History Derailed: Central and Eastern Europe in the Long Nineteenth Century

by Iván T. Berend

Book Overview

There is probably no greater authority on the modern history of central and eastern Europe than Ivan Berend, whose previous work, Decades of Crisis, was hailed by critics as "masterful" and "the broadest synthesis of the modern social, economic, and cultural history of the region that we possess." Now, having brought together and illuminated this region's storm-tossed history in the twentieth century, Berend turns his attention to the equally...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0520245253
• ISBN13: 9780520245259
• Release Date: January 2005
• Publisher: University of California Press
• Length: 404 Pages
• Weight: 1.23 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.0" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Superb Synthesis

At last, a synthesis of Eastern European history of the 19th and early 20th centuries that covers all the major issues, social, eocnomic, political and intellectual, uses the best in both pre-and post-Communist era scholarly studies, and presents in a clear, well-organized, and readable style. He has no axes to grind, and explains clearly how the many ethnic groups and their main oppressors sharpened theirs by adapting western concepts of nationalism and group identity, shifted these powerful ideas from an intellectual elite to the masses, and helped bring about the horrors of two world wars and the current mess in the Balkans. Well done. Essential reading.