Austerities and Aspirations. A Comparative History of Growth, Consumption, and Quality of Life in East Central Europe since 1945. By Béla Tomka.

Austerities and Aspirations suggests a new methodological approach for a more nuanced understanding of convergence and divergence between East Central and Western European countries. Specialized in social policy and economic history, with a particular focus on international comparisons, Professor Béla Tomka, who is best known for his outstanding A Social History of Twentieth-Century Europe,1 is an expert on twentieth-century Hungarian society.2 His results in comparative historical research are remarkable in Hungarian historiography. The current volume is a revisited version of his book published in 2011, which mainly concentrated on twentieth-century Hungary.3 The well-constructed book consists of five main chapters, with several subchapters leaving space for the elaboration of details. The introduction conceptualizes the triple approach to well-being: the concepts of economic growth, consumption, and quality of life. Tomka explains his approach by saying that it is meant to overcome the deficiencies of economic analysis focusing merely on GDP and economic output, while the available data on consumption practices and quality of life might facilitate a more complex understanding of economic and social history. Following the introduction of the aims and scope of his research and the possible methods, sources, and their deficiencies, the author argues in favor of long-term and comparative methods. Tomka is clearly aware of the methodological difficulties and shortcomings and reflects upon them throughout the book. In the introduction, we also get a brief description of the volume’s content and structure. While