A Short History of Europe: From Pericles to Putin

by Simon Jenkins

The first short, single-volume history of the continent, from the author of the bestselling A Short History of England

Europe is an astonishingly successful place. In this dazzling new history, bestselling author Simon Jenkins grippingly tells the story of its evolution from warring peoples to peace, wealth and freedom - a story that twists and turns from Greece and Rome, through the Dark Ages, the Reformation and the French Revolution, to the Second World War and up to the present day.

Jenkins takes in leaders from Julius Caesar and Joan of Arc, to Wellington and Angela Merkel, as well as cultural figures from Aristotle to Shakespeare and Picasso. He brings together the transformative forces and dominant eras into one chronological tale - all with his usual insight, colour and authority.

Despite the importance of Europe's politics, economy and culture, there has not been - until now - a concise book to tell this story. Covering the key events, themes and individuals, Jenkins' portrait of the continent could not be more timely - or masterful.

'Full of stand-out facts ... absolutely fascinating' - Richard Bacon, BBC Radio 2, on 'A Short History of England'

'Masterly, perhaps a masterpiece' - Independent, Books of the Year on England's Thousand Best Churches

'Jenkins is, like all good guides, more than simply informative: he can be courteous and rude, nostalgic and funny, elegant, convincing and relaxed' - Adam Nicolson on 'England's Thousand Best Houses', Evening Standard

'Full of the good judgements one might hope for from such a sensible and readable commentator, and they alone are worth perusing for pleasure and food for thought' - Michael Wood on 'A Short History of England', New Statesman

'Any passably cultured inhabitant of the British Isles should ask for, say, three or four copies of this book' - Max Hastings on 'England's Thousand Best Houses', Sunday Telegraph

Genres: History, Nonfiction, European History, Historical, Politics, Audiobook, British Literature

320 pages, Hardcover

First published November 8, 2018

About the author

Sir Simon David Jenkins, FSA, FRSL is the author of the international bestsellers England’s Thousand Best Churches and England’s Thousand Best Houses, the former editor of The Times and Evening Standard and a columnist for the Guardian. He is chairman of the National Trust.

Reviews

[Петър Стойков · Rating 1 out of 5]

Саймън Дженкинс се опитва да сбие историята на континента в една книга, което е почти невъзможна задача. Даже бих казал съвсем невъзможна, имайки предвид, че не се е справил с нея. Книгата има само проблеми и честно казано не намирам даже едно нещо, с което да мога да я похваля, а наистина се опитах.

Авторът поема по класическия, отдавна остарял историографски път, според който историята на Европа представлява историята на Гърция, Рим, Англия, Испания и Франция. Нищо друго не съществува, докато не влезе в контакт с тия държави - преди Антична Гърция хора не съществуват, нито съществуват докато Гърция и Рим се развиват държавно и политически.

После изведнъж изскачат като заек от шапката на фокусник някакви готи, визиготи и т.н. паплач, колкото да създадат Испания, Англия и Франция, иначе преди не са съществували, пръкнали са се в момента. В цялата книга думата "келти" не се споменава нито веднъж. Викингите също се появяват от "Север" да завладяват надолу, но какво става там горе на север, някакви държави има ли, няма ли, имало ли е преди, племена ли са били, що са - не е важно, явно.

Самата "история" на Европа не е история на цивилизацията, на народите, на културата и изкуството, на технологиите ... не, историята е изцяло политическа - кой бил, кой крал, кой бил крал, кой крал бил и в кои години, с кого водил войни и кога умрял. А кого е управлявал, как са живели хората по онова време, нещо измислили ли са - явно това не е част от историята.

"Кратка история на Европа: от Перикъл до Путин" може да служи като някакъв вид кратък справочник относно най-важните държавно-политически събития от последните 3000 г. в Европа, но за тази цел една историческа енциклопедия или уикипедия биха били много по-удобни и полезни. И пълни.

[Margarita Garova · Rating 4 out of 5]

„никой европеец не може да бъде пълен изгнаник в която и да е част на Европа.“ (Едмънд Бърк, началото на XIX век).

