1947

As the clock strikes the end of the war, the time begins to turn towards a new age - the one we call now.

This shift does not happen overnight, from one day to the next; instead, the world vibrates for a number of years. People try to find their way back to homes that are no longer there, or on to an uncertain future across the sea. Some run from their deeds, and most get away. Among the millions in flight across Europe looking for a new home in 1947 is Elisabeth Asbrink's father.

In 1947, production begins of the Kalashnikov, Christian Dior creates the New Look, Simone de Beauvoir writes The Second Sex, the first actual computer bug is discovered, the CIA is set up, a clockmaker's son draws up the plan that remains the goal of jihadists to this day, and a UN Committee is given four months to find a solution to the problem of Palestine.

In 1947, Elisabeth Asbrink chronicles the creation of the modern world, as the forces that will go on to govern all our lives during the next 70 years first make themselves known.

1947 is one of those books that makes you want to major in history. It is one of the best books, certainly the best nonfiction book, that I've read recently. I think the subtitle, where now begins, really speaks to one of the things that makes this book so important- The echoes of 1947 are resonating very, very clearly today.

- Nancy Pearl on NPR's Morning Edition

A gripping history, formed as a patchwork of significant events. In Paris, the final names are added to the treaties ending the war; in New York, Billie Holiday plays Carnegie Hall; in Cairo, the Arab League convenes on the issue of Palestine; on a Scottish island, George Orwell completes 1984 ... Asbrink's careful juxtaposition of disparate events highlights an underlying interconnectedness and suggests a new way of thinking about the postwar era.

- New Yorker

When journalist Asbrink was ten, her father left her a letter that was 19 lines long. The first 18 expressed his love; the last sentence said never to pity yourself. When Asbrink writes about 1947, she honours her father and others who disappeared under Nazi rule ... During this year, writer Simone de Beauvoir went to the United States and had a passionate affair with writer Nelson Algren. A Swedish fascist created escape routes for Nazi friends. Nelly Sachs and Paul Celan wrote poetry about ultimate loss. Primo Levi's memoirs were accepted by a publisher. George Orwell began work on his masterpiece, 1984 ... For the first time, genocide is recognised as a crime ... Asbrink weaves personal and historical stories to show how people migrated across the world, unaccepted in their adopted countries ... This superb book deserves a wide audience. In telling history through disparate voices, Asbrink effectively describes the seas of change, as times change quicker than people do.

- Library Journal, starred review