A Concise History of Modern Europe

by David S. Mason

Highlighting the key events, ideas, and individuals that shaped modern Europe, this lively book provides a concise history of the continent from the Enlightenment to the present day. Drawing on the enduring theme of revolution, David S. Mason explores the political, economic, and scientific causes and consequences of revolution; the development of human rights and democracy; and issues of European identity and integration. He deliberately avoids a detailed chronology of every country and time period, instead emphasizing the most crucial events in shaping contemporary Europe. Fourteen focused chapters address such topical issues as the Enlightenment; the French Revolution and Napoleon; the Industrial Revolution; the theories and impact of Marx and Darwin; the revolutions of 1848, 1917, and 1989; the unifications of Germany and Italy; European imperialism; the two world wars; the Cold War; the evolution and expansion of the European Union; and current issues confronting Europe. Any reader who wants to view the broad sweep of European history will find this book an engaging narrative, supplemented with maps, timelines, sidebars, photos, and a glossary.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Audiobook

268 pages, Paperback

First published January 16, 2011

About the author

David S. Mason is professor emeritus at Butler University.

Reviews

[Kianoush Mokhtarpour · Rating 5 out of 5]

بهترین کتاب برای آشنایی اولیه با تاریخ قرن نوزده و بیست اروپا

اگه منتقد کتاب مجلات اونور آب بودم می‌گفتم

The first book you should read on Europe since the French Revolution

مهم‌ترین ویژگی‌ش اینه که بیخودی با جزئیات غیرضروری گیج‌تون نمی‌کنه. تصویری شفاف و ساده بدست می‌ده. اگه قرار باشه زیر جملات مهم خط بکشین، باید کنترل اِی بگیرین

البته که به ناچار بعضی مسائل رو نگفته می‌ذاره، ولی اونها رو می شه بعدا تو کتاب‌های مفصل‌تر خوند

با سربه‌سنگ‌خوردن‌های پیاپی فهمیدن قدم اول تو هر زمینه رو باید با ساده‌ترین و خلاصه‌ترین کتاب ممکن شروع کرد

[Osama · Rating 5 out of 5]

هذا الكتاب يتناول تاريخ أوروبا الحديث ويقدم تسلسل واضح في أربعة عشر فصلا مركزة تتناول قضايا هامة مثل عصر التنوير. الثورة الفرنسية ونابليون. الثورة الصناعية؛ نظريات وتأثير ماركس وداروين ؛ ثورات 1848 و 1917 و 1989 ؛ توحيد ألمانيا وإيطاليا ؛ الإمبريالية الأوروبية الحربين العالميتين. الحرب الباردة؛ تطور وتوسع الاتحاد الأوروبي. والتحديات الحالية التي تواجه أوروبا.

[Anna]

Erg langdradig, heerlijk taai en fantastisch als je wilt verdwijnen in details 🥰 (nee grapje was best leuk ik houd wel van geschiedenis)

[Emilija · Rating 3 out of 5]

2023 52 Book Challenge - 51) A Book Which Doesn't Fit The Other 51 Prompts

This was a very good introductory book for the history of modern Europe, and it was quite interesting the topics that it bought up. I personally found the chapter about Year of Revolutions very interesting.

The downside to this book is that the topics tended to jump quite a bit, like the author was leapfrogging when he was writing. It would be talking about the French Revolution and then it would jump back to the 1830s and then forward to the 1900s and then back to the French Revolution. It could be quite jarring to follow, even though I know the topic well enough. Added to this, the narrator was quite dry, and I had to speed him up between 1.7x and 2x to stop my mind from wandering.

[Wesley Gaines · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant, clear, and concise history of Modern Europe. Those are rare traits in a work of history. It includes the right events to construct a coherent narrative centered around the same themes I focus on in my teaching. I am assigning this book as a guiding ext for my seniors next year, which is perhaps the highest praise I can give!

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Concise History of Modern Europe by David S. Mason In general, this book covers happenings in Europe from 1789 (the French Revolution) through 1989 (the fall of Communism). There’s a little bit after that on the formation of the European Union and what current hurdles Europe as a whole faces. The book doesn’t focus overly on one country or another, rather covering significant events and people who shaped Europe for better or worse.
Having been raised in the American public school system, there were bits and pieces of European history that I knew some little about, but this book does a great job of putting them into perspective. I’m really glad I gave this book a listen because it makes me feel smarter for it. What follows here in my review are some of the little interesting nuggets I took from this book.
During and after the French Revolution, women demanded legal rights and some of those rights were granted; however, they were denied the right to education. Alas, then came Napoleon who was very fond of the patriarchal family hierarchy: Women and children were subject to the rule of the man of the house. Oddly, his laws on many things remain a cornerstone to French law, law within parts of Turkey, and law in the state of Louisiana. Ha! That does explain some things….
One of things that helped lead England into the Industrial Revolution was the use of turnips. Yep! Behold the mighty turnip! The English started farming turnips which did two things for them: turnips help add nutrients to the soil, so a field could be used longer; and also turnips can be fed to winter livestock, allowing the English to winterover more of the flocks instead of doing a major slaughter and preserving prior to snows setting in. Alas, boiled turnips did very little to excite Europe over English cuisine.
Karl Marx spent much of his life in poverty (along with his wife and kids) dedicated to his writings and studying so he could make more writings. He had patrons here and there that allowed him to occasionally keep a roof over his family’s head and the kids fed. Karl Marx gave us an interesting piece of political philosophy (The Communist Manifesto), but I think his family would have appreciated him having some kind of steady job instead. Only 11 people attended his funeral.
Darwin’s Theory of Evolution was published and it took some little time for most European countries to accept it. The US was (and perhaps still is) one of the last major world powers to accept the Theory of Evolution. Darwin happily married his first cousin and they had 10 kids together. The Crimean War was the first war covered by journalists and also the first war where women were officially allowed to serve, but only in the Nursing Corps (i.e. Florence Nightingale).
Ethiopia and Liberia avoided colonialism during the rush to claim Africa, though Liberia was primarily a colony for liberated native Africans and remained mostly under US control until they gained their freedom. In Asia, Japan remained free from colonialism while many other Asian countries (in part or in total) were colonized. I’ve always known that the term ‘first world country’ refers to places like western Europe, Canada, the US,  while the term ‘third world country’ usually refers to much of South America, Asia, and Africa. However, I didn’t know if there was a ‘second world country’, having never heard the term. Turns out that phrase refers to the communist Soviet block. One of the outcomes of World War I was the League of Nations proposed by US President Wilson. However, the US didn’t join it, nor did  Russia. Germany was prohibited from joining it until 1926. So it wasn’t particularly effective.
So those are just the little nuggets of info I pulled out of this book. I am sure there are plenty more that I would pick up on or understand better on a second read through. Mostly, I am grateful for the perspective this book gave me, how one event feeds into another. The author did a great job of providing a few key dates here and there, but not inundating the reader with a ton of dates that will be quickly forgotten. After all, this is an overview of 200+ years of European history, not a blow-by-blow recounting of it.
I received a copy of this book at no cost from the narrator (viaAudiobook Boom) in exchange for an honest review.
Narration: Charles Henderson Norman did a great job narrating this. He has a voice somewhere between a news reporter and a story telling uncle. His personal interest, and sometimes even joy, in the subject comes through clearly in his narration.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In general, this book covers happenings in Europe from 1789 (the French Revolution) through 1989 (the fall of Communism). There’s a little bit after that on the formation of the European Union and what current hurdles Europe as a whole faces. The book doesn’t focus overly on one country or another, rather covering significant events and people who shaped Europe for better or worse.

Having been raised in the American public school system, there were bits and pieces of European history that I knew some little about, but this book does a great job of putting them into perspective. I’m really glad I gave this book a listen because it makes me feel smarter for it. What follows here in my review are some of the little interesting nuggets I took from this book.

