Tony Judt, noted historian, contracted amyotrophic laterial sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) a few short years ago. Before he died from ALS, Judt, with colleague Timothy Snyder, conducted a series of interviews on Judt’s thoughts about the 20th Century. The interviews range from the causes of WWII, to the rise of Marxism, to Judt’s three marriages (two divorces), and the career of a historian in America and Europe. Timothy Snyder is the perfect partner for these interviews: he’s both probing and knowledgeable. Thinking the 20th Century presents intellectual history in a most congenial format. Tony Judt died in August 2010, but he left us this wonderful parting gift. GRADE: A