Scan barcode
pvbobrien's review against another edition
informative
slow-paced
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism, Violence, Genocide, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Colonisation and Sexual violence
tomistro's review against another edition
3.0
Valtiotasolla operoiva analyysi/kertomus/yleisesitys siitä, mitä Euroopassa tapahtui viime vuosisadan alkupuoliskolla. Vaikka aihe on lähes käsittämättömän laaja, tekee Kershaw kokonaisuudesat kohtuullisen helposti seurattavan ja ymmärrettävän. Pidän itse enemmän henkilötason historiasta ja yhteiskuntien marginaaleista, mutta toki suuret linjat on hyvä tietää.
drifterontherun's review against another edition
3.0
"Hell" seems a good word to describe Europe from 1914 to 1949. The hell of Dante is the most suitable "hell" for comparison to Europe during this period, as there were clearly varying degrees of "hell" Europeans were in based on their ethnicity and location. If you're a white protestant in Sweden, for example, "hell" might not be a word you'd use to describe the period at all. If you're a Jew in Poland though, well, you're deep in the ninth circle.
Some countries, Western Europe as a whole really, truly did seem to have come "back" from hell by 1949, but others, I'm thinking of Poland primarily, though a large swathe of Eastern Europe would certainly qualify, never seemed to make the return journey. These unfortunate countries were occupied almost immediately by the Red Army once the Nazis had been forced back. If anything, countries like Poland seemed to come back from hell in the 1920s and 30s, only to be thrust back into an even greater furnace with the Nazi and then Soviet invasions.
For these countries, there was no "back" until the quasi-successful rise of independence movements in the 1980s at least, and ultimately the eventual fall of the Soviet Union in December 1991. Even then it took years of post-Soviet rule for Poland to recover, and other countries, like Russia and Ukraine, still haven't, as Soviet leaders have been merely swapped out for an unsavory alliance between greedy oligarchs and corrupt politicians.
So Kershaw's "Europe" is clearly Western, and that makes sense as the majority of "To Hell and Back" focuses on the countries that make up Western Europe. Kershaw's most recent book, "Roller-Coaster", the sequel to this one, tackles the second half of the 20th century, and the first 17 years of the 21st. I imagine that one will focus a great deal more on the countries of Eastern Europe as that is where most of the "action", for lack of a better word, takes place.
You may also have noticed that this isn't a small book. At 600 and some odd pages, it's actually quite large but, for a book that covers the most significant 35 years of the last few centuries, it's actually not nearly as large as it should be.
In fact, much of "To Hell and Back" feels like a summary. When you look at all the ground Kershaw attempts to cover, you almost wonder whether it might as well be called "Cliffsnotes: Europe 1914 - 1949". This is by no means an exhaustive account of the period, and I can't say I learned anything that I hadn't already learned in other, better books.
In particular, Margaret MacMillan's [b:The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914|17345257|The War That Ended Peace The Road to 1914|Margaret MacMillan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1364251068s/17345257.jpg|24084426] and [b:Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World|26348|Paris 1919 Six Months that Changed the World|Margaret MacMillan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386924766s/26348.jpg|833092] provide much better insights into the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles, but why wouldn't they? Together, these two books are twice the length of "To Hell and Back".
Just take the events of 1919. Kershaw spends a few pages summarizing the Treaty of Versailles and all that to basically focus on the raw deal that Germany got. MacMillan's "1919" is over 600 pages on JUST that singular event (all 600+ pages are brilliant, btw). Of course Kershaw can't do the Treaty justice, he's got the entire European theater of WWII to get to!
I would be remiss not to mention G.J. Meyer's phenomenal [b:A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918|100834|A World Undone The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918|G.J. Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1171470414s/100834.jpg|97230] here as well, which provides for the most riveting reading on WWI I've ever done.
It's easy for me to say to just skip the first half of "To Hell and Back" and read those three books instead, and skip the second half and read [b:The Second World War|13528287|The Second World War|Antony Beevor|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1338581873s/13528287.jpg|18458500] or [b:The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany|767171|The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich A History of Nazi Germany|William L. Shirer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1331223772s/767171.jpg|1437584], but maybe you're reading "To Hell and Back" because you want a summary and don't have the time to read those other titles. That's a pity, but for a summary, you could do far worse than Kershaw.
With all that, I would just emphasize the point that this is not much more than a summary. Kershaw is a well-regarded historian, but "To Hell and Back" didn't click with me the way the titles I listed above did. If you're an author who's decided to tackle these events, which have been written about in countless books already, shouldn't you be bringing something new to the table? I'm not sure Kershaw does.
A monumental achievement? More like a monumental undertaking with lackluster results.
Some countries, Western Europe as a whole really, truly did seem to have come "back" from hell by 1949, but others, I'm thinking of Poland primarily, though a large swathe of Eastern Europe would certainly qualify, never seemed to make the return journey. These unfortunate countries were occupied almost immediately by the Red Army once the Nazis had been forced back. If anything, countries like Poland seemed to come back from hell in the 1920s and 30s, only to be thrust back into an even greater furnace with the Nazi and then Soviet invasions.