During and after the French Revolution, women demanded legal rights and some of those rights were granted; however, they were denied the right to education. Alas, then came Napoleon who was very fond of the patriarchal family hierarchy: Women and children were subject to the rule of the man of the house. Oddly, his laws on many things remain a cornerstone to French law, law within parts of Turkey, and law in the state of Louisiana. Ha! That does explain some things….

One of things that helped lead England into the Industrial Revolution was the use of turnips. Yep! Behold the mighty turnip! The English started farming turnips which did two things for them: turnips help add nutrients to the soil, so a field could be used longer; and also turnips can be fed to winter livestock, allowing the English to winterover more of the flocks instead of doing a major slaughter and preserving prior to snows setting in. Alas, boiled turnips did very little to excite Europe over English cuisine.

Karl Marx spent much of his life in poverty (along with his wife and kids) dedicated to his writings and studying so he could make more writings. He had patrons here and there that allowed him to occasionally keep a roof over his family’s head and the kids fed. Karl Marx gave us an interesting piece of political philosophy (The Communist Manifesto), but I think his family would have appreciated him having some kind of steady job instead. Only 11 people attended his funeral.

Darwin’s Theory of Evolution was published and it took some little time for most European countries to accept it. The US was (and perhaps still is) one of the last major world powers to accept the Theory of Evolution. Darwin happily married his first cousin and they had 10 kids together. The Crimean War was the first war covered by journalists and also the first war where women were officially allowed to serve, but only in the Nursing Corps (i.e. Florence Nightingale).

Ethiopia and Liberia avoided colonialism during the rush to claim Africa, though Liberia was primarily a colony for liberated native Africans and remained mostly under US control until they gained their freedom. In Asia, Japan remained free from colonialism while many other Asian countries (in part or in total) were colonized. I’ve always known that the term ‘first world country’ refers to places like western Europe, Canada, the US, while the term ‘third world country’ usually refers to much of South America, Asia, and Africa. However, I didn’t know if there was a ‘second world country’, having never heard the term. Turns out that phrase refers to the communist Soviet block. One of the outcomes of World War I was the League of Nations proposed by US President Wilson. However, the US didn’t join it, nor did Russia. Germany was prohibited from joining it until 1926. So it wasn’t particularly effective.

So those are just the little nuggets of info I pulled out of this book. I am sure there are plenty more that I would pick up on or understand better on a second read through. Mostly, I am grateful for the perspective this book gave me, how one event feeds into another. The author did a great job of providing a few key dates here and there, but not inundating the reader with a ton of dates that will be quickly forgotten. After all, this is an overview of 200+ years of European history, not a blow-by-blow recounting of it.

I received a copy of this book at no cost from the narrator (via Audiobook Boom) in exchange for an honest review.

Narration: Charles Henderson Norman did a great job narrating this. He has a voice somewhere between a news reporter and a story telling uncle. His personal interest, and sometimes even joy, in the subject comes through clearly in his narration.

[David · Rating 1 out of 5]

After reading this, writing a "concise" history of any kind should be a criminal offense. A "history" book written by a bourgeois political scientist full of inaccuracies and falsehoods, misinterpretations and seemingly elementary omissions.

Mason tracks European history from the beginning of the French Revolution to the current Russo-Ukrainian War. He starts with the Enlightenment, simplifying it to its continental rationalist branches whilst ignoring the much more skeptical and empiricist branch of England. After a brief rundown of the French Revolution, Mason claims that the revolutionary dictatorship was dismantled after the execution of Robespierre, omitting the two years of Thermidorian Reaction and the White Terror committed by reactionary forces.

In the chapters on the industrial revolution, 1848, and Marx, there are no mentions of German idealism or its role in fomenting the 1848 Revolutions, and Mason acts as if the limited representative "democracy" which existed in proto-liberal Europe was identical to our own, merely limited by the despotic remnants of feudal kings—ignoring that these representative institutions were dominated by landlords and capitalists and could in no way be seen as "representative" of the European people. He oversimplifies the politics of the German SPD into an immediate revisionism, and defines Marx's revolution as simply "seizing control of factories."

