Tony Judt, Political Historian, Dead at 62

“A well-organized society is one in which we know the truth about ourselves collectively, not one in which we tell pleasant lies about ourselves.”
- Tony Judt.

Tony Judt, a historian of postwar Europe, Israel, and America's foreign policies, was one of those academics who was loathed by persons on both the right and left of the political spectrum.  As The Guardian UK newspaper succinctly put it:

In his guise as a political and historical essayist, he was a fearless critic of narrow orthodoxies and bullying cliques, from communist apologists to the Israel lobby, from "liberal hawks" to progressive educationists. And his political writings have proved not only perceptive but often prophetic.

The obituaries in the NY Times, The Guardian, and other pieces such as Stephen M. Walt's Foreign Affairs tribute, define a man of commanding intellect and fierce moral clarity. 

Mark Lilla, a professor of history, stated in the NY Times Obit that Judt, "had the unusual ability to see and convey the big picture while, at the same time, going to the heart of the matter...Most academics do neither — they float in between. But Tony was able to talk about the big picture and explain why it matters now”

The Guardian describes Postwar, Judt's seminal work on Europe, as:

A History of Europe Since 1945... it was recognised as a masterpiece, acclaimed by scholars and a bestseller in several languages. It described how Europe had remade itself after the horrors of war, totalitarianism and mass murder, helped by some degree of wilful amnesia, although towards the end of the century many repressed memories were at last being recovered.

Whereas Stephen Walt comments:

Postwar is easily the best history of post-World War II Europe yet written, and it provides a compelling account of how a battered and divided continent rebuilt, rose again, and charted a new course for itself. It weaves social, political, and cultural commentary in a clear and compelling narrative, but there are fascinating detours along the way and no shortage of heroes and villains to identify and assess. It is a tour de force that demonstrates Judt's broad and deep learning, sharp critical powers, and a masterful command of language.

His scholarship lead him to clash with intellectual classes of France, European communists, Zionists, the right-wing neo-conservatives who instigated America's Iraq war policy, and the American liberal intelligentsia who likewise supported the failed Iraq war and post-9/11 perpetual warfare narrative.

Tony Judt died at the age of 62 from a variant of the motor neurone disease known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or popularly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease.