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Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean
Levant is a book of cities. It describes three former centers of great wealth, pleasure, and freedom—Smyrna, Alexandria, and Beirut—cities of the Levant region along the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. In these key ports at the crossroads of East and West, against all expectations, cosmopolitanism and nationalism flourished simultaneously. People freely switched identities and languages, released from the prisons of religion and nationality. Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived and worshipped as neighbors.
Distinguished historian Philip Mansel is the first to recount the colorful, contradictory histories of Smyrna, Alexandria, and Beirut in the modern age. He begins in the early days of the French alliance with the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century and continues through the cities' mid-twentieth-century fates: Smyrna burned; Alexandria Egyptianized; Beirut lacerated by civil war.
Mansel looks back to discern what these remarkable Levantine cities were like, how they differed from other cities, why they shone forth as cultural beacons. He also embarks on a quest: to discover whether, as often claimed, these cities were truly cosmopolitan, possessing the elixir of coexistence between Muslims, Christians, and Jews for which the world yearns. Or, below the glittering surface, were they volcanoes waiting to erupt, as the catastrophes of the twentieth century suggest? In the pages of the past, Mansel finds important messages for the fractured world of today.
Distinguished historian Philip Mansel is the first to recount the colorful, contradictory histories of Smyrna, Alexandria, and Beirut in the modern age. He begins in the early days of the French alliance with the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century and continues through the cities' mid-twentieth-century fates: Smyrna burned; Alexandria Egyptianized; Beirut lacerated by civil war.
Mansel looks back to discern what these remarkable Levantine cities were like, how they differed from other cities, why they shone forth as cultural beacons. He also embarks on a quest: to discover whether, as often claimed, these cities were truly cosmopolitan, possessing the elixir of coexistence between Muslims, Christians, and Jews for which the world yearns. Or, below the glittering surface, were they volcanoes waiting to erupt, as the catastrophes of the twentieth century suggest? In the pages of the past, Mansel finds important messages for the fractured world of today.
470 pages, Hardcover
First published November 11, 2010
95 people are currently reading
1680 people want to read
About the author
Philip Mansel
33 books67 followersPhilip Mansel is a historian of courts and cities, and of France and the Ottoman Empire. He was born in London in 1951 and educated at Eton College, where he was a King’s Scholar, and at Balliol College, Oxford, where he read Modern History and Modern Languages. Following four years’ research into the French court of the period 1814-1830, he was awarded his doctorate at University College, London in 1978.
His first book, Louis XVIII, was published in 1981 and this - together with subsequent works such as The Court of France 1789-1830 (1989), Paris Between Empires 1814-1852 (2001) - established him as an authority on the later French monarchy. Six of his books have been translated into French.
Altogether Philip Mansel has published eleven books of history and biography, mainly relating either to France or the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East: Sultans in Splendour was published in 1988, Constantinople: City of the World’s Desire 1453-1924 in 1995 and Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean in 2010.
Over the past 30 years he has contributed reviews and articles to a wide range of newspapers and journals, including History Today, The English Historical Review, The International Herald Tribune, Books and Bookmen, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and Apollo. Currently he writes reviews for The Spectator, Cornucopia, The Art Newspaper and The Times Literary Supplement.
In 1995 Philip Mansel was a founder with David Starkey, Robert Oresko and Simon Thurley of the Society for Court Studies, designed to promote research in the field of court history, and he is the editor of the Society’s journal. The Society has a branch in Munich and is linked to similar societies in Versailles, Madrid, Ferrara and Turin.
He has travelled widely, lecturing in many countries - including the United States, France, Germany, Italy and Turkey - and has made a number of appearances on radio and television, including in the two-part Channel 4 documentary “Harem” and in two BBC2 documentaries on Versailles in 2012. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Royal Society of Literature, the Institute of Historical Research (University of London) and the Royal Asiatic Society, and is a member of the Conseil Scientifique of the Centre de Recherche du Chateau de Versailles. In 2010 Philip Mansel was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and in 2012 was the recipient of the annual London Library Life in Literature Award.
Philip Mansel wrote the introduction to the 2012 re-issue of Nancy Mitford’s The Sun King and is currently working on his own biography of Louis XIV. His short history of Aleppo: Rise and Fall of a World City is scheduled for publication in April 2016. His book on Napoleon and his court, The Eagle in Splendour, was republished by I. B. Tauris in June 2015.
