Dark Continent: Europe's Twentieth Century

I have read many, many history books; most being the standard list of names and dates, battles and elections. But every once in a while I encounter a fascinating book that goes into depth explaining how things developed and why. This book is definitely one of the latter. I especially enjoyed the inter-war period, which explained so much that was unclear to me; things like the development of the race issue, and the reasons behind the ethnic troubles that rocked so many middle and eastern European countries in that era.

This book gave me a lot of food for thought. If you like a book that makes you think, then I highly recommend that you get this one. It is a fascinating and highly informative look at post World War One Europe.


brillaint and thought provoking   May 23, 2002
 4 out of 5 found this review helpful

this book does lead you to wanting to know and find out more, including economic theories and practices. and yes, it is on the undergraduate reading list.......
the difficulties expressed by some of the reviews in regard to the last 20 years is a problem of these matters being viewed as contempory rather than historical, as they are so very recent. we may need to be further on in time before recent events can be analysed as easily as events at the beginning of last century


Europe painted black   November 13, 2001
 32 out of 36 found this review helpful

This is an excellent book, well worth the time. On the other hand, it is not a good introduction to 20th C. European history, it is too polemical (my copy has a blurb recommending it as survey reading for undergraduates, something which it definitely is not - the ideal reader should already have a good idea of European history before tackling this).

Bad points:

I nearly took a star off (or even two stars off) for the sentence in chapter 8 which attempts to allocate (at least part of) the blame for the Stalinisation of postwar eastern Europe to the west.

He generally seems to go easy on the excesses of communism, and Stalinism in particular: yes, there is plenty of condemnation, but also a slight impression of omelettes and broken eggs.

The discussion of the post-war west degenerates into a rant in places, where the first half of the book is a much more considered and convincing polemic. Something a little less intemperate would have made a more effective point.

It is difficult to say for certain in a book that attempts to cover so much in 400 pages, but I get the impression that Mazower's grasp of economics and economic history is not on par with his social or political history (that omelette again).

The analytic epilogue is weak.

Good points: the (resolutely pessimistic) argument for most of its course is well argued and provoking.

The discussion of the fall of communism, if isolated from the discussion of the West that came before is very good.

The central argument, which ties up with an analysis of the disaster of the collapse of Yugoslavia (where Mazower is on home ground) as the last working out of WWI is elegant and provoking.


Original, insightful, provacative and easy to read.   October 1, 2000
 7 out of 16 found this review helpful

Easily the best one-volume history of Europe available: original, insightful, provacative and easy to read.


Masterly Mazower   June 9, 2000
 6 out of 7 found this review helpful

Mazower's book, looking at the 20th Century in Europe, is a great read. Giving fascinating insights into the development of democracy and the threats that have menaced as well as moulded it into what we see today. The only criticism that I can level at the book is that, after holding my attention vividly throughout the period up to the mid 1970s with his factual style, Mazower's political prejudices get the better of him when discussing the right-wing in the 80s and 90s. If you can get over this minor aberration in his approach then this book will reward you greatly. A must read for anyone interested in politics or recent history.