Fracture: Life and Culture in the West, 1918-1938

When the Great War ended in 1918, the West was broken. Religious faith, patriotism, and the belief in human progress had all been called into question by the mass carnage experienced by both sides. Shell-shocked and traumatized, the West faced a world it no longer recognized: The old order had collapsed, replaced by an age of machines. The world hurtled forward on gears and crankshafts, and terrifying new ideologies arose from the wreckage of past belief.

Historian Philipp Blom argues that in the aftermath of World War I, citizens of the West launched into hedonistic, aesthetic, and intellectual adventures of self-discovery. It was a period of both bitter disillusionment and visionary progress in which artists, scientists, and philosophers grappled with the question of how to live and what to believe in a broken age. America closed its borders to European refugees and turned away from the desperate poverty caused by the Great Depression. On both sides of the Atlantic, disenchanted voters flocked to Communism and Fascism, forming political parties based on violence and revenge that presaged the horror of a new World War.

Vividly re-creating this era of unparalleled ambition, artistry, and innovation, Blom captures the seismic shifts that defined the interwar period and continue to shape our world today.

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"[An] eminently readable tome full of splendid anecdotal detail. Mr. Blom's ability to convey a mood and to synthesize complex issues, is admirable.... Anyone reading this book today in the context of our own culture of doubt will feel an immediate affinity to the anxious and even desperate celebration of life that it portrays." - Wall Street Journal


"A fluent, often entertaining account of the period." - New York Times


"[A] thoughtful portrait of the interwar years...this well-written account brings a refreshing clarity to such uncertain times." - Publishers Weekly


"A book to be absorbed, marveled at and admired for the wide range of research linking events and thoughts." - Kirkus


"This historical account will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in cultural analysis." - Library Journal

"Fracture is a vivid and, at times, beautifully written account of thematically connected events and individuals that, in his view, illustrate the transformative and often tragic currents of the era." - Winnipeg Free Press ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Philipp Blom is the author of several award-winning books, including A Wicked Company, and The Vertigo Years, which has been made into a three-part television documentary. A frequent lecturer at European and American universities, he also contributes to international newspapers and hosts a radio show on Austrian national radio. Philipp Blom lives in Vienna. Read more