In 1995 Philip Mansel started a campaign to save Clavell Tower, a ruined folly of 1831 which threatened to fall over the cliff above Kimmeridge Bay. This led, in 2007-8, to the Tower’s deconstruction, relocation, reconstruction, restoration and modernisation by the Landmark Trust. Clavell Tower is now the Trust’s most popular property.
Philip Mansel lives in London, travelling to Paris, Istanbul and elsewhere for research, conferences and lectures. He also runs the family estate at Smedmore, near Wareham in Dorset. For more information on this historic house, visit the web site and read the recent articles published in The World of Interiors and Country Life.
His first book, Louis XVIII, was published in 1981 and this - together with subsequent works such as The Court of France 1789-1830 (1989), Paris Between Empires 1814-1852 (2001) - established him as an authority on the later French monarchy. Six of his books have been translated into French.
Altogether Philip Mansel has published eleven books of history and biography, mainly relating either to France or the Ottoman Empire and the Middle East: Sultans in Splendour was published in 1988, Constantinople: City of the World’s Desire 1453-1924 in 1995 and Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean in 2010.
Over the past 30 years he has contributed reviews and articles to a wide range of newspapers and journals, including History Today, The English Historical Review, The International Herald Tribune, Books and Bookmen, The Daily Telegraph, The Independent and Apollo. Currently he writes reviews for The Spectator, Cornucopia, The Art Newspaper and The Times Literary Supplement.
In 1995 Philip Mansel was a founder with David Starkey, Robert Oresko and Simon Thurley of the Society for Court Studies, designed to promote research in the field of court history, and he is the editor of the Society’s journal. The Society has a branch in Munich and is linked to similar societies in Versailles, Madrid, Ferrara and Turin.
He has travelled widely, lecturing in many countries - including the United States, France, Germany, Italy and Turkey - and has made a number of appearances on radio and television, including in the two-part Channel 4 documentary “Harem” and in two BBC2 documentaries on Versailles in 2012. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, the Royal Society of Literature, the Institute of Historical Research (University of London) and the Royal Asiatic Society, and is a member of the Conseil Scientifique of the Centre de Recherche du Chateau de Versailles. In 2010 Philip Mansel was appointed Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and in 2012 was the recipient of the annual London Library Life in Literature Award.
Philip Mansel wrote the introduction to the 2012 re-issue of Nancy Mitford’s The Sun King and is currently working on his own biography of Louis XIV. His short history of Aleppo: Rise and Fall of a World City is scheduled for publication in April 2016. His book on Napoleon and his court, The Eagle in Splendour, was republished by I. B. Tauris in June 2015.
In 1995 Philip Mansel started a campaign to save Clavell Tower, a ruined folly of 1831 which threatened to fall over the cliff above Kimmeridge Bay. This led, in 2007-8, to the Tower’s deconstruction, relocation, reconstruction, restoration and modernisation by the Landmark Trust. Clavell Tower is now the Trust’s most popular property.
Philip Mansel lives in London, travelling to Paris, Istanbul and elsewhere for research, conferences and lectures. He also runs the family estate at Smedmore, near Wareham in Dorset. For more information on this historic house, visit the web site and read the recent articles published in The World of Interiors and Country Life.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
May 10, 2016
I particularly enjoyed the chapters about Alexandria, which allowed me to discover the interesting persona of the greek poet Cavafi. Some other stories are heartbreaking, like the evacuation of Greeks from Smyrna.
August 13, 2012
Really beautiful book - with the odd slight quibble. Given that it almost brought me to tears at one point, it is most definitely a movingly crafted tale. It speaks not only of Smyrna, Alexandria and Beirut, but of the opportunities and threats of cosmpolitanism and multi-culturalism. For those of us who believe deeply in both concepts, this book is a warning for how quickly and violently 'melting pots' can disintegrate.
There was a little bit of an assumption by Mansel that his reader would know more history of the region than I certainly did, and the occasional unanswered question felt like he was making generalisations at times. It also became fun to watch out for his next use of "corniche". I'd probably prefer to give it 4 and a half if I could, but it deserves more than a 4.
There was a little bit of an assumption by Mansel that his reader would know more history of the region than I certainly did, and the occasional unanswered question felt like he was making generalisations at times. It also became fun to watch out for his next use of "corniche". I'd probably prefer to give it 4 and a half if I could, but it deserves more than a 4.