Бърк е прав. Колкото и да са големи различията между отделните европейски държави, усещането за културна близост, което Европа дава на жителите си, няма алтернатива. Аз съм силно европоцентрична и под история винаги имам предвид тази на Европа. „Кратка история на Европа“ е времевата линия, от която се нуждаех, за да подредя отделните части на пъзела, в който най-големите парчета бях отредила на 20 век.

Слабост на трудовете, посветени на отделни войни, епохи, дори на една-единствена битка е размиването на фактите (след като прочетох книгата за Испанската гражданска война, се оказа, че не помнех годините, в които протича). Задачата, която си е поставил Саймън Дженкинс в тази книга – „кратка“ история, не позволява отклонения в излишното, читателят е воден по тънка, но здрава нишка, която скрепява историите за отделните региони, а впоследствие и държавни образувания. Най-трудно се постига изчерпателност в синтеза – постигната от автора до голямата степен. Фокусът лекичко залита към Англия – случва се да спомене второстепенни събития от Острова (някакъв референдум от 1935 в полза на мира) за сметка на по-важни от другите страни. Стилът е много достъпен и цветисто-шеговит и дори познати до болка периоди ми бяха интересни за четене.

Книгата очаквано започва с древните гърци и почти потропва на вратата на днешния ден с мигрантската криза от войната в Сирия и Брекзит. В този промеждутък авторът не се занимава с Източна Европа, освен в контекста на Студената война и европейската интеграция. Интересуват го политическите, икономически и културни стожери на днешна Европа, тези, които през цялата й история са си оспорвали власт, земи и величие – Франция, Великобритания и Германия. Италия, Испания, Португалия, Нидерландия и скандинавските държави играят поддържаща роля.

Личните ми поуки от книгата - изглежда, че решаващо за съдбините на държавите е степента на утвърждаване на парламентаризма, както и времето, в което се случва това. Към 17 век в Англия този процес е придобил доста ясни очертания, докато Франция с нейните безумни абсолютни монарси си наваксва чак след век с Просвещението. Испания, неразумна, религиозна и разточителна, припламва за кратко като комета през 16 век. Германия, въпреки, че е разпокъсана на автономни княжества, остава през по-голямата част от времето стабилна, предвидима и просперираща. Италия компенсира политическата разчлененост със зашеметяваща култура и естетика. Северните държави, често считани за безинтересни, са спасени от своята география и неангажираност. Религиозното разцепление и борбата за отблъскване на задушаващата папска десница съпровождат изковаването на националната идентичност почти толкова, колкото новите политически идеи, които дават превес на разума и рационалното.

Пътят на британците е изключително интересен и може би Дженкинс не греши, като им отделя по-специално внимание. Англия, този особняк на европейската история, развива систематично островен манталитет (май географията ще се окаже по-важна от историята), култивира съзнателно своята изключителност, в смисъла на различност. Търси диалога, баланса и практическата изгода:
„Докато останалата Европа прави революции, Британия прави кораби, парни машини и платове.“

До двете световни войни Европа царува над останалия свят, след което с политическата и имперска хегемония е свършено:

„към средата на XX век Европа е пожертвала всяка претенция да бъде дом на новия световен ред. С тази епоха е приключено.“

Сегашното състояние на европейския проект, по думите на моята преподавателка Юлия Захариева може да се обобщи като „криза на идеите.“ Изглежда, а това е много опасно, ако е вярно, че противопоставянето (срещу католици/протестанти, аристокрация, нацисти, комунисти) поддържа жизнените показатели на европейския континент. В противен случай настъпва летаргия, умора и приемане като даденост на един безпрецедентно дълъг мир и просперитет.

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Europe in a Snapshot

Located in the Northern Hemisphere, Europe is home of 750 millions of humans. With more than 2000 years of age, this old continent has a lot to tell. However, SJ did the job in 400 pages
Congratulations Mr. Jenkins 👍🌟🌟🌟🌟👍

Nota: A edição em português intitula-se Breve História da Europa — De Péricles a Putin

[Maria Espadinha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Europa é como o Leite


Com mais de 2000 anos de História, o Velho Continente tem muito para contar. Porém, SJ conseguiu fazê-lo em 400 páginas.

