1946: The Making of the Modern World by Victor Sebestyen

1946: The Making of the Modern World Reviews

• 
  Jaylia3

  I don’t often become completely engrossed in a book of straight history, usually I read historical biographies to get a sense of the past, but this book was hard to put down. With its detailed and in-depth account of events in the year following WWII, focusing on the causes and early stages of the Cold War, 1946: The Making of the Modern World has the most fascinating account of the mid to late twentieth century that I’ve read anywhere. Developments are presented chronologically, starting with an early dispute between the US and the Soviets over oil fields in Iran, but because the background and future impact of each event is included this book is much more than a glorified timeline of how WWII allies very quickly became enemies once the war was over.
  
  Thoroughly researched, the book is highly readable and written with insight and clarity. Its scope goes well beyond Europe and Japan, also including India’s struggles toward independence, France’s attempts to reassert itself in Indochina, the contentious and difficult formations of Israel and Pakistan, colonialism’s dying gasps, and China’s simultaneously occurring communist revolution and war with Japan--one of the many things I learned is that 25% of WWII’s fatalities were in China, more than any other country except the USSR. Some of the most interesting, even eye-opening, parts are revelations about the thoughts, words, and deeds of political leaders, including Roosevelt, Truman, Churchill, Clement Attlee, Stalin, MacArthur, Hirohito, Mao, Chiang Kai-shek, Mei-Ling Soong, Nehru, Gandhi, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, David Ben Gurion, and Menachem Begin.
  
  If I had any doubts about the difficulties of occupation or the massive extent of devastation, suffering and displacement that continued well after WWII fighting was over, those uncertainties would have been dispelled forever by this book. Because it was years in the making the author was able to interview many people with personal experiences of the time, giving events a human face and adding poignancy and impact to the history.
  
• 
  Emma

  Because of the way we structure history within the framework of specific dates, there's a tendency to see them as separate periods, as a series of singular, completely self-contained narratives with a beginning, middle, and end. The Second World War might well be generally defined as commencing on 1st September 1939 with the German invasion of Poland and finishing with the armistice in 1945, but the conflicts which brought about war started well before and the incredible destruction had multifaceted effects in the immediate aftermath and long afterwards, right up to today. Imagine a fictional story of a global war, with massive social, political, and economic change, and almost unimaginable numbers of dead, abruptly ending right after most of the arms were put down- it's quite clear that the story doesn't end there. Here, Victor Sebestyen addresses that 'what happened next' question with real verve and a wealth of fascinating detail, including areas such as India, newly created Pakistan, the Middle East, China, and Japan which are frequently overlooked.
  
  The book progresses through the year switching focus between the various players, looking at both the local situation and the wider links or implications. So the reader gets, for instance, some discussion of Stalin's intelligence, including his reading habits, which leads to his attacks (both personal and through the party apparatchiks) on the content of Russian writers' and poets' work (eg. Anna Akhmatova) and the penalisation of those who promote Western literature of any types in Russia, which morphs into his reputation abroad (initially people very positive) and the ways in which other leaders dealt with him, especially as his attempted land grabs exceeded his personal capital. This is just one snapshot of the book- it's detail rich, but written with the same fair as a thriller; not only did I read the whole book in less than a week because it was that gripping, it sometimes made me laugh aloud- hardly what you'd expect from this period, but Sebestyen is as good at the small moments of comedy as he is at the horror.
  
  And there's certainly a good deal of that. Peace was in name only: from the partition of India to the persistence of violent anti-Semitism, the brutal and chaotic death throes of colonialism to the atomic arms race, from the creation of the Jewish state of Israel to the failure of the Allies to identify, capture, or punish numerous Nazi war criminals... 1946 was a continuation or even intensification of the kind of dislocation, terror, hunger, and death many people experienced during the active war years. In this collation of a year of misery, it is truly possible to see the issues which form the various branches of modern world politics.
  
  This is excellent history writing, both engaging and important, that gives you enough information to be immediately satisfied, but also piques your interest so that you leave it thinking: I MUST find out even more about that. And maybe that too. Oh and...
• 
  Liviu

  excellent stuff about the year of the title and how the contemporary world started getting its shape; if 1945 was year zero (there is another very good book with that title by I. Buruma which makes a great companion to this one), this was in many ways year 1
  
  covering the main places of interest (Europe, Asia, US) and a gripping read I discovered by chance and then couldn't put down; highly recommended
• 
  Linda

  This is a well written, interesting global history of the events in 1946 that shaped the world as we have known it. The the breadth and scope of the research in impressive. I learned a great deal and recommend it highly.
• 
  Mike

