The Pursuit of Power: Europe, 1815-1914
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- Author：Richard J. Evans
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Summary
The Pursuit of Power draws on a lifetime of thinking about nineteenth-century Europe to create an extraordinarily rich， surprising and entertaining panorama of a continent undergoing drastic change。 The aim of the book is to reignite the sense of wonder that permeated this remarkable era， as rulers and ruled navigated overwhelming cultural， political and technological changes。 It was a time where what was seen as modern with amazing speed appeared old-fashioned， where huge cities sprang up in a generation， new European countries were created and where， for the first time， humans could communicate almost instantly over thousands of miles。
Richard Evans gives full coverage to the revolutions， empire-building and wars that marked the nineteenth century， but the book is about so much more， whether it is illness， serfdom， religion or philosophy。 The Pursuit of Power is a book by a historian at the height of his powers and an essential book for anyone trying to understand Europe， then or now。
Richard Evans gives full coverage to the revolutions， empire-building and wars that marked the nineteenth century， but the book is about so much more， whether it is illness， serfdom， religion or philosophy。 The Pursuit of Power is a book by a historian at the height of his powers and an essential book for anyone trying to understand Europe， then or now。
Reviews
Andrewh
，
This is part of a Penguin series for general readers and therefore has no notes or references， which I find an unhelpful editorial choice。 This volume is a very ambitious overview of the period from Waterloo to WWI in Europe， an era of enormous upheaval and change。 This book does not， like Hobsbawm's great trilogy on the same era， have a clear narrative underpinning it， but rather attempts the impossible feat of presenting 100 years of political-diplomatic-cultural-social-technical history in on This is part of a Penguin series for general readers and therefore has no notes or references， which I find an unhelpful editorial choice。 This volume is a very ambitious overview of the period from Waterloo to WWI in Europe， an era of enormous upheaval and change。 This book does not， like Hobsbawm's great trilogy on the same era， have a clear narrative underpinning it， but rather attempts the impossible feat of presenting 100 years of political-diplomatic-cultural-social-technical history in one volume， in a comparative way。 Each section has a vignette of the life of an ordinary person to illustrate the time， which is fine as it goes， but the sheer weight of events and facts overwhelms the book and it becomes a list of facts and mini-biographies at times， much like an encyclopedia。 Evans has a tremendous breadth of knowledge， but as a German expert he is clearly on surer ground in the final chapters， which give a swift narrative of the run-up to World War I - this was the culmination perhaps of decades of European exceptionalism， which was about to find its nadir。 The book was something of a slog， given the deluge of factoids， and I would have preferred more detail on much of the political events in particular （such as 1848 and the growth of Prussia）， but it is still a book worth reading for non specialists。 。。。more
Sean DeLauder
，
Excruciatingly detailed and marvelously comprehensive， this took an eternity to read due to its sheer mass。 Far too much content to possibly recall in detail， but well enough done that I may revisit to hone that always-blunt edge of European economic， intellectual， and political development in the 19th century。
Rafa
，
Es difícil concentrar la historia de todo un siglo en un volumen， aunque este tenga más de mil páginas。 Para los que buscan profundidad seguro que se queda corto y， desde mi punto de vista， no está a la altura de la magistral trilogía del autor sobre el Tercer Reich。 No obstante， un libro interesante para los que quieran tener una idea general del siglo XIX， bien escrito y de fácil， aunque extensa， lectura。
Preston Caldwell
，
