| Description |
xxx, 669 pages, 2 unnumbered pages, 30 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations (some color photographs), maps ; 24 cm. |
| Series |
The Penguin history of Europe ; IX |
|
Penguin history of Europe ; 9.
|
| Note |
"First published in Great Britain as Roller-Coaster: Europe, 1950-2017 by Allen Lane, an imprint of Penguin Random House UK"--Title page verso. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 563-587) and index. |
| Contents |
The tense divide -- The making of Western Europe -- The clamp -- Good times -- Culture after the catastrophe -- Challenges -- The turn -- Easterly wind of change -- Power of the people -- New beginnings -- Global exposure -- Crisis years. |
| Summary |
After the overwhelming horrors of the first half of the twentieth century, described by Ian Kershaw in his previous book as being "To Hell and back," the years from 1950 to 2017 brought peace and relative prosperity to most of Europe. Enormous economic improvements transformed the continent. The catastrophic era of the world wars receded into an ever more distant past, though its long shadow continued to shape mentalities. Yet Europe was now a divided continent, living under the nuclear threat in a period intermittently fraught with anxiety. There were, by most definitions, striking successes: the Soviet bloc melted away, dictatorships vanished, and Germany was successfully reunited. But accelerating globalization brought new fragilities. The interlocking crises after 2008 were the clearest warnings to Europeans that there was no guarantee of peace and stability, and, even today, the continent threatens further fracturing. In this remarkable book, Ian Kershaw has created a grand panorama of the world we live in and where it came from. Drawing on examples from all across Europe, The Global Age is an endlessly fascinating portrait of the recent past and present, and a cautious look into our future. |
| Subject |
Europe -- History -- 1945-
|
|
Europe -- History -- 20th century.
|
|
HISTORY / Modern / 20th Century.
|
| Added Title |
Roller-coaster
|
| ISBN |
9780735223981 hardcover |
|
073522398X hardcover |
|
