Magnificent one-volume work on the history of postwar Europe, as starters.
To say this is a generic and easy read would be a massive disservice to the author, because it's written like an academic text, the stuff you'd expect to find in college textbooks. The sheer volume of information laid out in Postwar are simply amazing, and at times overwhelming and confusing to understand - much more comprehend. This is not something you can simply finish within a week, or even a month. To the faint of heart this is a scary and intimidating book… but this is what gives it so much power and authority, actually.
The truth is, Tony Judt made a compelling case on the need for Europe to reexamine and reevaluate her own past, especially in her complicity in the Holocaust, and in the bloody Yugoslavian civil war of the 1990s. Both her highs - from the economic miracles of the 1950s, to the political dynamics behind the creation of the EU; to her lows - the indifference in the Yugoslavian crisis, her (in this case Western Europe) stalling of the applications of the Eastern European states, were all exposed and laid bare. Even the messy aftermath and the end of the colonial eras (UK, France, Belgium, the Netherland to name a few), and the actual reasons behind the formation of the EU (a mostly French political project to restrain Germany) were discussed in-depth, and in detail. If one were to look for an authoritative reference on postwar European history, this would be my recommendation.
The author even dedicated a few chapters into the European culture, especially of the 1960s-1970s where the generations became more "liberal" in the sense that secularism and feminism began making waves in the various European states. Judt also adeptly discussed the culture surrounding the European sentiments into the Holocaust (the book's Epilogue) - which I found both surprising and noteworthy. Surprising since I did not expect an entire chapter to be discussed on the culture and the implications of the Holocaust (the Shoah), but noteworthy because how he connected it to the issue of Europe's identity, that Europe needs to confront its own past for it to understand and chart her future - as he said it: "...the recovered memory of Europe's dead Jews has become the very definition and guarantee of the continent's restored humanity." (p.804)
More than that, Judt did a good job on explaining various key events in the continent's postwar history, notably the immediate postwar reconstruction, the Nuremberg trials and subsequent de-Nazification, the creation of NATO...the birth of (the future) European Union, the beginnings of the Cold War, even the fall of Communism and the bloody Yugoslavian civil war. Almost every important event in postwar Europe (of course, up until the early 2000s only), was covered in detail (at times even a bit of overload). Even the culture and the arts (from movies up to the music movements) were also discussed.
However, noteworthy and comprehensive as the book was, there were a few shortcomings by the author - of which I do not find him at fault. Some notable absences (or glossed over in minor details) were the bloody Greek civil war (the focus was on the Greek economic reconstruction and subsequent slide to dictatorship), the obscure Cod Wars between Iceland and the UK (of which Iceland somehow won the conflict), the policy of Finlandization (the political balancing act of postwar Finland to maintain her independence), the 1983 NATO Able Archer joint military exercise (that almost brought the world to the brink of nuclear war again since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis), the 1994 Budapest Memorandum (in which Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan [not a European country] relinquished their nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from the West), and the 1999 bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade (in the height of the Kosovo War)...to name a few. I am sure there are more important events that were not mentioned by the author, these are the only notable ones I can remember. Another (though at the time minor given the year of its publication) noteworthy mistake was the Russification of Ukrainian identity, notably in the maps provided (Kyiv is spelled as Kiev, Kharkiv as Kharkov)… Again I do not blame the author for this, as it was still interchangeable (plus nobody expected that the region would descend into war...until 2014 and 2022 happened). Nevertheless, these should not take away the book's magnificent discussion and presentation of postwar European history. At least the review's fairly balanced - as it also had its own shortcomings.
Overall, this is an astounding and magnificent piece of literature - a must-read and must-own for every history enthusiast out there. Despite being published in 2005, it is highly relevant to read and own in today's context, as it offered multiple invaluable lessons in how to study, understand, and analyze postwar Europe. While so much has happened since then, it's still worth reading. I'd say Ian Kershaw's The Global Age: Europe 1950-2017 (the 9th installment of The Penguin History of Europe series) is the 'lighter' and more updated version of Judt's book (as the content was similar in so many chapters, yet the coverage is until 2017 - which means the 2008 Global Recession, the EU crisis, and Brexit were all mentioned) - though Kershaw's version is as bit of a heavy and comprehensive reading as Judt's (I'd suggest you need to own both books to fully appreciate European history).
