Tony Judt – författare

The definitive history of Europe’s rebirth.From the ruins of war to the rise of the European Union, Postwar tells the sweeping story of Europe’s transformation in the 20th century. Historian Tony Judt draws on a lifetime of scholarship to chart how nations reckoned with totalitarianism, and forged a new vision of democracy and cooperation. Combining intellectual depth with narrative power, Judt’s masterpiece offers profound lessons about memory, identity and resilience. Postwar is not only an essential work of history - it’s a guide to understanding the political and cultural foundations of modern Europe.‘A real masterpiece’ Ian Kershaw‘History-writing with a human face and brainpower’ Norman Davies‘The standard reference work on European post-war history’ Misha Glenny

Two explorers set out on a journey from which only one of them will return. Their unknown land is that often fearsome continent we call the 20th Century. Their route is through their own minds and memories. Both travellers are professional historians still tormented by their own unanswered questions. They needed to talk to one another, and the time was short. This is a book about the past, but it is also an argument for the kind of future we should strive for. Thinking the Twentieth Century is about the life of the mind - and the mindful life.

In Reappraisals award-winning historian Tony Judt argues that we have entered an 'age of forgetting', where we have set aside our immediate past before we could even begin to make sense of it. We have lost touch with generations of international policy debate, social thought and public-spirited social activism - and no longer even know how to discuss such concepts - and have forgotten the role once played by intellectuals in debating, transmitting and defending the ideas that shaped their time.Reappraisals is a road map back to the historical sense we urgently need. A masterful collection of essays, it examines the tragedy of twentieth-century Europe by way of thought-provoking pieces on Hannah Arendt, Edward Said, Albert Camus and Henry Kissinger amongst others.

It might be thought the height of poor taste to ascribe good fortune to a healthy man with a young family struck down at the age of sixty by an incurable degenerative disorder from which he must shortly die. But there is more than one sort of luck.In 2008, historian Tony Judt learnt that he was suffering from a disease that would eventually trap his extraordinary mind in a declining and immobile body. At night, sleepless in his motionless state, he revisited the past in an effort to keep himself sane, and his dictated essays form a memoir unlike any you have read before. Each one charts some experience or remembrance of the past through the sieve of Tony Judt's prodigious mind. His youthful love of a particular London bus route evolves into a reflection on public civility and interwar urban planning. Memories of the 1968 student riots of Paris meander through the sexual politics of Europe, a series of roadtrips across America lead not just to an appreciation of American history, but to an eventual acquisition of citizenship. And everything is as simply and beautifully arranged as a Swiss chalet - a reassuring refuge deep in the mountains of memory.

A great thinker's final testament: a characteristically wise and forthright collection of essays from the author of Postwar and Thinking the Twentieth Century that feels all the more potent and important in today’s political climate.Edited and introduced by Jennifer Homans.Tony Judt’s widow and fellow historian, Jennifer Homans, has gathered together important essays from the span of Judt’s career that chronicle both the evolution of his thought and the remarkable consistency of his passionate engagement and intellectual élan. Whether the subject is the scholarly poverty of the new social history, the willful blindness of French collective memory about what happened to the country’s Jews during World War II, or the moral challenge to Israel of the so-called Palestinian problem, the majesty of Tony Judt’s work lies in his combination of unsparing honesty, intellectual brilliance, and ethical clarity. When the Facts Change exemplifies the necessity of minding our history and not letting cheerful fictions suffice in its place. An emphatic demonstration of the power of a great historian to connect us more deeply to the world as it was, as it is, and as it should be, it is a fitting capstone to an extraordinary body of work.

The townspeople of Oran are in the grip of a deadly plague, which condemns its victims to a swift and horrifying death. Fear, isolation and claustrophobia follow as they are forced into quarantine. Each person responds in their own way to the lethal disease: some resign themselves to fate, some seek blame, and a few, like Dr Rieux, resist the terror.An immediate triumph when it was published in 1947, The Plague is in part an allegory of France's suffering under the Nazi occupation, and a story of bravery and determination against the precariousness of human existence.

This collection of essays presents a nearly comprehensive understanding of Western and non-Western perceptions of the United States since the Second World War. The book does not seek to attack or defend the United States but rather looks to bring sustained attention to the sources of anti-Americanism, its present variety, and its likely trajectory.

