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The Shortest History of Europe: How Conquest, Culture, and Religion Forged a Continent - A Retelling for Our Times
Uncover the decisive moments that shaped a world-changing continent. The Shortest History books deliver thousands of years of history in one riveting, fast-paced read.
Celebrated historian John Hirst draws from his own lectures to deliver this ultra-accessible master class on the making of modern Europe, from Ancient Greece through World War II. With over 600,000 copies sold worldwide, this brief history is a global sensation propelled by a thesis of astonishing simplicity: Just three elements—German warfare, Greek and Roman culture, and Christianity—come together to explain everything else, from the Crusades to the Industrial Revolution. Hirst’s razor-sharp grasp of cause and effect helps us see with sparkling clarity how the history of Europe—the crucible of liberal democracy—shapes the way we live today.
Celebrated historian John Hirst draws from his own lectures to deliver this ultra-accessible master class on the making of modern Europe, from Ancient Greece through World War II. With over 600,000 copies sold worldwide, this brief history is a global sensation propelled by a thesis of astonishing simplicity: Just three elements—German warfare, Greek and Roman culture, and Christianity—come together to explain everything else, from the Crusades to the Industrial Revolution. Hirst’s razor-sharp grasp of cause and effect helps us see with sparkling clarity how the history of Europe—the crucible of liberal democracy—shapes the way we live today.
- GenresHistoryNonfiction
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 8, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 8, 2022
(4/5) I thought this book was engaging and informative, but I will say -- the nature of a book entitled "Shortest History of" anything is that it will inevitably gloss over things, leave things out, and summarize it in a way that would probably cause a fistfight at any gathering of historians of that subject, who are wont to disagree about the minutiae and relative importance of historical events, causes, effects, etc. I think Hirst balanced the length with covering the important details, and I appreciated the way that he categorized things and made things easy to understand from multiple perspectives. Definitely would consider this book a good overview to encourage a reader to delve into specific areas in which they find they're interested.
October 5, 2024
The Shortest History of Europe by John Hirst offers an engaging and concise overview of European history, masterfully blending conquest, culture, and religion to trace the continent’s development.
The book spans centuries, from ancient Greece and Rome to the modern European Union, but remains incredibly accessible due to its clear, straightforward prose. Hirst captures the essence of pivotal moments—such as the rise of Christianity, the feudal system, and the Enlightenment—while showing how Europe's history is one of both unity and division. His ability to simplify complex historical narratives without losing depth makes it a compelling read for both casual readers and history enthusiasts.
What sets this book apart is its focus on the continuity of European culture, specifically how classical Greco-Roman civilization, Christianity, and the Enlightenment ideals have shaped modern Europe.
Hirst’s balanced approach to the influence of religion and political power offers a nuanced perspective on Europe's evolution.
While the brevity of the book might limit deeper exploration of certain events, the compact format serves its purpose—delivering an insightful, thought-provoking retelling of Europe’s history in under 200 pages.
It’s perfect for those seeking an efficient but enriching exploration of Europe’s past and its ongoing influence today.
The book spans centuries, from ancient Greece and Rome to the modern European Union, but remains incredibly accessible due to its clear, straightforward prose. Hirst captures the essence of pivotal moments—such as the rise of Christianity, the feudal system, and the Enlightenment—while showing how Europe's history is one of both unity and division. His ability to simplify complex historical narratives without losing depth makes it a compelling read for both casual readers and history enthusiasts.
What sets this book apart is its focus on the continuity of European culture, specifically how classical Greco-Roman civilization, Christianity, and the Enlightenment ideals have shaped modern Europe.
Hirst’s balanced approach to the influence of religion and political power offers a nuanced perspective on Europe's evolution.
While the brevity of the book might limit deeper exploration of certain events, the compact format serves its purpose—delivering an insightful, thought-provoking retelling of Europe’s history in under 200 pages.
It’s perfect for those seeking an efficient but enriching exploration of Europe’s past and its ongoing influence today.