December 26, 2012
This book is tale of three cities -- Smyrna, Alexandria and Beirut. But it is a great deal more than that, as it is also the history of the region of the world in which the three cities are located, the region known to the French as the Levant, which is equivalent of the Latin "Orient", and means the land of the rising sun. More specifically, it refers to the lands bordering the Eastern Mediterranean which, from the 16th century to the 20th, were part of the Ottoman Empire.
The three cities that feature in the story (to which can be added a fourth, Salonica), were trading ports in this period, and were subject to a great deal of foreign influence, and in some periods the consuls of the trading nations, mainly West European, had more influence than the Ottoman government, or even its local representatives.
One result of this was that these cities became cosmopolitan, with a great variety of races, religions, languages and cultures represented in them.
Western Europeans were known as Franks, and the ones who were most active at the beginning of the period were Venetians and Genoans, and a kind of piggin Italian, known as Lingua Franca (the language of the Franks) became the de facto language of business in the Levant. In later times French and British influence overshadowed the Italian, but the concept of a Lingua Franca as a language of trade remained.
Much of the trade was in the hands of dynasties of foreign merchants, families who lived in the Levant for generations, yet never became assimilated into the local culture. In the 19th century, however, there were forces of change and modernisation. In Egypt Muhammed Ali, the Albanian-born Ottoman governor, aided by the foreign consuls in Alexandria, made Egypt virtually independent. The foreign communities had their own schools, and even universities, using their own languages rather than Arabic or Turkish.
In the 19th century there was also growing nationalism, both in the local regions becoming aware of themselves as distinct nationalitities as opposed to the Ottoman Empire, and also the powers behind the foreign communities, such as Britain and France, and later Greece.
Mansel presents the history of the Levant as a struggle between cosmopolitanism (good) and nationalism (bad). Nationalism could not tolerate cosmopolitan cities, except where nationalists perceived trade as advantageous to their cause, and in the 20th century the cosmopolitan cities were nationalised, and made homogeneous, some more violently than others. Cosmopolitan Salonica became Greek Thessaloniki. Cosmopolitan Smyrna became Turkish Izmir. Alexandria expelled the foreign communities in the 1960s (even those whose members were Egyptian-born), and Beirut was torn apart by civil war in the 1970s.
I was aware of some of these events, from reading about them in other histories, or, in the case of more recent ones, in newspapers, but Mansel manages to weave the different threads into a tapestry to create a coherent picture.
Mansel's sympathies lie strongly with the cosmopolitan side, and at times I think he paints too rosy a picture of it. For one thing, the "cosmopolitan" side of these cities was the preserve of a wealthy elite, and did not affect most of the local people at all, or at least not in any advantageous way. And though I am sure that Mansel is correct in his assessment of the harm done by nationalism (much of the present tension in the region is the result of competing Arab and Jewish nationalism), the cosmopolitan paradise is, I suspect, overrated. In Lebanon before the civil war of 1975, for example, Mansel points out that deals were more important than ideals, and seems to regard this as a desirable state of affairs. But I wonder who prospered, and though those who prospered as a result of the war were an even smaller minority, I suspect that it was the very obsession with money that increased the dissatisfaction that led to the civil war in the first place.
In spite of this, however, the book is useful in helping to untangle some of the threads of mechantilism, captialism, nationalism and imperialism that affected and continue to affect the region once known as the Levant.
The three cities that feature in the story (to which can be added a fourth, Salonica), were trading ports in this period, and were subject to a great deal of foreign influence, and in some periods the consuls of the trading nations, mainly West European, had more influence than the Ottoman government, or even its local representatives.
One result of this was that these cities became cosmopolitan, with a great variety of races, religions, languages and cultures represented in them.
Western Europeans were known as Franks, and the ones who were most active at the beginning of the period were Venetians and Genoans, and a kind of piggin Italian, known as Lingua Franca (the language of the Franks) became the de facto language of business in the Levant. In later times French and British influence overshadowed the Italian, but the concept of a Lingua Franca as a language of trade remained.
Much of the trade was in the hands of dynasties of foreign merchants, families who lived in the Levant for generations, yet never became assimilated into the local culture. In the 19th century, however, there were forces of change and modernisation. In Egypt Muhammed Ali, the Albanian-born Ottoman governor, aided by the foreign consuls in Alexandria, made Egypt virtually independent. The foreign communities had their own schools, and even universities, using their own languages rather than Arabic or Turkish.
