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A History of Europe: From Pre-History to the 21st Century
Leading historian Jeremy Black brings together the continent's common threads of history from the end of the ice ages until the present day.
A History of Europe is a masterful narrative which takes readers on a journey through the vast sweep of European history. It examining events as diverse as the rise of the Roman Empire, the brutal Viking raids, the cultural explosion of the Renaissance period, the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the rise of consumer culture in the 21st century.
These varied strands are bought together in a clear and concise narrative, with timelines, text boxes and art and photography to bring them to life. This book is perfect for anyone wanting a comprehensive and accessible look at Europe's fascinating and complex past.
A History of Europe is a masterful narrative which takes readers on a journey through the vast sweep of European history. It examining events as diverse as the rise of the Roman Empire, the brutal Viking raids, the cultural explosion of the Renaissance period, the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the rise of consumer culture in the 21st century.
These varied strands are bought together in a clear and concise narrative, with timelines, text boxes and art and photography to bring them to life. This book is perfect for anyone wanting a comprehensive and accessible look at Europe's fascinating and complex past.
224 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 2021
66 people are currently reading
90 people want to read
About the author
Jeremy Black
430 books198 followersJeremy Black is an English historian, who was formerly a professor of history at the University of Exeter. He is a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of America and the West at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US.
Black is the author of over 180 books, principally but not exclusively on 18th-century British politics and international relations, and has been described by one commentator as "the most prolific historical scholar of our age". He has published on military and political history, including Warfare in the Western World, 1882–1975 (2001) and The World in the Twentieth Century (2002).
Black is the author of over 180 books, principally but not exclusively on 18th-century British politics and international relations, and has been described by one commentator as "the most prolific historical scholar of our age". He has published on military and political history, including Warfare in the Western World, 1882–1975 (2001) and The World in the Twentieth Century (2002).
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
January 28, 2024
Format: audiobook ~ Narrator: Richard Trinder
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars
Complete audiobook review
With nonfiction (audio)books, the contentment and rating always depend on what you expect in the first place. Don’t expect an extensive and detailed history of Europe. With about 7 hours of audio narration, you should expect this to be a brief history of Europe. This audiobook is suitable for those who know (almost) nothing about the topic or want to revise some key moments from history.
Overall, I think A History of Europe is an excellent brief presentation of Europe’s history.
Thanks to Arcturus Digital Audio for the advance copy and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.
Content: 4 stars ~ Narration: 5 stars
Complete audiobook review
With nonfiction (audio)books, the contentment and rating always depend on what you expect in the first place. Don’t expect an extensive and detailed history of Europe. With about 7 hours of audio narration, you should expect this to be a brief history of Europe. This audiobook is suitable for those who know (almost) nothing about the topic or want to revise some key moments from history.
Overall, I think A History of Europe is an excellent brief presentation of Europe’s history.
Thanks to Arcturus Digital Audio for the advance copy and this opportunity! This is a voluntary review and all opinions are my own.
January 20, 2022
Easy read- A good basic look at the history of Europe.
May 27, 2023
As a short book, I expect it to limit the topics discussed (as it can't cover everything) but explain those topics well, which it fails to do.
Less importantly this book very much focuses on battles and the succession of kings and emperors and provides almost no detail on what life was actually like. The section on the Middle Ages particularly seems more like a list of dates of battles and kings without a discussion of the cause and consequences of these battles and kings. (Knowing who was king at a certain date isn't that useful by itself without more context).
Complex topics are mentioned in a single sentence in such a way that offers very little explanation. Seems more like a book meant for those already well versed in European history.
Less importantly this book very much focuses on battles and the succession of kings and emperors and provides almost no detail on what life was actually like. The section on the Middle Ages particularly seems more like a list of dates of battles and kings without a discussion of the cause and consequences of these battles and kings. (Knowing who was king at a certain date isn't that useful by itself without more context).
Complex topics are mentioned in a single sentence in such a way that offers very little explanation. Seems more like a book meant for those already well versed in European history.
April 21, 2022
A history of Europe in just over 200 pages; a reader goes into such a book knowing it will have limitations. It's only fair to judge the book based on accomplishing its purpose, rather than through the inherent limitations of the enterprise. Brief histories, by definition, are reductionist and lacking detail. I knew that going in, and still, even within its limits, I thought the book committed two common errors of such projects.
First, Black wrote mostly about military and economic history, and the changing of borders, in other words he wrote about power dynamics, and called this "history." Because he never disclosed his philosophy of historiography, the reader cannot know if this was simply because Black hadn't thought through how flawed this is as an approach, or if he had thought about it and decided that this constituted the most important material. Personally, I find culture, art, and the lives of common people just as, if not more important and interesting, but the book says very little about any of this. It also essentially skips over issues such as slavery and the acute effects of colonialism on the continent itself, and several other important issues.
Second, the book makes the common mistake of still trying to say too much despite the lack of space. Complex issues receive little more than a few sentences. Although such an approach also is open to criticism, I do wonder if the effect would have been better had it been arranged topically rather than chronologically, and the focus had been narrowed somewhat. That way, the reader can better forgive the complete absence of important details. Instead, the effect of this book is that it appears to attempt thoroughness, which then opens it up to further criticism regarding omissions. In other words, it might have been better to be more clear that only big highlights were going to feature in the book, and reduce the material down even further, so that those highlights receive better treatment and all other omissions are more understandable. As it stands, Black tried to do an awful lot with very little space, and even then missed some pretty important issues.
Despite these reservations about the success of the book, I can say that I got mostly what I wanted out of it, and I did enjoy it. The spotlight nature of the book gives the reader a chance to look into what he/she wants on their own through more detailed treatments in other sources. Europe has been war torn and unstable through most of its history, and the book highlights those realities well despite the limited space.
First, Black wrote mostly about military and economic history, and the changing of borders, in other words he wrote about power dynamics, and called this "history." Because he never disclosed his philosophy of historiography, the reader cannot know if this was simply because Black hadn't thought through how flawed this is as an approach, or if he had thought about it and decided that this constituted the most important material. Personally, I find culture, art, and the lives of common people just as, if not more important and interesting, but the book says very little about any of this. It also essentially skips over issues such as slavery and the acute effects of colonialism on the continent itself, and several other important issues.
Second, the book makes the common mistake of still trying to say too much despite the lack of space. Complex issues receive little more than a few sentences. Although such an approach also is open to criticism, I do wonder if the effect would have been better had it been arranged topically rather than chronologically, and the focus had been narrowed somewhat. That way, the reader can better forgive the complete absence of important details. Instead, the effect of this book is that it appears to attempt thoroughness, which then opens it up to further criticism regarding omissions. In other words, it might have been better to be more clear that only big highlights were going to feature in the book, and reduce the material down even further, so that those highlights receive better treatment and all other omissions are more understandable. As it stands, Black tried to do an awful lot with very little space, and even then missed some pretty important issues.
Despite these reservations about the success of the book, I can say that I got mostly what I wanted out of it, and I did enjoy it. The spotlight nature of the book gives the reader a chance to look into what he/she wants on their own through more detailed treatments in other sources. Europe has been war torn and unstable through most of its history, and the book highlights those realities well despite the limited space.
January 30, 2022
A short overview of major events in European history. It must have been hard to pare down to even the events covered in this light book. It was an easy read, and helped me figure out where I want to focus my further reading on the subject
August 28, 2021
Ok
This is a well written short history of Europe,though a bit short on the major events . I have read other short histories namely Simon Jenkins book which I found better.
This is a well written short history of Europe,though a bit short on the major events . I have read other short histories namely Simon Jenkins book which I found better.
January 12, 2024
Thank you to NetGalley for providing an audiobook copy to review.
A History of Europe is exactly as it says - a history of Europe. It’s a short read, so it’s supposed to be a kind of surface overview of important periods and locations within Europe’s history.
One of the reasons I was looking forward to reading this was that my European historical knowledge mostly concerns the UK, Greece, and Rome. I liked that the author mentioned Europe’s close connection with other places like North Africa and the Middle East, especially in reference to the Greek and Roman empires.
I enjoyed listening to this! It is very short, and writing in an accessible way, so I flew through it. There is obviously a lot to cover, so this book talks about ancient history, language, the establishment of governments and political movements, as well as war and conflict.
I understand that the point of this book is an overview, but I don’t think it was executed quite as well as it could have been. I mostly think it is because the amount of attention on different events varied, and some things were important but only addressed very briefly.
In particular, I think slavery was brushed over very briefly. I understand that the focus is on Europe, but I feel that colonialism and its effects should have been explored more given its significance.
There was a lot of focus on wars and battles, which of course are an important part of history, as well as politics. However, because this book is so short, this focus was at the expense of other themes and topics, so it felt less like a holistic overview. I wanted more information generally about what life was like!