In discussing the rise of empire, he ignores the use of Smithian ideas to justify British imperialism in enforcing free trade, describes WWI as a "great advance for democracy," and butchers a short history of the Russian Revolution and Marxism-Leninism. He describes Wilson's "14 Points" as "in large measure, achieved," the only historians I've ever read who hasn't concluded that Wilsonian idealism ended in abject failure. His description of fascism as "in favour of economic security and law and order, by dictatorial means if necessary" is ridiculous—"dictatorial means" is fundamental to fascism, not some byproduct. He makes a striking error in claiming that Hitler founded the NSDAP, ignoring its predecessor in the DAP.

The Cold War is handled atrociously—the Soviets "imposed" whilst the US "assisted," ignoring US meddling in European politics and engineering of elections. The fall of socialism is treated as a universal good, Mason ignores the existence of ostalgie, conflates European independence movements with populist identitarianism, and is largely unable to confront the neoliberal nature of the EU itself.

Terrible read, and horrible start to grad school.

[Hasnain Abro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book!! A must read for a beginner who is interested in history and politics of Europe. The author effortlessly explains the unfolding of modern history of Europe and connects the events with their ideological seeds such as ideas of Enlightenment and revolutions.

[Samet Öksüz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Modern Avrupa tarihi hakkında bilgi edinmek için güzel bir çalışma. Çeviri konusunda yine bazı sıkıntılar var ancak kitabı bir kenara bırakmama yol açacak kadar kötü değiller. Birkaç yüzyıllık göreceli olarak kısa bir dönem içerisinde Avrupa'da yaşanmış olan sarsıcı değişimler, tarihin akışkanlığını tekrar hatırlatıyor. Ayrıca tarihin tek bir yönde ilerlemek zorunda olmadığı, belirli bir amaca doğru hareket etmediğini görmek de günümüzün çalkantılı döneminde, akıl sağlığımızın tutunabileceği bir çapa halini alabiliyor. Karmaşık sorunların basit cevaplarının olmadığını; sosyal, kültürel, ekonomik, tarihi, coğrafi etmenlerin bir arada düşünülmesi gerektiğini aklınızda tutun

[Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent short introduction to modern European history, following a thematic / chronological approach that brings assorted European countries to the forefront at various points.

[Zeeshan Mahmood · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyable book. A memorable journey of modern European History in never-possible-by-any-other concise way.

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book to study for the AP Euro History Exam!!

[Ethan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my neverending quest to find texts that a relevant, challenging, and concise to use in the classroom, I stumbled upon this one and decided to give it a go. I listened to the audiobook version and was thoroughly pleased, given the fact that it is a concise, shortened version of modern European history.

For the lay reader, information-cramming student, or those in need of a brief refresher or overview before digging deeper into the topic, this book is an excellent resource, though obviously not complete and lacking immense depth. Despite this, its purpose as an introductory, overview text is clearly sufficient and decently balanced. Mason covers a myriad of cultural, military, and social events ranging from an entire chapter on the Russian Revolution to discussion of the impacts of the French Revolution, the Holocaust, and the EU, all in concise, relatively balanced ways.

A few topics get glossed over or nearly left out which I would deem significant in both world and European history, including much of Napoleon and a bit of the Crimean War, in addition to specifics about the scramble for Africa. These are all briefly mentioned, but in a classroom, I would study them in much greater depth. I was pleased to see decent coverage of the Russian Revolution, though, as it is often either left out, discussed only as a precedent for the Cold War, or tends to be very preachy as opposed to critically examined for both its positive and negative attributes. Mason balances it well in this text and gives it at least as much attention as it deserves in such a small text. On the contrary, he also covers Bismark-era Germany quickly as well, which certainly deserves more attention. The last area of gaps resides in Post-War Europe. His history of the foundation of the EU is a balanced and informative approach; however, between the Marshall Plan and the formation of the EU and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, he does little to talk about some of the great changes in the 60s-90s. His general overview of them is nice and concise, but I would like a bit more detail, especially to allow students to understand a few issues in the modern world (ie Brexit). As an overview, though, it does a good job setting the stage.