November 13, 2022
This was a fantastic read. I loved every minute of it and learnt so much from reading it. It was well wrote and flowed really well. I loved how it not only tells us about history but explains how and why it occurred. I liked how this book didn't go overly indepth into the subjects. This made the book an excellent light read. This book would be brilliant for those who want to read an introduction into European history. Then from there you can find more indepth books on the areas that interest you the most. I definitely struggled to put this book down and had to finish it in one afternoon. I really loved the maps and diagrams it really helped give us a visual perspective and helps break up the text giving us that extra dimension. It was obvious from reading this book that the author had great knowledge and that the books was well researched. I definitely recommend reading this book if you love light learning or need an introduction that is both factful, interesting and easy to understand. I will definitely be looking out for more books by this fantastic author.
Many thanks to the author and publishers for putting together this brilliant book that was very easy to learn from and so very interesting.
Many thanks to the author and publishers for putting together this brilliant book that was very easy to learn from and so very interesting.
November 4, 2025
The Shortest History series continues to impress me as this Europe volume provides a pretty unique strategy for examining Europe as a geopolitical entity.
According to the introduction Hirst says he created this book from a series of lectures that go over the history of Europe multiple times, each time focusing on a different aspect of European society. I was curious to see how this system would work and my god did it turn out to be something special. I feel like other books in the Shortest History series might be served better by utilizing a system close to what Hirst does here. Hirst goes over the cultural roots of Europe, the politics and governance, the religious systems, the language, and the technology and economics, and does it in a way that maintains a longitudinal analysis that doesn't get bogged down in unnecessary detail.
To give an example of this, Hirst's main thesis on the cultural roots of Europe and functionally Western civilization is the Greek traditions of thinking mixed with the Roman system of governance mixed with the German tradition of conquest. These three are thrown together by the rise of Christianity which Rome eventually adopts as the imperial religion. The church decides to keep Greek learning standards and accept Germanic invading kings into the religion.
This is a remarkably simple yet intuitive and demonstrably accurate summation of the roots of European culture, as Christianity, Roman imperial reach, and Greek intellectual tradition would all play a massive part in the many kingdoms and nations that would arise across the continent. Hirst continues this streak of simple but profound analysis throughout many other facets of European life. Most of this book is dedicated to the topics one would expect from a European or Western Civ book: Greece, Rome, Germanic states, Christendom, Catholicism and Protestantism, France, England, language, agriculture, industrialization, monarchy, republics, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Enlightenment, etc. The final chapter covers the World Wars in decent detail for a shortest history.
If there is one pretty glaring weakness to this book in my opinion, it is that it does not address the post-WW2 era of Europe nearly enough. This is partly due to the fact that this book is not an original work created for the Shortest History series as published by The Experiment, which started in the 2020s. This book was originally published in 2012, and it seems that unfortunately John Hirst died in 2016. The afterward of my copy, published in 2022, contains a little more analysis on the weaknesses and promises of the EU, but this still does not satiate my particular interest in learning more about this dream (some say ambitious, others say foolish) of creating what would practically amount to being a United States of Europe, that by it's sheer size, population, and development could rival the United States of America economically. So fair warning: for those readers interested in thorough post-war analysis of modern Europe, or a historian's take on the issues Europe faces in 2025, you will not find it here. Perhaps The Experiment could one day publish a Shortest History of the European Union?
You may also find your particular favorite nation state, like those in the Iberian Peninsula, or those in Eastern Europe, are not mentioned, nor are some very important events like the Black Plague or the Mongol invasion. As this was supposed to be a short history, I won't begrudge Hirst on this too much especially since he presented his thesis of Greek learning, Roman Christian culture, and Germanic conquest so effectively. Because he focused on this culture root, the particulars of nations outside of that root are thus outside the scope of the book. I can respect the dedication to the thesis, and I am comforted by the fact that most likely all of the nations of the world will eventually be receiving their own Shortest History if The Experiment publishers have anything to say about it.
Nevertheless, a huge recommend from me to history fans and European history buffs. This is a great starting point to understanding Europe and the cultural and civilizational heritage from which European peoples come from.