I said to myself that the book would take me months to finish and absorb - and it's true. Despite devoting one and a half hours everyday, it still took me 4 months to finish it (as evidenced by the sheer number of self-adhesive notes I placed next to key information and statistics throughout the book). Though it's well worth the time, and the journey. Highly recommend, and I'd like to end this by offering my everlasting gratitude and thanks to my dear officemate who recommended the book to me - without her, I'd never discover and appreciate this literary and historical masterpiece! To her, thank you for opening my horizons and knowledge on this topic - I simply could not find words that could express how much I am grateful for you. I hope this simple message will be more than enough for you!
Again, highly recommend - but be warned: it's not for the faint-of-heart, or for the causal reader. If you're considering buying this - better be prepared to invest your time into it, but well-worth it at the end.
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Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 23, 2023
To say this is a generic and easy read would be a massive disservice to the author, because it's written like an academic text, the stuff you'd expect to find in college textbooks. The sheer volume of information laid out in Postwar are simply amazing, and at times overwhelming and confusing to understand - much more comprehend. This is not something you can simply finish within a week, or even a month. To the faint of heart this is a scary and intimidating book… but this is what gives it so much power and authority, actually.
The truth is, Tony Judt made a compelling case on the need for Europe to reexamine and reevaluate her own past, especially in her complicity in the Holocaust, and in the bloody Yugoslavian civil war of the 1990s. Both her highs - from the economic miracles of the 1950s, to the political dynamics behind the creation of the EU; to her lows - the indifference in the Yugoslavian crisis, her (in this case Western Europe) stalling of the applications of the Eastern European states, were all exposed and laid bare. Even the messy aftermath and the end of the colonial eras (UK, France, Belgium, the Netherland to name a few), and the actual reasons behind the formation of the EU (a mostly French political project to restrain Germany) were discussed in-depth, and in detail. If one were to look for an authoritative reference on postwar European history, this would be my recommendation.
The author even dedicated a few chapters into the European culture, especially of the 1960s-1970s where the generations became more "liberal" in the sense that secularism and feminism began making waves in the various European states. Judt also adeptly discussed the culture surrounding the European sentiments into the Holocaust (the book's Epilogue) - which I found both surprising and noteworthy. Surprising since I did not expect an entire chapter to be discussed on the culture and the implications of the Holocaust (the Shoah), but noteworthy because how he connected it to the issue of Europe's identity, that Europe needs to confront its own past for it to understand and chart her future - as he said it: "...the recovered memory of Europe's dead Jews has become the very definition and guarantee of the continent's restored humanity." (p.804)
More than that, Judt did a good job on explaining various key events in the continent's postwar history, notably the immediate postwar reconstruction, the Nuremberg trials and subsequent de-Nazification, the creation of NATO...the birth of (the future) European Union, the beginnings of the Cold War, even the fall of Communism and the bloody Yugoslavian civil war. Almost every important event in postwar Europe (of course, up until the early 2000s only), was covered in detail (at times even a bit of overload). Even the culture and the arts (from movies up to the music movements) were also discussed.
