Europe: A History by Norman Davies

Please do not let the size of this huge tome daunt you. Norman Davies has written the only single volume of the history of Europe that I know of. With magisterial authority and wit, he has produced a work of 1136 pages of text and another 236 pages of notes, maps, tables, charts, index. Each page of the text held my interest; some extended passages were page turners.

Norman starts with a chapter defining Europe geographically and culturally, noting along the way that for us Westerners "Europe" almost automatically means or at least focuses on western Europe. Norman is a specialist in Polish history who lives in London and Warsaw; his history redresses the balance, educating me about the Balkans, the Baltic states, Russia and its satellites.

In addition to the vast sweeps of the centuries, Norman indulges himself and amuses and instructs his readers in some 300 brief "capsules" spread throughout the text on a wide variety of topics like sound recording, the condom, a horrendous one on Vlad the Impaler (Dracula), the Hanseatic League, the Katyn Massacres, Flamenco music and dancing-each one from one half page to two pages.

Norman's "Europe" has been attacked for minor inaccuracies, defended by his colleagues for the major achievement of this comprehensive work. My two disappointments are his relegating the invention of printing to a capsule and his treating Voltaire in one page. Printing made possible the Reformation, the scientific revolution, and the Enlightenment. Voltaire was a main influence in Europe's shift from bloody religious intolerance to some measure of religious toleration.

History was published in 1996, so Norman ends with a detailed consideration of the Cold War, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the freeing of Soviet dominated nations. I found this part particularly interesting. It's a long read. It will repay your perseverance.