A História da Europa é como o leite — ambos se podem condensar 😉🌟🌟🌟🌟👍

[Shapur · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ah yes, the history of Europe.

Also known as "the eastern/northern part of the continent doesn't exist". Remind me if I'm wrong, but Europe continues outside Spain, England and France. Right? Even Byzantium exists here just for the crusades. (Imagine surviving for a millenia only to be ignored in history books.) I guess the other ""major"" focus is Germany. Fine. Where is Italy? Poland? Central Europe? The Balkans are almost completely forgotten. Russia gets minimal attention later, I guess. There is a single, A SINGLE chapter about Sweden. Why is there a chapter for the American revolution? And those "chapters" are maximum 2 pages each.

Cowboy boios, called Magyars just spawn out of the wild east.

Persians are there to be crushed by Rome and Greece. As always.

Arabs are there to be crushed by France and later by the glorious Reconquista. Oh wait, no, wrong wikipedia article. Here Arabs barely scratch Byzantium before vanishing into mist.

Goths arrive from the abyss of Asia and invade R O M E for the sake of it, destroy, plunder everything and then disappear from the face of the Earth.

Some odd Vikings casually raid stuff with some dragon ships from the mysterious land of "North", where allegedly people exist.

A strange species of Ottomans suddenly capture Constantinople and are never heard of again.

Nothing about Pre-Ivan-the-Awesome™ Eastern Europe. Golden horde are hackers, they don't count.

Nothing about Umayyad Iberia.

Nothing about any group of ancient peoples except Rome and Greece.

Byzantium is painfully passed by.

The Balkans are a black hole.

At least Austria gets mentioned from time to time.

What the hell is this book?

I can't see a simple reason for a historian to summarize such vast ocean of information into a book barely 300 pages long. It doesn't do its job properly, nor could it ever do. The concept is quite meaningless just by purport. There are also some factological errors. But that doesn't annoy me the most. The so called "history" is just blabbering and enumerating about different kings and wars and rulers and conflicts. Explain me why your damn Europe was so damn successful in everything, you damn historian! I want to hear about culture, language, beliefs, art, political structure, philosophy. I know the basic events, for Odin's sake. Almost everybody who cares for history knows them.

Wikipedia does better in summarizing history than this book.

You get the idea.

The only reason I read the book was because it was given to me as a present.

Not worth your time.

[Defneandac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really short and fast history of Europe. Although it is short it's full of insight and information. Europe is the cradle of Western culture which dominates the world right now. The question is :' Can it keep on dominating the world?I think, If Europe learns to keep the peace it can. But the 2000 years of history is full of wars, religious conflicts and bloody massacres. During the peace times economy roars and cultural life improves. Bu it is very hard to maintain the peace. The EU project is a hopeful one but it is kind of fading away. As China and Russia rising, and Trump unpredicatable EU leaders has to take the leadership role but they are not. Natonalism and fascism is rising around the globe and Europe.Democracy and human rights is an European value but will the Europeans commitment to them survive? As Bismarck once said :' The only thing we learn from history is nobody learns from history' I think this book offers a lot who wants to learn from history. We should always remember how fragile but important 'peace' is.

[Magdalena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Старите призраци все още бродят из континента.

Книгата наистина преразказва "кратката" история на Европа, но я намерих полезна и последователна в историческото проследяване на събитията. Добре структурирана и доста полезна за опресняване на знания, запълване на пропуски, както и за насочване на интереса в конткретен период, с който да се задълбае. Най-интересни ми бяха ранните средновековни държави и Свещената Римска империя. Като минус мога да отбележа концентрацията върху Западна Европа. Разбира се, това е разбираемо, самият автор (британец) не претендира за пълна изчерпателност. Като цяло интересна и увлекателна книга, проследяваща развитието на западните общества и проблемите заложени още от Реформацията и Френската революция.

