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Shop nowThe Shortest History of Europe
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Learn moreCelebrated historian John Hirst offers a fascinating exploration of the qualities that made Europe a world-changing civilization.
The Shortest History of Europe begins with a rapid overview of European civilization, describing its birth from an unlikely mixture of classical learning and Christianity and German warrior culture. Over the centuries, this unstable blend produced highly distinctive characters—pious knights and belligerent popes, romantics spouting folklore and revolutionaries imitating Rome—and its coming apart provided the dynamic of European history in modern times.
The Shortest History of Europe is a clear, humorous and thought-provoking account of a remarkable civilization. This new edition brings the story into the present, covering the world wars and beyond.
John Hirst was a member of the History Department at La Trobe University from 1968 to 2007. He has written many books, including Convict Society and Its Enemies, The Strange Birth of Colonial Democracy, The Sentimental Nation, Sense and Nonsense in Australian History, and The Shortest History of Europe.
British-born Julian Elfer is an award-winning New York City-based actor and audiobook narrator with over 100 titles to his credit. Hailed by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal for his lead performance in the Mint Theatre Company's A Day by the Sea, Julian brings a unique facility for characterization in fiction and an empathy for the personalities and events of the past.