…and quite possibly one of the best Modern European History books I’ve ever read. It should be the foundational text for all college courses of European history of the post-WWII period.
I speak of Tony Judt’s excellent work: Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945
You don’t have to be interested in European history, or a history buff at all to enjoy this. But if you ever look around at the total screaming insanity that has become a feature of our modern political and social era, read Postwar and you’ll see exactly where it all came from.
And as one critic wrote, it reads with the pacing of a whodunnit, but contains all the detail and dispassionate analysis necessary for an outstanding study. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
I wish I’d read it eighteen years ago, when it was first released. I am most certainly going to re-read it within the next year.
Amazon’s “about the author” says … ‘Professor Judt was a frequent contributor to The New York Review of Books, The Times Literary Supplement, The New Republic, The New York Times, and many journals across Europe and the United States.’ … which I suspect tells you everything you probably need to know about the author’s viewpoint.
I respect Kim’s recommendation, but I suggest you take a peek at the 1-Star reviews for some other contrary and well-thought-out viewpoints. Perhaps my tinfoil hat is too tight, but there is a major historical revision happening these days as regards WWII, the players, its causes and particularly its aftermath. My guess would be that a 2006 history would not reflect much of that rethink.
What’s interesting is that while Judt may be a Lefty, his take on the Left’s politics, and the results of their policies, is very even-handed. While acknowledging the need for change to the previous era’s rampant poverty — and it was needed — he absolutely flays the shortcomings of Marxist (and especially Stalinist) policy not only in Russia, but in the Warsaw Pact countries that implemented them — in some cases, wholeheartedly.
It’s the proper historian’s perspective: setting aside personal politics to provide dispassionate analysis.
Thanks for the tip on this book, ordered on the spot and look forward to reading it.
Seeing as how my education (British Schools Overseas) used a 1956 issue (still have it) of a history book of UK/Europe first published in 1948, it kind of faded on the postwar situation (seeing we were all living it to some degree or another late 1950’s).
Ordered! Uncle Kenny’s comment clinched the deal…
“there is a major historical revision happening these days as regards WWII, the players, its causes and particularly its aftermath. My guess would be that a 2006 history would not reflect much of that rethink.”
What’s really interesting is that if the Left are to rewrite the history of the period in their favor, they will have to repudiate Judt’s work — and given his fact-based argument, it will prove almost impossible.
The old “the theory is perfect but the execution was imperfect” apologetic argument just won’t hold water in the face of Judt’s proof that the execution (in many countries) of Marxian theory was perfect — and it failed, miserably.
Glad to be of help.
My thoughts we more about the refugee holocaust that occurred in ’45-’47 where millions … yes, millions, died as a direct result of allied, including U.S., policies. Also the changing perspectives on the invasion of Russia, that it was to preempt Stalin’s own imminent invasion plan for Eastern Europe. Things we now know take some of the heroic shine off our great leaders of the period, once all their motivations and interests are understood. That doesn’t reduce the sacrifices made in winning the war.
I will probably read this but I do have a little bit of knowledge about Europe from May of 1967 until June of 1970 when I was doing electronic intercept work of the commies, copying morse code. After some time I was probably the best morse code intercept person for the Berlin Border Brigade, they had distinctive hands sending morse code, they were trained by Russians but not sending in Cyrillic but sending regular commie Kraut messages with certain Russian styles.
I was later during our watch, 24 hours per day every damn day of the year, in charge of the Czech intercepts in 1968 when the Russians overtook the Czechs and all of their communications went silent one night. Then we started receiving Cyrillic morse code and I was one of the few who knew how to copy that funny shit because during mid shifts the previous year when I was bored I would find Russians and copy them just for fun.
That was a strange fun time in my life because my wife and I lived in a high rise apartment in the lovely city of Erlangen with nice Kraut neighbors and with the power of the dollar at that time and her working as a book keeper for the US PX system we were living a rather nice life. Then they told my wife she could pack one bag only, get all of our paper work together and be ready to leave at a knock on the door of our apartment and while I was working 12 hours each day we lived that way for a month or two, ready for the tanks to cross the border.
After the Commies had taken our Navy Ship the Pueblo a few months earlier our nice large operations building which was a free standing building inside a WWII Luftwaffe hanger had about 50 empty 55 gallon steel barrels lined up inside our double wire fence along with lots of five gallon Jerry cans of gasoline and out instructions were to get all of the paper inside out building burned upon command and then be ready to be rescued by an unnamed US military unit.
30 years later one of my guys on my team told me that he had met up with a vet who had been at Stuttgart at the time and that man was part of the team who was supposed to come in and rescue us before we were overrun. So I guess we were kind of ready to see the commies make a move in August of 1968.
I was hoping my wife would be all right and I told her that if possible I would try to make it back home and shoot our two dogs instead of just letting them run free because I knew the Krauts would not be able to feed and take care of stray dogs. I also had a pistol that I had purchased a year before and in order to keep it at my house the U.S. government issued me a carry permit for Europe in several languages and when I pulled courier duty instead of checking our a weapon from the arms room I could use my own pistol.
Those were the good old days when we were actually still the occupying U.S. Army of our little section of Kraut Land. When Germans would tell me that they spoke English and why couldn’t I speak German my answer was, WE WON THE WAR ! Actually I had taken a spoken German language course and I could get along with simple conversation and pass as a Kraut since us silly ASA guys all wore our hair as long as possible and wore clothes bought locally when ever possible just to fit in and not attract attention.
By the time I left German in June of 1970 if I had to live anywhere but the USA I would have chosen West Germany, some of the most pleasant nice people with great food and beer. That’s what I know about those post war days 20 plus years later.
Kindled. Kim’s recommendation on historical subjects carries significant weight with MD.
Speaking of history, Kim, our very own era will be of interest and significance to the future. If only our team had some sort of, oh, I dunno, raconteur to generate some primary source material…