In Europe: Travels Through the Twentieth Century

I am currently taking a course in European 20th Century History and was assigned this text. We were also assigned a textbook by Bonnie Smith. The latter is truly a textbook whilst Mak's is an enjoyable book. Many of my classmates have commented on how much they enjoy reading Mak and some have ceased reading Bonnie smith altogether. I have found his rich narration and happy departure from the stale literature one has come to expect in history. There are instances where he illustrates what it means to feel diminished such as being in front of the European Parliament building. He can make the Vienna of Hitler's youth come alive. He can breath life into people who are usually treated as nothing more than stand-ins for the real thing. In the chapter dealing with the assassination that started the mess that nearly consumed all of the 20th Century, he somehow gives a whole new dimension not just to Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie but also their assassin, Gavrilo Princip. This Temporal Travelogue is truly unique. I have never read anything like it. It has inspired me to look at time, space, people and ideas in whole new organic light. It is fascinating beyond all description.

Geert Mak's book is a masterpiece. It's not a complete and exhaustive account of the 20th Century in Europe, instead it reads in the form of a travelogue as Mak visits some of the significant places upon which events took place, for example Sarajevo and Berlin. It's not a dry and dusty recounting of facts, instead it's a warm and readable insight into some of the people and events which were so pivotal for the history of Europe. Somehow he is able to find vignettes of events which illustrate the whole, interviewing people who, although unnoticed players in history, have their own insight into the events and their own experiences of how things affected them. What's outstanding about this book is the quality of the writing (and the translation too). Mak is able to distil complex events into fascinating pieces of writing and he regularly personalises situations that otherwise could seem too vague. I was particularly moved by the chapters on the First World War where he quoted various young men who were part of the fighting on both sides and showed that, for the individuals involved in the war, events were seen very differently from those in overall charge. In this book Mak often quotes short phrases in German which aren't translated and could cause some trouble for those who don't speak German; however most other languages have some kind of translation where they occur. This is a very big book and it's not something that you want to read through continuously. However I found myself dipping into it on a regular basis, 3-4 chapters at a time, and I always enjoyed it. There's a lot of history in Mak's book of which I was previously unaware, such as Lenin's return by train to Russia, and I was continually amazed that one man could have put the work together and could weave the threads of events into coherent wholes. There are few illustrations in this book (mainly maps showing his travels in each section of the book) but his wordsmith craft paints vivid enough pictures to make this book well worth the reading and a genuine triumph. Originally published for Curled Up With A Good Book © Helen Hancox 2008

I did not choose this book. It was presssed upon me by a very intelligent friend. "Well," I thought, "I'm not sure that even an intelligent friend is worth trusting for an 800 page history of Europe in the twentieth century." Oh, was I wrong. The book is a stupendous achievement. Truly, can one think of another book (in only 800 short pages) that is able to contain a complete century, and all the countries, of Europe? And he does it with an artist's eye. Lord, how well this man can write. I reach out to you, to whoever has happened upon this review, and urge you to buy this book. i read it through just as I would have a novel, and plan on re-reading it straight through again. Take the plunge. You won't be sorry.

Yes, I know. From any description, it sounds boring. Yet, try to put it down, I dare you.

This is almost in the unputdownable category, with the additional pleasure of its capacity to be dived into at any chapter, or to be savoured chapter at a time. Mak's personal travels through the countries that now comprise Europe throughout 1999 bring to his research a somewhat mordant contemporary tone to his impressions. I can, from travels this year, certainly confirm the mood he paints of Istanbul, Chatting there with expat Poles, Hungarians, Bulgarians and Romanians only spread the paint wider, not thinner. The book's historical aspect, much of it new to this reader, whatever arguments might be fussed over with the details, are unlikely to be challenged. Much of the regions have received their specific historical treatment by other authors, and Mak acknowledges his readings. But few writers have presented the broad picture with such verve.