Despite the issues I had, I still enjoyed this book, and I did learn some new things! I’m especially unfamiliar with the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods so I definitely filled some gaps in my knowledge. I know that I need to learn more about Eastern Europe so this book made me more interested to dive into specific periods and locations. The audiobook also worked well and was easy to understand. I think this is a good choice if you want a quick read, and if you have little knowledge of European history and want a broad overview to start with.
3 stars
A History of Europe is exactly as it says - a history of Europe. It’s a short read, so it’s supposed to be a kind of surface overview of important periods and locations within Europe’s history.
One of the reasons I was looking forward to reading this was that my European historical knowledge mostly concerns the UK, Greece, and Rome. I liked that the author mentioned Europe’s close connection with other places like North Africa and the Middle East, especially in reference to the Greek and Roman empires.
I enjoyed listening to this! It is very short, and writing in an accessible way, so I flew through it. There is obviously a lot to cover, so this book talks about ancient history, language, the establishment of governments and political movements, as well as war and conflict.
I understand that the point of this book is an overview, but I don’t think it was executed quite as well as it could have been. I mostly think it is because the amount of attention on different events varied, and some things were important but only addressed very briefly.
In particular, I think slavery was brushed over very briefly. I understand that the focus is on Europe, but I feel that colonialism and its effects should have been explored more given its significance.
There was a lot of focus on wars and battles, which of course are an important part of history, as well as politics. However, because this book is so short, this focus was at the expense of other themes and topics, so it felt less like a holistic overview. I wanted more information generally about what life was like!
Despite the issues I had, I still enjoyed this book, and I did learn some new things! I’m especially unfamiliar with the Middle Ages and Renaissance periods so I definitely filled some gaps in my knowledge. I know that I need to learn more about Eastern Europe so this book made me more interested to dive into specific periods and locations. The audiobook also worked well and was easy to understand. I think this is a good choice if you want a quick read, and if you have little knowledge of European history and want a broad overview to start with.
3 stars
January 12, 2024
3.5 stars
A HISTORY OF EUROPE is a brief overview of European history with a greater emphasis on trends than events themselves.
This book is very short, trying to cover over four millennia (though only three in detail) in under 300 pages. All the other histories of Europe I have read cover shorter time periods (usually little over a millennium if that) in far more pages. This is because there is so much to cover, and no amount of pages can ever do that much history justice.
The approach this history takes is to do a whistle stop tour to give you an overarching idea of the major events and themes. This means events are covered in very little detail, mostly mentioning "this happened as part of this trend." For example there was all of two sentences on the Crimean War, fitting it into a larger context without much reference to what happened in said war (or the direct causes.)
Therefore, this is a good book for those who want that zoomed out idea of history, to improve their general timeline and aren't too bothered with the details (or are willing to research the areas that grab their interest themselves.) It was informative as a timeline with a focus on trends, though as a details person, I wanted more.
Richard Trinder narrates. As someone who listens at an accelerated speed (1.25x), it did reinforce my opinion that it was whistlestop, particularly as each chapter had several date lists (which also reinforced the "this is basically a timeline with a few more details" impression.)
A HISTORY OF EUROPE is a brief overview of European history with a greater emphasis on trends than events themselves.
This book is very short, trying to cover over four millennia (though only three in detail) in under 300 pages. All the other histories of Europe I have read cover shorter time periods (usually little over a millennium if that) in far more pages. This is because there is so much to cover, and no amount of pages can ever do that much history justice.
The approach this history takes is to do a whistle stop tour to give you an overarching idea of the major events and themes. This means events are covered in very little detail, mostly mentioning "this happened as part of this trend." For example there was all of two sentences on the Crimean War, fitting it into a larger context without much reference to what happened in said war (or the direct causes.)
Therefore, this is a good book for those who want that zoomed out idea of history, to improve their general timeline and aren't too bothered with the details (or are willing to research the areas that grab their interest themselves.) It was informative as a timeline with a focus on trends, though as a details person, I wanted more.
Richard Trinder narrates. As someone who listens at an accelerated speed (1.25x), it did reinforce my opinion that it was whistlestop, particularly as each chapter had several date lists (which also reinforced the "this is basically a timeline with a few more details" impression.)
January 16, 2024
Let's start from the beginning. I am in no way new to History Books. I've read the Romanovs (Simon Montefiore), many histories of the US, a History of Scotland (Oliver Neil) before, so I know that history books can be dry, but this is in a whole other level.
