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Europe: A History (Paperback)
by Norman Davies
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Europe history, History of civilization |
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| MSL Pointer Review:
The recipient of rave reviews, this book is an invaluable one volume desk reference as well as fascinating history, with a style of writing that is enjoyable, accessible, and informative. |
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Author: Norman Davies
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Pub. in: February, 1998
ISBN: 0060974680
Pages: 1,392
Measurements: 9.3 x 6.2 x 2.3 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BA00299
Other information: ISBN-13: 978-0060974688
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- Awards & Credential -
The International Bestseller and the best single volume history of Europe.
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- MSL Picks -
This book has proven to be one of my most valuable desk references. I wished I had bought the hardback, given the wear and tear on it over the 6 years I have had it. Davies has done a marvelous job of condensing a tremendous amount of history into one volume. He approaches it in a three-fold way. He provides a richly flowing narrative that covers the story of Europe much like an epic novel. He intersperses the narrative with an extensive series of "Capsules" that take in special events and interesting asides in the development of a European identity. Lastly, he provides a massive set of appendices that cover everything from royal lines to WWII death tolls.
The narrative is divided into a set of 12 chapters that cover broad periods of time starting with the environment and prehistory of the contintnet to the Cold War era. Davies has a tremendous command of the events which shaped Europe. His strength lies in his understanding of Eastern Europe, and in particular Poland, expanding the breadth of the continent beyond its usual eastern borders. In fact one might say that Davies has made the case to rethink European history along Eastern European lines, which is the logical extension of his earlier two-volume history of Poland. He takes in Russian history, with special attention to its Slavic roots. He deals with the inevitable conflicts that arose and provides good summaries of the World Wars. He deals with the restoration of Western Europe and the demise of Eastern Europe following WWII along ideological lines, noting how one rose at the expense of the other. He chooses to end his narrative with the collapse of the Soviet Union, providing a short epilogue on his thoughts concerning the new allignments in Europe.
The numerous capsules are a very interesting approach in dealing with cultural aspects of Europe. He offers an astonishing array of anecdotes in these capsules such as the origins of Dr. Faustas to the transcendental nature of the famous war song, Lili Marlene. Although he covers much of the cultural history of Europe in his narrative, it is in these capsules that one finds many fascinating aspects of this cultural history and how it has evolved over the century.
The appendices cover a lot of ground, illustruating some of the iconography of Europe, providing extensive lists of everything from the Popes and Patriarchs of Rome to a selection of the works and authors banned by the Papal Index. He provides numerous maps and charts to help guide you through the rough and tumble history of Europe, and provides accurate death tolls of the World Wars. He also provides extensive book notes as well as an excellent index to help guide you in subsequent searches.
This is probably the best one-volume history of Europe available today and one that will serve you will in gaining an understanding of this rich and varied continent. His rich prose makes it a pleasure to read and his excellent index allows for quick searches to look up key events. A book that will find its place with all your other desk references or by your armchair for a long and enjoyable read.
(From quoting Jim Ferguson, USA)
Target readers:
History students and lovers, people interested in Europe history and culture, academics, university lecturers, public libraries, and people giving this book as a gift.
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Norman Davies is chairman of the history department, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, at the University of London. He has been a visiting professor at Columbia and McGill Universities.
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From Publisher
Here is a masterpiece of historical narrative that stretches from the Ice Age to the Atomic Age, as it tells the story of Europe, East and West. Norman Davies captures it all-the rise and fall of Rome, the sweeping invasions of Alaric and Atilla, the Norman Conquests, the Papal struggles for power, the Renaissance and the Reformation, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, Europe's rise to become the powerhouse of the world, and its eclipse in our own century, following two devastating World Wars. This is the first major history of Europe to give equal weight to both East and West, and it shines light on fascinating minority communities, from heretics and lepers to Gypsies, Jews, and Muslims. It also takes an innovative approach, combining traditional narrative with unique features that help bring history alive: 299 time capsules scattered through the narrative capture telling aspects of an era. 12 -snapshots offer a panoramic look at all of Europe at a particular moment in history. Full coverage of Eastern Europe - 100 maps and diagrams, 72 black-and-white plates.All told, Davies’'s Europe represents one of the most important and illuminating histories to be published in recent years.
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Chapter One
Peninsula
Environment and Prehistory
There is a marked determinism about many descriptions of Europe's environmental history. Many Europeans have assumed that their 'continent' was so magnificently endowed that it was destined by Nature for world supremacy. And many have imagined that Europe's good fortune would somehow last forever. "The empire of climate", wrote Montesquieu in 1748, "is the first of all empires"; and he proceeded to show that the European climate had no rival. For Montesquieu, as for his many successors, Europe was synonymous with Progress.
