Tracing the Great War through the Millennium Bug, 1999 through 1900, Dadaism through Scientology through Sierra Leonean bicycle riding and back, award-winning Czech author Patrik Ourednik explores the horror and absurdity of the twentieth century in an explosive deconstruction of historical memory.Europeana: A Brief History of the Twentieth Century opens on the beaches of Normandy in 1944, comparing the heights of different forces’ soldiers and considering how tall, long, or good at fertilizing fields the men’s bodies will be. Probing the depths of humanity and inhumanity, this is an account of history as it has never been told: “engaging, even frightening.” At once recreating and uncreating the twentieth century, Ourednik explores the connections across the decades between the disparate figures, events, and politics we thought we knew. Patrik Ourednik’s Europeana merits the author’s reputation as a giant of post-1989 Czech literature. Now translated into 33 languages, the book is a masterwork of cubism, a polymorphic monologue of statistics and movements and fine print and discoveries that evokes the deadpan absurdity of Kafka and the gallows humor of Hašek. Ourednik has created a mesmerizing, maddening account of the past, and his interrogation of “truth” and objectivity resonates now more than ever.

A collection of seven films - brought together by executive producer Martin Scorsese - exploring the evolution of blues music through the personal styles and perspectives of seven renowned directors. The films included are: 'Feel Like Going Home' by Martin Scorsese; 'The Soul of a Man' by Wim Wenders; 'The Road to Memphis' by Richard Pearce; 'Warming by the Devil's Fire' by Charles Burnett; 'Godfathers and Sons' by Marc Levin; 'Red, White and Blues' by Mike Figgis; and 'Piano Blues' by Clint Eastwood.