Thinking the Twentieth Century

This is a book about the past, but it is also an argument for the kind of future we should strive for. It is about the life of the mind - and the mindful life. Two explorers set out on a journey from which only one of them will return. Their unknown land is that often fearsome continent we call the 20th century. Their route is through their own minds and memories. Both travellers are professional historians still tormented by their own unanswered questions. They needed to talk to one another and the time was short... Brilliantly eloquent, and apparently recalling every book they have ever read, the two historians find something striking and original to say about almost everything. Brilliant to the bitter end - Judt was combative and razor-sharp even as he was dying. A moving, enlightening and provocative read...