Review of 'Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
This is a book of, I think, unfortunate timing. Judt's work is exceedingly well-written (rarely have I read something so long, rich, and dense that is simultaneously so readable) and the scholarship has impressive depth and breadth.
But the best works of recent history (which this, for the moment, still is) speak to the current situation. And this one basically does not. I have no doubt that Judt, were he still alive, would have fascinating and relevant things to say about our current moment of separatism and right-wing revanchism. But the book he wrote a mere decade ago speaks very little to those concerns. And that makes it ultimately fairly unsatisfying to read right now.
As the book ages even more, it will age better, I think: it is excellent on the period from WWII to the end of the Cold War, and on how countries and cultures were positioned …
This is a book of, I think, unfortunate timing. Judt's work is exceedingly well-written (rarely have I read something so long, rich, and dense that is simultaneously so readable) and the scholarship has impressive depth and breadth.
But the best works of recent history (which this, for the moment, still is) speak to the current situation. And this one basically does not. I have no doubt that Judt, were he still alive, would have fascinating and relevant things to say about our current moment of separatism and right-wing revanchism. But the book he wrote a mere decade ago speaks very little to those concerns. And that makes it ultimately fairly unsatisfying to read right now.
As the book ages even more, it will age better, I think: it is excellent on the period from WWII to the end of the Cold War, and on how countries and cultures were positioned at the beginning of the new world they entered c. 1989. And that will of course remain something relevant and important to read in understanding the overall history of Europe. But it will need some time to pass so that the somewhat indeterminate analysis of the late 90s/early 00s is less frustrating to read.
