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Europe in the Aftermath of World War II
Keith Lowe
ISBN: 9780670917464
Format: Hardback
Publisher:Penguin Books Ltd
Also available as an eBook
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The Second World War might have officially ended in May 1945, but in reality it rumbled on for another 10 years. This book describes a continent still racked by violence, where large sections of the population had yet to accept that the war was over.
The Second World War might have officially ended in May 1945, but in reality it rumbled on for another 10 years ...Across Europe, landscapes had been ravaged, entire cities razed and more than 35 million people had been killed in the war. The institutions that we now take for granted - such as the police, the media, transport, local and national government - were either entirely absent or hopelessly compromised. Crime rates were soaring, economies collapsing, and the European population was hovering on the brink of starvation. In this epic book, Keith Lowe describes a continent still racked by violence, where large sections of the population had yet to accept that the war was over. He outlines the warped morality and the insatiable urge for vengeance that were the legacy of the conflict. He describes the ethnic cleansing and civil wars that tore apart the lives of ordinary people from the Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean, and the establishment of a new world order that finally brought stability to a shattered generation.
| ISBN | 067091746X | | Pages | 480 | | ISBN13 | 9780670917464 (What's this?) | | Weight (grammes) | 803 | | Publisher | Penguin Books Ltd | | Published in | London | | Imprint | Viking | | Height (mm) | 240 | | Format | Hardback | | Width (mm) | 162 | | Publication date | 05 Apr 2012 | | Spine width (mm) | 42 | | DEWEY | 940.55 | | Academic level | General | | DEWEY edition | DC23 | |
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Graphic and chilling. This excellent book paints a little-known and frightening picture of a continent in the embrace of lawlessness and chaos -- Ian Kershaw Moving, measured and provocative -- Dominic Sandbrook Sunday Times Savage Continent is a powerful and disturbing book, painstakingly researched and written with both authority and an impressive historical sweep -- James Holland Grimly absorbing, conveys the pity of war and its sorry aftermath with integrity and proper sympathy -- Ian Thomson Sunday Telegraph Extraordinary, disturbing and powerful ... it is to Lowe's great credit that he resists the temptation to sit in moral judgment ... it is time we acknowledged the hidden realities of perhaps the darkest chapter in all human history Daily Mail Extraordinary...exceptional...reveals a continent where moral values were often missing and basically lawlessness prevailed for several years -- Trevor James The Historian Impressive and heart-rendering study...Lowe marshals all the elements of the story with cool even-handedness, especially where statistics are concerned, and explains how subsequent generations have manipulated the historical record to suit their own purposes, either to diminish their guilt or demonise others. -- Christopher Silvester Daily Express An excellent account...Lowe's vivid descriptions of Europeans scrambling for scraps of food, rampant theft and 'destruction of morals' are a timely reminder that a certain humility is in order when we look at less fortunate continents today. -- Brendan Simms The Independent A major new historical talent has arrived... a brilliantly organised and scrupulously objective survey of a continent on the floor BBC History Magazine Brilliant Sun Savage Continent is a blood-soaked thing, charting the continued fanaticism and brutality that emerged from the ashes of war and wracked this sad continent long after Nazism was defeated Telegraph, Christmas Round-up An unforgettably gritty and blood-soaked book. Makes for deeply harrowing reading -- Dominic Sandbrook Sunday Times, Books of the Year 2012 The chaotic interlude between the second world war and Europe's 'cold peace' in the 1950s receives brilliant treatment in Lowe's scrupulously objective book Financial Times, "Books of the Year"  Be the first to write a customer review
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