In the 19th century there was also growing nationalism, both in the local regions becoming aware of themselves as distinct nationalitities as opposed to the Ottoman Empire, and also the powers behind the foreign communities, such as Britain and France, and later Greece.
Mansel presents the history of the Levant as a struggle between cosmopolitanism (good) and nationalism (bad). Nationalism could not tolerate cosmopolitan cities, except where nationalists perceived trade as advantageous to their cause, and in the 20th century the cosmopolitan cities were nationalised, and made homogeneous, some more violently than others. Cosmopolitan Salonica became Greek Thessaloniki. Cosmopolitan Smyrna became Turkish Izmir. Alexandria expelled the foreign communities in the 1960s (even those whose members were Egyptian-born), and Beirut was torn apart by civil war in the 1970s.
I was aware of some of these events, from reading about them in other histories, or, in the case of more recent ones, in newspapers, but Mansel manages to weave the different threads into a tapestry to create a coherent picture.
Mansel's sympathies lie strongly with the cosmopolitan side, and at times I think he paints too rosy a picture of it. For one thing, the "cosmopolitan" side of these cities was the preserve of a wealthy elite, and did not affect most of the local people at all, or at least not in any advantageous way. And though I am sure that Mansel is correct in his assessment of the harm done by nationalism (much of the present tension in the region is the result of competing Arab and Jewish nationalism), the cosmopolitan paradise is, I suspect, overrated. In Lebanon before the civil war of 1975, for example, Mansel points out that deals were more important than ideals, and seems to regard this as a desirable state of affairs. But I wonder who prospered, and though those who prospered as a result of the war were an even smaller minority, I suspect that it was the very obsession with money that increased the dissatisfaction that led to the civil war in the first place.
In spite of this, however, the book is useful in helping to untangle some of the threads of mechantilism, captialism, nationalism and imperialism that affected and continue to affect the region once known as the Levant.
January 27, 2012
This is an eye-opening history of Smyrna, Alexandria, and Beirut which gives a rich background to much of today's political situation in Syria, Egypt and Lebanon. Reading it made me aware, once again, how abysmally ignorant Americans are about the history of these countries and the highly dysfunctional political cultures that grew out of that history.
The author avoids the Eurocentric view of the history of these places which is almost inescapable in English-languge writings.
This is not light reading by any means, and will appeal most to people who want to understand why we face the political situations in the Near East that we do. Sadly, this probably excludes most politicians and people who are in a position to act re these political situations.
Anyone who is idealistic about "democracy" in these regions owes it to themselves to understand what the traditions in these countries have been for the last 500 years, though.
The author avoids the Eurocentric view of the history of these places which is almost inescapable in English-languge writings.
This is not light reading by any means, and will appeal most to people who want to understand why we face the political situations in the Near East that we do. Sadly, this probably excludes most politicians and people who are in a position to act re these political situations.
Anyone who is idealistic about "democracy" in these regions owes it to themselves to understand what the traditions in these countries have been for the last 500 years, though.
February 25, 2024
I give it 5 stars, tough someone from another side of the world could find it long and tedious.
Altını çizdiklerim:
- En ilginci, Mansel, Şeyh Said ayaklanmasının bu kadar kanlı bastırılmasını iyi analiz etmiş, bi "haaaa demek bu yüzden bu kadar önemli bu ayaklanma!" dedim. Mussolini'ye bir ders vs vs
- İngiltere için Mısır neden bu kadar önemli, bunu biraz anladım.
- Osmanlılarda Arapofobi var.
- Osmanlı merkezi idaresi de, hidiv de dışarıdan yardıma muhtaçlar. Tıpkı Yunanistan gibi, ulus devlet olmak için sponsora ihtiyaç duyuluyor.
- Süveyş Kanalı'nın başlarına açacakları dertleri Said ve Osmanlılar çok iyi biliyorlar, ama sonraki devlet insanları veriyorlar izinleri.
- Fellah köftesi'nin anlamını öğrendim.
- Niall Fergusan'a nazikçe bir itiraz var (İngiltere barbarlara medeniyet götürdü söylemiz üzerinden)
- Mısırlıların ve Beyrutluların bir kısmının Fransızcası Arapçasından iyi
- İzmir'de padaşahın adı hiç okunmuyor, bağımsız bir entity gibi.
- Yunan ve Türk renklerinin tezatlığı!
- Napolyon & Venedik ile birlikte kent devleti işi bitmiştir.
