Wow, what a compelling journey/history of Europe in the twentieth century. Based on travels through Europe in 1999 and some editing in the years after, this is a one year journey through the Europe of the past. Mak knows how to make the history personal, but doesn't lose sight of the bigger picture and all different players. The combination of a travelling journal and a historical reconstruction works very well. Every month starts with a eye witness story and progresses through the interviews Mak conducted, Mak's observation of the current state of the city and some historical research. His main point of view is the continent as so different, yet with so much shared history. If you want to learn something about the history of recent Europe and the twentieth century, you should start here.