Timothy Garton Ash has combined work in academia, journalism and political analysis for nearly half a century. Europe – its role in the making of the modern world and the challenges it faces today – has been his unflinching focus. His new book is an insightful analysis of the transformation of central and eastern Europe in the decades between the Hungarian revolution of 1956 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Garton Ash first encountered “Europe” as a teenager bewitched by its character and tragic history, very different from the insular and arrogant sense of superiority of much of British – actually English – society at that time. He has been a witness to uprisings in various of the Soviet Union’s European “client states”, and his contacts with many of those who inspired or led the revolts provided much of the valuable material for this book.