I hesitate to give this book merely 3-stars instead of 4-stars， because I know of no superior book that fulfills the same need。 Moreover， the chapters on political history are quite good。However， I think there's room for much improvement in the chapters on economic and social history。 The author's typical method in demonstrating a given economic or social trend is to give page after page of anecdotes or isolated data out of context。 There should be much more synthesis here - the raw data is not I hesitate to give this book merely 3-stars instead of 4-stars， because I know of no superior book that fulfills the same need。 Moreover， the chapters on political history are quite good。However， I think there's room for much improvement in the chapters on economic and social history。 The author's typical method in demonstrating a given economic or social trend is to give page after page of anecdotes or isolated data out of context。 There should be much more synthesis here - the raw data is not useful to the reader and should be left in the appendices if at all。 Tables， charts， and graphs should be used much more liberally。To illustrate， in showing the decline in urban death rates due to better sanitation， the author give page after page of anecdotes or data limited to single cities。 The author could save the reader a lot of time by estimating an overall death rate for European cities by decade and putting it on a chart。 This could be accompanied by a table showing the percentage change in death rates for various cities before and after the build-out of major sanitation systems。 All of this would convey far more information while saving readers a lot of time。 。。。more
Andrew Alkema
，
This is one of the best and most enjoyable history books I've ever read。 The book doesn't just do one pass over the period explaining every aspect， it instead talks about different slices of life over the period from chapter to chapter， region to region。 It covers an immense amount of subjects from political history， to development of education and professionalization， to views on sex and race。 It's a big book， but enjoyable to read。 This is one of the best and most enjoyable history books I've ever read。 The book doesn't just do one pass over the period explaining every aspect， it instead talks about different slices of life over the period from chapter to chapter， region to region。 It covers an immense amount of subjects from political history， to development of education and professionalization， to views on sex and race。 It's a big book， but enjoyable to read。 。。。more
Franco Pasqualini
，
Not an easy book to write， and its not always an easy book to read， but holy cow is this an informative text。 It helps to have a little bit of background on this period as the book moves briskly at times。 Even though there is a lot of information， the author weaves individual stories into the narrative to keep you interested。 I especially enjoyed the section about man's conquest over disease and nature， and the various blood sports of the 19th century （google "badger-baiting"）。 All in all， this Not an easy book to write， and its not always an easy book to read， but holy cow is this an informative text。 It helps to have a little bit of background on this period as the book moves briskly at times。 Even though there is a lot of information， the author weaves individual stories into the narrative to keep you interested。 I especially enjoyed the section about man's conquest over disease and nature， and the various blood sports of the 19th century （google "badger-baiting"）。 All in all， this book has me thirsting for more， I think I'll take a stab at reading the entire series if the rest are anywhere near as good as this one。 。。。more
David H Adams
，
OutstandingSuperb detailed and informative a real tour de force and an excellent addition to this tremendous penguin European history series。
Maria
，
Evans highlights the century of social and national change in Europe from after Napoleon to the beginning of the Great War including the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 to the unification of both Germany and Italy and the Russo-Turkish wars to the Balkan upheavals that brought this era of relative peace and growing prosperity to an end。 He picked ten themes and started each chapter with vignettes of actual individuals whose lives emphasized the era's changes in the decline of religious belief and t Evans highlights the century of social and national change in Europe from after Napoleon to the beginning of the Great War including the revolutions of 1830 and 1848 to the unification of both Germany and Italy and the Russo-Turkish wars to the Balkan upheavals that brought this era of relative peace and growing prosperity to an end。 He picked ten themes and started each chapter with vignettes of actual individuals whose lives emphasized the era's changes in the decline of religious belief and the rise of secular science and medicine， the journey of art， music， and literature from Romanticism to Modernism， the replacement of old-regime punishments by the modern prison， and the dramatic struggle of feminists for women's equality and emancipation。 Uniting the era's broad-ranging transformations was the pursuit of power， personally， socially， nationally and attempting to exert science's power over human nature itself。 Why I started this book: Recently found this history of Europe series on Audible， and I'm thrilled。 I'm deliberately reading it it out of order and loving it！Why I finished it: Great long history， that I listened to all week。 This century wasn't my historical strong point， so it was fascinating to have Evans create links and context for the facts that I remembered from AP European history。 This is very detailed and context rich。 There was some circling back， as he traced his themes through the century and across the continent。 I'm eager to listen to the rest of the series and will add other books by Evans to my TBR pile。 。。。more