- Dil, milliyetçiliğin en önemli kırılma noktası; Arapça, Türkçe, Bulgarca, Fransızca ya da Flemenkçe. Her yerde bu bir problem.
- https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hrisost... , Atatürk de bu işi biliyordu herhalde.
- İzmir yangınında paralar yandığı ve banknotluk kağıt kalmadığı için, yeniler ufacık basılıyor
- Bu tip büyük kıyımlarda amaç düşmanın biyolojik üreme gücünü kesmek
- Yunanistan'da Komünist Parti'nin güçlenebilmesi, hiç bir şeyi olmadan oraya giden insancıklar sayesinde.
- İngiltere'nin Mısır'a yaptığı bombardman, ww1 ve ww2'de Almanya'nın yapmaya çalıştıkları ile tastamam aynı.
- Lloyd George'nin bir Osmanlı takıntısı var diye okuyorum, bunu unutmayayım.
- Suriye Lübnan ayrılığı.
- Bizdeki Hitit tutkusu gibi, Lübnan'da da bir dönem finike tutukusu çıkıyor.
- Fransızların askeri darbesi, Lübnan'da olmayacak bir işi beceriyor; Allah ne verdiye herkes bunlara düşman oluyor.
- Bir ülkenin ordusu yoksa, ülke olamaz. Nokta.
- İsrail hep aynı: hammer blows for pinpricks. İsrail her zaman mislinin misliyle, vurduğu yeri 20 yıl geri götürerek karşılık veriyor.
- Wandsworth okulu'nda 70 dil konuşuluyor.
- Tony Blair'in de ayağını bu hikayeler kaydırdı.
- Bu kitabı okuduktan sonra, mübadelenin, belki de en hayırlısı olmuş olabileceğini aklımdan geçirdiğimi itiraf etmeliyim. Haksız olabilirim.
Altını çizdiklerim:
- En ilginci, Mansel, Şeyh Said ayaklanmasının bu kadar kanlı bastırılmasını iyi analiz etmiş, bi "haaaa demek bu yüzden bu kadar önemli bu ayaklanma!" dedim. Mussolini'ye bir ders vs vs
- İngiltere için Mısır neden bu kadar önemli, bunu biraz anladım.
- Osmanlılarda Arapofobi var.
- Osmanlı merkezi idaresi de, hidiv de dışarıdan yardıma muhtaçlar. Tıpkı Yunanistan gibi, ulus devlet olmak için sponsora ihtiyaç duyuluyor.
- Süveyş Kanalı'nın başlarına açacakları dertleri Said ve Osmanlılar çok iyi biliyorlar, ama sonraki devlet insanları veriyorlar izinleri.
- Fellah köftesi'nin anlamını öğrendim.
- Niall Fergusan'a nazikçe bir itiraz var (İngiltere barbarlara medeniyet götürdü söylemiz üzerinden)
- Mısırlıların ve Beyrutluların bir kısmının Fransızcası Arapçasından iyi
- İzmir'de padaşahın adı hiç okunmuyor, bağımsız bir entity gibi.
- Yunan ve Türk renklerinin tezatlığı!
- Napolyon & Venedik ile birlikte kent devleti işi bitmiştir.
- Dil, milliyetçiliğin en önemli kırılma noktası; Arapça, Türkçe, Bulgarca, Fransızca ya da Flemenkçe. Her yerde bu bir problem.
- https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hrisost... , Atatürk de bu işi biliyordu herhalde.
- İzmir yangınında paralar yandığı ve banknotluk kağıt kalmadığı için, yeniler ufacık basılıyor
- Bu tip büyük kıyımlarda amaç düşmanın biyolojik üreme gücünü kesmek
- Yunanistan'da Komünist Parti'nin güçlenebilmesi, hiç bir şeyi olmadan oraya giden insancıklar sayesinde.
- İngiltere'nin Mısır'a yaptığı bombardman, ww1 ve ww2'de Almanya'nın yapmaya çalıştıkları ile tastamam aynı.
- Lloyd George'nin bir Osmanlı takıntısı var diye okuyorum, bunu unutmayayım.
- Suriye Lübnan ayrılığı.
- Bizdeki Hitit tutkusu gibi, Lübnan'da da bir dönem finike tutukusu çıkıyor.
- Fransızların askeri darbesi, Lübnan'da olmayacak bir işi beceriyor; Allah ne verdiye herkes bunlara düşman oluyor.
- Bir ülkenin ordusu yoksa, ülke olamaz. Nokta.
