Product Description

The problem with the history of twentieth-century Europe is that everyone thinks they know it. The great stories of the century - the two world wars, the rise and fall of Nazism and communism, female emancipation - seem self-evidently important. But behind the grand narratives, the politics and the ideologies, lies another history: the history of forces that shaped the lives of individual Europeans. That is the thrust of Richard Vinen's magisterial survey of this uniquely destructive and creative century. It argues that there is no single history that encompasses the experience of all Europeans, but rather a multiplicity of different, partially interlocking, histories. Some of these histories are told here in a book which seeks to root the generalisations of large-scale analysis in the concrete - and sometimes incongruous - details of individual lives. Challenging, informing and revealing, this is history writing at its finest.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #124884 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 736 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
"Dark continent", "the age of extremes", "Europe divided"--these are just some of the descriptive labels that historians have attached to the late and unlamented 20th century. And why not? One hundred years of European history dominated by war, genocide, unemployment and totalitarianism hardly deserve better epitaphs. But as Richard Vinen perceptively and provocatively suggests in his deft and wry survey, it is partly a matter of perspective. The world wars only took up 10 per cent of the century, inter-war Europe was as violent as anything that came later and, since 1945, economic growth, political consensus, social mobility and the re-integration of Europe have meant Europeans leave the 20th century a much better place than they found it in 1900. Vinen, a specialist in French history and one of an exciting younger generation of modern European historians, has written an intelligent and stylish book, which will upset most received wisdom on the subject. The book has a "French" feel--there is more on demography and sex, culture and religion, than on politics and ideology, and it is spiced with amusing anecdotes, stories and a stunning interlude covering photography. For an engaging argument about the recent European past this is the place to start. --Miles Taylor

Review
'Fascinating and immensely readable...often sums up key moments in soundbite phrases that imprint themselves beautifully on the memory.' GLASGOW SUNDAY HERALD 'Beautifully written, and can be confidently recommended to anyone seeking to make sense of our recent history.' DAILY TELEGRAPH 'A master of telling fact and illuminating insight, Vinen somehow manages to be both opinionated and objective.' Andrew Roberts 'I admired [A HISTORY IN FRAGMENTS] very much indeed. It struck me as a tour de force, as impressive in its collation of little-known facts as in its presentation of fresh and always intelligent interpretation.' Anthony Howard 'A great deal of social history is invitingly served up. Sex, demography, culture and religion are as much in evidence as politics... The photogrpahs are unusually original.' ECONOMIST 'A frequently provocative book. Richard Vinen- a young historican who lectures at King's College London- [is] an unusually stimulating guide to our recent past. There is the confidence of the broad overview, the jolt that comes from placing familiar facts in an unfamiliar perspective. Like an expert snooker player, Vinen has set up his first paradox merely to bounce a second paradox off it. He has set out to write a history of twentieth century Europe which, although broadly chronological in approach, will not read like a standard textbook account. He supposes that readers have some knowledge of the facts already; and, more importantly, he supposes that they possess some basic assumptions about what the facts signify. His aim is to challenge those assumptions whenever possible. Often, he succeeds brilliantly. Vinen moves effortlessly from social and economic issues to politics, from ideology to military history. His geographical range is also impressive. The writing is lively, the enthusiasm infectious and the gift for bold, epigrammic summary genuinely impressive.' Noel Malcolm, SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 'An ambitious, refreshing and thought-provoking work that does what good history should do, namely challenge the assumptions and conclusions of a previous generation of scholars... Vinen writes with elegance and wit.' FINANCIAL TIMES 'A thoughtful and challenging book, often brilliantly perceptive and innovative on subjects where one had thought debate was exhausted.' TLS 'A reflective work that brilliantly analyses numerous aspects of the century.' CATHOLIC HERALD 'What really appeals, however, is that this is not just political history, but a social, economic, moral, spiritual, and political one... this is a first class book... Exciting and refreshing it is too. Let's hope he's got more in the pipeline.' GLASGOW HERALD 'A book that is stimulating and remarkably original.' MAIL ON SUNDAY '"Dark continent", "the age of extremes", "Europe divided"--these are just some of the descriptive labels that historians have attached to the late and unlamented 20th century. And why not? One hundred years of European history dominated by war, genocide, unemployment and totalitarianism hardly deserve better epitaphs. But as Richard Vinen perceptively and provocatively suggests in his deft and wry survey, it is partly a matter of perspective. The world wars only took up 10 per cent of the century, inter-war Europe was as violent as anything that came later and, since 1945, economic growth, political consensus, social mobility and the re-integration of Europe have meant Europeans leave the 20th century a much better place than they found it in 1900. Vinen, a specialist in French history and one of an exciting younger generation of modern European historians, has written an intelligent and stylish book, which will upset most received wisdom on the subject. The book has a "French" feel--there is more on demography and sex, culture and religion, than on politics and ideology, and it is spiced with amusing anecdotes, stories and a stunning interlude covering photography. For an engaging argument about the recent European past this is the place to start.' Miles Taylor, AMAZON.CO.UK REVIEW

ANTHONY HOWARD
'It struck me as a tour de force... impressive in its collation of little known facts...'

Customer Reviews

The best history of twentieth-century Europe you'll find
This book is easily the best of the general histories of Europe that have appeared in the last decade. It's less partisan than books by Eric Hobsbawm and Norman Davies, and is more complete than Mark Mazower's Dark Continent. A History in Fragments is especially good on communist regimes in Eastern Europe, and there is a superb chapter on their collapse. The book covers all the major political landmarks, as well as the unprecedented social social and economic changes of the twentieth century. Two chapters give us a fascinating account of the changing nature of the family and relations between the sexes. The central message of the book is probably that it is impossible to write a single history of Europe - the experience of British people in the 1990s, for example, has virtually nothing in common with that of the Russian peasant in the era of forced collectivisation. Whilst the author devotes much space to the grim side of Europe's twentieth century - the photographs are especially dark - he ends on a cautiously upbeat note. In 2000 the lives of most Euroepans have become easier.

A Classic
I could write at great length about the outstanding nature and quality of this volume.

Instead I shall only say, that I am convinced that history itself will judge Dr. Vinen's work even more kindly than the fantastic reviews it has received on this page.

The whole story
So many British written history books concentrate on what has happened on our continent from a very narrow perspective - but not this one. This book assumes some knowledge of what has gone on in the last 100 years, and then uses pertinant statistics and stories to expand on this. The author looks over the entire continent, not just the Great Powers and not just political life.

Despite this huge sweep, the book holds together well.

History students will find a lot in here to back up theories rather than form them.

So why not 5 stars ? The author somehow loses the plot as we approach the present day. This is maybe inevitable, written twelve months ago, the Internet was going to change the world, now it is a failing business methodology. History is best viewed slightly detached.

Buy it,