Eurovision! A History of Modern Europe Through the World's Greatest Song Contest - Softcover

Chris West

4.03

240 ratings by Goodreads

9780993414992: Eurovision! A History of Modern Europe Through the World's Greatest Song Contest

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0993414990 ISBN 13: 9780993414992

Publisher: Melville House Uk, 2017

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A BBC Radio 2 Book Club title

Do you think the world of the Eurovision Song Contest, with its crazy props, even crazier dancers and crazier still songs has nothing to do with serious European politics? Think again. The contest has been a mirror for cultural, social and political developments in Europe ever since its inauguration, when an audience in dinner jackets and ball-gowns politely applauded each song. It has been a voice of rebellion across the Iron Curtain, an inspiration for new European nations in the 1990s and 2000s, the voice of liberation for both sexual and regional minorities. It even once triggered a national revolution.

Eurovision charts both the history of Europe and the history of the Eurovision Song Contest over the last six decades, and shows how seamlessly they interlink and what an amazing journey it has been.

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Review:

&quotA feast for any Eurovision fan. As thorough a history of the contest as anyone could desire." - Graham Norton

&quotThis book definitely gets douze points from me." - Mel Giedroyc, BBC TV presenter

&quotIt's a toss-up which will be first: England winning the World Cup again, or the UK winning Eurovision again. While you re waiting, this book is the perfect companion." - Tim Rice&quotDon t ever say that Eurovision isn t political. It is. Chris West's book brings the colourful history of Europe to life through the prism of the even more colourful Eurovision Song Contest. It is a cornucopia of information, with everything I wanted to know about modern history and the contest." - Katrina Leskanich, Katrina & The Waves (Eurovision winner, 1997)

&quotFor Europhiles, Europhobes and the Euro-cautious alike: witty, informed and insightful." - Alison Light, author of Common People and Senior Associate at Pembroke College, Oxford

&quotSurprisingly erudite on Europe, its failings and its triumphs, it's a timely, readable and fun book!" - Tim Judah, author of In Wartime: Stories from Ukraine

&quotI ve always thought Eurovision was just a joke, but Chris West shows how it has always been a mirror of cultural and political change. He also thinks that as the most popular European institution, it can give lessons in transparency and accessibility to the leaders of the EU. But he does give us some laughs too." - Robert Tombs, Professor of Modern History, University of Cambridge

&quotA highly entertaining history of modern Europe through the prism of Eurovision. is book shows that the contest has an essential role to play in international diplomacy." - Nicola Clase, presenter of 'The Swedish Ambassador's Guide to Eurovision' (BBC Radio)

&quotI curse Chris West for making Eurovision so entertaining I shall have to go back to watching it. He interweaves the often comic stories of the contest with the sometimes tragic recent history of our continent. All of human genius, and our capacity for screwing up, are here, told with wit, wisdom and humanity." - Sir Stephen Wall, British Permanent Representative to the EU 1995 2000

&quotA fascinating and accessible journey through post-war European politics. I've got several people already clamouring to borrow my copy after my enthusiastic 'Did you know...?' sharing moments as I was reading it." - Debbie Young, author of Quick Change

&quotReveals little known parallels between the European Union and the Eurovision Song Contest. An essential read for followers of politics and popular music alike." --Gordon Lewis, Editor-in-Chief, Vision (the UK s Eurovision Magazine)

&quotEurovision! will provide you with a succinct, entertaining overview of European life over the past sixty years." - Times Literary Supplement

&quotWest argues that while the contest has evolved to show tolerance, the EU has proved less flexible... this is a book for ardent Eurovision fans who will lap up the Eurotrivia." - Daily Express

&quotAmid all the engaging pop trivia, West works hard to make his political points, and his introduction is persuasive." --The Guardian

About the Author:

Chris West has been a Eurovision fan since watching Sandie Shaw padding to victory in 1967. He once wrote a song for the competition (it didn't get selected!). He is also a keen student of history, and has written many books since his first, 'Journey to the Middle Kingdom', was published in 1991.

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