To Hell and Back : Europe, 1914-1949

Author(s): Kershaw, Ian
Binding: Paperback,
Date of Publication: 02/06/2016,
Pagination: 624 pages,
ISBN13\EAN\SKU: 9780141980430,
Description:

'Superb ... likely to become a classic' ObserverIn the summer of 1914 most of Europe plunged into a war so catastrophic that it unhinged the continent's politics and beliefs in a way that took generations to recover from. The disaster terrified its survivors, shocked that a civilization that had blandly assumed itself to be a model for the rest of the world had collapsed into a chaotic savagery beyond any comparison. In 1939 Europeans would initiate a second conflict that managed to be even worse - a war in which the killing of civilians was central and which culminated in the Holocaust.

To Hell and Back tells this story with humanity, flair and originality. Kershaw gives a compelling narrative of events, but he also wrestles with the most difficult issues that the events raise - with what it meant for the Europeans who initiated and lived through such fearful times - and what this means for us.