For these countries, there was no "back" until the quasi-successful rise of independence movements in the 1980s at least, and ultimately the eventual fall of the Soviet Union in December 1991. Even then it took years of post-Soviet rule for Poland to recover, and other countries, like Russia and Ukraine, still haven't, as Soviet leaders have been merely swapped out for an unsavory alliance between greedy oligarchs and corrupt politicians.
So Kershaw's "Europe" is clearly Western, and that makes sense as the majority of "To Hell and Back" focuses on the countries that make up Western Europe. Kershaw's most recent book, "Roller-Coaster", the sequel to this one, tackles the second half of the 20th century, and the first 17 years of the 21st. I imagine that one will focus a great deal more on the countries of Eastern Europe as that is where most of the "action", for lack of a better word, takes place.
You may also have noticed that this isn't a small book. At 600 and some odd pages, it's actually quite large but, for a book that covers the most significant 35 years of the last few centuries, it's actually not nearly as large as it should be.
In fact, much of "To Hell and Back" feels like a summary. When you look at all the ground Kershaw attempts to cover, you almost wonder whether it might as well be called "Cliffsnotes: Europe 1914 - 1949". This is by no means an exhaustive account of the period, and I can't say I learned anything that I hadn't already learned in other, better books.
In particular, Margaret MacMillan's [b:The War That Ended Peace: The Road to 1914|17345257|The War That Ended Peace The Road to 1914|Margaret MacMillan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1364251068s/17345257.jpg|24084426] and [b:Paris 1919: Six Months that Changed the World|26348|Paris 1919 Six Months that Changed the World|Margaret MacMillan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1386924766s/26348.jpg|833092] provide much better insights into the First World War and the Treaty of Versailles, but why wouldn't they? Together, these two books are twice the length of "To Hell and Back".
Just take the events of 1919. Kershaw spends a few pages summarizing the Treaty of Versailles and all that to basically focus on the raw deal that Germany got. MacMillan's "1919" is over 600 pages on JUST that singular event (all 600+ pages are brilliant, btw). Of course Kershaw can't do the Treaty justice, he's got the entire European theater of WWII to get to!
I would be remiss not to mention G.J. Meyer's phenomenal [b:A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918|100834|A World Undone The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918|G.J. Meyer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1171470414s/100834.jpg|97230] here as well, which provides for the most riveting reading on WWI I've ever done.
It's easy for me to say to just skip the first half of "To Hell and Back" and read those three books instead, and skip the second half and read [b:The Second World War|13528287|The Second World War|Antony Beevor|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1338581873s/13528287.jpg|18458500] or [b:The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany|767171|The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich A History of Nazi Germany|William L. Shirer|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1331223772s/767171.jpg|1437584], but maybe you're reading "To Hell and Back" because you want a summary and don't have the time to read those other titles. That's a pity, but for a summary, you could do far worse than Kershaw.
With all that, I would just emphasize the point that this is not much more than a summary. Kershaw is a well-regarded historian, but "To Hell and Back" didn't click with me the way the titles I listed above did. If you're an author who's decided to tackle these events, which have been written about in countless books already, shouldn't you be bringing something new to the table? I'm not sure Kershaw does.
A monumental achievement? More like a monumental undertaking with lackluster results.
made_line_kalista's review against another edition
5.0
True to the testament on its cover, this book is surely to become a classic. It provides an astonishingly detailed picture of Europe during these tortuous years and sets up the understanding for the postwar years. What a contradiction this book presented me with: on the one hand being completely overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information contained within, while at the same time making me want much more detail. I now find myself paging through the bibliography to mark down the other books that I hope will expand upon the knowledge base this book gave me. One thing that I found especially valuable in this book is the sense of 'human-ness' it gave to history. When I learned about history in school, it was presented in such a definitive sense and there was no question that obviously history was headed one way or another. In addition, my school history tended to draw lines throughout time, i.e. there was war, then it was over, the end. But Kershaw stresses the confusion of the times, the after war history that was not a stark stop to violence but saw violence continue many years after world war two was over. He brings you into the minds of the people and skillfully sheds light on a population that was wrought with ideological flaws. It was a fascinating read.
finn_vibing's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Genocide, and War
sidney's review against another edition
5.0
Oh my, what an exhilarating and despairing experience!
This is literally the first scholorly book I've read that focuses on those two wars, and I have to say that Mr.Kershaw writes with a storyteller's flourish and a scholor's erudition. But hell, getting into all these austere numbers of those murdered during the wars was downright heartbreaking. I just couldn't fanthom that just eighty years ago such a staggering profusion of people-people who can feel pain and despair just like us-had to go through this actual hell on earth.
Lots of mistakes that the great powers had made do seem outrageous and improvident in retrospect, but who would know it back then? And that's how making mistakes benefit us-by learning from them and not making the same ones again.
This is literally the first scholorly book I've read that focuses on those two wars, and I have to say that Mr.Kershaw writes with a storyteller's flourish and a scholor's erudition. But hell, getting into all these austere numbers of those murdered during the wars was downright heartbreaking. I just couldn't fanthom that just eighty years ago such a staggering profusion of people-people who can feel pain and despair just like us-had to go through this actual hell on earth.
Lots of mistakes that the great powers had made do seem outrageous and improvident in retrospect, but who would know it back then? And that's how making mistakes benefit us-by learning from them and not making the same ones again.