To hell and back
Subtitle: Europe, 1914-1949
By: Ian Kershaw
Series: Penguin history of Europe -- 8
Published: 2016
Language: eng
Number of pages: 592
ISBN-13: 9780141980430; 9780143109921
Subjects: World War, 1914-1918; Causes; World War, 1939-1945; History
Description: In the summer of 1914 most of Europe plunged into a war so catastrophic that it unhinged the continent's politics and beliefs in a way that took generations to recover from. The disaster terrified its survivors, shocked that a civilization that had blandly assumed itself to be a model for the rest of the world had collapsed into a chaotic savagery beyond any comparison. In 1939 Europeans would initiate a second conflict that managed to be even worse - a war in which the killing of civilians was central and which culminated in the Holocaust. To Hell and Back tells this story with humanity, flair and originality. Kershaw gives a compelling narrative of events, but he also wrestles with the most difficult issues that the events raise - with what it meant for the Europeans who initiated and lived through such fearful times - and what this means for us.
Notes: First published  by Allan Lane, 2015.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 523-550) and index.
Table of contents: title: Machine generated contents note: 1. On the Brink; title: 2. The Great Disaster; title: 3. Turbulent Peace; title: 4. Dancing on the Volcano; title: 5. Gathering Shadows; title: 6. Danger Zone; title: 7. Towards the Abyss; title: 8. Hell on Earth; title: 9. Quiet Transitions in the Dark Decades; title: 10. Out of the Ashes.