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A review by bub_9
To Hell and Back: Europe, 1914-1949 by Ian Kershaw
4.0
+ Chronological structure suits this tumultuous, fast-moving period very well.
+ Chapter on religion and culture is really wonderful and the kind of thing that sets a truly insightful work of history apart from a merely dutiful one.
+/- Very comprehensive in its coverage though it does sometimes feel like it skims over them because it's doing so out of a sense of obligation.
+/- My notes say "a little wrong on British history" but who knows what I was referring to.
+/- Remains a political, economic, social, and cultural history rather than a military one.
- I know this is a history of Europe, but I think it's a little unimaginative in circumscribing its focus so narrowly. A place can be understood in relation to other places, too.
- The main flaw is that this often feels superficial and lacking in explanatory power or even narrative depth, which makes it sound like a textbook at times. For example, I found it marvelously insightful to note that pre-war Czech democracy was successful. Kershaw, however, does not even attempt to explain why.
+ Chapter on religion and culture is really wonderful and the kind of thing that sets a truly insightful work of history apart from a merely dutiful one.
+/- Very comprehensive in its coverage though it does sometimes feel like it skims over them because it's doing so out of a sense of obligation.
+/- My notes say "a little wrong on British history" but who knows what I was referring to.
+/- Remains a political, economic, social, and cultural history rather than a military one.
- I know this is a history of Europe, but I think it's a little unimaginative in circumscribing its focus so narrowly. A place can be understood in relation to other places, too.
- The main flaw is that this often feels superficial and lacking in explanatory power or even narrative depth, which makes it sound like a textbook at times. For example, I found it marvelously insightful to note that pre-war Czech democracy was successful. Kershaw, however, does not even attempt to explain why.