Reid Brooks
，
I am changing my review—one should be aware this book is too long for the subject matter。 I want to make that clear up front， as fellow readers have options before starting。I did enjoy it。 I just say if you are not a diehard history buff this book will likely come across as very boring to you。 My only complaint with it is that the author， who endeavored to make an extensive， deep-dive narrative， elected to build the book a a continent-wide level rather than focusing on individual countries。 Whil I am changing my review—one should be aware this book is too long for the subject matter。 I want to make that clear up front， as fellow readers have options before starting。I did enjoy it。 I just say if you are not a diehard history buff this book will likely come across as very boring to you。 My only complaint with it is that the author， who endeavored to make an extensive， deep-dive narrative， elected to build the book a a continent-wide level rather than focusing on individual countries。 While this yields advantages （one can see the trends across the entire continent understand how Europe was developing on the whole） it also means that for certain subject matter he elects to discuss， there is almost too much depth and the focus a bit too sprawling。 For instance， in a discussion of suffrage or workers rights， there are advantages to understanding the developments at a national level concisely without being drawn into a continent spanning narrative。 I also found that in certain areas the book could have been consolidated， and likely better， if information was more selectively presented。I think if divided up by countries one might have an easier time flipping past sections on obscure Italian politicians and character stories that might not appeal to their interests。 I certainly found by the end that the work was losing my attention; the second half certainly did not feel as engaging， almost as though the focus became more obscure。This is certainly a dense， encompassing work that will present you with a tremendous exploration of the time period。 If you desire knowledge， you have come to the right place。 。。。more
Felix
，
作为整套《企鹅欧洲史》中最厚的一本，这本书给我带来了十分丰富的信息量——一战前的一个世纪社会无论从政治、科技、思想、艺术还是宗教方面都产生了剧变。作者笔力深厚，力透纸背，带领我们从下层民众到上层执政者讲述现象与变化的内在逻辑，读来畅快淋漓。了解了战前的方方面面，我们才能更好地理解“凡尔登绞肉机”背后的原因已经法西斯的诞生是为什么。作为目前我最喜欢的一位历史作者之一，他做到了。
Donato Colangelo
，
Masterfully written， a wide， complete， outstanding narration of the most crucial century of contemporary history。 Evans proves once more to be a great author and a great historian！ Recommended！
Grof J。 Kešetović
，
A pretty decent reader for those who would like to go into some highlights of the 19th century。 Many important social movements and how they defined or created later major events have not been well explained in my opinion。 I felt the need to learn more about the Great Power politics and how it lead to the term itself - it is taken for granted in this book for example; many similar situations are present as well。 However， the book rounds up well most of the time period and tends to even dwell int A pretty decent reader for those who would like to go into some highlights of the 19th century。 Many important social movements and how they defined or created later major events have not been well explained in my opinion。 I felt the need to learn more about the Great Power politics and how it lead to the term itself - it is taken for granted in this book for example; many similar situations are present as well。 However， the book rounds up well most of the time period and tends to even dwell into the lives of the ordinary folk and how our quality of life improved in this time。 You can also use the book as research reference and it's not necessarily required to read it in order， I also moved back and forth when I was covering the Balkans region and didn't feel that I skipped something in the other chapters。 Decent book to have。 。。。more
Mark L
，
Really good summary of the years between Napoleon and WW1。 Learnt a lot about this period and the developments inbetween。 Very heavy reading at times meaning it is work to get through but this is perfectly doable as this period is so interesting。 Highly reccomend if you are interested in this period but don't think this is a book you can read in a few days。 Really good summary of the years between Napoleon and WW1。 Learnt a lot about this period and the developments inbetween。 Very heavy reading at times meaning it is work to get through but this is perfectly doable as this period is so interesting。 Highly reccomend if you are interested in this period but don't think this is a book you can read in a few days。 。。。more
