Inspired by the example of historian Eric Hobsbawm's grand
syntheses of European history, Berend (History/Univ. of Calif., Los
Angeles) applies a similar method to exploring the tumultuous
history of Central and Eastern Europe during the first half of this
century. First published in Berend's native Hungary, the study was
expanded for its English-language publication. The result is
wide-ranging, both in the variety of areas examined and in
geographical scope. At its core is an appraisal of the
revolutionary forces that, since the turn of the century, have
steered social, political, and economic trends in the region toward
nationalism, fascism, communism, and right-wing dictatorships,
while also creating a parallel upheaval in culture and the arts.
The effects of railroad development and economic nationalism are
discussed by Berend, who is a specialist in economic history, along
with Kandinsky, Schonberg, and Jugendstil. Although it serves his
purpose of highlighting the revolutionary character of the period,
the author's inclusion of Russia seems off, since Central and
Eastern Europe ordinarily are considered a distinct geopolitical
unit. At the same time, Berend discusses only minimally such other
countries as Slovenia and Bulgaria; his main interest is Romania
and Czechoslovakia, along with Russia and Hungary. His study also
contains additional flaws. Foremost among these is an overall
cursory attitude; the book is too general for the experts, who will
want more than just a learned rehashing of familiar territory, and
too vague for the general reader, who is searching for depth and
analysis. The chapters on artistic movements and on communism are
particularly weak, with considerations of familiar figures and
-isms reading like formulaic encyclopedia entries. Berend's
strikingly dry narrative style doesn't help to enliven his rich
material, although the book's 94 photographs do. (Kirkus Reviews)
Only by understanding Central and Eastern Europe's turbulent
history during the first half of the twentieth century can we hope
to make sense of the conflicts and crises that have followed World
War II and, after that, the collapse of Soviet-controlled state
socialism. Ivan Berend looks closely at the fateful decades
preceding World War II and at twelve countries whose absence from
the roster of major players was enough in itself, he says, to
precipitate much of the turmoil. As waves of modernization swept
over Europe, the less developed countries on the periphery tried
with little or no success to imitate Western capitalism and
liberalism. Instead they remained, as Berend shows, rural, agrarian
societies notable for the tenacious survival of feudal and
aristocratic institutions. In that context of frustration and
disappointment, rebellion was inevitable. Berend leads the reader
skillfully through the maze of social, cultural, economic, and
political changes in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland,
Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Austria, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia,
and the Soviet Union, showing how every path ended in dictatorship
and despotism by the start of World War II.
General
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