SOCIAL SCIENCES

To Hell and Back: Europe 1914–1949

by Ian Kershaw
Viking. Nov. 2015. 624p. illus. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 9780670024582. $35; ebk. ISBN 9780698411500. HIST
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Historian Kershaw (Hitler; Fateful Choices; The Nazi Dictatorship) explores the causes and consequences of World Wars I and II, avoiding the pitfalls of assuming reader knowledge of the era while also making the complex topics of economic, humanitarian, and political upheaval accessible. With excellent insights into what created these conflicts truly global in scale—and into the unique struggles of eastern European countries—the author provides useful descriptions for any student of 20th-century European history. This work relies primarily on secondary source research, other than the sections on Germany which Kershaw was able to substantiate with primary source material.
VERDICT As an overview reference, this work is extensive and authoritative. Well suited to casual readers and professional historians alike, this enlightening consideration of the World Wars and the interwar years is a worthwhile purchase. It will delight fans of Barbara Tuchman's The Proud Tower: A Portrait of the World Before the War, 1890–1914. [See Prepub Alert, 5/11/15.]
Reviewed by Felicia J. Williamson, Sam Houston State Univ. Lib., Huntsville, TX , Oct 15, 2015
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