by Ian Kershaw
First published 2022
Ian Kershaw explores whether individual political figures determined Europe's turbulent twentieth century or whether historical forces shaped them instead. The bestselling author examines twelve prominent leaders from an era marked by catastrophe in its first half and reconstruction in its second. Kershaw analyzes how much power single individuals wielded in writing history through the actions of Lenin, Mussolini, Hitler, Stalin, Churchill, De Gaulle, Adenauer, Franco, Tito, Gorbachev, Thatcher, and Kohl. The book addresses a central question about the relationship between personality and political authority. This investigation becomes particularly relevant as new authoritarian figures like Putin, Xi, and Erdogan rise to prominence globally. Kershaw offers readers insight into the eternal tension between individual agency and historical inevitability.
Genres: history, 20th-century, political-science, biography-memoir, 21st-century, academic
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-leaders, historical-figures
Setting: Europe
Period: 20th Century, 21st Century
528 pages · Hardcover · Spectrum