Ще се радвам подобни, "по-смилаеми" препоръки за исторически книги. 👍🏻

[Zeb Kantrowitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone who has forgotten what they learned in High School or just have no memory of European History, this is the perfect book. It is written not by date or geography but by culture. Starting with Greece and following through to Rome, the Church, The Reformation, The Renaissance and then through nationalism to the current time.

It gives you a solid basis from which to understand the interactions between current European nations and their former colonies. It makes it understandable how the different European nations still react to each other even though the cause of the original arguments have long since past into the past.

Well worth reading.

Zeb Kantrowitz

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

interesting general history book

[Denisa Bujor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Așa cum afirmă și autorul în introducere, cartea, care prezintă succint, în ordine cornologică, istoria formării Europei, încă din zorii Egeeni, înainte de Hristos, până în secolul XXI, este destinată celor care nu au timpul sau dispoziția necesare pentru a intra în profunzimea lucrurilor și a face efortul de a citi mai mult de 345 de pagini.
Jenkins prezintă evenimentele concis, într-un ritm foarte alert, iar obiectivitatea limbajului e presărată cu câteva ironii care îndulcesc lectura. Mi-au plăcut mult și nenumăratele conexiuni pe care autorul le-a făcut cu anumite opere și artiști. Arta, văzută din contextul istoric, are însfârșit mai mult sens.
Dacă am rămas cu vreo lecție după imaginea de ansamblu pe care mi-am făcut-o despre formarea Europei, o imagine sângeroasă și oripilantă de altfel, aceea s-ar regăsi în vorbele lui Ludovic al XIV-lea pe patul de moarte către strănepotul său: "Mai presus de toate, păstrează pacea cu vecinii. Eu am iubit prea mult războiul...". Până nu ne adâncim mai mult în paginile istoriei, s-ar putea să nu realizăm cât de prețioasă, dar fragilă este pacea de care ne bucurăm astăzi și cu care ne-am obișnuit.

In concluzie, cartea nu e tocmai o lectură ușoară din cauza volumului mare de informații, dar redă un minim de cunoștințe pe care ar trebui neapărat să îl avem cu toții, cu alte cuvinte, pune mâna și citește, că altfel vorba 'ceea, "un popor care nu-și cunoaște trecutul, e condamnat să îl repete".

[Ангел · Rating 5 out of 5]

" Онова, което учим от историята, е, че никой не си взима поука от историята"- Ото фон Бисмарк.

Книгата е много добра. Автора е умел в разказа и запленява с леснотата на хронологията на събитията. Яздих кон в античността, бях на носилка в ранното християнство, возих се на каруца в средновековието, бях на революционните барикадите във Франция и плажа на Дюнкерк. Много набързо в Сталинград, Берлин, бункера, бесилката, перестроиката. Накрая разбира се се разбих със соц влака.
Има едни абзац за Путин, който е много дръзко написан.

Кнгата е с добър контент, а и има и красива корица, добре стои в библиотекат.

[Lise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simon Jenkins' writing is what we are all looking for in nonfiction: engaging, funny and clever. He fits in with authors like Diamond, Gombrich and Michael Lewis in that he enables us to pleasantly dive into their field of expertise.

The frequent use of references is amusing, but double edged. While the book is a lot of fun when you get them, it makes it more of a "short history for the well-read" rather than a "short history for dummies", which I certainly experienced in passages I was not too familiar with. However, the elegant manner he includes notable people of each age and draws up the big lines when history takes a new turn makes you forgive his occasional smugness.

The book is written by an Englishman, and you can tell. The references give it away, and the broader Europe is sometimes overlooked to focus on the meddlings (or lack thereof) of the island nation. It is most notable in modern history, which might as well stem from the focus on military history. That being said, an equal representation is not in anyone's favour - it would make a "short history" an impossible task, and strip the book of momentum and audience. He has done a fine job of writing fairly unbiased, while not being afraid to spice it up with characteristics.

