'Few authors would have the ability, and perhaps the determination, to take on the history of both world wars and the connecting decades at this level of sophistication, depth and breadth.' -- The Times 'It is true that his subject could hardly be more familiar, but it is a great achievement to cover such vast historical territory in under 600 pages and with such scrupulous balance, care and good sense. Other historians' books on the same period may be flashier or more provocative. But to read Kershaw on Europe's bloody century is to be driven through a ravaged landscape in the sleek, smooth comfort of a Rolls-Royce, guided by a historian who probably knows the territory better than anybody else on the planet.' -- The Sunday Times 'Ian Kershaw is the historian that other academic historians most admire ... Prof Kershaw sits at the very top of his profession. He is one of a tiny handful of historians whose books will still be read in 100 years. So he takes a big risk by moving out of his area of expertise in order to write an all-encompassing history of Europe in the 20th century. His courage has paid off. To Hell and Back is a triumph.' -- The Mail on Sunday