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Year Zero: A History of 1945 Main Edition
Author(s): Ian Buruma (Author)
- Publisher: Atlantic Books
- Publication Date: 3 Oct. 2013
- Edition: Main
- Language: English
- Print length: 384 pages
- ISBN-10: 1848879369
- ISBN-13: 9781848879362
Book Description
Many books have been written, and continue to be written, about the Second World War: military histories, histories of the Holocaust, the war in Asia, or collaboration and resistance in Europe. Few books have taken a close look at the immediate aftermath of the worldwide catastrophe.
Drawing on hundreds of eye-witness accounts and personal stories, this sweeping book examines the seven months (in Europe) and four months (in Asia) that followed the surrender of the Axis powers, from the fate of Holocaust survivors liberated from the concentration camps, and the formation of the state of Israel, to the incipient civil war in China, and the allied occupation of Japan.
It was a time when terrible revenge was taken on collaborators and their former masters; of ubiquitous black markets, war crime tribunals; and the servicing of millions of occupation troops, former foes in some places, liberators in others. But Year Zero is not just a story of vengeance. It was also a new beginning, of democratic restorations in Japan and West Germany, of social democracy in Britain and of a new world order under the United Nations.
If construction follows destruction, Year Zero describes that extraordinary moment in between, when people faced the wreckage, full of despair, as well as great hope. An old world had been destroyed; a new one was yet to be built.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Ian Buruma s wonderful book is about a time, immediately after the end of the war, which has somehow fallen between the cracks of history, and which the author has now devastatingly brought to light… A compelling and astounding addition to the literature of the war Daily Mail
A superbly written chronicle of the conflict s bittersweet aftermath –Ian Thomson, Observer
Brilliant… Year Zero is a major acheivement, a book of many parts, which commemorates a generation, as they stood on the brink of an unknown future Joanna Kavenna, Spectator
Moving and excellent –Neal Ascherson, Guardian
Ian Buruma s elegant and humane new book illuminates one of the most important modern historical moments: the spring and summer of 1945, immediately after the second world war –Rana Mitter, Financial Times
Buruma excels as a social historian of the aftermath of the war… It is hard to overstate Buruma’s accomplishment in crafting the first truly worldwide account of perceptions and experiences in the pivotal years after the guns had fallen silent… Outstanding –Prospect
Ian Buruma s lively new history, Year Zero, is about the various ways in which the aftermath of the Good War turned out badly for many people, and splendidly for some who didn’t deserve it. It is enriched by his knowledge of six languages, a sense of personal connection to the era and his understanding of this period –Adam Hochschild, New York Times
It is well written and researched, full of little-known facts and incisive political analysis. What makes it unique among hundreds of other works written about this period is that it gives an overview of the effects of the war and liberation, not only in Europe, but also in Asia –Charles Simic, New York Review of Books
