The Modernist Wish: A History of Europe, 1914-1939

As the 20th century recedes, how should its history be written? The 1920s and 1930s were a time of paradox, of great conflict and contradiction. If those years were the crucible of a new metropolitan modernity and its possibilities, what were the forward-moving forces and ideas? What were their effects and where did they lead? The Modernist Wish provides a comprehensive, non-hierarchical and integrated history of Europe's early 20th century across the whole of the continent. Uniting social, cultural-intellectual, and political history alongside military-strategic and geopolitical dimensions, Geoff Eley examines the distinctiveness of early-20th century modernity. He draws out the exceptional character of the interwar years and their longer-run social and political fallout, based in the excitements of metropolitan living, the progressive achievements of an industrialized machine world, and the material possibilities for fashioning new forms of selfhood. In presenting a truly European history for our time, this study encompasses both the grand narratives of large-scale transformations, and the everyday realities of individual lived experiences.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures; List of Maps; Acknowledgements; Preface: Europe after War and Revolution, 1914–1939; Prelude: Europe on the Cusp of the Modern; Part I. Europe after War and Revolution, 1914–1939; 1. A New Kind of War, 1914–1918: Mass Killing and its Effects; 2. A New King of War: Complete Mobilization; 3. Socialist Challenge, Counter-Revolutionary Response, 1917–1923; 4. Territories, Nations, and States: Redrawing the Map of Europe, 1914–1923; 5. National Bodies, New Women, Damaged Men; Part II. European Modernities: Cities, Selfhood, and the Future; 6. Modernity and its Discontents: Estrangement and Possibility; 7. Popular Culture and Intellectual Life: Entertainment, Improvement, Contestation; 8. Modernity and its Discontents: Art, Literature, Aesthetics; 9. Intellectuals, Emancipation, and the Self: Learning to be Modern; 10. Modernity and its Futures: Science, Technology, Planning; Part III. Europe and its Others; 11. Europe in the World, 1914–1940: Colony and Empire; 12. Empire at Home: Race and the Color Line; Part IV. Towards Catastrophe; 13. Capitalism in Trouble, Europe in Depression: Breakdown, 1929–1936; 14. Fascism, Strong States, and the Challenge of Democracy: A Europe of Dictators, 1922–1939; 15. Crisis after Crisis, 1931–1938; 16. Back to War, 1938-1939; 17. Conclusion: What is to Come?; Suggestions for Further Reading: Index.

About the Author :
Geoff Eley is Karl Pohrt Distinguished University Professor of Contemporary History Emeritus at the University of Michigan. His specialisms include modern European history; nationalism and fascism; the European Left; historiography; and social and cultural theory. Previous publications include Reshaping the German Right (1980); Forging Democracy (2002); A Crooked Line (2005); Nazism as Fascism (2013); and History Made Conscious (2023).