Kevin
，
This book covers a lot of colonial ground and imperial ambition particularly that of The Scramble for Africa， Australia and the South Pacific。 The principle players are Cecil Rhodes， King Leopold II， Queen Victoria and Kaiser Wilhelm II。"I believe in this race， the greatest governing race the world has ever seen; in this Anglo-Saxon race， so proud， so tenacious， self-confident and determined， this race which neither climate nor change can degenerate， which will infallibly be the predominant forc This book covers a lot of colonial ground and imperial ambition particularly that of The Scramble for Africa， Australia and the South Pacific。 The principle players are Cecil Rhodes， King Leopold II， Queen Victoria and Kaiser Wilhelm II。"I believe in this race， the greatest governing race the world has ever seen; in this Anglo-Saxon race， so proud， so tenacious， self-confident and determined， this race which neither climate nor change can degenerate， which will infallibly be the predominant force of future history and universal civilization。" - Joseph Chamberlain， Part 38， Racism and Nationalism。Things I learned from this book:Reductio ad Absurdum - Latin for reduction to absurdity。 Krautjunker - German for Country Squire， a cabbage patch Nobile。 Winkeladvokat - German for Shyster， a street corner lawyer。Mammon Worship - the god of money， avarice。 [Audio-book edition] 。。。more
Alex Miller
，
Richard Evans' The Pursuit of Power is a kaleidoscopic door-stopper on European history between the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the start of WWI。 Tackling everything from 1850s men's fashion to turn-of-the-century Ottoman criminal justice policy， there is practically no European historical stone that Evans leaves unturned。 The end result is a book that is simultaneously hugely impressive in breadth （the next time I need to brush up on some aspect of 19th century European history， I know where Richard Evans' The Pursuit of Power is a kaleidoscopic door-stopper on European history between the end of the Napoleonic Wars and the start of WWI。 Tackling everything from 1850s men's fashion to turn-of-the-century Ottoman criminal justice policy， there is practically no European historical stone that Evans leaves unturned。 The end result is a book that is simultaneously hugely impressive in breadth （the next time I need to brush up on some aspect of 19th century European history， I know where to turn）， but also a needlessly exhaustive one that often misses the forest for the trees。 For Evans， this period in European history was undergirded above all by a pursuit of power （hence the book's title）: from women seeking the vote， to the newly rising industrial classes - business and worker - displacing the power of the landed aristocracy， to countries expanding their imperial domains over foreign subjects。 Another theme， not explicitly stated but abundantly clear， is transformative change: the shift from agriculturally-based to industrially-based economies brought about by the Industrial Revolution not only boosted living standards， but created new socioeconomic classes - the bourgeoisie and the proletariat - that helped accelerate the forces of liberal nationalism already unleashed by the French Revolution and Napoleonic Wars。 These themes are present in each of the book's eight chapters， evenly divided between political and non-political history， and beginning with the story of a particular person grappling with these changes - Napoleonic foot soldiers， Swedish feminist authors， and Hungarian gentry alike。 Unfortunately， these humanistic touches are not the norm and the reader is often subjected to a blizzard of irrelevant statistics （"Altogether between 1905 and 1907 there were 979 cases of arson in Russia， almost all of them involving manor houses; 809 cases of illicit wood-cutting; 573 instances of the seizure of pasturage; 216 instances of the seiz。。。。" ZZZZZ， this is meaningless trivia） that at times make the book seem more like an almanac than any kind of historical narrative。 Still， the touchstone historical moments of this period are all covered in this book and with considerable skill， beginning with the 1815 Congress of Vienna that sought to put back the pieces of a broken Europe after the end of the Napoleonic Wars and extending all the way to the 1914 July Crisis that led to the eruption of World War I。 The 1848 revolutions probably receive more coverage than any other political event in the book， as Evans debunks the historical CW that they brought about little political change; to the contrary， the road to German and Italian unification was clear after them。 