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Short Oxford History of Europe
Europe 1900-1945
This book provides a thought-provoking and wide-ranging history of the whole of Europe between 1900 and 1945. Featuring six lively and stimulating chapters that have been specifically written for this volume, Europe 1900-1945 focuses on the political, economic, social, and cultural aspects of this time period. It also examines the international relations within Europe and the wider world. Particular care is taken to integrate developments in southern and eastern Europe (including the USSR) into the more familiar story of what occurred in western and central Europe. A guide to further reading, a chronology, and an index allow readers to follow up on interest in particular countries.
- GenresHistory
268 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
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About the author
Julian T. Jackson
21 books91 followersOne of the leading authorities on twentieth-century France, Julian Timothy Jackson is Professor of History at Queen Mary, University of London. He was educated at the University of Cambridge where he obtained his doctorate in 1982, having been supervised by Professor Christopher Andrew. After many years spent at the University of Wales, Swansea, he joined Queen Mary History Department in 2003. He is a Fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Historical Society.
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November 18, 2012
This is a very concise, nicely done introduction to a period in modern history which many students and autodidacts take a keen interest in. I would recommend it particularly to those who want a brief summary of standard historical perspectives on the World Wars, and particularly the inter-War period. Because it tries to be inclusive, one can use it to get an overview regarding a particular national case, by checking the index for entries regarding that nation and correlating the information. It can also be read straight through in relatively little time, thanks to its brevity, or could be assigned chapter by chapter to a course approaching the subject matter thematically.
Each chapter is written by a different author, and naturally this leads to some unevenness, although overall the book integrates well as a unit. The first two chapters, however, begin with concise introductory paragraphs that serve as summaries of the contents, while later chapters abandon this approach, which is a bit confusing. Julian Jackson’s introduction serves to lay out the questions and themes that will be of interest for the period – primarily the causes and effects of the wars and the growth and limitations of the State. David Stevenson’s chapter on International Relations serves to give a sense of the alliances and conflicts that over-arched the period, and the development toward a more stable balance of power after the end date. It would have been strengthened for use with undergraduates by the inclusion of some maps showing the shifting borders of Europe. Chapter three is on “Economy” by Harold James, and he gives a very detailed account of the major economic issues of the period, and naturally includes more visual data in the form of tables. To a large degree, his emphasis is on the “contracting spiral of world trade” (68), the growth of bilateralism, and its effect in promoting conflict. Kevin Passmore contributes one of the best chapters, which covers “Politics” during the period. He gives background on left and right-wing tendencies, details the impact of the First World War, then explores the rise of Soviet Communism and the rise and fall of Fascism. The next section, on “Society,” by Richard Bessel, is more of a mixed bag. Bessel is an excellent scholar, and he provides some interesting material, but he never really defines “society” and leaves it to the reader to understand what differentiates his subject matter from the other, clearly socially-based, chapters.Rajnarayan Chandravarkar takes on the challenge of addressing “Imperialism and the European empires,” possibly the subject on which the most research has been done in the subsequent ten years. As such, this chapter may be more dated than the others today, but it remains a good introduction for neophytes to the tensions between the growth of liberal democratic ideals and imperial aspirations. Modris Eksteins ends the formal essays with a discussion of “Culture,” which follows a largely chronological format. Like Bessel, Eksteins avoids clearly defining his purview, but culture as a concept is somewhat less slippery than society. In this case, he clearly means cultural products like art, music, and literature, with an emphasis on the visual arts, and he does an adequate job of introducing the subject, although his emphasis is primarily on Western Europe with scant attention to the East. Jackson returns to sum up and suggest some implications for scholars in the conclusion.
In spite of some weaknesses, then, this is a useful volume. It would probably best be used for instructing undergraduates, or as a reference for modern historians of areas outside of Europe who need to double-check what European powers were doing at a given moment in the history of their areas.
Each chapter is written by a different author, and naturally this leads to some unevenness, although overall the book integrates well as a unit. The first two chapters, however, begin with concise introductory paragraphs that serve as summaries of the contents, while later chapters abandon this approach, which is a bit confusing. Julian Jackson’s introduction serves to lay out the questions and themes that will be of interest for the period – primarily the causes and effects of the wars and the growth and limitations of the State. David Stevenson’s chapter on International Relations serves to give a sense of the alliances and conflicts that over-arched the period, and the development toward a more stable balance of power after the end date. It would have been strengthened for use with undergraduates by the inclusion of some maps showing the shifting borders of Europe. Chapter three is on “Economy” by Harold James, and he gives a very detailed account of the major economic issues of the period, and naturally includes more visual data in the form of tables. To a large degree, his emphasis is on the “contracting spiral of world trade” (68), the growth of bilateralism, and its effect in promoting conflict. Kevin Passmore contributes one of the best chapters, which covers “Politics” during the period. He gives background on left and right-wing tendencies, details the impact of the First World War, then explores the rise of Soviet Communism and the rise and fall of Fascism. The next section, on “Society,” by Richard Bessel, is more of a mixed bag. Bessel is an excellent scholar, and he provides some interesting material, but he never really defines “society” and leaves it to the reader to understand what differentiates his subject matter from the other, clearly socially-based, chapters.Rajnarayan Chandravarkar takes on the challenge of addressing “Imperialism and the European empires,” possibly the subject on which the most research has been done in the subsequent ten years. As such, this chapter may be more dated than the others today, but it remains a good introduction for neophytes to the tensions between the growth of liberal democratic ideals and imperial aspirations. Modris Eksteins ends the formal essays with a discussion of “Culture,” which follows a largely chronological format. Like Bessel, Eksteins avoids clearly defining his purview, but culture as a concept is somewhat less slippery than society. In this case, he clearly means cultural products like art, music, and literature, with an emphasis on the visual arts, and he does an adequate job of introducing the subject, although his emphasis is primarily on Western Europe with scant attention to the East. Jackson returns to sum up and suggest some implications for scholars in the conclusion.
In spite of some weaknesses, then, this is a useful volume. It would probably best be used for instructing undergraduates, or as a reference for modern historians of areas outside of Europe who need to double-check what European powers were doing at a given moment in the history of their areas.
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