  This was a great book that gave an overview of the major areas around the world in 1946 that were most impacted by the events of World War II. I would say a majority of the book focused on the West (USA, Russia, and Europe) but there were also fascinating chapters on China, Japan, and Israel. I learned a great deal reading this book as this time period is one of my weaker areas. I am not sure there was a lot that was new here for someone that is well read in the time period, but as a survey of the world in 1946, I highly recommend this read.
• 
  Paul Holden

  A fascinating look at the world immediately after WW2. If we think we’ve got a refugee problem now it’s nothing compared to 1946 with thousands upon thousands of displaced persons across Europe, some of which who couldn’t, or didn’t want to, go home. It also details the beginnings of the Cold War and, there too, is a couple of surprises. Highly recommended for history fans.
• 
  Seth

  An incredible chronicle of the formation of the modern world following World War 2. Structured in chapters detailing the most important events that occurred around the globe during 1946. Empires failing, Axis power States being restructured by the west, power grabs throughout Europe and the formation of a socio and geopolitical landscape that set the table for the next fourty-five years.
• 
  Triinu

  Minu arvamuse leiab blogist
  https://triinuraamatud.wordpress.com/...
• 
  Buchdoktor

  Victor Sebestyen wurde in Ungarn geboren, stammt damit von der anderen Seite des „Eisernen Vorhangs“ und berichtete für englischsprachige Leser hauptsächlich aus Osteuropa. Für den Autor eines populären historischen Sachbuchs ist das eine viel versprechende Ausgangsposition, die sich u. a. mit den Wurzeln des Autors befassen könnte. Sebestyen erzählt vom ersten Nachkriegsjahr 1946, in dem er markante Persönlichkeiten und deren Entscheidungen darstellt und Beziehungen zwischen Staaten aufrollt, über die man zum Verständnis heutiger Konflikte informiert sein sollte. Zur Verarbeitung der Fülle von Namen und Bezügen im Kopf des Lesers halte ich das für einen sehr wirksamen Ansatz.
  
  Politik und Geschichte der Nachkriegszeit betreffend, zähle ich zu den „weißen Jahrgängen“, die im Geschichtsunterricht hauptsächlich Jahreszahlen paukten. In einem Schülerleben konnten sie mehrfach erleben, dass die Nachkriegszeit zwar formal im Geschichtsbuch enthalten war, rätselhafterweise aber jedes Mal das Schuljahr zu kurz war, um dieses Kapitel durchzunehmen. In den Jahren 1975 oder 1985 hätte ich mich für Sebestyens Stoff vehementer interessiert als heute, um seine Darstellung mit der von Zeitzeugen abzugleichen. Doch ein Buch wie dieses konnte vermutlich nicht eher geschrieben werden, weil Augenzeugenberichte über Flucht, Vertreibung und an Zivilpersonen noch nach Kriegsende begangene Gräueltaten der Besatzungstruppen für Jahrzehnte in Archiven verschwanden. Diese Berichte waren lange nur Historikern gegen Nachweis eines wissenschaftlichen Interesses zugänglich.
  
  Sebestyens Ansatz, Geschichte als Geschichten über historische Persönlichkeiten zu erzählen, lässt sein Buch leicht lesbar und unterhaltsam wirken. Ihm waren offenbar verstärkt Quellen zur britischen Besetzung Norddeutschlands zugänglich, was die Vielseitigkeit der angeschnittenen Themen jedoch nicht beeinträchtigt. Zumindest bei mir ist es Sebestyen gelungen, die Sicht „der anderen Seite“ anzuregen, die Seite der Besatzungstruppen und ihrer Heimatländer. Dass auch die britische Bevölkerung im Jahr Null nach dem Krieg hungerte und fror, machte sich in den besetzten Gebieten wohl niemand bewusst, der mit der Militärregierung um Rückgabe beschlagnahmter Gebäude und Autos rang, um z. B. endlich wieder seinen Beruf ausüben zu können. Der Autor nennt direkt und ungeschminkt, wer nach dem Krieg von Vertreibung und dubiosen Geschäften profitierte und hält dabei besonders osteuropäischen Staaten den Spiegel vor die Nase. Durchaus kritisch geht er ebenfalls der Frage nach, ob die Amerikaner sich nicht mit dem Plan übernommen haben, ganze Völker umerziehen zu wollen. Knappe und treffende Kapitel über die Ursachen des Israel-Konflikts, die Nachkriegsgeschichte Griechenlands oder das Ringen um persische Ölquellen tragen erheblich zum Verständnis der heutigen Zustände in den genannten Ländern bei. Auch Kenntnisse über das Verhältnis zwischen den USA und China, den USA und Japan oder Deutschland und der Tschechoslowakei sollten zur Allgemeinbildung gehören. Schließlich schreckt Sebestyen nicht davor zurück, die mangelnde Vergangenheitsbewältigung z. B. in Polen und dort speziell den Antisemitismus der katholischen Kirche beim Namen zu nennen.
  