The presentation of Europe's immediate historical past has quite dramatically changed. Conventional depictions of occupation and collaboration in World War II, of wartime resistance and post-war renewal, provided the familiar backdrop against which the chronicle of post-war Europe has mostly been told. Within these often ritualistic presentations, it was possible to conceal the fact that not only were the majority of people in Hitler's Europe not resistance fighters but millions actively co-operated with and many millions more rather easily accommodated to Nazi rule. Moreover, after the war, those who judged former collaborators were sometimes themselves former collaborators. Many people became innocent victims of retribution, while others--among them notorious war criminals--escaped punishment. Nonetheless, the process of retribution was not useless but rather a historically unique effort to purify the continent of the many sins Europeans had committed.This book sheds light on the collective amnesia that overtook European governments and peoples regarding their own responsibility for war crimes and crimes against humanity--an amnesia that has only recently begun to dissipate as a result of often painful searching across the continent. In inspiring essays, a group of internationally renowned scholars unravels the moral and political choices facing European governments in the war's aftermath: how to punish the guilty, how to decide who was guilty of what, how to convert often unspeakable and conflicted war experiences and memories into serviceable, even uplifting accounts of national history. In short, these scholars explore how the drama of the immediate past was (and was not) successfully "overcome." Through their comparative and transnational emphasis, they also illuminate the division between eastern and western Europe, locating its origins both in the war and in post-war domestic and international affairs. Here, as in their discussion of collaborators' trials, the authors lay bare the roots of the many unresolved and painful memories clouding present-day Europe.Contributors are Brad Abrams, Martin Conway, Sarah Farmer, Luc Huyse, Laszlo Karsai, Mark Mazower, and Peter Romijn, as well as the editors. Taken separately, their essays are significant contributions to the contemporary history of several European countries. Taken together, they represent an original and pathbreaking account of a formative moment in the shaping of Europe at the dawn of a new millennium.

'Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey,Where wealth accumulates, and men decay' - Oliver GoldsmithSomething is profoundly wrong with the way we live today. For thirty years we have made a virtue out of the pursuit of material self-interest: indeed, this very pursuit now constitutes whatever remains of our sense of shared purpose. But we have forgotten how to think about the life we live together: its goals and purposes. We are now not only post-ideological; we have become post-ethical. We have lost touch with the old questions that have defined politics since the Greeks: is it good? Is it fair? Is it just? Is it right? Will it help bring about a better society? A better world? The social contract that defined postwar life in Europe and America - the guarantee of security, stability and fairness - is no longer assured; in fact, it's no longer part of collective conversation. In this exceptional short book, Tony Judt reveals how we have arrived at our present dangerously confused moment and masterfully crystallizes our great unease, showing how we might yet think ourselves out of it. If we are to replace fear with confidence then we need a different story to tell, about state and society alike: a story that carries moral and political conviction. Providing that story is the purpose of this book.

Unlike most books, which treat labor, Socialist and Communist history separately and view French Marxism as a self-contained philosophical phenomenon, Marxism and the French Left offers a refreshingly different approach to the subject. Judt emphasizes the complex and interwoven themes that unify the topics of his essays to construct a distinctive and original interpretation of French left-wing politics over the past 150 years."A well-informed and persuasive reinterpretation of the old French Left that is now receding beyond recall, except for historians."—Times Literary Supplement

Departing from the usual emphasis on an urban and industrial context for the rise of socialism, Socialism in Provence 1871-1914 offers instead a reinterpretation of the early years of Marxist socialism in France among the peasantry. By focusing on a limited period and a particular region, Judt provides an account both of the character of political behavior in the countryside and of the history of left-wing politics in France.

Tony Judt provides a sharp and intellectual ideological description of mid-twentieth century French intellectuals"Past Imperfect is a forthright and uncommonly damning study of those intellectually volatile years [1944-1956]. Mr. Judt…does more than simply describe the ideological acrobats of his subjects; he is a sharp, even a vindictive moralist who indicts these intellectuals for their inhumanity in failing to test their political thought against political reality."—John Sturrock, New York Times Book Review

Tony Judt considers the question: How likely is a united Europe?"I am enthusiastically European; no informed person could seriously wish to return to the embattled, mutually antagonistic circle of suspicious and introverted nations that was the European continent in the quite recent past. But it is one thing to think an outcome desirable, quite another to suppose it is possible. It is my contention that a truly united Europe is sufficiently unlikely for it to be unwise and self-defeating to insist upon it. I am thus, I suppose, a Euro-pessimist." —Tony Judt

