A World on Edge

In 1918 Europe lay in ruins. With the end of the First World War, a radical new start seemed not only possible, but inevitable, and unorthodox ideas lit up the age. The struggle to determine the future had begun. In A World on Edge historian Daniel Schönpflug describes this watershed year as it was experienced on the ground - open-ended, unfathomable, its outcome unclear - by those who lived through the turmoil, whether famous or ordinary, among them the sculptor Käthe Kollwitz, who lost her son in the war, Moina Michael, who was about to invent the 'remembrance poppy' and Ho Chi Minh, who was washing dishes in Paris while dreaming of liberating Vietnam. The result is a vivid panorama of a world suspended between enthusiasm and disappointment, and of a moment in which the window of opportunity was suddenly open, only to quickly close shut once again. 'Schönpflug's study of the immediate aftermath of the First World War brings a fresh and varied perspective to a familiar narrative, and reminds one of the brief period of optimism and hope that came out of the carnage and chaos.' Financial Times, Books of the Year 'Moving and inspired book . . . An evocative and deeply affecting requiem for what might have been.' Douglas Smith, author of Rasputin and Former People 'Outstanding . . . a wonderfully stimulating guide to a world that knew it had changed utterly but was fearful about where it was heading.' Evening Standard