According to the introduction Hirst says he created this book from a series of lectures that go over the history of Europe multiple times, each time focusing on a different aspect of European society. I was curious to see how this system would work and my god did it turn out to be something special. I feel like other books in the Shortest History series might be served better by utilizing a system close to what Hirst does here. Hirst goes over the cultural roots of Europe, the politics and governance, the religious systems, the language, and the technology and economics, and does it in a way that maintains a longitudinal analysis that doesn't get bogged down in unnecessary detail.
To give an example of this, Hirst's main thesis on the cultural roots of Europe and functionally Western civilization is the Greek traditions of thinking mixed with the Roman system of governance mixed with the German tradition of conquest. These three are thrown together by the rise of Christianity which Rome eventually adopts as the imperial religion. The church decides to keep Greek learning standards and accept Germanic invading kings into the religion.
This is a remarkably simple yet intuitive and demonstrably accurate summation of the roots of European culture, as Christianity, Roman imperial reach, and Greek intellectual tradition would all play a massive part in the many kingdoms and nations that would arise across the continent. Hirst continues this streak of simple but profound analysis throughout many other facets of European life. Most of this book is dedicated to the topics one would expect from a European or Western Civ book: Greece, Rome, Germanic states, Christendom, Catholicism and Protestantism, France, England, language, agriculture, industrialization, monarchy, republics, Middle Ages, Renaissance, Enlightenment, etc. The final chapter covers the World Wars in decent detail for a shortest history.
If there is one pretty glaring weakness to this book in my opinion, it is that it does not address the post-WW2 era of Europe nearly enough. This is partly due to the fact that this book is not an original work created for the Shortest History series as published by The Experiment, which started in the 2020s. This book was originally published in 2012, and it seems that unfortunately John Hirst died in 2016. The afterward of my copy, published in 2022, contains a little more analysis on the weaknesses and promises of the EU, but this still does not satiate my particular interest in learning more about this dream (some say ambitious, others say foolish) of creating what would practically amount to being a United States of Europe, that by it's sheer size, population, and development could rival the United States of America economically. So fair warning: for those readers interested in thorough post-war analysis of modern Europe, or a historian's take on the issues Europe faces in 2025, you will not find it here. Perhaps The Experiment could one day publish a Shortest History of the European Union?
You may also find your particular favorite nation state, like those in the Iberian Peninsula, or those in Eastern Europe, are not mentioned, nor are some very important events like the Black Plague or the Mongol invasion. As this was supposed to be a short history, I won't begrudge Hirst on this too much especially since he presented his thesis of Greek learning, Roman Christian culture, and Germanic conquest so effectively. Because he focused on this culture root, the particulars of nations outside of that root are thus outside the scope of the book. I can respect the dedication to the thesis, and I am comforted by the fact that most likely all of the nations of the world will eventually be receiving their own Shortest History if The Experiment publishers have anything to say about it.
Nevertheless, a huge recommend from me to history fans and European history buffs. This is a great starting point to understanding Europe and the cultural and civilizational heritage from which European peoples come from.
September 25, 2025
Pretty good "big history" look at Europe, very much focused on the Western parts. To quote the author, "Not all parts of Europe are equally important in the making of European civilization. The Renaissance in Italy, the Reformation in Germany, parliamentary government in England, and revolutionary democracy in France: These are of more consequence than the partitions of Poland." Which sounded a bit snarky to me. Ironically, I recently became interested in the partition of Poland through researching by husband's genealogy. Also, an afterword by a younger historian (Hirst having passed away in the interim) talks about how important Eastern Europe and its lack of democratic history is to current tensions in the EU.
Apparently, this "big history" approach was inspired by Patricia Crone, which surprised me, because I know of her as a historian of Islam. I'll have to check out what she wrote about pre-industrial societies (although I gather her work even in Islamic history has not met with unalloyed approval).
So, rather incomplete, but it wouldn't be "shortest" by leaving out a whole bunch of stuff. One thing I do like about this series is that there are diagrams and tables to help illustrate patterns (Shortest History of War by Gwynne Dyer is excellent in this regard). More history books should embrace this. I annotated large chunks of the book and will likely copy the diagrams out by hand.