This book, first published in 1989, is the first general study of Communism in Mediterranean Europe during and immediately after the war. It sheds light on the origins of Europe’s Cold War East-West divide and probes the common and conflicting interests of the Soviet Union with the separate national and Communist resistance movements. It explores controversial issues including Stalin’s intentions in post-war diplomacy, Communist attitudes to Nazi collaboration in France, and the origins of the Cold War. The decade following the outbreak of the war saw the transformation of society through armed conflict, national resistance and political revolution. The relationship between resistance to Fascism and occupation, on the one hand, and profound social and political changes on the other, was especially marked in southern Europe. In France and Italy, Communist parties emerged as prominent participants in post-war governments; in Yugoslavia the Communist partisans seized full power and effected a social revolution; while a similar attempt in Greece led to a long and bitter civil war.

This book, first published in 1989, is the first general study of Communism in Mediterranean Europe during and immediately after the war. It sheds light on the origins of Europe’s Cold War East-West divide and probes the common and conflicting interests of the Soviet Union with the separate national and Communist resistance movements. It explores controversial issues including Stalin’s intentions in post-war diplomacy, Communist attitudes to Nazi collaboration in France, and the origins of the Cold War. The decade following the outbreak of the war saw the transformation of society through armed conflict, national resistance and political revolution. The relationship between resistance to Fascism and occupation, on the one hand, and profound social and political changes on the other, was especially marked in southern Europe. In France and Italy, Communist parties emerged as prominent participants in post-war governments; in Yugoslavia the Communist partisans seized full power and effected a social revolution; while a similar attempt in Greece led to a long and bitter civil war.

This collection of essays presents a nearly comprehensive understanding of Western and non-Western perceptions of the United States since the Second World War. The book does not seek to attack or defend the United States but rather looks to bring sustained attention to the sources of anti-Americanism, its present variety, and its likely trajectory.

“More than any other technical design or social institution, the railway stands for modernity.” In this brilliant essay the historian Tony Judt describes the singular contribution made by railways to the development of our shared way of life. From the transformation of urban spaces to the reorganisation of our sense of time, it is impossible to imagine the world we live in without the social and economic changes wrought by rail travel: no other mode of transport can represent with such potency “risk, opportunity, uncertainty, novelty, and change: life itself.”Eris Gems make available in the form of beautifully produced saddle-stitched booklets a series of outstanding short works of fiction and non-fiction.

