Fai clic su di un'immagine per andare a Google Ricerca Libri.
Sto caricando le informazioni... Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and Fall of States and Nations (originale 2011; edizione 2011)di Norman Davies (Autore)
Informazioni sull'operaVanished Kingdoms: The History of Half-Forgotten Europe di Norman Davies (2011)
Sto caricando le informazioni...
Iscriviti per consentire a LibraryThing di scoprire se ti piacerà questo libro. Attualmente non vi sono conversazioni su questo libro. This is a useful survey of kingdoms that were once prominent that have since "vanished" or have become very diminished. Most interesting has been the story of the ancient roots of Prussia and the history of what is now Ukraine, Belorussia, Poland and Lithuanian. Most history books describe history from the point of view of the political entities that replaced these kingdoms so reading history from the perspective of those who vanished is eye-opening. A curious book: Davies is capable of writing vivid prose (see the initial pages of the ninth chapter, on Galicia) but this book often gets quite, uh, boggy with lists of monarchs and reigns and ... well. Maybe the vividness maps to Davies' own enthusiasm level ... one of the only things I know about him is that he's an expert on Eastern Europe and Poland in particular ... maybe the vivid prose only comes when he's in that element. I don't know. There's a load of interesting information here, but it often feels like a slog. nessuna recensione | aggiungi una recensione
Premi e riconoscimenti
Chronicles the history of fourteen lost European kingdoms and what their stories can teach the modern world, providing narrative accounts of the rise and fall of nations ranging from Tolosa to the Soviet Union. Non sono state trovate descrizioni di biblioteche |
Discussioni correntiNessunoCopertine popolari
Google Books — Sto caricando le informazioni... VotoMedia:
Sei tu?Diventa un autore di LibraryThing. |
This book is dense. It really is. But it is also really interesting. I didn't think I could enjoy this level of detail about states, family lines, successions, etc.; and in a sense it was as boring as it might sound (depending on your tastes/interests.) But the thing is... it actually was well worth the read, and maintained my interest throughout.
As an American, even one who reads a lot, the rise and fall of political units/states seems distant. Somehow, drowning in detail, this book manages to give a sense of the complexity and enormity of political changes that --even having read some previous history-- I was simply lacking. And not just the human suffering and cost (though there is plenty of that.) The sense of shifting identity, lost identity, just the vagaries of time, etc....
Yeah, this was a good book :) ( )