In this remarkable book, Mark Mazower aims to offer a new view of Europe's modern history. The complacent belief that Europe is the natural home of freedom and democracy is replaced by a far more sinister and unflattering picture of a continent which has been both a breeding ground and an experimental farm for ideologies of extraordinary ferocity. DARK CONTINENT is a brilliant attempt to face up to Europe's disturbing legacy, showing fascism and communism as part of people's normal lives andan integral part of the continent's overall evolution. It ranges widely across Europe as a whole, and treats the fates of Eastern Europe and the Balkans as no less central as part of this history than the states of the European Union.