A Great Book

[Higgly]

Tony Judt; Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945; Penguin (paperback)

This is a really extraordinary book. Builds superbly on Margaret MacMillan's "Paris:1919".

Buy, beg or borrow this book.

Here are some of the reviews....

"Brilliant... A book that has the pace of a thriller and the scope of an encyclopedia... A very considerable achievement." The New York Times Review of Books. Named by the New York Times as one of the ten best books of the year.

"This monumental work is a tour de force." Foreign Affairs

"Remarkable... The writing is vivid; the coverage -- of little countries as well as great ones -- is virtually superhuman...." Louis Menand, The New Yorker

"Impressive... Mr. Judt writes with enormous authority." The Wall Street Journal.

"Magesterial..."; The Boston Globe

"Brave and remarkable." The Washington Post.

"Not likely to be surpassed for many years...." Publishers Weekly (starred review).

If you are to understand the underpinnings of our modern western world, you must read this book.

[Higgly]

Here's a link to the front cover.

This is really a remarkable book for anyone who is serious about understanding European history during and after the 30 years war - i.e. the time span between the start of the first world war and the end of the second world war. Judt claims, and rightly so, I think, that this was one continuous war, and that the Paris Conference of 1919 was an unsuccessful attempt to bring peace to the region.

Margaret McMillan's Paris 1919 provides great insight into why that happened.

Together, these two books are a wonderful study of the complete political failure of the first half of the twentieth century and the attempts to make it right in the second half.

[Remiel]

I don't suppose you could, in a nut shell, outline the conflicts that bridged the gap between WWs 1 & 2?

[Higgly]

The punishment of Germany after WW1 by back-breaking reparations and peace assisted by the Marshall Plan after WW2. Of course there's a lot more, but you need to read the books.

Judt makes an excellent case for the extraordinarily brilliant insight of the Marshall Plan and the fact that the world owes a lot to the US for its role in bringing Europe peacefully into the twentieth century. This was probably the most important contribution to world peace in that century.

Without a doubt, George Marshall's was one of the most richly deserved Nobel Peace Prizes extant.

[Slavik44]

.........