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A Concise History of Modern Europe: Liberty, Equality, Solidarity, by David S. Mason
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Highlighting the key events, ideas, and individuals that have shaped modern Europe, this fresh and lively book provides a succinct history of the continent from the Enlightenment to the present. Drawing on the enduring theme of revolution, David S. Mason explores the causes and consequences of revolution: political, economic, and scientific; the development of human rights; and issues of European identity and integration. He deliberately avoids a detailed chronology of every country and time period by 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 and decolonization; and the evolution and expansion of the European Union. Any reader needing a broad overview of the sweep of European history since 1789 will find this book, published in a first edition under the title Revolutionary Europe, an engaging and cohesive narrative.
- Sales Rank: #3250420 in Books
- Published on: 2011-01-16
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 9.41" h x .79" w x 6.41" l, 1.60 pounds
- Binding: Hardcover
- 248 pages
Review
PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION Lucid and well written, this text offers a straightforward and accessible introduction to late-modern European history. (K. Steven Vincent)
PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION Mason's text is an excellent choice for faculty searching for a coherent, brief account of modern European history to provide the framework for more extensive use of primary documents by their students. (John Burney)
About the Author
David S. Mason is professor emeritus at Butler University.
Most helpful customer reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful.
David S. Mason: A Historian, Not a Theorist
By Brady
David S. Mason's "A Concise History of Modern Europe: Liberty, Equality, Solidarity" is, as its name indicates, a short non-fiction, mainstream work of history that provides a brief, but highly detailed, account of modern European history, beginning in 1789 C.E. and ending as the second millennium drew to a close. By taking the longview perspective, Mason is able to provide all the information necessary to a more full understanding of modern Europe, the European Union, and the West.
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The Summary
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In "Introduction," Mason addresses the need for the book and acknowledges some issues that have arrived since the original edition. He describes his work as "the story of that twisting path, from the Enlightenment to the EU, and the evolution of the ideas of democracy, progress, and human rights from the era of absolute monarchy and divine right to a Europe united and free." (4) Mason also notes that the definition of Europe is itself the subject of some debate, both in history and in the present - discussions of boundaries, borders, and biographies persist even today, especially with regard to the development of a modern Russia and its inclusion, or exclusion, from a working definition of Europe.
Following "Introduction," Mason provides a "Timeline of European History," where he very typically describes the long-view history of Europe in terms of political regimes, warfare, publication dates of important works, and technological developments.
"A Concise History of Modern Europe" opens in Chapter 1, "The Old Regime and the Enlightenment," very properly, in 1789 C.E. Mason describes the monarchical tendencies of Europe, while also setting the socioeconomic and political scenes for the reader. The Enlightenment, the Age of Reason, is discussed at length, including thinkers and philosophers associated with the period, and the consequences of science, philosophy, and theory.
Chapter 2, "The French Revolution and Napoleon," covers the French Revolution of 1789 C.E., giving a brief overview of France's past, including the Bourbon dynasty. The people appeared ripe for revolution, supported by demographic data, and the revolution came as a populist uprising for greater freedoms and political representation. The Third Estate, National Assembly, Declaration of the Rights of Man, and the National Convention are addressed, as well as the first French Republic, Napoleon Bonaparte, and the conquests of the French Empire. In the chapter's closing, Mason acknowledges the affect the French Revolution had in inspiring a modern Russia through two attempts at revolution, the first admittedly a failure.
Chapter 3, "The Industrial Revolution and the Birth of Capitalism," covers the period of the Industrial Revolution that occurred in parallel to the French Revolution of 1789 C.E., although the focus is more centered around peoples other than the French. Mason covers the multitude of scientific discoveries and inventions that led to the Industrial Revolution's breakneck pace - a pace that grew societies, expanded cities, and emboldened states.
"In 1785, only four cities in England and Scotland had a population of fifty thousand or more; seventy years later, there were thirty-two cities of this size." (42) The Enlightenment was deeply associated with the progress of industry, both of which had hands in the development of capitalism, the modern economy, and the middle class.
Chapter 4, "1848: The Peoples' Spring," discusses the number of revolutions, ultimately failures, in 1848 C.E. and their consequences, which involved retaliatory monarchies. Beyond the minutiae of failed revolutions and angry, reinstalled regimes, the Concert of Europe makes a significant appearance.
