A review by jacquesdevilliers
Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945, by Tony Judt
With Russia's military build-up on the Ukrainian border, this made for well-timed reading! Indeed, I can't think of a better single book for taking the historical pulse of contemporary Europe.
Everyone will have their particular gripes about this or that historical episode not receiving enough coverage (my own gripe is particularly insignificant: I don't like Judt's taste in films). But this should not short-change what a monumental achievement Postwar is. Judt seems peerless in his panoramic erudition. The book is packed with revelations and compelled me towards a number of reappraisals. Yes, it is a very long Postwar indeed. But Judt's deft writing often generates a sense of historical momentum in which both European subjects and this non-European reader were caught up. Now I'm left in queasy wonderment at what comes next, and sad that Judt is no longer around to say anything about it.
Everyone will have their particular gripes about this or that historical episode not receiving enough coverage (my own gripe is particularly insignificant: I don't like Judt's taste in films). But this should not short-change what a monumental achievement Postwar is. Judt seems peerless in his panoramic erudition. The book is packed with revelations and compelled me towards a number of reappraisals. Yes, it is a very long Postwar indeed. But Judt's deft writing often generates a sense of historical momentum in which both European subjects and this non-European reader were caught up. Now I'm left in queasy wonderment at what comes next, and sad that Judt is no longer around to say anything about it.