The history of europe vol iv: 1900-1945 dark times
Historien om europa. Bind iv: 1900-1945 mørkets tid
In his impressive four-volume work about Europe, Karsten Alnæs tells European history from the conquest of Constantinople up to our times. He is equally concerned with people’s folly and cruelty as with the historical progress of cultural life, science and politics. The fate of individuals is given as much space as the great lines of history.
Alnæs has chosen the title Dark Times for the fourth and final volume of his accomplished The History of Europe. “Dark” because it deals with two of the most terrible wars known to mankind, as well as with the growth of the totalitarian ideologies and regimes which subjected people to unimaginable pain, terror and death. The book takes us from the beginning of the twentieth century to the end of World War II. Alnæs begins with the build-up to World War I where we meet the artistic genius Pablo Picasso and the great French poet Apollinaire. When all hell breaks lose, the reader enters the nightmarish reality of the soldiers and dreadful psychology of the war. From here, Alnæs moves on eastwards to the Russian revolution. We witness the acts of Lenin and Stalin, see Dadaism and surrealism transform film, literature and the visual arts, and we observe the working conditions in 1930s Britain. At the heart of this history stands Berlin, the city which tells us so much more about the period than any other capital in Europe.
“Karsten Alnæs is a brilliant narrator. I have never before read a historical survey written with such a vitality and capturing energy.” (Dagbladet, Norway)
“Alnæs’ language makes the facts dance ballet.” (Länstidningen Södertälje, Sweden)
“A rich book, enlightening in the detail – and very entertaining.” (Politiken, Denmark)
Gyldendal 2006
736 pages, appr. 60 illustrations
The four volumes of The history of Europe:
Vol I 1300 – 1600: Awakening (2003)
Vol II: 1600 – 1700: Obsession (2004)
Vol III: 1800 – 1900: Breaking up (2005)
Vol IV: 1900 – 1945: Dark times (2006)
So far sold to: Denmark (Gyldendal), Finland (Otava), Germany (Murmann), The Netherlands (Ambo Antos) and Sweden (Bonnier).