Chapter 5, "Marx, Marxism, and Socialism," is an overview of Marx and Engels' history, theory, and legacy, but the subject is served much better in a theory context, rather than historical.
Chapter 6, "Darwinism and Social Darwinism," presents evolution, courtesy of the Enlightenment's Charles Darwin, and its political mutation into social Darwinism, a bastardized, misleading use of a valued concept for outright bigotry, pervasive in Europe for centuries and very publicly demonstrated in the early 1900s by Adolf Hitler.
Chapter 7, "The Unifications of Italy and Germany," discuss the events leading up to, and involving, the congealing of the Italian and German peoples, separately, into more complete nation-states, noting: "[t]he creation of a united Germany and a united Italy changed the face of, and the balance of power in, Europe. After the completion of Bismarck's wars of German unification in 1870, Germany was the largest and strongest state in Europe." (83) The unifications are, of course, directly related to the revolutions and progressions of thought of times previous.
Chapter 8, "The Age of Imperialism and the Scramble for Africa," covers the colonization of Central and South America, various island chains, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia by various European powers, all for capitalistic ideals but also in varying degrees of subjugation, modernization, and civility. These efforts had lasting affects, far beyond the existence of the colonies themselves, especially in regions with modern anti-Western sentiments.
Chapter 9, "World War I," points out the oft-discussed preludes to the first World War, the reasons for its outbreak, state attitudes during the war, and its consequences. Mason notes "[t]he war also marked the final end of absolute monarchies in Europe" (114).
Chapter 10, "The Russian Revolution and Communism," discusses an extended period of history, as modern Russia has deep roots in both its domestic regions and Europe. Marx, of course, makes an appearance as the inspiration for the revolution, however misguided. Russia, even if not included as a part of Europe proper, has had a demonstrable affect on the region, especially during World War I, World War II, and the Cold War.
Chapter 11, "World War II and the Holocaust," much like the chapters on Marx and World War I, covers material better discussed elsewhere.
Chapter 12, "Europe Divided, the Cold War, and Decolonization," covers the after-effects of World War II, including the Marshall Plan. Mason clearly shows how Europe remained divided, even after the end of the war, and how this eventually led to the outbreak of the Cold War. During this same period, the colonies and empires of Europe were being let go and given independence, for better and for worse.
Chapter 13, "1989: The Collapse of Communism and the End of the Cold War," discusses the aspects of the Cold War and the development of modern Europe more innately familiar to the Millennial generation, including the birth of Russia as a quasi-democracy.
Chapter 14, "The European Union: Europe United and Free?," finally ties the events of European history more directly into the formation and growth of the European Union, specifically in terms of market coordination and the inclusion of states formerly snubbed, tracking its path from the ECSC to the EEC to the modern body that is the EU.
"Conclusion," the final piece in Mason's work, is a brief rumination on the future of Europe and the European Union, especially with regard to the Great Recession of 2008.
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The Critique
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Mason provides a good historical overview of modern Europe in "A Concise History of Modern Europe: Liberty, Equality, Solidarity," taking a much longer, more abstract perspective than classic textbooks, and this is what makes it a solid, flowing read. For classes and individuals interested in the material of Europe's history post-1789 C.E., Mason has created a good foundation - enough information to provide a sense of scope and scale, but not so much as to overwhelm inexperienced readers or those entirely new to the material.
However, if Mason has any failures, they are two-fold: he addresses issues best covered in greater detail in far too short of a manner, such as the World Wars and political theory, and he has a difficult time connecting two and a half centuries of historical data with modern times. Not until the very end of his book does Mason create direct lines of thought between the historical moments he previously addressed and modern Europe, much less the European Union itself. It's as if each chapter was written to essentially stand on its own merits, and Mason attempted to congeal them into a greater whole, writing the last two chapters with an eye toward tying them together.
While Mason's "Concise History of Modern Europe: Liberty, Equality, Solidarity" will not be suited for the purposes of academic research or a detailed study of historical events, it does sufficiently, succinctly serve its main purpose: provide a quasi-coherent narrative of the extended history of modern Europe, featuring all the major events, individuals, and concepts necessary to intelligent comprehension.
***
Note: This review originally appeared on "Kyle Brady: A Blog"
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful.
Five Stars
By Donald S. Wright
Well done. Very informative!
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
A very good synopsis review of the main historical events
By KBuckley
Leaves out large areas of the continent, but it is a concise history.
A great read as you travel across Europe.
See all 7 customer reviews...
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