Thinking the Twentieth Century

By: Tony Judt, Timothy Snyder

Narrated by: Ralph Cosham

Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

Here is the final book of unparalleled historian Tony Judt. Where Judt’s masterpiece Postwar redefined the history of modern Europe by uniting the stories of its eastern and western halves, Thinking the Twentieth Century unites the century’s conflicted intellectual history into a single soaring narrative. The 20th century comes to life as the age of ideas - a time when, for good or for ill, the thoughts of the few reigned over the lives of the many. Judt presents the triumphs and the failures of public intellectuals, adeptly extracting the essence of their ideas and explaining the risks of their involvement in politics. Spanning the entire era and all currents of thought, this is a triumphant tour de force that restores clarity to the classics of modern thought with the assurance and grace of a master craftsman.

The exceptional nature of this work is evident in its very structure - a series of luminous conversations between Judt and his friend and fellow historian Timothy Snyder, grounded in the texts of their trade and focused by the intensity of their vision. Judt’s astounding eloquence and range of reference are on display as never before. Traversing the century’s complexities with ease, he and Snyder revive both thoughts and thinkers, guiding us through the debates that made our world. As forgotten treasures are unearthed and overrated thinkers are dismantled, the shape of a century emerges. Judt and Snyder make us partners in their project as we learn the ways to think like a historian or even like a public intellectual. We begin to experience the power of historical perspective for the critique and reform of society and for the pursuit of the good from day to day.

In restoring - and exemplifying - the best of the intellectual life of the 20th century, Thinking the Twentieth Century charts a pathway for moral life in the 21st. An incredible achievement, this book is about the life of the mind - and the mindful life.

©2012 the Estate of Tony Judt. Introduction 2012 by Timothy Snyder (P)2012 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A lively, browsable, deeply satisfying meditation on recent history by a deservedly celebrated public intellectual.” ( Publishers Weekly)

Fantastic

This is being a fly on the wall for an incredibly fascinating intellectual discussion between two brilliant minds. Notice I don’t limit these scholars to their label of historian, because they are clearly so much more. I consider myself fairly educated and well read, yet I never heard of many of the authors and works these men referee off the top of their heads as if I’m talking about the ‘82 Chicago Cubs lineup - except my knowledge is baseball while theirs spans topics of life and death importance, not a child’s memory of his first love in baseball.

I enjoyed these men in conversation as much as I did any single volume non-fiction book I’ve ever spent time with. If you love history, politics, and important issues... you will enjoy this book. I liken it to my years of enjoyment of Charlie Rose’s discussions with great minds. Sucks for his victims that Charlie was a sexual predator. That one hurt because I respected Charlie and never in a hundred years would have guessed his disgusting sickness. Regardless, his work was stellar and I enjoyed it for decades (you think you know someone, but you don’t). I digress.

Get this book! You can return it if you don’t like it, but if you like history I suspect you will love this one.

Amazing insight into a historical mind!

Judt's biography informed his work more than one could know, and this book is an excellent account of that rich interaction between living the postwar period and writing its history.

Masterwork. Integrated History and Autobiography

An analysis of a century and the brilliant man who studied it. All in one. The thought-provoking dialogue of Judt and Snyder flows across a vast historical landscape here and there but never losing coherence.

A fascinating synthesis of recent history

I had never heard of Tony Judt, but this book was a great introduction to his thinking, presented in an accessible style. Because Judt was dying, the book consists of a series of interviews -- so there is no chance for long footnotes or an overly-academic tone. The interview format can get a little confusing because the reader doesn't use different voices for the Snyder and Judt, so it can be hard to figure out what is question and what is anser. Judt had a strong moral compass and although he was certainly left of center, a lot of this book deals with criticism of the Left for their silence on the atrocities of the USSR. Basically a history of the Left in the 20th century that I'd never been exposed to.

required reading for any intellectual.

This book is masterfully done. Tony Judt's intellectual contributions are priceless. I'll go back and read the print version this year.

Truly outstanding

Making intellectual discourse relevant, gripping and useful. Cosham is superb. It ended ended too soon!

Incredible

So packed with fascinating ideas I had to keep hitting 30 second rewind. Not easy to tell in audio version what is judt and what is Snyder but doesn't matter - both interesting. Also very timely discussion - even suggests rise of Trump-like figure in America in last chapter.

Philosophical Discussion of 20th Century Issues

High level, intellectual discussion of the 20th century by two brilliant intellectuals. Does not work well as an audio book for two reasons: first, it is dense and portions should be re-read; second, the book is, in part, framed as the conversation of two people. Unfortunately, the reader does not make it at all clear which of the authors is speaking, using indistinguishable voices for the two of them, so much is lost.

Superb

Judt's thinking is breathtakingly lucid and reveals relationships and causes deep under events where conventional accounts are superficial and unsatisfying. Snyder is also obviously brilliant and their voices are so similar that it would have been helpful to have some additional cues as to who is speaking in the audio version--the printed book uses italics. That said, Mr. Cosham, one of my favorite Blackstone readers, clearly appreciates the material and can pronounce the foreign names with remarkable accuracy. He does, however, tend to lose volume on the final consonants of sentences, here as elsewhere.

Great Work from a writer lost too soon

I have been an enormous fan of Tony Judt for a very long time. His brilliant insights into the tumultuous history of the modern world have enlivened many of my days (and nights). He was a brilliant writer who faced death with an incredible amount of courage. What a gift he had, and this book is a worthy addition to his too brief a canon. I was saddened when I read of his death but also relieved that the torment that he faced with such dignity was over. Judt's work here is fine and made more remarkable considering the difficulties he had to endure in the last parts. I know his final work just came out and look forward to adding it to my collection. Brilliant historian whose craftsmanship shows throughout.