and science without any expectations of their language having the richness of a fictional literary work. Tony Judt certainly breaks this rule - he writes in a beautiful language, cleverly formulated sentences, and carefully constructed paragraphs. One often forgets one is reading a book on history. Thus, it was a huge pleasure to read "Postwar".
2. Broadness. The depth and broadness of topics covered is impressive. Each country, small and big, each important aspect of social life, is covered. For people mostly familiar with the history of their own country, like myself, this book will provide a lot of valuable information and a lot of insight about what was happening in other countries in Europe after 1945. Whether you would like to know about national conflicts in Belgium or the origins of the Hungarian revolution, this book is the book to look at, at least to get the most important information.
3. Objectivity. I am very pleased with the objectivity of the book. In my opinion, Tony Judt does not take any initial opinion on a subject described. The reader is left with sufficient information to have his/her own judgement on each of the topics. In this regard the present book is a pleasant exception.

In summary: a huge work, both in terms of size and in terms of quality. Highly recommended.

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71 of 79 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Europe's Guilt 23 Nov 2005

By P. J. T. Brown

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Tony Judt's book is a lively and contentious narrative of Postwar Europe from the effects of WW2 right up to the removal of the last statue of Franco in Madrid on March 17th 2005. The key European events covered in detail: Cold War, formation of the European Union, collapse of Communism, war in the Balkans. Weaved through this is a commanding sense of social and political history from a liberal/left perspective.

It is particular strong on film [and TV] which is used to underscore political and social narratives, with plenty of illustrations from memoirs and satire. The grand theme is Europe's collective guilt over the Holocaust and how the different countries have denied, then acknowledged (or not) their roles. This theme is defining for Judt and it will continue to define Europe's collective persona for future generations. On this latter issue Judt's arguments are well illustrated with examples from literature and Europe's intellectuals - both largely ignored by the politicians.

Europe's future will be tested by whether or not it grow towards something more than just a grand market place for the exchange of goods and services.

My only regret is the lack of a thematic bibliography - bibliographical references are within the text at the bottom of the page only.

This is a big read at 830 pages - but it is engrossing

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Masterful

Tony Judt's clarity, perception and prose style carry you through this enormous subject. Judt's book is a corrective to the familiar and tendentious accounts so often peddled.

Published 2 months ago by Andrew Macdonald

5.0 out of 5 stars Big theme, small print

Judt provides a comprehensive but penetrating account of postwar Europe. There is, however, a health warning: the print in this paper back version is minute, making it very... Read more

Published 2 months ago by Mr. Ronald V. White

5.0 out of 5 stars Could have been an excellent last volume of the New Cambridge Modern...

This book could make an excellent last volume of the New Cambridge Modern History, which traditionally ended after 1945. Read more

Published 2 months ago by D. Schotman

4.0 out of 5 stars Worth reading

Stimulating opinion on recent history. Hard to disagree with the author. Well written and thought provoking. What else can I say?

Published 3 months ago by Justin Scott

5.0 out of 5 stars A Trusted Account of Europe

This book gives a clear narrative of how Europe has changed and emerged from the terrible mess of the end of the Second World War. Read more

Published 4 months ago by Mr. Dh Sharman

5.0 out of 5 stars Four is not enough

Four stars are not enough for this book and I think it's certainly more worthy of five.

For someone like myself whose interest in history far exceeds my knowledge, this... Read more

Published 6 months ago by lapluma

5.0 out of 5 stars The presentness of the past

Postwar is a remarkable history of postwar Europe by Tony Judt.He admits to being free of an over-arching theory: "Fox-like Europe knows many things"His writing is remarkably... Read more

Published 9 months ago by technoguy

3.0 out of 5 stars entertaining but ...

Entertaining and easy to read however the last Epilogue which concentrates on 'the jewish question' is irritating. Read more

Published 10 months ago by reader1

5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding

This book should be read by anyone with an interest in modern history. Beautifully written, it is more unputdownable than a Swedish thriller.

Published 12 months ago by JR

4.0 out of 5 stars IDEAL FOR REFERENCE

This a fine book- well-written by Historian standards, if a little verbose.It is largely objective, well researched and massive in its scope. Read more

Published 13 months ago by Trollope

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