[Alice-Elizabeth (Prolific Reader Alice) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The true history nerd within me from both school and college days was very pleased to find a copy of this book. It condenses hundreds of years of European history into a pleasant collection filled with facts, figures and faces (or the three Fs as I like to personally call them) There was a lot of military and political content, particularly towards the end. However, I knew that before going into reading it, this would be the case. A good and important collection of research and evidence from the past heading into the future!

[Cliff Ward · Rating 5 out of 5]

The French Ambassador to Lord Palmerston: If I was not a Frenchman I should wish to be an Englishman.
Lord Palmerson: Sir, if I was not Englishman I would wish to be an Englishman.

Everyone knows some European history, taught to us by various well meaning school teachers. Clearly it depends on what country we are from and what events we are interested in as we navigate through our varied lives. I could have read many history books about many different subjects, indeed I have, but never got a good overall picture of European history for the last 3000 years that this books captures in one reasonable read of 300 pages. This not only gives a new appreciation to how interconnected our European history is, it allows us to see how history developed and how one event led to another. This is particularly true when we look at the complex origins of countries such as France, Germany, and Italy.

This book also very clearly shows us that war after revolt after revolution after riot after mob rule, mankind murdered mankind. As Voltaire said, all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers to the sound of trumpets. Most of this killing is sponsored by men who are either able to ride the victory, or else to flee in comparative peace after the result is settled. ‘All we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history’. Bismarck’s statement rings true in ancient Greece and Rome long before he was born, through the creation of his Prussian state, right through to well after he was dead. ‘Into the future?’ we timidly ask. We have only the careful structure of Government, random political leaders, and the thin will of the people to protect us.
No book such as this, especially that written by an Englishman, can escape the ultimate question of the European Union and whether Britain’s escape is correct. Our continuing European leaders intent of their path of mass globalization and unlimited immigration can rest assured that a decision has been made based on the philosophy of Frenchman Rousseau who said all government requires a social contract where the members receive tolerance, equality before the law, freedom of speech, human and civil rights and consent to rule. The EU has broken that contract.
Mr Cameron’s reforms were never treated with any seriousness by Mrs Merkel. Now Britain will need to prove it’s worth on a broader international stage. After those reforms can be considered in the longer term through the suffering of other members and the EU can develop into something more sensible, I hope Britain can return.

[Claudiu · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5, dar o sa dau trei stele.

am cumparat cartea cu gandul ca o sa fie o recapitulare a istoriei pe care am invatat-o la scoala. trebuie sa spun ca a fost si chiar am invatat si unele lucruri noi, mai ales ca in scoala sunt omise anumite perioade sau tratate superficial. problema cu aceasta carte este faptul ca nu este 100% o carte de istorie: desi este o abordare cronologica a istoriei, abunda de ironii si de umor englezesc, care, uneori, ii stirbeste caracterul de lucrare istoriografica. nu este 100%. probabil ca asta nu este nicio problema si eu o resimt asa pentru ca sunt obisnuit cu un caracter didactic al istoriei, cu o succesiune de neutra de povestiri despre evenimente si oameni. in plus, istoria recenta este foarte greu de judecat. in mare, cartea este digerabila si este ceea ce spune ca este adica o lucrare de popularizare.

[Sebastian · Rating 3 out of 5]

In general it's a good recap of the main events in europe's history, but the book's name is misleading. It's not a short history of Europe, but a short history of: England (not even Britain), Germany, France and Italy.
There are mentions of the other european regions, but only to give more coherence to the story of these 4 territories.
Also, the author's EU skepticism and english exceptionalism shows at times and that can be a bit annoying!

[Sofya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Два лайка и я объясню Бисмарку неопронаунсы

[clumsyplankton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, insightful and had it on my shelf for ages

[David Tyler · Rating 4 out of 5]

8.8/10. Not particularly short

[Martina · Rating 2 out of 5]

All in all, a good book. I won't mention what a marathon that was through the years. And of course there is so much more that can be said about Europe's culture and art. After all, the history of the oldest continent can't be summarised in 300 pages. I knew what to expect when i started the book.

There was something else that i really disapproved of. The lack of knowledge especially from such a big name as Mr. Jenkins is simply unacceptable. Several times he used the term "Bulgar's Islam". Now, i absolutely understand he wasn't raised in this part of Europe. But as a historian he must know better. The Islam has never been rooted in Bulgaria!

