Synopses & Reviews
In the early twentieth century brutal nation-states such as Mussolini¿s Italy, Stalin¿s Russia and Hitler¿s Germany came to the fore and the twin evils of dictatorship and war ensured the rapid destruction of liberal democracy, market economics and the international order. In contrast, the latter half was concerned with re-thinking and re-shaping these core values which still guide political life after the millennium.
Harold James analyses the failures and achievements of the twentieth century.
The demands of the post-war period, namely the place of Europe in a wider international order are also examined. Features include:
- Boxed Case Studies
- Maps
- Plates
- Figures
- Short Biographies
- Chronologies
- Statistical Appendix
James lucidly argues that European societies today are dominated by the trend to converge around the principles of democracy, market economics and international integration. He shows that the stability brought by the gradual unwinding of the nation-state and the end of left-right politics have created a Europe ¿reborn¿.
Harold James is Professor of History at Princeton University. He is the author of The End of Globalization; Lessons from the Great Depression and The German Slump; Politics and Economics 1924-1936.
Review
"This is an outstanding book. It provides a clear and careful synthesis of the author's very wide reading, but it is also written with a distinctive tone and point of view that will force even well-informed readers to rethink some of their assumptions."
Richard Vinen, author of 'Europe: A History in Fragments'
"Harold James, an eminent Princeton historian, deals expertly with Europe's past century... [explanatory boxes] break up the author's elegant narrative with succinct accounts of the main political ideas... This is not history as seen from a well-mounted telescope; more as glimpsed in a rear view mirror." The Economist
¿brilliantly-written and richly-informed¿ James displays an enviable combination of factual knowledge that is both deep and broad and an economic intuition and social understanding that makes him look in corners others have missed. ¿
Joel Mokyr, EH.NET
Synopsis
How was modern Europe formed? Today arguments about the Euro, federalism, and European expansion define the political debate.
Europe Reborn looks back at the history of Europe in the twentieth century and the dramatic journey through world wars from crisis to convergence.
- Provides a full survey of modern Europe in the 20th century - from dictatorship to democracy in a globalized world.
- Explains the development of democracy, property rights and the international system.
- Traces the unwinding of the nation state - and the growth of the super state.
- Written for students and the general reader concerned with European developments - Modern Europe is core undergraduate history course.
- Author is huge name in the field.
Synopsis
After the catastrophe of dictatorship and World War, the idea of liberal democracy, of property rights, and of Europe in the broader international order all needed to be remade. In Europe Reborn, Harold James offers a sweeping survey of twentieth-century Europe, from crisis to convergence, and the recreation of an international society, culture and economy. Drawing on and explicating the variety of ways historians have interpreted and analyzed these processes, he investigates the links and commonalities between different parts of the European experience, and examines what really underlies Mikhail Gorbachev¿s concept of a "common European house".
About the Author
Harold James is Professor of History at Princeton University.
Table of Contents
1. The First World War
2. Europe and the World of the Depression
3. Peace and War: The Failure of the International Order
4. The Second World War
5. The Reconstruction of Europe, Western Style
6. Yalta and Communism: The Reconstruction of Europe, Eastern Style
7. A Golden Age
8. The Limits to Growthmanship
8. Right Step
10. Malta and Communism: 1989 and the Restoration of Europe
11. The Return to Europe: The New Politics and the End of the Cold War