The pursuit of power even extended to the realm of nature， with advances of science， technology， and public health eradicating diseases， leveling forests， destroying wildlife， and standardizing time。 I had never realized before reading this book that 19th century Europe experienced repeated bouts of cholera epidemics and that they were finally mastered through public health innovations like centralized water and sewage systems。 One can see why it was so difficult for Europeans to finally conquer disease given the disgusting state of public health and the environment before these improvements: during this time， half of the Ruhr river's total volume consisted of raw sewage， tens of thousands of tons of horse poop covered London's streets， and unsterilized milk was often sold in open containers on city streets。 Men like William Lindley， Joseph Lister， and Robert Koch are scarcely remembered today， but their contributions and discoveries together saved countless lives。 There's plenty of cultural history here， too， as Evans charts the drift from the overwrought Romanticism of Byron and Shelley into the pessimistic realism of Dickens and how the sociopolitical trends of the day were refracted into popular culture。 They found expression even in the tiniest of cultural outlets: beards were apparently a mid-19th century fashion statement against the growth of feminism。 The professional classes began wearing top hats as symbols of their arriviste status and to distinguish them from the working classes。All of these changes， combined with the worrying growth of scientific racism and Social Darwinism， culminated in the catastrophic explosion of the Great War， whose runup is concisely recounted by Evans。 I thought the sections on European imperialism - beginning with the character sketch of the Italian "Egyptologist" who was little more than a thief - were particularly well-done and really made clear how much racist violence was at the core of the European imperial project and how it ultimately came home in the form of the two world wars。 The Germans' brutal campaign against the rebellious Herero and Nama tribes in southwestern Africa in the early 1900s， replete with specially-built "concentration camps" and "racial defilement" laws， contain unmistakable echoes of the Nazi barbarism to follow。 British and French pretensions at "civilizing lesser races" were scarcely less brutal: a million people died in Algeria in the 1860s and early 1870s after the French put down a revolt there; India under British rule suffered repeated famines， in large part exacerbated by British policies。 Most fatefully of all， it was the scramble for imperial influence in the Balkans between two great powers， Austria-Hungary and Russia， that provided the trigger for the war to come。 There are important lessons to be learned from this book from modern-day American readers， particularly how imperial overstretch can redound back to the homefront （see: DHS agents kidnapping US citizens from Portland streets） and how a robust public health infrastructure is needed to contain lethal viruses （which the US sorely lacks and why it did a worse job than practically any country in the world in containing COVID-19）。 If America is doomed to decline， one can only hope it can avoid the 1914 moment that Europe's bumbling leaders failed to。 。。。more
Diane
，
This book provides an in-depth history of 19th century Europe， particularly looking at the economic， political， and cultural changes of the period。 The author makes comparisons across countries to show how economic and political developments were similar or different。 He also includes a fair amount of information about the cultural environment of 19th century Europe。 Most of the information in the book will be familiar to scholars of the period， but the author includes all of the relevant materi This book provides an in-depth history of 19th century Europe， particularly looking at the economic， political， and cultural changes of the period。 The author makes comparisons across countries to show how economic and political developments were similar or different。 He also includes a fair amount of information about the cultural environment of 19th century Europe。 Most of the information in the book will be familiar to scholars of the period， but the author includes all of the relevant material， so the book is suitable as a textbook or introduction to the period。 。。。more
Thomas Ernst
，