I knew it would be a challenge to condense all history of Europe in few pages, but this book is everywhere. The author basically just lists facts without explaining the reasons why people made these decisions. In addition, as you might expect, the author had to make decisions about what to include and what to exclude from this brief history of Europe, but there's no explanation as to these criteria. This seems like a combination of several Wikipedia articles that interest the author. For example, at some point the author discusses opera, but skips several other topics. When we get to the 20th century he talks about how the climate and animals of Europe have changed, but at no point in the past he mentioned what animals were in Europe before.
I feel that this would be a good read for people who know absolutely nothing of history. This is the book I would give to a Martian who needs a brief overview of European history. I feel that the autor should have focused on a specific aspect, like for example the kings and queens of Europe through time, or all wars and how they shaped the history of Europe.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
I knew it would be a challenge to condense all history of Europe in few pages, but this book is everywhere. The author basically just lists facts without explaining the reasons why people made these decisions. In addition, as you might expect, the author had to make decisions about what to include and what to exclude from this brief history of Europe, but there's no explanation as to these criteria. This seems like a combination of several Wikipedia articles that interest the author. For example, at some point the author discusses opera, but skips several other topics. When we get to the 20th century he talks about how the climate and animals of Europe have changed, but at no point in the past he mentioned what animals were in Europe before.
I feel that this would be a good read for people who know absolutely nothing of history. This is the book I would give to a Martian who needs a brief overview of European history. I feel that the autor should have focused on a specific aspect, like for example the kings and queens of Europe through time, or all wars and how they shaped the history of Europe.
Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review.
February 11, 2024
This is a brief overview of Europe's history, which is good if you don't know anything about it or would like a refresher. There's no detailed analysis, but it's the perfect starting point if you're interested in specific events to then dig more into them and their context.
I would have preferred to read this book than listen to it though. I understand history can be quite dry (although it's also possible to present it in a more lively way), but the narration was dull and monotonous, which made it difficult to listen to and focus on it.
Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I would have preferred to read this book than listen to it though. I understand history can be quite dry (although it's also possible to present it in a more lively way), but the narration was dull and monotonous, which made it difficult to listen to and focus on it.
Thank you to the publisher who provided me with an e-copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 25, 2024
A History of Europe
From Pre-History to the 21st Century
by Jeremy Black
(Narrated by Richard Trinder)
A wide range and informational book, which is perfect for those who want to have an idea of the history of Europe.
It’s always hard to consider what to cover especially with the long history and broad content. The book has a great content, also educational. I’m obsessed with the history and I enjoyed the way the narrator presented. Easy to follow, perfect pace.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my copy.
Pub date: Dec 12, 2023
From Pre-History to the 21st Century
by Jeremy Black
(Narrated by Richard Trinder)
A wide range and informational book, which is perfect for those who want to have an idea of the history of Europe.
It’s always hard to consider what to cover especially with the long history and broad content. The book has a great content, also educational. I’m obsessed with the history and I enjoyed the way the narrator presented. Easy to follow, perfect pace.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for my copy.
Pub date: Dec 12, 2023
September 7, 2024
In a book of this length covering the vast amount of time that it does, it is always interesting to see what the author includes and what they leave out. This was an interesting and informative read which did focus primarily on Western Europe, but there was a smattering of Eastern Europe in there too, which was good to see. I thought the various timelines throughout the book were helpful to see where things stood at a glance and overall, thought this was an enjoyable introductory read.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.
February 6, 2024
This book gives a brief overview of some of the defining historical moments throughout Europe from its formation up until the 21st century. While some topics are given more detail, some events are referred to briefly which leaves the reader with more questions than answers. This book may appeal to someone with no knowledge of European history but for me, it was just a long list of dates without any real importance or context.
May 7, 2023
Wow. Did all that really happen.
A bucketful to get to grips with.
It needs to be accompanied by maps on a nearly yearly basis to be able to fully follow people and borders.
I will probably read it again in the future with a map.
I got this book as I was on a trip down the lower River Danube. Helped bring it all to life.
A bucketful to get to grips with.
It needs to be accompanied by maps on a nearly yearly basis to be able to fully follow people and borders.
I will probably read it again in the future with a map.
I got this book as I was on a trip down the lower River Danube. Helped bring it all to life.
February 16, 2024
This was an informative book about the history of Europe. A bit intense, I admit, but it gives a very good summary of the milestones in just over 7 hours. I liked the narrator and to me he sounded like a good fit to this book.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews