Pursuit Of Power: Europe 1815-1914

In The Pursuit of Power: Europe 1815-1914 (Penguin Random House, 2016), renowned Cambridge professor and prolific author Richard Evans gives us a magnificently human picture of Europe in the age when it dominated the rest of the globe. He delves into the fascinatingly complex and interconnected range of historical forces at work, interweaving political conflict and transition, economic transformation, social upheaval, and cultural change. We will use this narrative to discuss a century of social and national conflicts and immense technological, social, and cultural change. In this vast story, we will follow as Evans traces a unifying thread: nineteenth-century Europeans sought power above all else; over themselves, over each other, over nature, and even over the wider world. Join us in reading and discussing this comprehensive and sweeping account of Europe from the fall of Napoleon to the outbreak of World War I. We will read an average of 50 pages a week and active participation in the study group is expected.