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Nor does he overreach. Nowhere does he really present an argument for taking Mediterranean history as a whole: People connect; battle is joined; there may not have been, since the time of the Greeks, a pan-Mediterranean culture, but the sea has always been a stage. Constantine moved his capital from Rome to Byzantium, miles across the sea; Roger of Sicily lit up the world with his fertile tolerance; Barbarossa quartered his sailors in Toulon, with French connivance, in ; and an English admiral, Nelson, destroyed the French fleet, and effectively created the emperor Napoleon, on the Nile in Norwich leaves us with the impression that we share an old friend: You can take your Blue Guide, or your Rough Guide, anywhere you like; but if you are planning to go anywhere south of the Alps, or north of the Sahara, to an island, perhaps, studded with Venetian fortresses, orthodox churches, cafes and pines, this is your book.
This was a disappointing book. I was really looking forward to a history of the Mediterranean which included both shores and a history of the maritime and geographical impact of the sea on the peoples living around it and really it was little more than an historical travelogue. The work focused on more traditional histories of the people on the Med and offers nothing new. If you are unfamiliar with Southern European history this is a good intro. But, if you are interested in a comprehensive hist This was a disappointing book. But, if you are interested in a comprehensive history of the Med this isn't it.
The work is hamstrung by a powerful Euro-centric sensibility and pretty much discounts the southern inhabitants of the sea and wholly ignores the importance and impact of the Black Sea. Not really worth the time it would take to read. Apr 08, Elliott Bignell rated it liked it. I found this book an entertaining read which filled in a few gaps in my knowledge within its stated remit. A more thoroughly educated student of history would probably regard it as review material only, but as a lay reader catching up on the history he never learned at school I found it a pleasant and fairly thorough introduction to the political history of the governments of the states on the Mediterranean littoral.
If you are also a lay reader of history for enjoyment, this book may be for you I found this book an entertaining read which filled in a few gaps in my knowledge within its stated remit. If you are also a lay reader of history for enjoyment, this book may be for you. However, it promotes and partakes of a typical bias in history writing that has come to grate on my nerves over the years - the invisibility of the life of the common man and woman, their diet, their tools and their homes.
You will not find information on the following in this book: How the inhabitants won salt. How fish catch has changed, how it was caught, and how it affected the culture and cuisine of the region. How the climate has been governed by the presence of the sea and how this has affected agriculture. The economic significance of the olive. How the fertility of the Mediterranean has been affected by the growth of civilisation. How the Scylla and Charybdis of the the Straits of Messina entered Greek mythology and how they have influenced water-borne commerce.
How shipbuilding has progressed and how the conditions on the Mediterranean influenced it.
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Anything else about fish or olives. It is, basically, the usual annotated list of who fought whom in order to rule over whom. If you like hearing about kings, it's a good read. If you like hearing about cooks, farmers and shipwrights, it's more disappointing. All the same, it is an entertaining introductory volume. Oct 27, Lucy Pollard-Gott rated it it was amazing. I read this one little by little, savoring John Julius Norwich's fluent prose and lively commentary on European history as it impinged on those countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa bordering on the Mediterranean, the "middle sea.
The Normans in the South and the Kingdom in the Sun , but he is probably best known for his histories of Byzantium and of Venice. All of these specialties of his got thei I read this one little by little, savoring John Julius Norwich's fluent prose and lively commentary on European history as it impinged on those countries in Europe, Asia, and Africa bordering on the Mediterranean, the "middle sea.
All of these specialties of his got their due attention in this book, but he cast light on other topics such as Napoleon's ill-fated foray into Egypt and the breakup of empires after World War I. Norwich is in some ways idiosyncratic and anecdotal in his approach--he is a writer, not an academic historian--but throughout offers a memorable perspective in a skillful storytelling voice--a modern bard of history. Jun 22, A. Septimius rated it really liked it. A monumental undertaking, written with all the style and verve one has come to expect of Norwich.
From ancient Hellas to the blood-sodden field of the First World War is quite a journey- yet the knowledge acquired upon the way is worth the travail- The Middle Sea is an investment above all else. Jul 15, Ian Robertson rated it really liked it. John Julius Norwich, radio and television host and prolific author, has written his most expansive work yet. It is a history of conflict in the Mediterranean, with politics and religion playing supporting roles, but with culture almost non-existent.
On this slightly smaller but still enormous canvas, Norwich delivers a very richly detailed and coloured portrait. His writing is clear and straightforward, with not infrequent sly asides or subtle humour. I read the book on an e-reader and found myself using its built-in services almost every page. To complicate matters further, many historically significant places are now either small villages or non-existent, or have had their names changed over time think Constantinople to Istanbul, but hundreds of times over and on a smaller scale.
The included maps and illustrations are helpful, but readers will still benefit from either some prior knowledge or some supplementary reference material. Ancient Greece gets one chapter, Rome two, and Napoleon more than two. A long but very enjoyable read. Jun 12, Shanna rated it really liked it Shelves: This book was a very hefty book, going between wars, marriages, deals, deaths, the list goes on.
I really enjoyed and appreciated, however, how much time and effort Norwich put into the book — it really shows in how detailed everything was — since focusing on the history of a sea basically focuses on the histories of all the countries surrounding that sea. Dec 13, Lcitera rated it really liked it. A wonderfully written book by one of my favorite writers. This tome is a history of "most" countries that live in the Mediterranean Sea. Not dry, not "academic", but excellent research. Four stars rather than five as I had hoped for more info as to the actual Sea.
Tides, currents, impact of winds, some devastating storms. But, the author explains in the introduction that such will be not discussed.
Despite being warned, I opted to read all pages and it was well worth the time Certes, il fallait faire des choix. Jul 02, Carlos rated it it was ok Shelves: This book was as good as could be expected for such an broad title. While I was very skeptical of a history book without any conventional constraints on its subject I was persuaded by my previous experience with Norwich. I thoroughly enjoyed his book on the history of the papacy Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy. All in all this book ended up being a typical old-fashioned Euro-centric "World" history books, starting with Egypt going to Greece then Rome, the Middle Ages, Renaissance an This book was as good as could be expected for such an broad title.
However, the book starts to shine when it gets to the Middle Ages.
Where most similar history books would focus on Charlemagne and later on the Protestant Reformation leading to the Wars of Religion and so on, Norwich keeps his focus on the Mediterranean and gives the reader the less well known stories of the Arab and Norman invasions of Sicily and the constant sieges of the Mediterranean islands by alternating powers.
This focus allows for a better understanding of why the Battle of Lepanto, always highlighted in history books, was such a big deal and how thorough was the Arab dominance of the Mediterranean after the end of the Western Roman Empire see Henri Pirenne's Mohammed and Charlemagne for an analysis of the implications of that.
Similarly, Norwich's constant perch on the Mediterranean allowed him at the cost of the more well-known stories of the revolutions in northern Europe to recount more fully the history of the unification of Italy and the Greek wars of Independence. Overall, while these tidbits of lesser known historical events were fun to read, they were drowned in a sea of vastly well-known stories that, though briefly told, were innumerable. One would think that if Norwich thought these stories too well-known to merit fleshing out he would have also been ok with eliminating them from the book altogether.
Jul 22, Andrew rated it really liked it. Also in Vintage Departures. Also by Robert D. See all books by Robert D. Inspired by Your Browsing History. Looking for More Great Reads? Download our Spring Fiction Sampler Now. LitFlash The eBooks you want at the lowest prices. Read it Forward Read it first. Stay in Touch Sign up.
Turns out he is nobility. I'm going crazy trying to find this book. I have been trying to figure out this book for over a year now. By its sack, Western civilisation suffered a loss far greater than the sack of Rome by the barbarians in the fifth century — perhaps the most catastrophic single loss in all history. I read a novel a number of years ago maybe between -
We are experiencing technical difficulties. He is interested in history; the part of history which is fascinating to him is the progress of Mankind through the ages. Because he is a humanist, the advances of education, science and culture as reflected in UNESCO are always very much present in his readings. In the meantime, he translates and annotates Mediterranean historical novels to English; he is now translating his third Catalan historical novel to English and French.
One can follow his work on www. Are you an author? Help us improve our Author Pages by updating your bibliography and submitting a new or current image and biography.
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