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Europe since 1989: A History . Philipp Ther . Trans. Charlotte Hughes-Kreutzmüller . Princeton : Princeton University Press , 2016. xi, 425 pp. Notes. Bibliography. Photographs. $35.00, hard bound.
Book Reviews
This book offers an interesting new perspective. "The comparative analysis moves from East to West," the author promises in the Preface, "and not the other way around, as is common in the traditional, occidentalist historiography of Europe" (xi). Instead of analyzing the role of the west in the collapse of communism in 1989 and the transformations that followed, it promises an investigation of the impact of the collapse and transformation of the east to the west. This is an innovative idea. Unfortunately, the author did not fulfill his promise. We do not learn about the impact of the east to the west. The only exception is Germany. But the impact of 1989 on Germany was made by reunification. Other countries are not discussed.
Instead, and this is itself a good achievement, we get a detailed description and analysis about the causes, consequences, and impact of the peaceful revolution of 1989 on eastern Europe. This is mostly based on the huge existing literature and debates. The...