A long and rather dry look at Europe between 1815 and 1914。 The book is excessively "wordy" and a became a struggle to finish。 The author writes descriptively about the evils of serfdom， how awful the industrial revolution was， and how incompetent the ruling class and aristocracy ran governments and countries， as if we didn't already know all that。 He does do a good job of explaining events in terms how they effected Europe as a whole。 His description of the maneuvers that led to creation of Ita A long and rather dry look at Europe between 1815 and 1914。 The book is excessively "wordy" and a became a struggle to finish。 The author writes descriptively about the evils of serfdom， how awful the industrial revolution was， and how incompetent the ruling class and aristocracy ran governments and countries， as if we didn't already know all that。 He does do a good job of explaining events in terms how they effected Europe as a whole。 His description of the maneuvers that led to creation of Italy and Germany from a collection of smaller States was interesting。 Unfortunately， the other parts of the of book were much less interesting。 。。。more
Steve Browne
，
Exceptional book about the history of Europe。 I always thought of the 20th Century as the most monumental for the creation of the modern world。 After reading this， it was the 19th century by far。 The book was very well organized with chapters dividing social， political， scientific， and artistic in a very logical format。 There was very little drag even though it was full of facts and information。 Beginning with the fall of Napoleon and ending with the dawning of Word War One was perfect for looki Exceptional book about the history of Europe。 I always thought of the 20th Century as the most monumental for the creation of the modern world。 After reading this， it was the 19th century by far。 The book was very well organized with chapters dividing social， political， scientific， and artistic in a very logical format。 There was very little drag even though it was full of facts and information。 Beginning with the fall of Napoleon and ending with the dawning of Word War One was perfect for looking at probably the most consequential hundred years in history of Western Civilization。 This is one I will read again and refer to often。 。。。more
Leo Roth
，
Incredibly interesting book the sheer size of info it is trying to cover is amazing （and can also lead to a sense that some topics needed a little more coverage than others）。 Having said all that the dude they got to read it is almost unbearable。 I had to listen to it at 1。5x speed in order to be able to get over the pretentiousness of his style of reading （and his appalling play acting of every quote。。。 which at times felt absolutely sexist when reading in his "female" voice） Incredibly interesting book the sheer size of info it is trying to cover is amazing （and can also lead to a sense that some topics needed a little more coverage than others）。 Having said all that the dude they got to read it is almost unbearable。 I had to listen to it at 1。5x speed in order to be able to get over the pretentiousness of his style of reading （and his appalling play acting of every quote。。。 which at times felt absolutely sexist when reading in his "female" voice） 。。。more
Theodoros
，
Πρόκειται για μία λεπτομερή πολιτική-οικονομική και κοινωνική ιστορία της Ευρώπης ως χώρου κοινής κουλτούρας και ανταγωνισμών， από το συνέδριο της Βιέννης μετά την συντριβή του Ναπολέοντα， έως και τις παραμονές έκρηξης του α' π。π。 Παρακολουθούμε θεματικά， και όχι αυστηρώς χρονολογικά， τις διεργασίες διαμόρφωσης των νέων ισορροπιών μεταξύ των ευρωπαϊκών βασιλείων， όπως αυτές καθορίζονται από την κεκτημένη ή διαμορφούμενη ισχύ τους。 Τα ποικίλα νεοφανή κοινωνικά， πολιτικά και εθνικιστικά κινήματα， Πρόκειται για μία λεπτομερή πολιτική-οικονομική και κοινωνική ιστορία της Ευρώπης ως χώρου κοινής κουλτούρας και ανταγωνισμών， από το συνέδριο της Βιέννης μετά την συντριβή του Ναπολέοντα， έως και τις παραμονές έκρηξης του α' π。π。 Παρακολουθούμε θεματικά， και όχι αυστηρώς χρονολογικά， τις διεργασίες διαμόρφωσης των νέων ισορροπιών μεταξύ των ευρωπαϊκών βασιλείων， όπως αυτές καθορίζονται από την κεκτημένη ή διαμορφούμενη ισχύ τους。 Τα ποικίλα νεοφανή κοινωνικά， πολιτικά και εθνικιστικά κινήματα， οι νέες τεχνολογίες μεταφορών κι επικοινωνιών， αλλάζουν ριζικά τις οικονομικές και τις στρατιωτικές δυνατότητες κάθε κράτους και θέτουν σε βάσεις νεωτερικότητας παλαιούς υποβόσκοντες ανταγωνισμούς και φιλοδοξίες。 Οι ανταγωνισμοί αυτού του αιώνα （1815-1914） θα καταλήξουν στην ολοκληρωτική αλλαγή που επήλθε στην Ευρώπη με τον α' π。π。 Παρ' ό，τι η γραφή του έργου είναι ρέουσα και γλαφυρή， το βιβλίο είναι είναι ογκώδες και υπέρ-αναλυτικό， απευθυνόμενο στον πιο εξειδικευμένο ή απαιτητικό μελετητή των κοινωνικών επιστημών προς τούς οποίους το συνιστώ θερμά。 。。。more
Steven Lee
，