  Als sein Buch verfasst wurde, ahnte vermutlich niemand, dass es in Europa aktuell wieder Displaced Persons und Übergangslager geben würde und sich daraus die Frage ergibt, was wir aus jener Zeit für die Gegenwart gelernt haben. „Gemeinsames Leiden macht nicht zu Brüdern,“ (Seite 294) hat Tadeusz Nowakowski treffend festgestellt. Sein Zitat zeigt beispielhaft, wie geschickt Sebestyen seine Quellen und Zitate für dieses Buch ausgewählt hat. Speziell die Frage, ob man ganze Völker umerziehen und deren Werte abwählen kann, ist heute in Deutschland aktueller als je zuvor.
  
  Mit „1946: Das Jahr, in dem die Welt neu entstand“ errichtet der Autor in unterhaltsamer Art ein Fundament historischen Wissens und liefert seinen Lesern eine Menge Material als Anregung zum Wechsel der eigenen Perspektive. Auf diesem Fundament muss man selbst ein Gebäude aus Querverbindungen errichten. Ein leicht lesbares, populäres Sachbuch, das berichtet, Zeitzeugen zitiert und weniger analysiert.
  
• 
  Al Berry

  A decent survey of the the year 1946; movements towards Indian Independence and Partition; the bombing of the King David Hotel by the Irgun; problems with too quick de-nazification since everyone who was qualified was a Nazi; led to a lot of mining disasters. The heating up of the Cold War.
  
  I enjoy these style of books that look at just a year snapshot in time; this one is a solid read.
• 
  Toomas Nigola

  Kainestav lugemine kõigile, kelle arvates II Maailmasõja õudused piirdusid üksnes sakslaste, punaväelaste ja jaapanlaste hirmutegudega. Või kes kujutlevad inimloomust siin pattulangemise järgses maailmas väga kauni ja hüvelisena.
• 
  Paulius Č.

  Labai patiko! Perskaitęs šią knygą, kitaip pamačiau šių dienų pasaulines problemas, jų priežastis, Antrojo pasaulinio karo sunkias pasėkmes Europai ir pasauliui. Taip pat susipažinau artimiau su Europos ir pasaulio kurimusi, kuris anaiptol nebuvo toks paprastas ir lengvas kaip galvojau iki šiol. Verta paskaityti!
• 
  Hunor

  It is a great way to learn how the Cold War came to be.
• 
  Jan

  Das Cover ist genauso ansprechend wie der Inhalt interessant und fesselnd - mir hat es sehr gefallen.
• 
  GreyAtlas

  Excellent narrative and writing style with very good factual information. Loved it.
• 
  Charles

  A surprisingly wide ranging book for having such a narrow temporal scope, it does an excellent job of tying together the worldwide threads in the immediate aftermath of the war. There was quite a lot in this book that I wasn't familiar with, particularly the especially grim conditions in postwar Europe, and the shocking volume of continuing displacement, internment, and murder of various peoples in numerous areas. This book is not an easy read at times, but worth the effort.
• 
  Nancy Kennedy

  While my high school textbooks had a lot to say about World War II, I remember nothing in them about the immediate post-war period, especially in the European countries that were most devastated by the carnage, in contrast to the United States, which thrived after the war. Victor Sebestyen's book has filled in these gaps in my knowledge.
  
  The author analyzes the decisions and actions taken in the year 1946 and how they shaped what he considers the modern world. "This book takes a global view that the whole world was transformed after the Second World War, more profoundly, it can be argued, than after the First," Mr. Sebestyen's says in his introduction. "From 1945 the remaining old European empires, such as the British, were no longer sustainable.... Imperialism was no longer dynastic but ideological -- loyalty was demanded less to a king or emperor than to an idea, say Marxism-Leninism."
  
  Much of what the author has to say concerns the rise of the Soviet Union to the position of world power. "A war that had been fought to prevent Germany dominating and despoiling Europe ended with the danger that the USSR would take Germany's place," he writes. It was inevitable, he says, that conflicts between West and East eventually would escalate to the point of Cold War.
  
