Modris Eksteins facts for kids
Modris Eksteins (born December 13, 1943) is a Canadian historian. He was born in Latvia. He is known for writing interesting books about German history and modern culture.
His Early Life and Education
Modris Eksteins was born in Riga, Latvia. When he was a child, his family moved to Canada. They first lived in Winnipeg and then in Toronto. He went to Upper Canada College on a scholarship. Later, he studied at the University of Toronto. He earned his first degree there in 1965. He also studied in Germany at Heidelberg University in 1963. After that, he went to Oxford University in England as a Rhodes Scholar. He earned two more degrees there by 1970. In 1970, he started teaching history at the University of Toronto Scarborough. He retired in 2010 as a professor.
Books by Modris Eksteins
Modris Eksteins has written several important books. His books have been translated into many languages. These include German, French, Spanish, Japanese, and Chinese.
- Theodor Heuss und die Weimarer Republik (1969)
- The Limits of Reason: The German Democratic Press and the Collapse of Weimar Democracy (1975)
- Nineteenth-Century Germany (1983), which he helped edit.
- Rites of Spring: The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age (1989). This book won the Wallace K. Ferguson Prize and the Trillium Book Award. It looks at how World War I changed the world.
- Walking Since Daybreak: A Story of Eastern Europe, World War II and the Heart of Our Century (1999). This book talks about World War II in Latvia and includes his own family's story. It won the Pearson Writers' Trust Non-Fiction Prize.
- Diaghilev Was Here (2005), which he co-authored.
- Solar Dance: Genius, Forgery, and the Eclipse of Certainty (2012). This book explores the fame of artist Vincent van Gogh and a person who forged his paintings. It won the 2013 British Columbia National Award for Canadian Non-Fiction.
