To Hell and Back

Europe 1914-1949

De: Ian Kershaw

Narrado por: John Curless

The Penguin History of Europe series reaches the 20th century with acclaimed scholar Ian Kershaw's long-anticipated analysis of the pivotal years of World War I and World War II.

The European catastrophe, the long, continuous period from 1914 to1949, was unprecedented in human history - an extraordinarily dramatic, often traumatic, and endlessly fascinating period of upheaval and transformation. This new volume in the Penguin History of Europe series offers comprehensive coverage of this tumultuous era. Beginning with the outbreak of World War I through the rise of Hitler and the aftermath of the Second World War, award-winning British historian Ian Kershaw combines his characteristic original scholarship and gripping prose as he profiles the key decision makers and the violent shocks of war as they affected the entire European continent and radically altered the course of European history. Kershaw identifies four major causes for this catastrophe: an explosion of ethnic-racist nationalism, bitter and irreconcilable demands for territorial revisionism, acute class conflict given concrete focus through the Bolshevik Revolution, and a protracted crisis of capitalism.

Incisive, brilliantly written, and filled with penetrating insights, To Hell and Back offers an indispensable study of a period in European history whose effects are still being felt today.

©2015 Ian Kershaw (P)2015 Recorded Books

Absolutely excellent!

This is a long, detailed, and insightful work of scholarship. It is well worth hearing.

comprehensive review of modern European history

great performance. engaging but due to its thoroughness, this book is not to be listened casually

Great listen for a WWII history buff.

A very thorough and comprehensive look at the myriad forces at play which plunged Europe into its second war in less than a generation. Well done.

Wonderful historical overview

Kershaw continues to be one of my favorite historians and he covers the period of the 2 world wars masterfully. There is a good combination of research that reads like the telling of a story. If you like this period of history you will like this.

Armchair Historian with a Well-Endowed Armchair

I classify this type of history 'Armchair History' (the armchair perhaps situated in an academic Ivory Tower), which I would normally sneer at derisively, but this armchair historian can get away with writing a book from pure memory-based narration (or so the narration seems) because the results were in-depth. I call it 'armchair' since the author did not have to do any 'footwork' - traipsing around the world conducting first-hand interviews and researching previously unresearched primary sources and making first-hand conclusions and recreations.

For me, the most valuable part of the book was the coverage between the two World War's, where I was personally weakest. Now I can patch it all together - the First World War was the demise of monarchies, the period between the wars was absolute chaos and experimentation, with the rise of authoritarian regimes - some OK, some the Banes of the Century. The book ends at the end of the Second World War, but touches on the beginnings of the Cold War.

So it was a very knowledgable armchair presentation, and a good performance by the narrator,

Perfect. eye opening.

I have read and studied this time period for decades, but I've always looked at each issue or incident in isolation. it's quite eye opening to "read" the history of this time period as a single narrative. it definitely adds a new perspective.

35 years of European History

There have been many books written describing the events from 1914 through 1949 - biographies of the important historical figures of this period, histories of World War I and World War II, descriptions of the rise of Adolph Hitler and the effects of the Great Depression, but all the books I have read have been dedicated to one specific aspect of the period. There are many books on World War I, many more on World War II and a great many books on the rise and fall of Adolph Hitler, but what I have not seen until now was a history that covered the entire period and that described the events in all of Europe, eastern and western, and that delved into questions about why things turned out the way they did.

For example, why did Fascism gain hold in Italy and Germany, but not in other authoritarian governments in Eastern Europe? What was the role of neutral governments during World War II, and how neutral were they? Were Spain and Portugal partners of the Axis powers? Or of the Allies? Or of both? Why was Communism such a powerful draw for some people in Europe, but not for others? What effect did World War II have on the intellectuals in Europe, and on their writings? How did the period affect religious institutions? And was the Papacy an active ally of the Nazis? Of the Allies? And how did many of the European countries recover from the effects of World War I and World War II?

What Mr Kershaw has given us is a wide ranging and informative view of 35 years of European History covering all of the countries in Europe, and not just a look at the events leading up to World War II. Almost every book I had read prior to this book covered Western Europe with an emphasis on the UK, France, Germany, Italy and the Soviet Union with little mention of Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Poland, Yugoslavia, Albania, and so on. Mr Kershaw has done a great service opening up all go European history in looking at this period.

I found the narration to be OK, if not. inspired, and the material to be helpful in answering questions I never knew I had. I would recommend this book to anyone with an interest in this period of history.

A Survey of the WWI and WWII in Europe

I have listened to Erik Larson's Dead Wake and In the Garden of Beasts, as well as Dan Carlin's Hardcore History Podcast. This made me somewhat familiar with the events. The presentation is very straight forward. It's a history of Europe from 1919-1949.

Listen if you wish to understand the 20th century

The two world wars were the result of so many disparate factors. So if you really wish to understand them and their many impacts on our lives up to this date, you should make the time and effort and listen to this audiobook. Even though Kershaw floods us with so much information, it never gets boring. He dispels many of the myths of both conflicts and provides us with what really happened and the impacts on so many groups of people. The endless atrocities are described in full detail and the inhumane motivations for them are almost always provided. You get to know not only what happened but also why, something that traditional history books never seem to accomplish. From my personal point of view, this audiobook has dramatically changed the way I see the world and has provided me with some context regarding the bigotry, misogyny, and cruelness that pervades many of today's societies. Finally, John Curless' performance is outstanding, especially when considering the high level of difficulty of the text.

Nice Overview

Ian Kershaw's book is more less a fly over of Europe's decent from 1914-1949. To say that the continent went through a chaotic nightmare is an understatement. Fascism was the definition of the era. And right on time, history is rapidly repeating itself as fascism reemerges and clamps its jackboots back down on citizens across the world. History always repeats itself regardless of the efforts of those issuing dire warnings. And this book reiterates that fact. The only issue with this book is it is not linear and somewhat difficult to follow. The discussion could be on the end of WWII and then skip back to some time pre-war without warning. And with all the countries east and west to cover it makes it that much more difficult. But given the enormous task of this assignment, it's an excellent work.