Europe: A History!

Europe: A History by Norman Davies. Published 2 Oct. 1997. 1392 pages.

I always thought history was nothing to worry about. It's in the past, everyone; move on already!

I live in the 2nd largest city in Hungary, and visiting the capital city for the first time this summer, I couldn't understand why people were really into the cathedrals, ginormous churches, castles, squares. :/ To me, they were just buildings, monuments of attraction for people with nothing to do in the summer.

Nevertheless, I saw things differently the day I did realize that I actually have a story! It might not be worth a dollar in Hollywood, Bollywood or Nollywood, but I do have a story! Everything has a story! The stories behind the buildings have shaped this country I live in somehow. Something that happened in the past moulds the thoughts and guides the actions of the citizens of this country presently. To get to the people (despite the language barrier) and understand the people, I need to know where they've been as a country. However, as you may know, it's difficult to study any country in Europe independently. The countries of this continent are sort of inseparable historically. I decided to get on with the history of the continent, to get a generalized history of Hungary and its relationship with the neighbouring countries. Hence, this tome!

Finding the Book!

The book seemed to be available everywhere in Hungarian (none in English). I searched almost every bookshop in the city. I was however referred to the University bookshop. Well, they were on holiday and were going to be so for a very long time! I decided to go into the library and guess what! I found and borrowed the ONLY copy available in English at the University library.

Reading the Book!

It has been difficult to read and I couldn't get through the 1st paragraph without reading each full statement many times (History is all so new to me). The grammar seems too scholarly. When I first opened the book, I stopped at the first paragraph of the Preface. My goal is to get through this voluminous book in 10-11 months, though.

The book contains a lot of helpful materials: maps, pictures, end notes, but Wikipedia and Google Maps have proven to be helpful companions on my journey through the first 6 pages. Nonetheless, I've found this map also handy.

I hope to use this blog medium to revise, review the book. I hope to use the posts as fall-back references, even when the book has been returned to the library. Therefore, my succeeding blog posts would point to this book and my thoughts on all I've read and what I can make sense of from it. I'd be uploading videos and a timeline (as soon as I can create one).

I feel at the end of this book, not only would my knowledge of classical Europe be greatly improved, but I would be able to make sense of most of all I see around me... People, language, landmarks... as a foreigner in Europe.

(15/May/2014) .... wow! I totally had no idea then that the academic year had other plans for the use of  my time. All have not gone according to plan, but I still have the project in mind. :)

Have you read this book? I'd certainly love to hear from you. Why did you read the book? What do you think of the book?