There has also been a good deal of national parochialism. Even the founder of human geography, the great Paul Vidal de la Blache (1845-1918), one of the intellectual ancestors of the Annales school, was not above a touch of Gallic chauvinizing. The geography of France, he stressed, was marked by the keynote of variety. "Against the diversities which assail her", he wrote, "France sets her force d'assimilarion, her power of assimilation. She transforms everything that she receives." On Britain, in contrast, he quotes the doggerel lines about 'this paltry little isle, I with acres few and weather vile'. One hundred years later one finds Fernand Braudel doing similar things.2 Variety is indeed a characteristic of France's superb make-up. But it is not a French monopoly; it is a hallmark of Europe as a whole.
In fact, the Peninsula of Europe is not really a "continent" at all: it is not a self-contained land mass. At c.10 million km2 (3.6 million square miles), it is less than one-quarter the size of Asia, one-third of Africa, one-half of each of the Americas. Modern geographers classify it, like India, as a subcontinent of Eurasia: 'a cape of the old continent, a western appendix of Asia'. Even so, it is impossible to deny that Europe has been endowed with a formidable repertoire of physical features. Europe's landforms, climate, geology, and fauna have combined to produce a benign environment that is essential to an understanding of its development.
Europe's landforms do not resemble those of any other continent or sub-continent. The depressions to north and south have been flooded by the ocean to form two parallel sea-chains which penetrate deep into the interior. In the north, the North Sea-Baltic sea lane stretches 1,500 miles (2,500 km) from the Atlantic to Russia. In the south, the Mediterranean-Black Sea system stretches over 2,400 miles (4,000 km) from Gibraltar to the Caucasus. Within these protected seas lie a vast complex of lesser gulfs and a huge spangle of islands. As a result, the ratio of shoreline to landmass is exceptionally high: at c.37,000 km, or more than 23,000 miles, the European shoreline is almost exactly the length of the Equator. For early Man, this was perhaps the most important measure of accessibility.
What is more, since the shores of the Peninsula lie in the temperate latitudes of Eurasia's western extremity, they are served by a user-friendly climate. Prevailing ocean winds blow westerly; and it is the western coasts of the great continents that stand to benefit most from the moderating influx of sea air. Yet few other west-facing continental coasts can actually enjoy the advantage. Elsewhere, if the western shore is not blocked by towering peaks or icy currents, it is lined by deserts such as the Sahara, the Kalahari, or the Atacama.
The climate of Europe, therefore, is unusually temperate for its latitude. Generally speaking, under the influence of the Gulf Stream, northern Europe is mild and moist; southern Europe is relatively warm, dry, and sunny. Central and eastern Europe enjoy elements of a true continental climate, with clear, cold winters and baking hot summers. But everywhere the weather is changeable. Extremes are usually avoided. Even in European Russia, where the difference between the mean temperatures of January and July can approach 45°C, the range is only half what it is in Siberia. The wettest district in Europe is in western Norway, with an average annual precipitation of 3,500 mm (138 inches). The dryest district surrounds the Caspian Sea, with less than 250 mm ( inches) per annum. The coldest spot is Vorkuta, with a mean January chill of -20 °C; the hottest is disputed between Seville and Astrakhan, both with mean July roasts of +29 °C. These extremes do not compare with their counterparts in Asia, Africa, or the Americas.
Europe's temperate climate favoured the requirements of primitive agriculture. Most of the Peninsula lies within the natural zone of cultivable grasses. There were abundant woodlands to provide fuel and shelter. Upland pasture often occurs in close proximity to fertile valleys. In the west and south, livestock can winter in the open. Local conditions frequently encouraged special adaptations. The extensive coastline, combined with the broad Continental Shelf, gave fishermen rich rewards. The open plains, especially of the Danube Basin, preserved the nomadic horse-rearing and cattle-driving of the Eurasian steppes. In the Alps - which take their name from the high pastures above the tree-line - transhumance has been practised from an early date.
Europe's climate was probably also responsible for the prevalent skin-colour of its human fauna. Moderate levels of sunshine, and hence of ultra-violet radiation, meant that moderate levels of pigmentation came to be encoded in the Peninsula's gene pool. Certainly, in historic times pale faces have predominated, together with blond or golden hair and blue eyes in the northern regions. The great majority of Europeans and their descendants can be easily recognized as such from their looks.
Until recently, of course, it was impossible to take anything but the most superficial racial factors into consideration. The analysis of blood groups, body tissues, and DNA imprints, for example, was unknown until the late twentieth century; and it was not realized just how much genetic material all human beings have in common. As a result, racial theorists were apt to draw conclusions from external criteria such as skin colour, stature, or skull form. In reality, the racial make-up of Europe's population has always displayed considerable variety. The tall, blue-eyed, fair-skinned, platinum blonds of the so-called "Nordic race" which established itself in Scandinavia forms the only group remotely qualified for the label of "white."...
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Jonny Harman (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-27 00:00>
Having read much on Europe over the years through books on specific parts of it, books on Europe itself (including J. M. Roberts' The Penguin History of Europe) and books more on the history of Europe and the world as a whole (inc. A History of the Modern World, by R. R. Palmer, et el), I am absolutely certain that Europe: A History is the best history book out there. I cannot possibly praise this book enough and it has set in my mind an almost impossible standard for other history books to follow. May I say that Davies leaves Roberts in the dust?
As other reviewers tell you, Davies' style is absolutely compelling, and every page-turning chapter also includes fascinating boxed-texts ("capsules"), periodical chapter summaries, and very likely comprehensive charts, graphs and similar information in the extensive appendices that are also provided. All this makes not just for a book, but for a near tomb of information that can be read again and again. As big as it is, I would sooner throw out a pair of good shoes than demote it from pride of place in my traveller's backpack.
The most obvious thing about Europe: A History is that it doesn't ignore significant chunks of Europe! Many writers on Europe - Roberts included - focus so much on Western Europe (Germany, France, and especially England) that recently converted arm-chair historians could be forgiven for thinking that the rest of Europe never existed until post WWI. For example, Roberts practically sums up the whole of Poland prior to WWI in just one page [p. 177], and the impression given is that Russia was always Poland's elder brother and often rightly its political dictator. In this example, Davies demonstrates just how significant and advanced a kingdom Poland-Lithuania was, and this was when Muscovite Russia was still paying tribute to the tartars in Kazan.
But although Davies loves Poland, he doesn't make the mistake of forgetting about the other players too. Russia is still probably covered more extensively (her history having had more of an impact on the whole of Europe), however none but perhaps the very smallest of countries doesn't get her fair share of recognition. A one volume history cannot set out to cover every single detail and historical happening. Naturally, Davies' aim is to discuss key events that have shaped Europe into what she is today (as they have shaped much of the world), but through his style of chapters, capsules, summaries and appendices, he also succeeds at capturing many small glimpses of another side of Europe that is normally neglected within a book of such scope. Davies writes with more than just historical authority, he uses a well-trained imagination to create a text that is wholly more real and personal. My own imagination began to run totally wild, and for the several months that it took me to complete the book (I'm a slow, but I like to think a 'thorough' and 'methodical', reader) I practically lived European history from the start of every discussion to the end of every dream. If you read only one book on Europe, let it be this one. If you have already read other books on (or covering) Europe, then you have done well to save the best to last.
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Jeff Morseburg (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-27 00:00>
Every serious reader can use a panoramic single-volume history of Europe and its civilization. Norman Davies' Europe: A History is absolutely sweeping in its scope, taking the reader from the Ice Age to the present day. This book is beautifully written and despite the enormous ground that it covers, it maintains a strong narrative drive. Norman Davies is erudite and incredibly well read and each page bristles with interesting facts and despite the necessity of compressing so much history into thirteen hundred pages, there is a surprising amount of detail. Like all good synthesizers, he has an eye for the telling anecdote, the little vignette that contributes to the narrative. Davies' work has hundreds of such asides and his work is full of triumph and pathos, irony and humor - as it is the story of man and Western Civilization. There are plenty of well-written sidebars that are short dissertations on historical figures, philosophical concepts, laws or wars, issues that may have distracted from the narrative, but that serve to illuminate the text. Overall, Europe: A History is an exceptional work of brevity and compression. While few of us will read it from cover to cover, it's of great use for those of us who want a single volume to refer to, to understand what an exceptional scholar feels is most important about historical events and epochs.
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Gallowglass (MSL quote), UK
<2007-01-27 00:00>
This book has several useful features, one of which is its immense size (the Christian Science Monitor weighed it in at 3 pounds, 14 ounces), which will make it useful for dropping on the next overbearing know-it-all that uses the phrase, Western Civilization. Another useful feature - suitable for the same use - is the extensive Introduction in which the author dissects the various variants of the historiography of Europe, with unfavorable results, and trashes the concepts of traditional European history and Western civilization.
