Description
Book SynopsisThere 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 turbulent period that preceded it. The long nineteenth century, extending up to World War I, contained the seeds of developments and crises that continue to haunt the region today. The book begins with an overview of the main historical trends in the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, during which time the region lost momentum and became the periphery, no longer in step with the rising West. It concludes with an account of the persisting authoritarian political structures and the failed modernization that paved the way for social and political revolts. The origins of twentieth-century extremism and its tragedies are plainly visible in this penetrating account.
Trade Review"Always interesting... a provocative overview of a complex region that is still undergoing change... Highly recommended." - Choice: Current Reviews For Academic Libraries "For Berend, history is a whole, and when cultural, economic, social, and political trends are taken together, they distinguish central and east Europeans from the rest of Europe.... Berend, a first-rate economic historian, treats the often neglected economic dimension with special skill." - Foreign Affairs"
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments Introduction: The Emerging West as Ideal and Model for the East 1. The Challenge of the Rising West and the Lack of Response in the "Sleeping" East 2. Romanticism and Nationalism in Central and Eastern Europe 3. Uprisings and Reforms: The Struggle for Independence and Modernization 4. Economic Modernization in the Half Century before World War I 5. Social Changes: "Dual" and "Incomplete" Societies 6. The Political System: Democratization versus Authoritarian Nationalism Epilogue: World War I Bibliography Index