The 19th century is one of my favourite periods of human history。 That is not to say that it was a good period or a moral period in human history， but it was an interesting one。 The amount of change experienced across the globe between 1815 and 1914 was remarkable。 Technology， society， politics， and culture all underwent profound shifts in this time period。 As a result a book like Richard J。 Evans' The Pursuit of Power: Europe， 1815-1914 has a great deal of draw for me as a reader。 Evans' book i The 19th century is one of my favourite periods of human history。 That is not to say that it was a good period or a moral period in human history， but it was an interesting one。 The amount of change experienced across the globe between 1815 and 1914 was remarkable。 Technology， society， politics， and culture all underwent profound shifts in this time period。 As a result a book like Richard J。 Evans' The Pursuit of Power: Europe， 1815-1914 has a great deal of draw for me as a reader。 Evans' book is a survey that examines various topics within Europe and how at different blocks of time the world was changing within different geographies。 There is a fair criticism that the topic is too vast and too expansive to get anything meaningful out of it。 I think that is wrong-headed given that understanding the breadth and diversity of experiences is in and of itself valuable。 It also presents how the movement of ideas， technology and people is occurring across Europe and how interconnected things were in reality。 Given the length of the book Evans is able to provide interesting thumbnail sketches of different corners of Europe to represent the period and demonstrates pieces of the larger picture。 I think this book is valuable as an overview， but would likely leave a person wanting if they wanted a history of a specific period or region。 There's also considerable focus on politics， ideologies and class， which may not be a person's particular interest， but appealed to me and my area of preference。 I would recommend it for a broad， highly detailed history of the continent of Europe for the time period。 。。。more
Scott Martin
，
（Audiobook） Surprisingly， I found this work very informative and readable/listenable。 Going in， no one volume of work can truly describe the entirety of history for this critical period in European history。 To go from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the start of World War I， that is an era that has， and will continue to take， millions of pages to document and analyze。 Yet， this work is a great one-volume synopsis of that time frame。 It keeps a fairly balanced approach， covering the great men/e （Audiobook） Surprisingly， I found this work very informative and readable/listenable。 Going in， no one volume of work can truly describe the entirety of history for this critical period in European history。 To go from the end of the Napoleonic Wars to the start of World War I， that is an era that has， and will continue to take， millions of pages to document and analyze。 Yet， this work is a great one-volume synopsis of that time frame。 It keeps a fairly balanced approach， covering the great men/events/battles as well as the significant socioeconomic advances/concerns。 Is it perfect？ No， but as an overview of that timeframe， it does a great job， especially for those who may have some knowledge of the time， but lack the full understanding of the events and actions。 It is not a short work， but it is engaging enough for its purposes。 A great place to start for an overview before stepping off into more detailed works/analyses of any specific aspect of that time in Europe。 The reader is solid， and does not dull the material （which in the hands/voice of the wrong reader， could turn something like this into a better sleep aid than Ambien）。 。。。more
Peggy
，
看這本有種越級打怪的感覺，內容雖然不會過於艱難但若不是對這段歷史很有熱情的話，可能會像我一樣啃的很辛苦。初學者想接觸這部分的歷史，不建議從這本開始。本書很詳盡的描述19世紀的政治與社會，人類開始可以與自然相抗衡，內容提到瘟疫和公共衛生的部分，看得心有戚戚焉。作者寫作上蠻喜歡引用數據，但以文字來表達各種數據，閱讀上的效果實在不太好，而且看到最後才發現圖片都在書末，這樣的編輯方式讓人很問號，不知是不是中亞電子書才這樣。
Ali Salimi
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" The lamps are going out all over Europe 。 We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime 。 "Sir Edward Grey ， August 1914A magnificent and very well written book about a era of fundamental change in lives and societies of Europeans 。 This is a great book 。 A masterpiece 。 I highly recommend it 。 " The lamps are going out all over Europe 。 We shall not see them lit again in our lifetime 。 "Sir Edward Grey ， August 1914A magnificent and very well written book about a era of fundamental change in lives and societies of Europeans 。 This is a great book 。 A masterpiece 。 I highly recommend it 。 。。。more
Matthias Noch
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Very interesting to learn more about the roots of WW1 and also WW2。 I think it is very well written and manages quite well to break down the complex and interwoven events into sections that can be described clearly and so understood。
Aaro Salosensaari