I oktober 2009 höll Tony Judt ett föredrag­ om välfärdssamhällets och social­demo­kratins framtid som åhörarna aldrig kommer att glömma. Det som gjorde intryck var inte bara det ange­lägna ämnet och talarens glöd, utan också ­omständigheterna. Den tidigare så fysiskt vitale historikern­ satt nämligen i rullstol, förlamad från halsen och nedåt och med en stor andningsapparat för ansiktet. Gensvaret var enormt och efteråt uppmanades Tony Judt att utveckla det han sagt till en bok. Från sin sjukbädd dikterade han sedan boken Illa far landet, en passionerad uppgörelse med det som enligt honom är kännetecknande för vår tid: ­materialismen och egennyttan, den okritiska beundran av marknaden, dyrkan av den privata sektorn, föraktet för den offentliga sektorn, de växande klyftorna mellan rika och fattiga, de falska föreställningarna om en gränslös tillväxt. Men Illa far landet är också en nutidshistorisk lektion och ett konstruktivt förslag på vad som bör göras för att lösa de stora problem våra länder brottas med. Med sin skepsis mot identitetspolitik och enfrågerörelser,­ och med sin tro på ­kollektivt tänkande och en utvidgad roll för staten i ­samhällets organisering, utmanar Tony Judt ­före­ställningar till både vänster och höger. OM FÖRFATTAREN Tony Judt (1948-2010) föddes i London och utbildades vid King's College i Cambridge och École Normale Supérieure i Paris. Han undervisade vid Cambridge, Oxford, Berkeley och New York University, där han ledde Remarque Institute, ett centrum för Europa-studier som grundades av honom. Under sin levnad utgav Tony Judt tretton böcker, bland annat Postwar: A History of Europe Since 1945 som nominerades till Pulitzerpriset. Han medverkade regelbundet i New York Review of Books, London Review of Books och New York Times. År 2007 belönades han med Hannah Arendt Prize och år 2009 med Orwell Prize. 2011 utgav Karneval även Tony Judts memoarbok Minneshärbärget. FRÅN MOTTAGANDET I SVERIGE "En rasande uppgörelse med en ekonomistisk samtid, men också med en socialdemokrati som förlorat kraft, röst och självförtroende - Illa far landet­ är en sällsynt skarp beskrivning av vår samtid. Den gör också något så ovanligt och uppfordrande som att föreslå att samhället skulle kunna se annorlunda ut." Marika Lindgren Åsbrink i Tiden "Jag stryker under, viker hörn, sätter utropstecken och läser högt för omgivningen. Det var länge sen jag kände mig så upplyft av en så svidande samhällskritik som den som serveras av Tony Judt." Liv Beckström i ­Kommunalarbetaren "Boken är rena citatsamlingen. Men allra starkast är uppfordran att åter börja tala om andra värden än de ekonomiska, för att på så sätt påminna om vad Staten var bra för. Det är som om det förflutna talar genom Judt, för att för­bereda oss på att ta itu med fram­tiden igen." John Swedenmark i LO-Tidningen "Illa far landet blev genast omdiskuterad bland Europas vilsna socialdemokrater. Men bör läsas av alla. Hans civilisationskritik är härlig; skarpa formuleringar, historisk kunskap och ett eftertryckligt försvar för grå, kompromissökande social­demokrati; för Väst­europas lyckliga decennier, som råkar sammanfalla med hans eget liv och minnes­arbetet i nattmörkret, men nu på väg att förskingras och upp­lösas i 'individualitetens stoft och damm'. Illa far landet är en varning att inte glömma." Per Wirtén i Expressen "Judt lyckas göra socialdemokratins historia oväntat underhållande, delvis för att han är en fantastisk satiriker. Dagens allra mest hopplösa social­demokrater och nyliberaler har försett honom med först­klassigt stoff. De breda och djupa kunskaperna om efterkrigs­tidens historia imponerar." Ola Wihlke i Dalarnas Tidning "Styrkan ligger i det historiska siktdjupet. Man får syn på hur kollektivt handlande för det gemensamma bästa, inte hysteriska privatiseringar, vitaliserar och stabili­serar skakiga klassamhällen. Och hur snabbt framsteg kan raseras och tanken somna in. Jag hoppas att Illa far landet blir läst och diskuterad långt utanför den krympande social­demokratins krets. Gärna av tokliberaler, terrorister och bank­direktörer." Jan Eklund i DN "Judt har, tror jag, en poäng när han hävdar att vi nu måste börja intressera oss för staten igen. Vad ska den göra? Och vad ska den inte göra? Som liberal är jag rent principiellt mest intresserad av den senare frågan. Men jag kan inte släppa Judts frågor­ kring konsekvenserna av en alltför naken stat: Vad händer med ett samhälle där staten bara förknippas med över­vakning, repression och brandkårsutryckningar för att lösa ut ­banker som hamnat på gäld­stugan?" Per Svensson i Sydsvenskan "Socialdemokratin lyckades ska­pa­ ett anständigt samhälle, men i dag tycks inte ens social­demokraterna själva minnas vad de en gång tog sig för. Judt är historikern vars sista uppgift var att försöka få oss att minnas ett unikt samhällsbygge medan det vittrar sönder. Kanske kan Illa far landet bli den teoretiska grundtext som vänstersocial­demokraterna alltid tycks ha saknat?" Daniel Suhonen i Aftonbladet "Ett bra sätt att medvetandegöra sig om vad alliansregeringen håller på med är att läsa Tony Judts bok Illa far landet ... Sådana som Reagan och Thatcher (och Fredrik Reinfeldt) förväxlar frihet att tjäna pengar med frihet, vilket leder till ojämlikhet, fattigdom och cynism. Dessa politiker, skriver han, 'känner stolthet över att vara tillräckligt hårda för att tillfoga andra smärta'. En bra beskrivning av dagens allians- regering! Jag skäms för dem, men själva är de stolta över plågor de åsamkat de mest utsatta." Maria-Pia Boëthius i ETC