However, noteworthy and comprehensive as the book was, there were a few shortcomings by the author - of which I do not find him at fault. Some notable absences (or glossed over in minor details) were the bloody Greek civil war (the focus was on the Greek economic reconstruction and subsequent slide to dictatorship), the obscure Cod Wars between Iceland and the UK (of which Iceland somehow won the conflict), the policy of Finlandization (the political balancing act of postwar Finland to maintain her independence), the 1983 NATO Able Archer joint military exercise (that almost brought the world to the brink of nuclear war again since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis), the 1994 Budapest Memorandum (in which Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan [not a European country] relinquished their nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from the West), and the 1999 bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade (in the height of the Kosovo War)...to name a few. I am sure there are more important events that were not mentioned by the author, these are the only notable ones I can remember. Another (though at the time minor given the year of its publication) noteworthy mistake was the Russification of Ukrainian identity, notably in the maps provided (Kyiv is spelled as Kiev, Kharkiv as Kharkov)… Again I do not blame the author for this, as it was still interchangeable (plus nobody expected that the region would descend into war...until 2014 and 2022 happened). Nevertheless, these should not take away the book's magnificent discussion and presentation of postwar European history. At least the review's fairly balanced - as it also had its own shortcomings.
Overall, this is an astounding and magnificent piece of literature - a must-read and must-own for every history enthusiast out there. Despite being published in 2005, it is highly relevant to read and own in today's context, as it offered multiple invaluable lessons in how to study, understand, and analyze postwar Europe. While so much has happened since then, it's still worth reading. I'd say Ian Kershaw's The Global Age: Europe 1950-2017 (the 9th installment of The Penguin History of Europe series) is the 'lighter' and more updated version of Judt's book (as the content was similar in so many chapters, yet the coverage is until 2017 - which means the 2008 Global Recession, the EU crisis, and Brexit were all mentioned) - though Kershaw's version is as bit of a heavy and comprehensive reading as Judt's (I'd suggest you need to own both books to fully appreciate European history).
I said to myself that the book would take me months to finish and absorb - and it's true. Despite devoting one and a half hours everyday, it still took me 4 months to finish it (as evidenced by the sheer number of self-adhesive notes I placed next to key information and statistics throughout the book). Though it's well worth the time, and the journey. Highly recommend, and I'd like to end this by offering my everlasting gratitude and thanks to my dear officemate who recommended the book to me - without her, I'd never discover and appreciate this literary and historical masterpiece! To her, thank you for opening my horizons and knowledge on this topic - I simply could not find words that could express how much I am grateful for you. I hope this simple message will be more than enough for you!
Again, highly recommend - but be warned: it's not for the faint-of-heart, or for the causal reader. If you're considering buying this - better be prepared to invest your time into it, but well-worth it at the end.
Tony Judt's timeless contribution to the understanding and analysis of postwar European history.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 23, 2023
Magnificent one-volume work on the history of postwar Europe, as starters.Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 23, 2023
To say this is a generic and easy read would be a massive disservice to the author, because it's written like an academic text, the stuff you'd expect to find in college textbooks. The sheer volume of information laid out in Postwar are simply amazing, and at times overwhelming and confusing to understand - much more comprehend. This is not something you can simply finish within a week, or even a month. To the faint of heart this is a scary and intimidating book… but this is what gives it so much power and authority, actually.
The truth is, Tony Judt made a compelling case on the need for Europe to reexamine and reevaluate her own past, especially in her complicity in the Holocaust, and in the bloody Yugoslavian civil war of the 1990s. Both her highs - from the economic miracles of the 1950s, to the political dynamics behind the creation of the EU; to her lows - the indifference in the Yugoslavian crisis, her (in this case Western Europe) stalling of the applications of the Eastern European states, were all exposed and laid bare. Even the messy aftermath and the end of the colonial eras (UK, France, Belgium, the Netherland to name a few), and the actual reasons behind the formation of the EU (a mostly French political project to restrain Germany) were discussed in-depth, and in detail. If one were to look for an authoritative reference on postwar European history, this would be my recommendation.
