Popular European Historical Books
Find historical books written by authors from Europe for the next part of the Read Around The World Challenge. (211)
201.
Voces de Chernobil / Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich ES
UkraineDescription:
Chernóbil, 1986. "Cierra las ventanillas y acuéstate. Hay un incendio en la central. Vendré pronto." Esto fue lo último que un joven bombero dijo a su esposa antes de acudir al lugar de la explosión. No regresó. Y en cierto modo, ya no volvió a verle, pues en el hospital su marido dejó de ser su marido. Todavía hoy ella se pregunta si su historia trata sobre el amor o la muerte. Voces de Chernóbil está planteado como si fuera una tragedia griega, con coros y unos héroes marcados por un destino fatal, cuyas voces fueron silenciadas durante muchos años por una polis representada aquí por la anti... continue
202.
Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich EN
Description:
Winner of the Nobel Prize in LiteratureWinner of the National Book Critics Circle AwardA journalist by trade, who now suffers from an immune deficiency developed while researching this book, presents personal accounts of what happened to the people of Belarus after the nuclear reactor accident in 1986, and the fear, anger, and uncertainty that they still live with. The Nobel Prize in Literature 2015 was awarded to Svetlana Alexievich "for her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time."
203.
Voices from Chernobyl by Svetlana Alexievich EN
BelarusDescription:
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award Winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature A journalist by trade, who now suffers from an immune deficiency developed while researching this book, presents personal accounts of what happened to the people of Belarus after the nuclear reactor accident in 1986, and the fear, anger, and uncertainty that they still live with. On April 26, 1986, the worst nuclear reactor accident in history occurred in Chernobyl and contaminated as much as three quarters of Europe. Voices from Chernobyl is the first book to present personal accounts of the tragedy. Jour... continue
204.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy EN
RussiaDescription:
Introduction by A. N. Wilson • Nominated as one of America’s best-loved novels by PBS’s The Great American Read Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic Wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy’s genius is seen clearly in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle—all of them fully realized and equally memorable. Out of this complex narrative emerges a profound examination of the individual’s place in the historical process, one that makes it clear why Thomas Mann praised Tolstoy for his Hom... continue
205.
War and Turpentine by Stefan Hertmans EN
BelgiumDescription:
Shortly before his death in 1981, Stefan Hertmans' grandfather gave him a couple of filled exercise books. Stories he'd heard as a child had led Hertmans to suspect that their contents might be disturbing, and for years he didn’t dare to open them. When he finally did, he discovered unexpected secrets. His grandfather’s life was marked by years of childhood poverty in late-nineteenth-century Belgium, by horrific experiences on the frontlines during the First World War and by the loss of the young love of his life. He sublimated his grief in the silence of painting. Drawing on these diary entri... continue
206.
War's Unwomanly Face by Svetlana Aleksievich EN
Description:
"This book is a confession, a document and a record of people's memory. More than 200 women speak in it, describing how young girls, who dreamed of becoming brides, became soldiers in 1941. More than 500,000 Soviet women participated on a par with men in the Second World War, the most terrible war of the 20th century. Women not only rescued and bandaged the wounded but also fires a sniper's rifle, blew up bridges, went reconnoitering and killed... They killed the enemy who, with unprecedented cruelty, had attacked their land, their homes and their children. Soviet writer of Byelorussia, Svetla... continue
207.
When we cease to understand the world by Benjamin Labatut EN
Country: Europe / 
Netherlands
Netherlands
Description:
SELECTED FOR BARACK OBAMA'S SUMMER READING LIST 'A monstrous and brilliant book' Philip Pullman 'Wholly mesmerising and revelatory... Completely fascinating' William Boyd Sometimes discovery brings destruction When We Cease to Understand the World shows us great minds striking out into dangerous, uncharted terrain. Fritz Haber, Alexander Grothendieck, Werner Heisenberg, Erwin Schrödinger: these are among the luminaries into whose troubled lives we are thrust as they grapple with the most profound questions of existence. They have strokes of unparalleled genius, they alienate friends and lovers... continue
208.
White Hunger by Aki Ollikainen EN
FinlandDescription:
1867: The year of the great famine in Finland. Mirja, a farmer's wife from the north, and her two young children set off on foot through the snow. Their goal: St Petersburg - a place which, rumours suggest, enjoys bread in plenty. However others are also heading south - everyone equally desperate to survive.
209.
Country: Europe / 
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Description:
An unforgettable portrait of London and one of the most talked about debuts of all time! 'The almost preposterous talent was clear from the first pages' Guardian On New Years Day 1975, the day of his almost-suicide, life said yes to Archie Jones. Not OK or 'You-might-as-well-carry-on-since-you've-started'. A resounding affirmative. Promptly seizing his second life by the horns, Archie meets and marries Clara Bowden, a Caribbean girl twenty-eight years his junior. Thus begins a tale of friendship, of love and war, of three culture and three families over three generations . . . ***** 'Street-sm... continue
210.
Zinky Boys : Soviet Voices from the Afghanistan War by Svetlana Alexievich EN
Description:
Winner of the Nobel Prize: "For her polyphonic writings, a monument to suffering and courage in our time." --Swedish Academy, Nobel Prize citation