Eastern Europe 1939-2000

Description

Eastern Europe examines the post-war history of Eastern Europe from the perspective of social history. Integrating fresh research, this book examines the nature and impact of socialist dictatorships on society, and reveals the extent to which phenomena that emerged during the dictatorships are shaping today's society. Eastern Europe is both thematic and comparative. The themes examined include the social legacy of the Second World War, the Stalinist experience, the post-Stalinist regimes, the challenges to the dictatorships, the Revolutions of 1989, and the post-socialist experience. Political events are set in the context of wider social changes allowing proper consideration to be given to neglected themes such as class, gender, ethnicity and popular religion.

Mark Pittaway was Senior Lecturer in European Studies at the Open University, UK. His books include Globalization and Europe (2003), The Fluid Borders of Europe (2003) and the posthumous collection of essays, From the Vanguard to the Margins: Workers in Hungary, 1939 to the Present (2015), edited by Adam Fabry.

'Pittaway's writing style is direct and supple, and his arguments are well presented. This is a great addition to the scholarship on communist Eastern Europe, and it will be useful to instructors of undergraduate classes as well as researchers. Highly recommended.' * Choice *