In tackling the history of the continent, Davies brings to bear his own expertise in Polish history, to forcibly drag the center of gravity of his subject East. As a result, Europe filled my own long-felt need to see East European history in conjunction with the Western European history covered in overviews of medieval history and in the schools. But this is by no means a reference book; it is not meant to be used to look up facts and figures. Instead, it is an absorbing, fluidly written volume that not only includes sidelights, vignettes, and descriptive passages, but a series of 'capsules' that tackle (not always well, admittedly) various cultural subjects.
Davies points out, before beginning, that the writing of history - including his own - is necessarily distorted; the best one can hope for is the clarity that develops from multiple viewpoints. He is fond of untidy, sprawling portrayals, replete with conflict, of each era. The intended reader is obviously someone who has some knowledge of history of the traditional kind, and this is most obvious in the post-period sections where his coverage is obviously directed against historiographical controversies that have raged in modern newspapers.
Europe has earned both very positive and a few very negative reviews. The accuracy of certain dates and of specific facts and figures has been questioned (though a quick look in the Britannica clears some of these up, and Davies himself says that those pointed out have been corrected in the paperback edition), especially by those whose reviews indicate that their personal oxen have been gored, or at least chafed.
One negative reviewer pointed out that Davies ignores the "relatively modest contribution which Slavonic culture in general, and Russian culture in particular, has made compared with the more positive achievements of European civilization such as parliamentary democracy, intellectual tolerance, religious freedom, the rule of law, the creation of the welfare state, equality of treatment for men and women, and the improvement of life brought about by pure and applied science." (Since he goes to great pains to show that none of these are exclusive creations of Western Europe, one wonders about the reviewer.) Theodore Rabb's comments in a New York Times review (in which Rabb says he did not finish skimming, let alone reading, the book) were extensively polemical. Repeatedly, Davies is called an anti-Semite for 'trivializing the Holocaust'; readers will have to peruse his coverage and decide that for themselves.
The volume IS biased-- Davies appears in the guise of a Polophile, pro-EU, anti-Muscovite, anti-Nationalist generally Christian historian who believes that man's inhumanity to man is a continuing theme in history. (Some of that may be as a result of cursorily covering subjects with which we are familiar, such as the horrors of the Catholic Inquisition, and giving more detail to things which are less well-known, such as the persecution of Protestants by other Protestants.) Those who are interested in British History will, I'm afraid, get short shrift-- even the English Civil War is downgraded to an essentially local conflict, and Good Queen Bess is almost ignored. His coverage of Russian history is likewise spotty, partly because he slights those parts of the 'former Soviet Union' that are not part of Europe proper. In fact, in some ways, the whole coverage of history is spotty, due to Davies' attempts to portray history in all its messiness and to make an engaging storyline with minimal imposition of theoretical perspectives on the subject.
But the most striking point of the whole volume is an undertone that those of us who are interested in East European history will recognize, an overtone of irritation of Douglas Adamsian proportions, which, if it does not 'span the whole of time and space in its infinite umbrage', does cover Europe with a thin layer of peckiness. It is the irritation of someone whose field of study is one of those not only overlooked by one's colleagues but also slammed on a regular basis. As a result, Davies places a somewhat undue emphasis on Poland-Lithuania and Eastern European affairs in general, and he takes a stand in covering the events of the Holocaust and the other genocides in modern Eastern Europe that got him into trouble. |
Greg Lynn (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-27 00:00>
Norman Davies, an English Professor of History, has done a brilliant job with this work. Covering virtually every aspect of European history in an immense single volume (some 1400 or so pages) from Prehistory to the Present, Davies presents an incredible panorama over several million years of how Europe formed, evolved, and eventually became the world's powerhouse of civilisation and culture.
The book's strongest feature is its sheer comprehensive coverage of Europe. Virtually every people and nation (past and present) of historical importance, from Albania to Greece, is covered in excellent detail. Europe's geographical features (and how these influenced history) are explained in exquisite detail. Virtually every important field of human endeavour, from Art to the Olympic Games, is given great and fascinating historical perspective. Europe's historical figures are also examined, as are their often strange peculiarities, from Copernicus to Cathernine the Great.
The wonderful book is also complemented by excellent maps and 'sidebar' essays. The essays, structured much like a hyperlink, explain some interesting nuance, concept, or historical figure mentioned in the main text in some detail. Davies manages to balance these features just correctly so they don't become too much of a distraction, yet cannot be ignored by the reader.
This book is strongly recommended as a good introduction to European history.
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