A Century of Horrors

"With a trembling heart but a clear head, Alain Besançon, one of the most acute analysts of communism, inquires into the twin hells of the twentieth century. This confrontation with evil persuasively evolves into a meditation upon what appears as the secret pivot of our history: the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. This is an outstanding contribution that sheds uncommon light on what Augustine called the ‘intertwinings of the two cities.’ " —Pierre Manent, author of The City of Man"Besançon’s profound book shows how, for the sake of its own future, Western political thought has to transcend the legacy of both communism and Nazism by working through the dangerous illusions many still entertain about both of these modern idolatries." —David Novak, author of In Defense of Religious Liberty"With an impressive grasp of the critical issues, and without bogging down in details, Besançon lucidly probes into the comparisons and contrasts between these two ­ideologies." —Religious Studies Review