Description
Book SynopsisThis newly updated and improved edition of Bonnie G. Smith's classic textbook provides the most authoritative history available of Europe in a global context during the 20th and 21st centuries. It cleverly incorporates elements of political, social, cultural, economic and intellectual history and presents an integrated history with detailed coverage right across the continent.Including 131 images and 23 maps,
Europe in the Contemporary World: 1900 to the Present is organized around key themes within a chronological chapter structure that is easy to follow. Smith's balanced treatment of the subject allows for a comprehensive assessment of the positive and negative developments in European history over the period, as well as the wider impact of this in the world at large. The book also includes picture essays and document sections, which provide variety and foreground the importance of primary sources, and useful end-of-chapter further readings for students who wish to investigate
Trade ReviewIn this masterful survey, Bonnie Smith gives readers a gripping yet nuanced narrative of Europe in a global context. The wide range of voices contained in the documents reveal the profound trauma and transformation of the era. Easy to read but always thought provoking, this book is the best resource available for understanding Europe in the contemporary age. * Jeffrey H. Jackson, Professor of History, Rhodes College, USA *
This lively and comprehensive book, by one of North America's leading historians, skillfully conveys a sense of life in Europe in the 'long' twentieth century. Swooping from the international exhibitions at the dawn of the twentieth century to the crises of the mid-twenty-teens, the chapters are typically introduced by a striking example which sets the context for the discussion which follows. * William Outhwaite, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Newcastle University, UK *
This highly accessible text offers a vivid history of twentieth-century Europe in a global context, highlighting in stunning detail the forces that shaped Europe’s growing engagement with the world. The primary sources encourage further historical inquiry, offering students glimpses into the lives of both ordinary people and prominent historical figures. * Margaret Andersen, Associate Professor of History, University of Tennessee, USA *
Table of ContentsPreface for Instructors Introduction for Students 1. Imperial Europe at the Dawn of the Twentieth Century 2. Modernity and the Unsettling of Europe, 1900-1914 3. World War I and the Russian Revolution, 1914-1922 4. A World Transformed, 1920-1925 5. Facing Global Economic Depression, 1929-1939 6. The Second World War and the Collapse of Europe, 1939-1945 7. Devastated Europe in an Age of Cold War, 1945-1963 8. The Rebirth of Prosperity and the Rise of the Welfare State in the 1950s and Early 1960s 9. Post-Imperial Europe, ca. 1947 to 1980 10. Post-Industrial Europe and its Critics, 1965-1979 11. Europe Changes Course: The 1980s and Beyond 12. Europe in the Global Age 13. Twenty-First Century Challenges Index
