A History In Fragments: Europe In The Twentieth Century
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Book Overview
"Fascinating and immensely readable" is the way one British newspaper described A History in Fragments. With the rise of the European superpower-symbolized by the introduction of the euro on January 1, 2002-Europe has gained a new prominence on the world stage. But if you think that, in a changing world order, Europe is one area that we Americans have a grasp of-think again. The great stories of the century-the two world wars, the rise and fall of Nazism and Communism- are self-evident in their importance. But behind the politics and the ideologies lies another history: the history of forces that shaped the lives of individual Europeans...and the lives of men and women around the world. These are stories not only of politics and military movements, but also of culture, religion, sex, and demographics, related here with an unmatched eye for the telling detail and spiced with memorable anecdotes. As the U.K.'s prestigious Sunday Telegraph put it: "Vinen moves effortlessly from social and economic issues to politics, from ideology to military history...The writing is lively, the enthusiasm infectious, and the gift for bold, epigrammatic summary genuinely impressive."
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:0306811790
ISBN13:9780306811791
Release Date:September 2002
Publisher:Da Capo Press
Length:640 Pages
Weight:1.75 lbs.
Dimensions:8.8" x 1.5" x 5.0"
Customer Reviews
2 ratings
Fragments are the *point* of the book
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
Our friend from Ohio below has rather missed the point of this magnificent book. Vinen has set out not to tell a story we all already know, but rather to explore the multiplicity of experiences in Europe during the 20th century. In this, through anecdote, statistic and telling details, he succeeds brilliantly. The book is consistently thought-provoking and challenging, a hugely welcome antidote to history books which merely list battles, wars, elections, deaths of Great Men.
Not what it looks like
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
I'm afraid this one runs a risk of being misunderstood. If you judge it as straight narrative it is indeed weak. But that's not its purpose. Rather it is an attempt, mostly successful, at social history beyond narrative. Read it with an ear for the detail: how the women's vote kept the Christian Democrats in power; how average civilian lifespan in Britain actually increaed during World War I-- and the wonderful bit about the disappearing wristwatch under the made-up red flag. He's also good at the shrewd aside: how we know more about the lives of 17 people around Gordon Square than of all of Serbia. As a title, "Fragments" is perhaps a confession more than a boast; Vinen does not always keep control of his material. But many of his fragments are too good to be missed.
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