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Did not have enough time to finish before returning it to library， but seems superbly well written and comprehensive account of time period。 Will read it properly when I have a chance。
Justin
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Evidently the Big Book of European Statistics。15% of the way through the book， 35% of the lines become statistics quotes from different areas of the contintent。 An additional 20% is made up of date dropping; 10% obscure names that will never come up in the narrative again， or even feature as niche questions on Jeopardy。Motivation to continue reading down 254% since beginning the book， and pages per day fell to 0。75 on average。 Overall purchase regret rose 7。53 points， a historic high for the his Evidently the Big Book of European Statistics。15% of the way through the book， 35% of the lines become statistics quotes from different areas of the contintent。 An additional 20% is made up of date dropping; 10% obscure names that will never come up in the narrative again， or even feature as niche questions on Jeopardy。Motivation to continue reading down 254% since beginning the book， and pages per day fell to 0。75 on average。 Overall purchase regret rose 7。53 points， a historic high for the historical genre。 It was unclear at the time if these numbers would represent a long term trend for european history， or a reactionary impulse to changing themes of writing。 。。。more
Olaf Koopmans
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Richard Evans is on all accounts a very classic， old fashioned Histiorian who must be applauded for is scholarship， and for taking on the massive task of writing a concise history of Europe in the 19th Century， but who unfortunately lacks the writing skills to build that into a inspiring narrative。 He tries to tell it all and therefor falls short on many occasions， and ends up telling hardly anything。For large parts he constrains himself to and endless listing of everything that happend， focussi Richard Evans is on all accounts a very classic， old fashioned Histiorian who must be applauded for is scholarship， and for taking on the massive task of writing a concise history of Europe in the 19th Century， but who unfortunately lacks the writing skills to build that into a inspiring narrative。 He tries to tell it all and therefor falls short on many occasions， and ends up telling hardly anything。For large parts he constrains himself to and endless listing of everything that happend， focussing for the most part on the 'What' and the 'How'， but hardly ever on the 'Why'。 Especially the Culture and Social history parts， that spans most of the 2nd part of the book， is a sometimes mindnumbing， tedious experience。 Almost like reading an encyclopedia。 He's much more at home in the political parts， especially when it comes to Germany and it's direct rivals France， Great Britain and somewhat less Russia。 But that has probably to do with the knowlegde he obtained while writing his Magnus Opus about Germany during Nazi period。All in all a pretty complete overview of everything that happend from the end of the Napoleontic wars till the start of the Great War， but not a very good read。 。。。more
Perato
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To understand my main interest（World War 2） I traveled to 19th century with this book。 This one was a positive surprise how it encompassed so many different topics from the century。 Although the name implies to political history， this is as much environmental， social and cultural history。 To be honest for me the political parts were actually the worst， because he had to cover so much in so little space。 Only few chapters are about moving borders and armies fighting to gain more land and prestige To understand my main interest（World War 2） I traveled to 19th century with this book。 This one was a positive surprise how it encompassed so many different topics from the century。 Although the name implies to political history， this is as much environmental， social and cultural history。 To be honest for me the political parts were actually the worst， because he had to cover so much in so little space。 Only few chapters are about moving borders and armies fighting to gain more land and prestige。 Especially in these parts （also in those about culture） Evans tends to throw in too many names to make it enjoyable， I counted 12 names on 1 page only， and only 3 of those were previously mentioned。 Best parts were those that covered science， environment and industrial advances where one could actually see the big picture and understand why I'm being told about the subject。Although each of the the Penguin history of Europe is written by different writers， this got me interested in other parts as well。 。。。more
Theodoros
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