I was hoping for more, much much more. The synopsis did not translate to the story at all. The introduction was much too long. I feel like this could have been better if it had been shortened to better suit a wider scope of readers.

Ruin and Renewal by Paul Betts
Rating 3.5/ 5 Stars
Published By Perseus Books
Published On 17th November 2020

Thank you to Netgalley, Perseus Books, and of course, Paul Betts, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Writing an account of the entire continent of Europe in only 550 or so pages is a task in itself. Setting that account after one of the most pinnacle periods of Modern History and one of the most devastating makes it even more difficult. Betts does a good job in his attempt, however, the scope of his work is the main issue I find. There is not enough time, not pages dedicated to the entire continent of Europe. In order to cover in its entirety, Betts would have to double or even triple the word count to do it justice. I found this to be an exceptional read beyond that fact and I did really enjoy the interesting facts and theories put forward. It is an informative book and one worthy of reading. In the end, I wanted more due to the nature of the title, but as a historian - I always want more!

The process of rebuilding Europe in the wake of World War II has been the subject of numerous histories. What separates this history from earlier iconic postwar narratives written by historians such as Tony Judt, Mark Mazower, Konrad Jarausch, and Ian Kershaw is that Paul Bett, professor of modern European history at St. Anthony's College, focuses on the changing ways in which the concept of civilization was mobilized by various actors to redress the European crisis of identity after 1945. The book is based on the premise that in the twentieth and twenty-first century the idea of civilization was no longer associated with a narrative of cultural, social, economic, and political progress as it had been in the 18th and 19th century. Instead invocations of civilization were now associated with insecurity, anxiety, defeat, and the overwhelming task of rebuilding and redefining what it meant to European, and even what it meant to be human. Thus, rather than a narrative of superpower domination or of discrete national states, the author traces the different uses to which the language of civilization was put as Europeans tried to redefine their place in the world. This conceptual approach has the advantage of allowing the author to tackle subjects such as decolonization from the perspective of the colonized and colonizer as both mobilized the language of civilization against one another. Similarly, it also allows the author to write a history that transcends the Iron Curtain, showing how for a brief period the United States, the USSR, and Europe mobilized a shared language of civilization against the remnants of Nazism, only to later rework that narrative to justify their respective political systems. This approach also introduces historical actors that often receive minimal coverage in traditional histories, such as leading figures in the Catholic and Protestant churches, UNRAA relief workers, and the writers of etiquette guides in the 1950s. Similarly countries, such as Spain, Portugal, Greece, Hungary and Yugoslavia that usually rate only a few pages in a traditional history of Europe, appear quite prominently as do Europe's former colonies. For this, the author should be commended.

That said, in tracing the ways in which civilization was mobilized, the author at times flattened some historical complexities. For example, in discussing the Catholic Church's role in these contestations, the author usually assumes a monolithic, conservative Church under tight papal control. Thus, the various theological battles for control of the church's direction in the modern world in the 1960s, go unmentioned. There is no mention of the theological battle within the Catholic Church over sexuality and women's place in the Church in the 1960s and 1970s. Instead we have a picture of students at secular colleges "openly mocking the heroic defense of civilization as symptomatic of repressive Establishment values." While certainly this narrative of youth versus the establishment is real, it overlooks the battles taking place within so-called establishment institutions, such as the Catholic Church. Here, some noteworthy theologians were putting forth arguments against an all-male celibate priesthood, against the Church's prohibition against birth control, and even against a unilateral ban on abortion. These theological arguments, while certainly influenced by changes in secular society, were also informed by the diverse theological traditions within Catholicism. Thus, a binary civilizational narrative of establishment institutions versus liberal youth and /or Third World nations cannot capture the complexity of the decade..

Still, this is a thought-provoking narrative of postwar Europe that challenges the traditional boundaries of a European history.

TL;DR

Ruin and Renewal by Dr. Paul Betts delivered a fascinating history of Cold War Europe as it sought to rebuild and defend its civilization. Ruin and Renewal is a must have for anyone interested in European or Cold War history. Highly recommended.

Disclaimer: The publisher provided a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Ruin and Renewal by Paul Betts

Civilization is an interesting concept that represents the duality of humanity so well. In its most optimistic form, civilization represents laws, learning, and a peaceful society committed to improvement. However because humans always think their own civilization is the correct version, it often leads to imperialism and a sense of superiority. A desire to give the best of ourselves to others resulted in occupation, plundering, and worse. At the end of World War II, a need to return to civilization helped heal Europe. However, the Nazi occupation did not inspire an awakening about Europe’s own occupation of its colonies. Civilization meant Europe’s own specific version even as American culture crept in. Professor Paul Betts’s Ruin and Renewal documents how the concept of civilization suffused post-war Europe. Ruin and Renewal looks at how returning to being ‘civilized’ helped Europe heal even as it attempted to maintain its colonial powers.

In Ruin and Renewal, Paul Betts seeks to highlight the people who rebuilt Europe after World War II. He treats Europe as a whole looking at both sides of the Iron Curtain and even at Europe’s colonies. Betts shows how factions turned reconstruction into a contest for civilization. Ruin and Renewal doesn’t just focus on the positive aspects of rebuilding the continent; it also shows how for some rebuilding civilization was limited to the European definition. Colonies were viewed as part of the European nation, not as an autonomous people unto themselves. Whether learning about the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) or the Women’s Caravan of Peace organized by Dora Russell or about UNESCO saving Nubian Monuments, Ruin and Renewal contains so much fascinating history. Betts used the thread of civilization to show how competing interests built the Europe we currently know.

I love European Cold War history. Over the past few years, it’s become a subject that I’m slightly obsessed with. Ruin and Renewal is an excellent and welcome addition to my library. It earned its place among my favorites, like Postwar by Tony Judt, The Global Age by Ian Kershaw, and Year Zero by Ian Buruma. It is a book to which I’ll return. I know I didn’t get everything out of it because there is so much here to learn, to think about. Plus, I loved the writing, and I think there’s a lot to learn craft-wise from this book.

Didn't Forget the Colonies

Going into the book, I worried that it would be a cheerleader for European culture. But Ruin and Renewal shows the good and bad. While Europeans sought to rebuild for themselves, they also sought to oppress their traditional colonies.

I read aghast that as France celebrated the final defeat of Hitler, it also engaged in violent suppression in the Algerian town of Sétif. While An Event, Perhaps and the very, very funny show A Very Secret Service taught me about Algeria as a French colony, I didn’t connect that French oppression coincided with its own reconstruction. One would think that the French living through the occupation by Nazi’s would make them question their occupation of another country. But, no, the majority saw Algeria as French, not a nation unto itself. In this chapter, Betts connect Algeria and other European colonies to the Greek Civil War. These nations and their people suffered, but to both East and West Europeans and the U.S. they were simply proxies in the Cold War. It’s a shameful but powerful look at how Europe and the U.S. viewed entire countries as resources to be used up in the name of the ‘greater good.’ Betts doesn’t judge but also doesn’t spare the reader from the ugliness and hypocrisy of using civilization as an excuse to oppress and exploit.

Loved the Writing

I loved how Betts structured each chapter as well. He starts by focusing on an individual or location as an entrance into the larger subject of the chapter. The best example of this structure is the chapter on faith and drugs as Cold War battlefronts. Betts begins by discussing the trial of Hungarian Cardinal József Mindszenty. This trial is followed by discussion of religious persecution in Eastern Europe, how Christianity became important for the U.S. in the fight against Communism, and how the U.S. formed a spiritual alliance with the Pope.

But the chapter isn’t restricted to religion. The Mindszenty trial also became part of popular culture in the West. Because the Cardinal is suspected to have been drugged during the trial, the public questioned what happened to his mental state. What had Hungary done to him to elicit his suspect confession? This led to worry about the Soviets having psychological weapons and using drugs to alter a person’s psyche. From brain-washing scares to MK Ultra, the West felt there was a ‘mind-control’ gap.

All of this is just one chapter. Betts weaves all this together with the thread of Cardinal Mindzsenty to make a cohesive chapter. In lesser skilled hands, this chapter would be a sprawling mess. Instead, Betts makes these connections seem natural. From a pure craft perspective, Ruin and Renewal tells a good story in each chapter.

A Confession

I have to make a confession. I didn’t finish the whole book by the review deadline. Of the nine chapters in my ARC, I finished seven. I will finish Ruin and Renewal after this review posts because it’s such a good history. While it is a long book, the length had no effect on my reading. Instead, Betts topics piqued my curiosity. For example, he discusses photography books about post-war Germany. Because of this, I ended up on Google searching for photos. When he discusses the rise in popularity of etiquette books, I went to Google to learn more. Reading through, I found myself asking questions and wanting to know more about each subject Betts was writing about. I wanted to know more, to learn more, and to me, there’s no better recommendation for a nonfiction book than, “it made me want to learn more.”

Conclusion

Paul Betts’ Ruin and Renewal is an excellent history of Cold War Europe. It’s well written, interesting, and full of fascinating details. This looks at Europe as a totality across the Cold War divide, and it delivers a detailed view of the rebuilding of European civilization. Betts succeeds in documenting how the need to defend civilization drove much of Europe’s post-war actions. The competing view of civilization between the East and West of Europe drove their own cycles of Ruin and Renewal.

Highly Recommended!

Ruin and Renewal by Dr. Paul Betts is available from Basic Books on November 17th, 2020.

8 out of 10!

Ruin and Renewal provides an incredible overview of how the events immediately following WW2 continue to impact our lives today. Betts connects global events across decades in a way that's clear and concise -- and doesn't require a history PhD to make sense of.

Betts uses the shifting and contradictory concepts of "civilization" as an overarching theme to what could easily become an unwieldy history. While this is a book about Europe, this is the era of collapsing empires and the formation of global institutions. The book stretches from the close of WW2 through to the current day, illuminating how we got to where we are. Betts shares both contemporary and current understandings of the events, which is particularly useful in understanding how much the world has (and hasn't) changed.

While the book's narrative structure is a pleasure to read straight-through, it's organized in such a way to make it easy to choose the sections you're interested in -- perhaps you've picked it up for a better understanding of UNESCO -- as well as to skim over the areas that are less pertinent to your interests.

So many historical accounts of the war focus on the battles, the politics and the human experience. And I love those books. What is often missing, however, is what happens when the gunfire stops and society moves to a state of relative peace. The concept of reconstruction and the effective rebuilding of Europe and of society is explored in this fascinating account. After war, still nothing is normal This book reminds the reader of that.