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In Europe: Travels Through the Twentieth Century


  • ISBN13: 9780307280572
  • Condition: NEW
  • Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Product Description
From the First World War to the waning days of the Cold War, a poignant exploration on what it means to be European at the end of the twentieth-century.

Geert Mak crisscrosses Europe from Verdun to Berlin, Saint Petersburg to Srebrenica in search of evidence and witnesses of the last hundred years of Europe. Using his skills as an acclaimed journalist, Mak locates the smaller, personal stories within the epic arc of history-talking to a former ticket-taker … More >>

In Europe: Travels Through the Twentieth Century

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This entry was posted on April 14, 2010.Both comments and pings are currently closed.

  1. #1 by Ying Lu on April 14, 2010 - 9:46 pm

    This author of this book gives a good introduction to European history from 1900 to 2000. I like the way he weaves his point of view through lenses in and out of different eras. The conclusion he draws is however rather weak- he seems to present the question of Europe, its future, in contrast to the rest of the world. In reality, Europe and its heterogenous past are well integrated even in the far remote countries on the other side of the globe. It takes more than a western historian to see and grasp this truth. Just as one can not fully understand oneself solely by looking inward, Europe as a continent, all its commotions and solutions can not be fully grasped unless it is simultaneously contemplated from the outside.
    Rating: 3 / 5

  2. #2 by Jeffrey L. Thurston on April 14, 2010 - 10:45 pm

    I have to admit that some of this book is interesting and not silly… some. The coolest most prophetic statement in the book comes from a former Polish communist: “..having only market forces, only inequality, spells disaster for the world that is now on its way.” We travel through the Europe of 1999 with the high minded oh so morally up there author and visit the bloody history of that continent. No sympathy for the WW2 Germans here… I think if it were written today well there’d be a lot more. For me only the chapters written about pre or post WW2 were OK- the parts on WW2 are pretty bad- as if the author were doing book reports or synopsi of the most current WW2 books f the day. Ghosts of Goldhagen and Ambrose lurk. WW2 is all about the hideous experience of the Jews- chapters and chapters on this- the experiences of others are far more vague. As an afterthought- at the end of a chapter- we learn that “…8 million Ukrainians died in WW2…” One sentence… I wonder what this book would be like if written today in 2010 when we in the oh so morally superior West are pursuing a 10 year war crime in Afghanistan; when the Nazi’s former victims seem to have embraced German expansionist theories. How soon we have forgotten that the number one charge at Nuremburg was PURSUING AGRESSIVE WAR! The high minded moral superiority of 1999 seems very quaint now.
    Rating: 2 / 5

  3. #3 by P. Stam on April 14, 2010 - 10:49 pm

    This book really sparks any interest in European History. I have sarted a list of great events that I will have to read more about. Maak has a great way of displaying the history of europe through a series of personal experiences and anecdotes. Great read!!!!
    Rating: 5 / 5

  4. #4 by Michelle L. Tetreault on April 14, 2010 - 11:13 pm

    I am currently taking a course in European 20th Century History and was assigned this text. We were also assigned a textbook by Bonnie Smith. The latter is truly a textbook whilst Mak’s is an enjoyable book. Many of my classmates have commented on how much they enjoy reading Mak and some have ceased reading Bonnie smith altogether.

    I have found his rich narration and happy departure from the stale literature one has come to expect in history. There are instances where he illustrates what it means to feel diminished such as being in front of the European Parliament building. He can make the Vienna of Hitler’s youth come alive. He can breath life into people who are usually treated as nothing more than stand-ins for the real thing. In the chapter dealing with the assassination that started the mess that nearly consumed all of the 20th Century, he somehow gives a whole new dimension not just to Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie but also their assassin, Gavrilo Princip.

    This Temporal Travelogue is truly unique. I have never read anything like it. It has inspired me to look at time, space, people and ideas in whole new organic light. It is fascinating beyond all description.
    Rating: 5 / 5

  5. #5 by G. Maassen Van Brink on April 15, 2010 - 2:01 am

    Yes, I know. From any description, it sounds boring.

    Yet, try to put it down, I dare you.

    Rating: 5 / 5

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