803
pages, Viking Adult, ISBN-13: 978-0670022731
The
historical memory of nations has a great deal to do with their position amongst
contemporaries at the time of their existence; thus, the stories of Rome,
Greece and Great Britain are well chronicled (in fact the historiography seems
to grow by the week of these great nations and empires). In contrast, nations
that had an (admittedly) mediocre history – or were perhaps consumed by these
other great nations – have largely disappeared from the historical picture. This
is the issue that Norman Davies sees in the current state of European history, one
that he seeks to remedy with Vanished Kingdoms: The Rise and
Fall of States and Nations.
In so doing he has striven to “both highlight the contrast between times
present and past and to explore the workings of historical memory.” What’s more
is that, although left unstated, this work sets out to collect a series of
histories that might never be able to be read by the layperson due to the
highly specialized nature of the research, as it currently exists. What has
resulted is a fantastic work of history and, although it is over 700 pages in
length, is hardly a ponderous read.
Vanished Kingdoms is organized into 15 essays
covering such little known nations and kingdoms as Alt Clud, Tolosa and
Etruria. Each chapter is further organized into three sections covering: a
sketch of some geographical area as it exists now within the onetime borders of
a particular kingdom; a narrative of the particular nation; the current state
of historiography of the state in question. One realization that stays in the
readers mind as the book is studied is the fact that every one of these now
defunct states was at one time a thriving system. When a map of Europe is
studied today, the overall assumption is that the countries that take up that
space have always been there and will continue to exist right on into the
future. But after reading Vanished
Kingdoms the realization takes root that nothing is permanent. The book
concludes with a delineation of ways in which states fail (using the individual
cases he has covered as examples) and this part should be of special value to
historians and even of some value to politicians and statesmen and stateswomen.
As usual, Davies tends in this latest work of his to be an empiricist with no
obvious theoretical axes to grind and, again as usual, his writing style is an
admirable combination of the straightforward and colloquial with the scholarly
(but never arcane or solipsistic). The book also has the virtue of being able
to be read in any chapter-order the reader chooses, reflecting the ability of
Davies to go back and forth in time and across national boundaries with extreme
ease and fluidity.
Vanished Kingdoms is a compelling account of
European countries that no longer exist and it should appeal to amateur and
professional historians alike. How refreshing to read something so carefully
and wonderfully done, something you can trust to be true, something that has no
hint of haphazard writing, something so informative that it stays with you for
a lifetime.
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