Europe: A History – A Masterpiece Spanning the Ice Age to the Atomic Age, Illuminating East and West with 299 Time Capsules

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.

Realmente el autor ha sabido reunir los componentes mas importantes de la historia de europa en un solo libro y de forma muy correcta.

Ce livre d'histoire est un véritable trésor. D'abord facile, bien écrit, rempli d'anecdotes et d'encarts précisant les faits, il dresse un portrait sans pitié et parfois iconclaste de l'Europe. A conseiller à tout amateur d'histoire qui en fera son livre de chevet.

Brilliant book. Very comprehensive language

European development has always fascinated me. I want to understand as to how this process evolved. And the book Europe : a history is able to give all the answers to my queries and help me understand the entire process of evolution of the coming of modern Europe. A must read if you want to understand Europe.

Excelente en contenido, abarca toda la historia de europa, es muy amplio y detallado. Perfecto para estudio o simplemente lectura. El problema es que es demasiado grande. Pesa cerca de 2 kilos. Es de letra chica. Creo que obligadamente debió ser hecho en un set de 3 tomos por lo menos, para poderlo manipular más fácilmente. Prácticamente se tiene que leer apoyado sobre un escritorio. Leerlo tomándolo con las manos se vuelve algo imposible después de 10 minutos de lectura, es demasiado pesado y la letra muy chica.