I was a little dissappointed how little was said about Byzantium and Bulgaria. When Bulgarians have had a country, only sheep could be found on those remote British lands. In the time between 7th and 12th century neither England nor France have had a regulated state. And yet, in the whole book the main characters were England and France, a little bit of the Netherlands, a little bit ot Germany and several other countries. Scotland was mentioned only once! Not a single word about the Scandinavian countries of Norway, Sweden and Finland.

I really was expecting a more extensice overview of the European history. A good attempt though, well done!

[Victor Sonkin · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent short account of European history, written by someone who's not an academic historian (and can write a lively piece of prose), who's level-headed enough and at the same time not quite neutral for the book to be boring. I am not very familiar with the large part of European history, and where I was, I only found one obvious mistake (Nero didn't throw anyone into the Colosseum arena: there was no Colosseum yet). An excellent achievement.

[Ann Otto · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good choice to tweak your memory-everything you learned about the history of Europe in high school and college but may have forgotten. As you read, memories of history, literature and historical fiction you've read return. Jenkins makes it interesting for general readers, not a history lesson. A book that should be re-visited often.

[Berend · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goed duidelijk kort boek over europa. Wat echt opvalt in dit boek, is de nadruk op herhaling van patronen. Het laat zien hoe Europa telkens weer in dezelfde valkuilen stapt, een eye-opener voor hoe geschiedenis zich herhaalt. Het is verrassend actueel omdat het de parallellen tussen verleden en heden blootlegt, waardoor dingen je gaan opvallen en je gaat nadenken over waar we ons vandaag bevinden.

Dit boek biedt niet alleen inzicht in het verleden, maar nodigt ook uit tot reflectie over de koers van Europa. Een aanrader voor wie geïnteresseerd is in geschiedenis en inzicht wil krijgen in wat het verleden ons kan leren voor de toekomst van Europa.

[Maddie O. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley.

This was exactly what it claimed to be- a short history of Europe. I thought the writing was excellent and accessible, and it was a great breakdown of the most important events and people in European history. I would definitely recommend it if you want a quick but useful refresher on the topic!

[Marian · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4*

[Jeshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enlightening, but at times complicated read. It was arduous going through the events before Christ and even most of the first millennium AD as my knowledge of all those events is quite weak. Having a vague understanding of main characters and general themes is almost a pre-requisite to understanding any one section of this book.

Having that though, it allows one to see the lengthy timeline of Europe all together. This was illuminating as it highlighted the cyclical nature of Europe's history and how situations, which until now I took for granted, arose.

This book has also piqued my interest into earlier parts of Europe's chronicle, such as the Norse expansion, the Holy Roman Empire and to even begin to comprehend the history of Eastern European countries.

[Claudia Rynkowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a good read as an intro to European history. The issue here is trying to cram millennia worth of history into 299 pages; stuff inevitably gets left out. I picked up this book because my knowledge of history is limited to art history, and I wanted to get a larger picture of certain events. This book allows for the reader to recognize which areas they do/don’t care for—knowing they will need to follow up with books pertaining to those specific events.

Also, I am thankful that the author included a few maps of Europe between the centuries—but more was needed. I kept having to google “map of Europe in ____.” Ever-changing territories of countries and/or empires that existed before Napoleon’s time was hard to follow.

[Wang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than I thought and the author disabused people of some long-held myth such as Bastille. I do find one error where the author stated that Basque was the only part of Spain that wasn't conquered by the Moors. It's not correct. Asturias didn't fall into the Moors either.

[Vlad Sipos · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bible of European History. Definitely will be re-reading this one a few times. Highly recommend it to anyone who likes having a broad knowledge of History.

[Gogelescu Ion Petre · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ușor de citit, poți trece repede prin ea și să aprofundezi ulterior anumite fapte găsite în ea. Recomand cu siguranță! Am aflat multe lucruri interesante în urma acestei lecturi drăguțe.