  But the book is not just about war and politics. The author frames his narrative around circumstances and environments of the time that set the stage for the decisions made and actions taken. He brings in the record-breaking cold weather of the 1946 winter, the plight of refugees and the conditions of displaced persons camps, the extent of food shortages and austerity measures, the fraternizing between victors and vanquished. The most horrifying chapter to me was that on the post-war treatment of German military and civilians. Previously occupied countries took their revenge in the most vile and inhumane ways.
  
  If you want to round out your spotty textbook knowledge of the postwar period, or if you're an aficionado of World War II literature, this is a great book to read and read again.
• 
  Safa

  I was waiting for a friend in Waterloo station, when I picked this book and six others, the cashier asked if I'm going somewhere to read all those books, I told him I'm somewhere already! Sadly I couldn't pick up more for not being able to hold more than seven at a time - I can't even remember how I managed to carry them home!
  
  This is the first book I read so far about the history of the World Wars specifically the year 1946, and how it held so many critical events and decision making.
  
  For someone like myself, growing up in Saudi and going to schools which taught a complete different type of history, made this book even more fascinating and challenging to follow up with. It shares massive amount of information wonderfully put together to produce stories of history.
  
  What touched me most was the Palestinian Israeli case, and how little I found out I knew about it.
  
  I definitely have a wider perspective and I can't recommend the book more.
• 
  Debbie

  The book is about the policies that USA, Britain, and Russia took in the areas they controlled after WWII and at home. We get short biographies of the main policy setters so we can understand how their personalities played into their policies. Then the author examined each affected country to learn what significant things happen there after the war. He explained what led up to that policy or action and sometimes we're told how it played out in future years. The book was information-dense so it took some time to read, but it wasn't difficult to understand.
  
  Though I took a "modern history" course in college that covered WWII, much of this information was new to me. I knew much of what he said about China, Japan, Germany, and Russia, but I knew very little about all of the other countries. I'd recommend this book to those interested in WWII, politics, or how we got to where we are now.
  
  I received this review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.
• 
  Evelyn Mcmanis

  I would really have loved to give this book a better rating. Unfortunately, the poor organization of the book made it a poor book overall. The writing is great, Sebestyen makes history interesting and easy to read. The issue is that by breaking up the year into individual chapters about disparate events, it creates a structure that has no flow, and therefor blocks the organic growth of analysis. Had it been organized by, say, world powers and their struggles the flow would have been great, and the text would have been really analytical. As it is, though, it's hard to find where Sebestyen talks about the 'making of the modern world' part. Overall, I am very glad that someone is writing about the importance of that year for a broad audience.
• 
  Piker7977

  This is an excellent overview of the many events that were churned up in the aftermath of the Second World War. Rather than providing a laundry list of circumstances, Sebestyen provides appropriate context and consideration for a variety of geopolitical issues that include the global refugee crisis, de-nazification, Japan's new constitution, America's nuclear monopoly, the split between Indian Hindus and Muslims, Iran's precarious geography, and others.
  
  The reader gains an understanding of how devastating the world wars were along with how difficult it was to forge a new world order.
• 
  Paul Holland

  A fascinating and in-depth look into what made the Cold War so frosty, so quickly. Perhaps its most gripping chapters are those were it looks into the human tragedy which unfolded across Europe in the wake of the Second World War's end. The details on the ways countries dealt with or ignored (and in some cases made much worse) the migration of millions of displaced peoples are timely.
• 
  Lanny Carlson

  I knew 1946 was important for more than my birth! An excellent review of a crucial year in world history. The writer does an excellent job combining a chronological with a thematic approach. Personally, I never realized how the Jews contained to suffer oppression even after the end of the war. I also found the analysis of Russia's security motives enlightening. Highly recommended volume!
  
  
  
  
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  San May Thu

  Definitely an interesting book that pictured the overview of the world events and detailed testimonials of the people who experienced the shift to a new world after the war. Interesting to find out more about the key characters like Stalin, Truman, Marshall, Atlee, Mao etc, and how they thought and made decisions that shaped different major events in history.
• 
  Rod Zemke

  A book well worth reading especially for the younger set who were not familiar with was happening in 1946. Clearing this work gives one a much better understanding of the way the modern world emerged from WWII.
• 
  Ainhoa Rebolledo

  muy placentero leer sobre 1946 en este terrorífico 2020, calentita desde casa y con todas las necesidades de la pirámide de maslow perfectamente cubiertas mientras sobrevivimos a La Pandemia.
• 
  Vikas Datta

  Comprehensive and cogently-argued account of all that happened in that annus horribilis and how it still impinges on today...
• 
  Teri Kemp

  Very interesting and sad. Facts are facts and war is horrible on everyone, especially civilians left to fend for themselves when their countries are destroyed.