Thinking the Twentieth Century

“There are so many ways that Thinking the Twentieth Century is a remarkable book. The lifetime of scholarship and intellectual engagement lying behind that verb “thinking” in the title. The way ideas crackle in the interplay between the authors. The passionate involvement with issues political and controversial. That the book could have been written at all, given the tragic circumstances surrounding it . . . Judt proceeds to take the reader on a wild ride through the ideological currents and shoals of 20th century thought.” —The Los Angeles Times

“An intellectual feast, learned, lucid, challenging and accessible.” —San Francisco Chronicle

“Fans will find plenty to sustain them in this poignant coda to a life marked by great feats of penmanship, scholarly insight and contemporary polemic . . . [Judt’s] bravery is ever-present, but rightly understated. As Mr Snyder notes in his introduction, the book is both about the life of the mind and a mindful life. Judt exemplified both.” —The Economist

“Judt was a provocateur, but maybe an accidental one, and after reading this remarkable, impassioned book, it’s hard to doubt his sincerity . . . Thinking the Twentieth Century is Judt’s final salvo against what he saw as a culture of historical ignorance and political apathy, and it’s every bit as brilliant, uncompromising and original as he was.” —NPR

“Scintillating . . . a lively, browsable, deeply satisfying meditation on recent history by a deservedly celebrated public intellectual.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Incandescent on every page with intellectual energy.” —Pankaj Mishra, Prospect Magazine (UK)