Mason also balances social and cultural and economic history well with military history, which I think is important for historians because it is easy to get lost describing battles as names and dates and casualty numbers while losing track of the bigger picture, which includes other large forces besides the military.

Overall, the book is a decent companion for anyone wanting a brief overview of modern Europe, students who want to refresh for an exam or lay people wanting to learn a bit more about some important events. I will certainly be using excerpts from it in my classroom as a foundational text to begin our explorations. Recommended.

[Satendra Thakur · Rating 5 out of 5]

How to go from French revolution to The Fall of Berlin wall real quick!

After enrolling myself in the "Random YouTube videos school" I had an simple understanding of most of the events like French Revolution, The Unifications of Italy and Germany, The Russian Revolution, World wars, Cold war, etc but this book helped me to put things into perspective and increased my overall understanding.

This book provides an overview of events of modern European history and it does a pretty good job.
The book is not filled with dates and a lot of data. The writing is very lucid too.

Good for it, if you want a quick overview of Modern European history.

[Ruchita Singh · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many times our attempts at the study of world history are thwarted by the sheer vastness and depth it requires. This book is a concise reckoner of all the major events around the globe with excellent backward and forward linkages that has some semblance of a proper order that makes it easier to follow and connect with other studies. For a beginner, this can be very useful and for a reviewer it serves as a simplified study of the timeline. However, for a detailed study of the topics, I would recommend other longer versions. I thoroughly enjoyed Mason's sound commentary on these events complete with minor hints towards the parallel influences that shaped the world into what it is today.

[Lea Brinkman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Covering such a massive time frame in history is doubtless a daunting task. Nevertheless, the tools and language used by Mason to make the information interesting and readable –while effective at first– were so overused by the time I got to the final few chapters that it became quite exhausting to read.
I almost wish the chapters had been a bit longer as that might have allowed room for more details which would have made the overall experience more enjoyable. History is far too interesting and rich to be condensed into info-packed paragraphs that often seemed to be merely relaying information as opposed to telling it. This too did not help the overall repetitiveness of the text.

[Morgan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was ok as far as textbooks go. Chapters were short and it managed to condense a lot of information in a small amount of space. The main problem is that the author referred to racism as "condescension". Lost a lot of points with me for that one.

[jorge gonzaleznieto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easy history

Very easy to read , lots of condensed information , events you don’t find in other books. Great book , you can’t stop reading once you start , congratulations on the author

[Robert Van Loon · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the French revolution untill the European Union, this book guides you through the history of Europe. Giving attention to changes in nations but also pointing to important events and persons like Karl Marx and Charles Darwin. This book gives you context and knowledge.

[Trivedh Karuturi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfectly covers the history of modern europe in a simplified and lucid manner. Justifies the title.

[Ibrahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

an excellent, concise text book that I will use for my survey courses

[Abhineet]

Easy and necessary read before reading Norman Lowe , L. Mukherjee I & II

[Mr. Karkazis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent A lot of information in a short read. I teach AP European history, and I’m going to recommend it to my students as a summer read.

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concise is an understatement. This book is down right reductive, but in the best way. It is, truly, just an introduction to the history of modern Europe. A refresher or even an appetizer.

[Jessieloda · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a good book that summarizes the historical events quite well

[Sungjew Chou · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Chinese version of this book shamelessly deletes the history of the Soviet purges. Disgraceful way to treat a translation. SHIT

[AG]

Would have appreciated a lot more if I weren’t in gods greatest history class rn. LTC Morningstar supremacy.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

After our trip, I found myself wanting to fill in some of the history that I wished I'd known before we left.
This history review is indeed "concise". I really liked the clarity and movement. I also appreciated the birth-death year addition with each person mentioned. That truly helped me appreciate how old and young some of the stream of European leaders, philosophers, royalty, and upward-bound individuals meshed into major events.
It's a crisp, clean historical review from 1789 to 2015. Excellent and efficient way to prepare yourself for European travels and intelligent conversations.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very useful introductory overview of modern European history. Good for a novice like myself.