Winner of PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History 2013.

Grimly absorbing, conveys the pity of war and its sorry aftermath with integrity and proper sympathy -- Ian Thomson Sunday Telegraph Moving, measured and provocative -- Dominic Sandbrook Sunday Times Extraordinary...exceptional...reveals a continent where moral values were often missing and basically lawlessness prevailed for several years -- Trevor James The Historian Savage Continent is a powerful and disturbing book, painstakingly researched and written with both authority and an impressive historical sweep -- James Holland A major new historical talent has arrived... a brilliantly organised and scrupulously objective survey of a continent on the floor BBC History Magazine An excellent account...Lowe's vivid descriptions of Europeans scrambling for scraps of food, rampant theft and 'destruction of morals' are a timely reminder that a certain humility is in order when we look at less fortunate continents today. -- Brendan Simms The Independent Impressive and heart-rendering study...Lowe marshals all the elements of the story with cool even-handedness, especially where statistics are concerned, and explains how subsequent generations have manipulated the historical record to suit their own purposes, either to diminish their guilt or demonise others. -- Christopher Silvester Daily Express Extraordinary, disturbing and powerful ... it is to Lowe's great credit that he resists the temptation to sit in moral judgment ... it is time we acknowledged the hidden realities of perhaps the darkest chapter in all human history Daily Mail Graphic and chilling. This excellent book paints a little-known and frightening picture of a continent in the embrace of lawlessness and chaos -- Ian Kershaw

Keith Lowe is widely recognized as an authority on the Second World War, and has often spoken on TV and radio, both in Britain and the United States. He is the author of the critically acclaimed Inferno: The Devastation of Hamburg, 1943 (Penguin). He lives in north London with his wife and two children.