{"product_id":"the-modernist-wish-a-history-of-europe-1914-1939-hardback-9780521811453","title":"The Modernist Wish; A History of Europe, 1914-1939 (Hardback) 9780521811453","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Modernist Wish\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eA History of Europe, 1914-1939\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA comprehensive, integrated history of Europe's early 20th century, seen as the crucible of a new metropolitan modernity.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eGeoff Eley (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780521811453, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 14 May 2026\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e540 pages\u003cbr\u003e23.1 x 16.3 x 4.5 cm, 0.81 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e'A master social historian drops us into the scrum of politics, aesthetics and everyday life between Europe's two world wars. As alive to the era's victories as its violence, Geoff Eley reminds us that the future is never set.' Quinn Slobodian, author of Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eAs the 20th century recedes, how should its history be written? The 1920s and 1930s were a time of paradox, of great conflict and contradiction. If those years were the crucible of a new metropolitan modernity and its possibilities, what were the forward-moving forces and ideas? What were their effects and where did they lead? The Modernist Wish provides a comprehensive, non-hierarchical and integrated history of Europe's early 20th century across the whole of the continent. Uniting social, cultural-intellectual, and political history alongside military-strategic and geopolitical dimensions, Geoff Eley examines the distinctiveness of early-20th century modernity. He draws out the exceptional character of the interwar years and their longer-run social and political fallout, based in the excitements of metropolitan living, the progressive achievements of an industrialized machine world, and the material possibilities for fashioning new forms of selfhood. In presenting a truly European history for our time, this study encompasses both the grand narratives of large-scale transformations, and the everyday realities of individual lived experiences.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eList of Figures\u003cbr\u003e List of Maps\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgements\u003cbr\u003e Preface: Europe after War and Revolution, 1914–1939\u003cbr\u003e Prelude: Europe on the Cusp of the Modern\u003cbr\u003e Part I. Europe after War and Revolution, 1914–1939\u003cbr\u003e 1. A New Kind of War, 1914–1918: Mass Killing and its Effects\u003cbr\u003e 2. A New King of War: Complete Mobilization\u003cbr\u003e 3. Socialist Challenge, Counter-Revolutionary Response, 1917–1923\u003cbr\u003e 4. Territories, Nations, and States: Redrawing the Map of Europe, 1914–1923\u003cbr\u003e 5. National Bodies, New Women, Damaged Men\u003cbr\u003e Part II. European Modernities: Cities, Selfhood, and the Future\u003cbr\u003e 6. Modernity and its Discontents: Estrangement and Possibility\u003cbr\u003e 7. Popular Culture and Intellectual Life: Entertainment, Improvement, Contestation\u003cbr\u003e 8. Modernity and its Discontents: Art, Literature, Aesthetics\u003cbr\u003e 9. Intellectuals, Emancipation, and the Self: Learning to be Modern\u003cbr\u003e 10. Modernity and its Futures: Science, Technology, Planning\u003cbr\u003e Part III. Europe and its Others\u003cbr\u003e 11. Europe in the World, 1914–1940: Colony and Empire\u003cbr\u003e 12. Empire at Home: Race and the Color Line\u003cbr\u003e Part IV. Towards Catastrophe\u003cbr\u003e 13. Capitalism in Trouble, Europe in Depression: Breakdown, 1929–1936\u003cbr\u003e 14. Fascism, Strong States, and the Challenge of Democracy: A Europe of Dictators, 1922–1939\u003cbr\u003e 15. Crisis after Crisis, 1931–1938\u003cbr\u003e 16. Back to War, 1938-1939\u003cbr\u003e 17. Conclusion: What is to Come?\u003cbr\u003e Suggestions for Further Reading: Index.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: 20th century history: c 1900  to c 2000 [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on 20th century history: c 1900  to c 2000\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%2220th%20century%20history:%20c%201900%20%20to%20c%202000%20%5BHBLW%5D%22\"\u003eHBLW\u003c\/a\u003e], European history [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on European history\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22European%20history%20%5BHBJD%5D%22\"\u003eHBJD\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52449471660312,"sku":"9780521811453","price":29.29,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/files\/9780521811453i.jpg?v=1785201068","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-modernist-wish-a-history-of-europe-1914-1939-hardback-9780521811453","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}