Apparently, this "big history" approach was inspired by Patricia Crone, which surprised me, because I know of her as a historian of Islam. I'll have to check out what she wrote about pre-industrial societies (although I gather her work even in Islamic history has not met with unalloyed approval).
So, rather incomplete, but it wouldn't be "shortest" by leaving out a whole bunch of stuff. One thing I do like about this series is that there are diagrams and tables to help illustrate patterns (Shortest History of War by Gwynne Dyer is excellent in this regard). More history books should embrace this. I annotated large chunks of the book and will likely copy the diagrams out by hand.
December 27, 2023
Nice primer in lieu of AP Euro. Big learning is that systems of governance and border lines are surprisingly path dependent. It also seems like influential political thought is almost exclusively tied to revolution. Marx might be the counterexample here - even as the Manifesto argues for revolution it was mainly a critique of capitalist conditions rather than the result of a specific workers’ revolution.
The author briefly touches on why the Renaissance and Enlightenment *could not have happened* in eastern states (namely China). I’m skeptical and am interested in arguments for why Europe was simply the First, not the Only.
The author briefly touches on why the Renaissance and Enlightenment *could not have happened* in eastern states (namely China). I’m skeptical and am interested in arguments for why Europe was simply the First, not the Only.
January 4, 2024
well written, but to think this is an intro to history for college students is disturbing. this shoud be for second year high school students.
if you slept through high school, and want to learn European history, this is a good place to start, but hopefully you'll get interested and do more in depth reading.
it is sad this book has no bibliography to direst readers to moer detailed books providing more specifics of each era. a serious omission.
if you slept through high school, and want to learn European history, this is a good place to start, but hopefully you'll get interested and do more in depth reading.
it is sad this book has no bibliography to direst readers to moer detailed books providing more specifics of each era. a serious omission.
February 4, 2023
Accurate title.The first chapter tells the whole story and subsequent chapters flesh out the narrative. For the 2022 edition, we find the author has died and an Afterword is added that does a better job of including the eastern third of the continent in that narrative, up to and including the invasion(s) of Ukraine.
January 7, 2025
I am glad I read this book. While I've always felt that I knew a far amount about European history, this short book -- which at times is a bit difficult to digest -- filled in many gaps in my understanding. It's well organized as it it not purely chronological. Check it out! I don't think you will be disappointed.
May 26, 2025
Maps and geometry proofs within the first few pages had me engaged. One of my favorite parts was the discussion of the evolutions of languages. German, Norse, and Norman invasions lead to modern English essentially having two words for many things and a much larger vocabulary than German or French. Eg king/kingly (German) but also royal/royally (French).
August 23, 2025
This book is an engaging and easy read, making it a great introduction to European history! That said, the author does not follow a chronological calendar and he glosses over a lot of important information.
The ideal way to read this book is with a background knowledge on this subject and to read it as a fun refresher and way to keep your memory sharp!
The ideal way to read this book is with a background knowledge on this subject and to read it as a fun refresher and way to keep your memory sharp!
March 20, 2023
More like ”A Short History of Western Europe”, but nonetheless Hirst has a great capacity for synthesizing, associating and keeping the story coherent, while stressing the important moments and their significance.
July 31, 2023
This did a thing I like which is where you just do a quick version, then go back and fill in some details, then go back again and fill in even more details.
Did a lot considering its so small/short
Did a lot considering its so small/short
March 1, 2025
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5: An incredibly concise history of Europe focusing on several broad themes. Quite informative for many of the issues that still plague Europe and the Western World through the present time.
July 22, 2025
a more accurate title might be "the shortest history of western europe". hirst fails to mention eastern europe until 1917, and even then it is mostly in the context of how eastern european politics (communism) influenced western europe. overall a decent summary, though.
January 6, 2023
The organization of the chapters is loosely around ideological evolution (?). It lacks a clear thread for me to follow.
December 10, 2023
Good overview for novice minds likes myself !
February 26, 2024
I think it is a good book. It gives a high level overview without into too many nuances
May 26, 2024
This is so well-written.
September 12, 2024
Informative, fairly easy read for those interested in European history.
March 11, 2023
Short and superficial. If you've had a roman or European history this will bore you.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews