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, and twelve snapshots offer a panoramic look at all of Europe at a particular moment in history. All told, Davies's Europe represents one of the most important and illuminating histories to be published in recent years.
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"Yes, it's over 60 hours of narration. That is because the original 1966 text is over 1,500 pages long including more than 300 "capsules" of fascinating slightly off-topic details. Written by an Oxford historian, the book was a best seller and is still an intriguing collection of facts, opinions and trivia related to 2,000 years of history. The readers are brisk, pleasant and can become hypnotic after 20 hours or so. Like the book, you can pick this up at any point and select random chapters without losing the thread. Listening to lists of Latin phrases is strangely soothing and this can become a pleasant background sound track to any quiet task."
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Tami Sutcliffe (5 out of 5 stars)