Forging Democracy: The History of the Left in Europe, 1850-2000

Description

From Library Journal
The central thesis of this massive historical study is that an assortment of radical and leftist movements were chiefly responsible for the triumph of democracy in Europe. Eley (history, Univ. of Michigan; Reshaping the German Right) provides a chronological and country-by-country examination of the emergence of democracy and the factors that promoted and hindered its development. Beginning with the growth of liberal constitutionalism in the 1860s, he writes eloquently about the influence of the labor movement, Socialists, Communists, and feminists throughout Europe. This history covers all the expected names Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Gramsci, Brandt, Gorbachev, et al. and the major political events and upheavals. Eley began working on this book 20 years ago and changed his focus as the political landscape of Europe changed, especially after 1989. The rapid democratization of the East-bloc nations led him to consider the future of democratic socialism within the politics of globalization. This is an impressive work of scholarship, with over 90 pages of notes and a bibliography of equal size. Eley has produced a worthy successor to David Caute's seminal study The Left in Europe Since 1789. Highly recommended for all academic libraries. Thomas A. Karel, Franklin & Marshall Coll. Lib., Lancaster, PA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

"A tour de force written with panache and commitment will keep the reader spellbound throughout its almost 700 pages. it is surely a sign of a truly great book that its readers will want to take issue with it, argue with it and engage with it in manifold ways."-- Journal of Cold War Studies
"Overall, Eley has written a remarkable book that recounts a sweeping history."--Journal of Modern History
"There is nothing, to my knowledge, in the scholarly literature on the history of the Left to compare with it in comprehensiveness, forceful interpretation, and historiographical mastery. It is a noble achievement."--Central European History
Geoff Eley is to be commended for bringing together in one volume a wealth of information on the history of Europe's "Left."--Science & Society
"A magisterial overview...sweeping no just in its chronological but also its geographic scope. Forging Democracy will certainly rank with Hobsbawm's Age of Extremes as one of the lasting political histories of the (very) long twentieth century."--Contemporary Sociology
"Displays formidable erudition. A college library must."--CHOICE
"[A]dmirable tome....scholars and graduate students will find Eley's work a welcome addition to their reference shelf of standard works on European history....A genuinely pan-European dimension befitting both the nature of the subject and the times in which it was written....Ely's book is essential reading."--American Historical Review

Copyright Disclaimer:
Contents of this page are indexed from the Internet. All actions are under your responsability. Email us to report illegal contents or external links and we'll remove them immediately.

Link Desc...: required

Download Link: required