After the overwhelming horrors of the first half of the 20th century, described by Ian Kershaw in his previous book as having gone 'to Hell and back', the years from 1950 to 2017 brought peace and relative prosperity to most of Europe. Enormous economic improvements transformed the continent. In this book, Ian Kershaw has created a grand panorama of the world we live in and where it came from. Drawing on examples from all across Europe, 'Roller-Coaster' will make us all rethink Europe and what it means to be European.