Tuesday, February 20, 2018

“Louis XIV and Absolutism: A Brief Study with Documents”, by William Beik



247 pages, Bedford, ISBN-13: 978-0312133092

Hey, look! ANOTHER academic history book! With Louis XIV and Absolutism: A Brief Study with Documents, William Beik, Professor of history at Emory University, has assembled a unique collection of documents – with commentary – that explores the meaning of absolute monarchy by examining how Louis XIV of France became one of Europe’s most influential and successful rulers. In Part I: Introduction – Louis XIV and French Absolutism, the professor lays out his central argument, which is that that absolutism existed in theory but not in practice, as Louis – like his predecessors before him – had to navigate the many different Parlements and governing structures which differed from region to region. While Beik notes that notional loyalty to the King, as an absolute ruler, was already established, he charts the efforts to overcome the practical obstacle to the King’s theoretical authority with an emphasis on Louis’ early reforms. In Part II: The Documents, a series of papers from the era, newly translated and selected for their readability for the modern student, examine each of the problems facing the Sun King and his Court: Confronting French Society During the Fronde; The King and Aristocrats at Court; Managing France; Reforming the Provinces: The Grand Jours D’Auvergne; Reforming the Provinces; Interaction with Burgundy; Social Unrest: The Revolts of 1675; Absolutism and the Churches; The King and His Image (one notable inclusion to this collection is Louis’ letter to his son on ruling, an insightful document if ever there was one made more poignant by the fact that this son would predecease his father). For someone seeking an academic understanding of the Ancien RĂ©gime I would recommend this book, while for the casual reader most of the original documents are easy enough to read and enjoy on their own merit.

Thursday, February 15, 2018

“Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War I”, by Alexander Watson


832 pages, Basic Books, ISBN-13: 978-0465094882

World War I is considered by many to be the catastrophe that spawned all other catastrophes that plagued the benighted 20th Century, but when studying it, there’s generally only a few perspectives represented: the voices of the Entente powers dominate the narrative and those representing the Central Powers tend to get overshadowed or lost in the mix.  Yet, it’s these Central and Eastern European voices that can be some of the most compelling, as Alexander Watson shows in Ring of Steel: Germany and Austria-Hungary in World War I.  Even more than on the Western Front, the war in the East set the stage for the even worse carnage to take place during World War II, for in his analysis it was the mobilization and radicalization of Germany and Austria-Hungary between 1914 and 1918 that created the context for Europe’s descent into the “bloodlands” of the 1930s and 1940s; “The great material and emotional investment” of the Central Powers” he contends “ensured that defeat, when it came, would have a catastrophic impact on their societies”. Three themes underpin the book, all concerning “the people” (rather than the elites or even the military): First is consent for the war, how it was obtained, how it functioned and how it ebbed away; Second is the escalating violence throughout the war and its effects, both on war aims and general mentality; Third is the social fragmentation caused by the war. The focus is on the lived experience of the war – by the soldiers, the civilians, the officials – though the main frontline battles are also covered in some depth.

Watson sifts carefully through the thinking and actions of the main Central Powers – the Habsburgs and the Germans – from the first decision to go to war after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, to provoking a European conflagration against enemies of superior numbers and military might (the Russians, British and French), all the way to the peace signed in Versailles in June 1919. Punishing Serbia for the assassinations meant bringing in its powerful ally Russia, but Watson argues that the sprawling multiethnic Austria-Hungary had largely lost control of its nationalist pockets and feared a “domino effect” if this insurgency was not violently crushed (indeed, Watson argues, the dangerously paranoid statesmen who ran the Habsburg state(s) promoted war out of “a profound sense of weakness, fear and even despair”). Germany was also operating from a place of deep insecurity regarding France, Russia and Britain, and Watson shows how Chief of the German General Staff, Helmuth von Moltke (the Younger), was rather more “defensive and reactive” than saber-rattling. Thus, the Central Powers were able to sell the war to the people as a defensive action, surrounded as they were by hostile enemies, or “a ring of steel.” The “pervasive sense of threat” to the community translated initially into a patriotic spur to mobilization, but it morphed into suspicion and vigilantism as refugees from the eastern war zones of Galicia flooded into the interior and provoked ethnic hostilities and anti-Semitism. The German atrocities in Belgium and Russians’ in Galicia, the Ottomans’ treatment of the Armenians and the ultimate claim that “security” was the German Reich’s ultimate goal…all of this paved the way for Nazi genocide.

Fear, both physical and psychological, play a large role in eliciting some of the changes Watson described.  Societies that had been accustomed to secure lifestyles now had to face the reality of famine and widespread death and destruction not seen in Europe since the previous major continental war 100 years before.  The British and French also faced similar challenges, but they were alleviated somewhat by aid from their allies in the Americas and colonial possessions; Imperial Germany and Austria-Hungary had no such lifeline, and their societies responded to these crises with fortitude, but also increasing levels of antisemitism and recrimination against their Russian invaders. There is so much more to this book, but I found this change the most compelling theme throughout.  How does some of the most celebrated societies in Europe turn from relatively tolerant, prosperous people to something as horrific as the fascism that arose in postwar Europe?  Watson only periodically touches on the subject explicitly, and the theme can sometimes get lost in the detailed narrative, but I think this book does a good job of addressing this.  If you can read between the lines, there are satisfying, if depressing, answers to this question to be had.

Wednesday, February 14, 2018

“Reader’s Digest Atlas of the Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the Holy Land”, edited by Joseph Lawrence Gardner, Harry Thomas Frank and Zahava Feldman



256 pages, Readers Digest, ISBN-13: 978-0895770974

This Reader’s Digest Atlas of the Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the Holy Land is aimed squarely at the general reader and is intended to explain and illuminate the geography and history of the Holy Land and the Middle East the text is, all things considered, rather engaging and is enhanced by beautiful illustrations, plenty of photographs and, of course, many maps of Israel, the Middle East and the Mediterranean Area. The introduction provides a set of special features that serves as an illustrated guide, including chapters on the people, animals and plants of the Bible, weights, measures and currencies, and the history of the Bible, and concludes with a pair of double-page spread maps of the land from north to south, Biblical Sites in the Holy Land. The main body of the book, entitled Historical Atlas of Biblical Times, opens with a series of NASA satellite photographs and then follows the historical narrative with a wealth of maps, photographs and illustrations. The chapter entitled The Holy Land in Maps contains ancient maps and illustrations, Digging up the Past has photographs of excavations, Land Of The Bible provides topographical maps, while Views of the Holy Land contains breathtaking photographs of the whole of the region. Some of the other chapters to be found in the book include: World Of The Patriarchs, Abraham In The Land Of Canaan, Isaac, Jacob And Joseph, The Exodus, Struggles Of The Judges, David The King, Solomon’s Empire, David And Solomon’s Jerusalem, Divided Monarchy, The Prophet Elijah, The Fall Of Israel, Exile In Babylonia, Alexander The Great, Ptolemies Versus Seleucids, Maccabees, The Coming Of The Romans, Herod The Great, Birth Of Jesus, Jesus In Galilee, Early Spread Of The Gospel, Paul’s Missionary Journeys, The Spread Of Christianity, and others. The third part is a reference tool, Gazetteer of the Bible World that lists about 900 place names with biblical citations and cross-references to the aforementioned maps. This masterpiece of a book concludes with a chronology of bible times, a select bibliography, a key to biblical quotations used in the volume, picture credits and an index.