To Hell and Back
Europe, 1914-1949
1st Edition
Published on 24. September 2015
624 pages
978-0-241-18715-9 (ISBN)
Description
'Superb ... likely to become a classic' Observer
In the summer of 1914 most of Europe plunged into a war so catastrophic that it unhinged the continent's politics and beliefs in a way that took generations to recover from. The disaster terrified its survivors, shocked that a civilization that had blandly assumed itself to be a model for the rest of the world had collapsed into a chaotic savagery beyond any comparison. In 1939 Europeans would initiate a second conflict that managed to be even worse - a war in which the killing of civilians was central and which culminated in the Holocaust.
To Hell and Back tells this story with humanity, flair and originality. Kershaw gives a compelling narrative of events, but he also wrestles with the most difficult issues that the events raise - with what it meant for the Europeans who initiated and lived through such fearful times - and what this means for us.
In the summer of 1914 most of Europe plunged into a war so catastrophic that it unhinged the continent's politics and beliefs in a way that took generations to recover from. The disaster terrified its survivors, shocked that a civilization that had blandly assumed itself to be a model for the rest of the world had collapsed into a chaotic savagery beyond any comparison. In 1939 Europeans would initiate a second conflict that managed to be even worse - a war in which the killing of civilians was central and which culminated in the Holocaust.
To Hell and Back tells this story with humanity, flair and originality. Kershaw gives a compelling narrative of events, but he also wrestles with the most difficult issues that the events raise - with what it meant for the Europeans who initiated and lived through such fearful times - and what this means for us.
Reviews / Votes
A great achievement ... There could hardly be a more judicious guide to this bloody terrain ... a stark lesson in man's capacity for evil * The Sunday Times * A triumph ... one of a tiny handful of historians whose books will still be read in 100 years * The Mail on Sunday * Chilling epic-size history ... should be required reading * The New York Times * The story of how the Old World plunged toward hell for 30 years ... There is no man better qualified than Kershaw to take us through the dark valleys of the world wars and the two sombre intervening decades ... fair-minded, deeply researched and highly readable * Wall Street Journal * We are in the hands of a master historian * Spectator * Few authors would have the ability, and perhaps the determination, to take on the history of both world wars and the connecting decades at this level of sophistication, depth and breadth * The Times * Authoritative * Telegraph * Kershaw leads his readers through this complex history in a clear and compelling manner * Prospect *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
File size
37,56 MB
ISBN-13
978-0-241-18715-9 (9780241187159)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
06/2016
Penguin Books Ltd
€21.50
Available immediately
Book
09/2015
Allen Lane
€57.14
Article exhausted; check different version
Person
Ian Kershaw is the author of Hitler 1889-1936: Hubris and Hitler 1936-1945: Nemesis, which received the Wolfson Literary Award for History and the Bruno Kreisky Prize in Austria for the Political Book of the Year, and was joint winner of the inaugural British Academy Book Prize. His other books include Making Friends with Hitler, which won the Elizabeth Longford Prize for Historical Biography; Fateful Choices; The End; and his histories of modern Europe, To Hell and Back and Roller-Coaster.
