Europe: A History

Davies' magisterial European survey text succeeds where many others examples do not. If it took Davies 20 years to get this book together, it is readily apparent upon reading why that was so: the text covers an expansive and often multi-faceted history with aplomb. A great accomplishment in its own right and one of my personal favorites within the area of general history, the book manages to provide an extensive factual presentation while at the same time maintaining a highly readable narrative. The fascinating (and sometimes provocative) side notes to the text in the form of text "capsules" correlate with the main text body to even further make the work more than enough to hold the interest of anyone interested in European history. Although the volume is somewhat lengthy for a general history, one should not be intimidated for its size. The quality of the prose and the approach of the author make it so that a reader can actually enter the text at any point and commence reading without losing too much of the experience. Even reviewing the "capsules" alone can stimulate interest in all types of derivative studies. But, of course, the greatest reward is provided via a straight read from beginning to end. The inclusion of a large number of items in an "historical compendium" in the back of the book is not only a welcome wealth of information in itself, but actually adds another layer of fascinating material to ponder. Not only do I highly recommend this text, but would recommend the purchase of the original hardback edition if one can still find copies available.

As an American in my mid-forties I realized I never was taught much about the history of any other part of the world, except where it intersected with American history or values. After visiting Europe a few times I realized I knew nothing about the various people and their cultures so I looked for a book to help remedy that. I love this book! It is incredibly dense, but fascinating. I've found that to get the most out of it, and save myself from frequent confusion, I am often doing web searches for names, languages and maps to help me put the writing in perspective and remind me of the geography relative to modern times. The print is small and the book is well over 1000 pages, but with some patience I've read the entire thing in about 6 months. A smarter person might be able to read it faster, but I was intent on absorbing as much as possible. I see myself keeping this book handy and using it as a reference as I continue to read other books and plan more visits to Europe. I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking a broad understanding of the European continent, and where it's people came from.

I confess to not having read all the pages in this book; but I won't be the only one. This thick, tummy-crushing volume is really better suited for browsing. Even students won't be assigned to read the whole thing. I suggest roaming through it, and selecting the bits of European history that one finds of interest. The once-over is light, of course—how could it not be, in a single volume that begins with the paleolithic era and goes up to 1996? But Norman Davies is an interesting and colorful writer, and it's worthwhile hearing what he has to say, even about things that are familiar. One encounters some novel details, as well as Mr. Davies' particular point of view. Mr. Davies is known for his earlier work on Poland. Thus it is not surprising that Eastern Europe gets more attention from him than it does from most other “western” writers. Hence his book may be in some sense more balanced; but at times the preoccupation with the East leads to distractions. For instance, he interrupts his discussion of the French revolution by introducing simultaneous events in Poland. He feels that earlier books have insufficiently emphasized the evils of the Soviet Union—which is not a shortcoming of this one. A few odd features of this book may be noted. Mr. Davies likes to think of Europe not as a continent, but rather as a peninsula of the Eurasian landmass. In keeping with this view his maps are all oriented with west at the top and east at the bottom, making Europe look like an upraised thumb. I found this self-indulgent and heartily confusing; it slows down one's comprehension of the many maps that are supplied. Another peculiarity is the insertion of what the author calls “capsules,” which are miniature discussions of special topics, more-or-less related to the main material. These things give the book the feeling of a textbook (where they are very often used as relief entertainments for students who are expected to be bored.) Moreover the capsules have their own system of notes, with a separate section of explanations at the back of the book. The main text contains references to the capsules, but in order find a certain capsule you have to refer to a special table of contents, also at the back. The upshot is that it's quite hard to find reference notes in this book. My greatest complaint about this (paperback) volume is that it is just too thick. You will need strong hands, if you are to hold it in front of you for very long. And if you read it in bed, it will crush your chest and stop your breathing. That is another reason for browsing in this book, rather than trying to read it straight through.

This is my second copy of this book, the first one is in a box somewhere. But Norman Davies created a massive look at all of European history in book, I mean all as its starts with the story of Europa herself. I liked at the beginning when he talks about how writing history is a matter of magnification, where the historian/writer must decide on the overview or the detail, how close to get to the action in other words. 'Europe: A History' has it all and more, can say enough good stuff about this amazing piece of historical work, Davies really did the public a great service.

This book is a general portray of Europe through history... Being so general is like 3 inches wide (is a really big book) I have only read half of it but it is really a nice book the author has a great knowdledge but not only history, but art as well, and he is also introducing kind of "did you know this stuff?" so, the mainstream is that of Europe and the main empires or people that are most active at that time, and there is also these interesting sidefacts that are related with what you are reading... The only thing that I hope can be fixed is the images. There is a section for illustrations, maps, and many other interesting stuff. But you need to go find it. It would be marvelous if the images are fixed just before or after the page that is talking about it. That makes sense right? instead, is written like a thesis... and I know that perhaps this is a big trend right now with history books, but in my own personal opinion... I hate this ¬¬ However overall the book is just great. You only need more history and it is a general guide to go find other more particular books to know more about it... I love history...

This is a huge, lovely chunk of a book. It's the best distillation of the truly overwhelming scope of European history written to date, rendered in a fluid narrative style that keeps your attention the way a Tolstoy novel does. Keep this in mind: It takes an enormous amount of time, skill, ego and paper to produce a masterpiece like this. Take your time and savor this rich text. Here are the critical points you should be aware of before you dive in: 1. The author's thesis is that Europe developed internally based on the accumulation and interaction of events that occurred along its periphery, particularly its eastern periphery. The constant shifting of imperial contact points across the geographic and cultural landscape moulds many a paragraph within. 2. The narrative deconstructs the supremacy of western Europe, as we all know that the author's sympathies are in eastern Europe (and Poland in particular). This is not so much a criticism as an observation. You'll come away from this book with more respect for Poland, Austria and Hungary than for England, France and Spain. 3. Cultural and ethnic affiliations of the many peoples discussed in the book imply the author's fundamental assumption that people naturally prefer the company of people like themselves, rather than people different from themselves. The entire thesis rests on the infallibility of ethnic nationalism and its attachment to geography, which won't sit well with some readers. Davies sees a continent of lines rather than spaces. 4. This enormous paperback is printed with relatively low-quality ink and paper (so the publisher can control the cost). It's durability is quite poor, and used copies are certain to be yellowed, with faded text. Go ahead and buy it new. Now that you've been properly forewarned, sit back and enjoy the ride.

In addition to Davies rather incredible grasp of facts, he is a great writer, often with a rather sly sense of humor. Perhaps like other wanna-be history buffs, I've read many books on the "particulars" ranging from the Roman Empire, the Thirty Years War or whatever, most of which is forgotten after a few years. This book brings it all back - often times with a different slant - and nicely ties together they myriad of themes that made European history. As a minor warning, I found the first chapter on prehistory a bit of a turn off because of the lack of maps. Whilst one easily gets the general picture on migration paths, the particular geographic locations mentioned are a bit obscure - unless one happens to know where places like the Moldavian Gap are. This chapter is, in parts, a tad heavy and academic, and - unlike the rest of the book - lacking in maps. Aside from this rather slow start the rest is just great - couldn't put it down.

Time and space are the two important approaches to narrate history. Norman Davies is ambitious to write a comprehensive European history from ancient time to 20th century IN ONE BOOK. The “space” of this book is that it covers the major European powers as well as the surrounding states such as Moscow, Poland, Scandinavia, Lithuania, Spain and Ireland. Not like some historians writing general history “detail in modern history” and “brief in ancient history”, this book is very well-balanced. In each historical era (chapter), Norman Davies first analyzes them from the aspects of social, economic, political and cultural. And then he narrates the important history events. Norman Davies also focuses on the “trivia” history. Readers may find them interesting. Norman Davies is strong at historical analysis. You can gain some insights. But it is not easy for history beginners to follow. Some background knowledge is needed. Moreover, it is quite time-consuming to finish reading the book which covers over 1100 pages. In general, this book is good for general read. Also a good guide/ reference for history students.