Europe. A Long Journey from 1945 to the Present Day

The book tells the story of modern European history, starting from the end of World War II to the present day. It is an accurate and vivid overview of the main stages of this history: the outcomes of the war – the division into West and East – the course towards unification, the creation and successes of the EU – the crises of the 21st century.

The author was a direct witness or active participant in most of the significant events of the last fifty years and is closely acquainted with key figures in world history: Mikhail Gorbachev, Margaret Thatcher, John Paul II, Lech Wałęsa, Václav Havel, Helmut Kohl, George Bush - these are just a few names from this extensive list.

From the author: «…This is a history illustrated by memoirs. I rely on my own diaries, notebooks, photographs, memories, what I have seen and heard over the last half-century, as well as the memories of others. I provide quotes from my conversations with European leaders where it helps clarify the essence of historical events, but I also write about numerous meetings with so-called ordinary people, who often turn out to be more remarkable than their leaders».

Timothy Garton Ash – a renowned historian and political scientist, a leading expert in European studies, a professor at the University of Oxford, awarded the International Charlemagne Prize for his contribution to the unification of Europe. This is his first publication in Russian.

Timothy Garton Ash has dedicated his entire life to studying Europe. For decades, he has experienced its fate firsthand, witnessing pivotal moments in its history. The book is full of personal impressions: his father's memories of the Normandy landings, a school exchange trip to France, interactions with Polish dockworkers and Albanian partisans, conversations with prime ministers, chancellors, and presidents… It is an honest conversation about how, after a period of progress and hope, much has gone wrong: from the financial crisis of 2008 to the war in Ukraine. «Europe…» is a pressing call to the inhabitants of the great old continent: to recognize and protect what we have achieved together.

Timothy Snyder: A necessary book for Europe, written at the right time. For a continent so enchanted by its past and so indispensable for our common future, this combination of memories and reflections is the perfect book to read in the present. Garton Ash's beautifully written work tells us about the Europe that once was and the one it can still become.

Neil Ferguson: Garton Ash's strength is that he always keeps the broader European picture in focus… at this moment he remains the best English-speaking researcher of modern Europe.

Sunday Times: An incredibly engaging book: thoughtful, honest, open, self-critical. The author tells the story of Europe at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century – how, emerging from the hell of war in 1945, it slowly recovered and rebuilt, liberated and united, to approach the ideal of a «united, free, and peaceful» Europe. And now it is once again going through difficult times.

Financial Times: You couldn't dream of a more competent storyteller… the book is provocatively optimistic.

Translated from English by Veniamin Andreev and Kirill Saveliev