Postwar
A History of Europe Since 1945
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4.1 • 107 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Finalist for the Pulitzer Prize • Winner of the Council on Foreign Relations Arthur Ross Book Award • One of the New York Times’s 100 Best Books of the 21st Century
“Impressive . . . Mr. Judt writes with enormous authority.” —The Wall Street Journal
“Magisterial . . . It is, without a doubt, the most comprehensive, authoritative, and yes, readable postwar history.” —The Boston Globe
Almost a decade in the making, this much-anticipated grand history of postwar Europe from one of the world's most esteemed historians and intellectuals is a singular achievement. Postwar is the first modern history that covers all of Europe, both east and west, drawing on research in six languages to sweep readers through thirty-four nations and sixty years of political and cultural change-all in one integrated, enthralling narrative. Both intellectually ambitious and compelling to read, thrilling in its scope and delightful in its small details, Postwar is a rare joy.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
This is the best history we have of Europe in the postwar period and not likely to be surpassed for many years. Judt, director of New York University's Remarque Institute, is an academic historian of repute and, more recently, a keen observer of European affairs whose powerfully written articles have appeared in the New York Times, the New York Review of Books and elsewhere. Here he combines deep knowledge with a sharply honed style and an eye for the expressive detail. Postwar is a hefty volume, and there are places where the details might overwhelm some readers. But the reward is always there: after pages on cabinet shuffles in some small country, or endless diplomatic negotiations concerning the fate of Germany or moves toward the European Union, the reader is snapped back to attention by insightful analysis and excellent writing. Judt shows that the dire human and economic costs of WWII shadowed Europe for a very long time afterward. Europeans and Americans recall the economic miracle, but it didn't really transform people's lives until the late 1950s, when a new, more individualized, consumer-oriented society began to appear in the West. But Postwar is not just a history of Western Europe. One of its great virtues is that it fully integrates the history of Eastern and Western Europe, and covers the small countries as well as the large and powerful ones. Judt is judicious, even a bit uncritical, in his appraisal of American involvement in Europe in the early postwar years, and he's scathing about Western intellectuals' accommodation to communism. His book focuses on cultural and intellectual life rather than the social experiences of factory workers or peasants, but it would probably be impossible to encompass all of it in one volume. Overall, this is history writing at its very best.
Customer Reviews
Colossal book
In an incredible achievement to cover such an vast period of time for such a vast territory, with such clarity and detail. So many issues come into perspective that when explained with such mastery seem rather obvious. This book will be with me for a long time.
Understanding Europe Today
Best nonfiction book I’ve ever read.
Required Reading for Ordinary Americans
I happened on this book in my local public e-library selection list for history. A good audio selection to listen to while walking, I thought. My first hint at what I was getting into came when it downloaded on my iPhone, starting at 50 - most audio books are around....15 parts. After 4-5 days of listening, amazed at what I didn't know, had never understood about this era , I went to Amazon to read those reviews- which mirrored my own thoughts. So, why buy a book I've just finished listening to? I had to backup so many times to re-listen to parts; wanted to go back and replay parts that were later mentioned in a different context- and so many observations I wanted to remember/save/think more about. In my mid-sixties,I lived through much of this postwar era as an Average American- Europe, its events, views, meanings....like so much background was seen one way. This book is the view from 'there' - of there, by there, for there. And for here, for us. It's an eye-opener, a mind-opener - agreeing and disagreeing. I wish I had happened on it sooner.