Description
Book SynopsisThe West Europe and the USA has kind of had its way with the world for a few centuries. Why else does everyone speak English, listen to hip-hop, and want to buy Mercedes? Starting with the Enlightenment, Europeans developed big ideas that have increased opportunities for people around the world and raised standards of living. But those same ideas have also produced wars, genocide, colonialism, and the potential for global environmental disaster. This book describes the origins and legacy of this mixed bag of ideas which includes everything from democracy and feminism to those old foes, communism and capitalism. After all, it's a bag which still shapes how most people on the planet look at things today. In a natural, funny and engaging style,
So, About Modern Europe... expertly guides readers through the good, the bad and the indifferent of modern European history, convincingly arguing the need to tip the cap' to the Enlightenment and its influence along the way.
Trade ReviewDavid Imhoof has written a refreshing and carefully conceived conversational history of modern Europe. His engaging and humorous style will certainly appeal to students looking for an accessible introduction to this subject. * Lisa Pine, Associate Professor of History, London South Bank University, UK *
Told with great panache and a wicked sense of humor,
So, About Modern Europe… offers a fresh consideration of a complex subject that neither panders to its audience nor blunts the sharp and dangerous edges of the Enlightenment and its legacies. * Margaret Menninger, Professor of History, Texas State University, USA *
David Imhoof's conversational history of modern Europe is disarmingly lively as it casts off the conventional solemnity found in most academic books. But don’t be fooled: it remains ambitious in scope and firmly anchored in historical scholarship * Greg Eghigian, Professor of History, Penn State University, USA *
Table of ContentsList of Figures Introduction 1. (Re)birthing New Ideas in the Renaissance 2. Science is a Human Invention 3. The Enlightenment will Free You and Mess You Up 4. Now, That’s a Revolution! (France, 1789) 5. I’ve got a Fever, and the only Prescription is more Nationalism! 6. Industrialization, or: Welcome to the Machine 7. On the Road Again: The Ideas and Violence of Western Imperialism 8. Look, We’ve Got to Talk about the Enlightenment 9. World War I: The War that Did Nothing but Changed Everything 10. Between the Wars without a Center, or: Up the Creek without a Paddle 11. Downhill all the Way: World War II and the Holocaust 12. The Cold War as a Line in the Sand 13. The Long, Strange, and Not-So-Complete Death of Colonialism 14. The End of History, or Something Like That 15. You Do You: Identity Politics Epilogue Further Reading Index