The author even dedicated a few chapters into the European culture, especially of the 1960s-1970s where the generations became more "liberal" in the sense that secularism and feminism began making waves in the various European states. Judt also adeptly discussed the culture surrounding the European sentiments into the Holocaust (the book's Epilogue) - which I found both surprising and noteworthy. Surprising since I did not expect an entire chapter to be discussed on the culture and the implications of the Holocaust (the Shoah), but noteworthy because how he connected it to the issue of Europe's identity, that Europe needs to confront its own past for it to understand and chart her future - as he said it: "...the recovered memory of Europe's dead Jews has become the very definition and guarantee of the continent's restored humanity." (p.804)
More than that, Judt did a good job on explaining various key events in the continent's postwar history, notably the immediate postwar reconstruction, the Nuremberg trials and subsequent de-Nazification, the creation of NATO...the birth of (the future) European Union, the beginnings of the Cold War, even the fall of Communism and the bloody Yugoslavian civil war. Almost every important event in postwar Europe (of course, up until the early 2000s only), was covered in detail (at times even a bit of overload). Even the culture and the arts (from movies up to the music movements) were also discussed.
However, noteworthy and comprehensive as the book was, there were a few shortcomings by the author - of which I do not find him at fault. Some notable absences (or glossed over in minor details) were the bloody Greek civil war (the focus was on the Greek economic reconstruction and subsequent slide to dictatorship), the obscure Cod Wars between Iceland and the UK (of which Iceland somehow won the conflict), the policy of Finlandization (the political balancing act of postwar Finland to maintain her independence), the 1983 NATO Able Archer joint military exercise (that almost brought the world to the brink of nuclear war again since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis), the 1994 Budapest Memorandum (in which Belarus, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan [not a European country] relinquished their nuclear weapons in exchange for security guarantees from the West), and the 1999 bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade (in the height of the Kosovo War)...to name a few. I am sure there are more important events that were not mentioned by the author, these are the only notable ones I can remember. Another (though at the time minor given the year of its publication) noteworthy mistake was the Russification of Ukrainian identity, notably in the maps provided (Kyiv is spelled as Kiev, Kharkiv as Kharkov)… Again I do not blame the author for this, as it was still interchangeable (plus nobody expected that the region would descend into war...until 2014 and 2022 happened). Nevertheless, these should not take away the book's magnificent discussion and presentation of postwar European history. At least the review's fairly balanced - as it also had its own shortcomings.
Overall, this is an astounding and magnificent piece of literature - a must-read and must-own for every history enthusiast out there. Despite being published in 2005, it is highly relevant to read and own in today's context, as it offered multiple invaluable lessons in how to study, understand, and analyze postwar Europe. While so much has happened since then, it's still worth reading. I'd say Ian Kershaw's The Global Age: Europe 1950-2017 (the 9th installment of The Penguin History of Europe series) is the 'lighter' and more updated version of Judt's book (as the content was similar in so many chapters, yet the coverage is until 2017 - which means the 2008 Global Recession, the EU crisis, and Brexit were all mentioned) - though Kershaw's version is as bit of a heavy and comprehensive reading as Judt's (I'd suggest you need to own both books to fully appreciate European history).
I said to myself that the book would take me months to finish and absorb - and it's true. Despite devoting one and a half hours everyday, it still took me 4 months to finish it (as evidenced by the sheer number of self-adhesive notes I placed next to key information and statistics throughout the book). Though it's well worth the time, and the journey. Highly recommend, and I'd like to end this by offering my everlasting gratitude and thanks to my dear officemate who recommended the book to me - without her, I'd never discover and appreciate this literary and historical masterpiece! To her, thank you for opening my horizons and knowledge on this topic - I simply could not find words that could express how much I am grateful for you. I hope this simple message will be more than enough for you!
Again, highly recommend - but be warned: it's not for the faint-of-heart, or for the causal reader. If you're considering buying this - better be prepared to invest your time into it, but well-worth it at the end.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on January 13, 2012
Top reviews from other countries
Cliente do Kindle
Para entender a evolução sócio Cultural da Europa do Pós Guerra
Reviewed in Brazil 🇧🇷 on August 5, 2019
P D GARRETT
multi-threaded topic brilliantly handled by Judt
Reviewed in Australia 🇦🇺 on May 6, 2015
Christopher F. Park
Lost in the Detail
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 11, 2021