- İsrail hep aynı: hammer blows for pinpricks. İsrail her zaman mislinin misliyle, vurduğu yeri 20 yıl geri götürerek karşılık veriyor.
- Wandsworth okulu'nda 70 dil konuşuluyor.
- Tony Blair'in de ayağını bu hikayeler kaydırdı.
- Bu kitabı okuduktan sonra, mübadelenin, belki de en hayırlısı olmuş olabileceğini aklımdan geçirdiğimi itiraf etmeliyim. Haksız olabilirim.
November 14, 2012
This book tells the story of the main Levantine cities: Izmir (formerly Smyrna, in modern-day Turkey), Alexandria (in Egypt), and Beirut (in Lebanon). The author traces the history of these cities from the 16th century on, focusing on their role in the 19th century- both in terms of the rise of nationalism and in terms of the international flavor of these cities on the Mediterranean. Then, he shows how all of these cities faced rising nationalism and conservative religious values in the 20th century. His premise is that these cities were the heart of both exclusive nationalism and a more tolerant, international perspective. The book is well-written, and sheds light on a region of the Near East that is mostly not very well known.
July 8, 2013
Lovely book on emerge of several multi-ethnic cities prospering through international trade (Smirna, Alexandria, Beirut) and on the destruction of these communities due to various nationalisms. What is especially nice about the book is the details - the descriptions of lively multilingual cultures side by side with class and ethnic tensions, often combined.
March 6, 2018
If you'd like to understand the tragedy of nationalism, how it brought catastrophe to most of the cosmopolitan Leventine world, this book is a good place to start. What Mansel does is place Izmir, Beruit, and Alexandria at the center of our journey (thought Salonika and Istanbul are also reflected upon). The book moves historically from what were called the Ottoman Capitulations, a system that granted Europeans--among other things--the right to try their citizens in their own courts, to the life and conflicts of present-day Beruit, the last of these cities to bear a resemblance to the polyglot, multi-religious world that once existed.
I was tempted to give this five stars but in the end settle on four because, as well-written and researched as the book is, these sorts of histories rarely have the sort of exceptional writing that makes it truly remarkable.
Having lived in Istanbul for 18 years and seen the abandoned Greek houses of Tarlabasi and Beyoglu, I know what the skeletal remains of this cosmopolitan life look like. In fact, I used to meet friends at the old English jail.
In all fairness, the cosmopolitan life of these cities was often driven by the arrogance of these "Europeans," who were distinguished from the local people not by where they came from, but by what passport they carried. This passport often protected them from the venal or criminal consequences of their actions. But having a knowledge of business that generally far exceeded the locals, the Leventines built empires over several centuries that came crashing down as populations were exchanged or driven from their native cities and businesses were nationalized. Though they were often colonists who represented the imperial concerns of the great powers of their times, the Leventines also created a brilliant polyglot churn of religions and countries. Personally, I miss their tolerant, corrupt world, one that seems to have been replaced by intolerant, self-righteous and still corrupt nation-states that have parlayed this dynamic and brilliant civilization ruled by water into dust.
I was tempted to give this five stars but in the end settle on four because, as well-written and researched as the book is, these sorts of histories rarely have the sort of exceptional writing that makes it truly remarkable.
Having lived in Istanbul for 18 years and seen the abandoned Greek houses of Tarlabasi and Beyoglu, I know what the skeletal remains of this cosmopolitan life look like. In fact, I used to meet friends at the old English jail.
In all fairness, the cosmopolitan life of these cities was often driven by the arrogance of these "Europeans," who were distinguished from the local people not by where they came from, but by what passport they carried. This passport often protected them from the venal or criminal consequences of their actions. But having a knowledge of business that generally far exceeded the locals, the Leventines built empires over several centuries that came crashing down as populations were exchanged or driven from their native cities and businesses were nationalized. Though they were often colonists who represented the imperial concerns of the great powers of their times, the Leventines also created a brilliant polyglot churn of religions and countries. Personally, I miss their tolerant, corrupt world, one that seems to have been replaced by intolerant, self-righteous and still corrupt nation-states that have parlayed this dynamic and brilliant civilization ruled by water into dust.
June 16, 2021
Levant is the tale of three cities - Alexandria, Smyrna, and Beirut. Three cities that rose from almost nothing to become the powerhouses of the Ottoman Empire. It is also a sad tale of demise and death and in the case of Smyrna a tragic catastrophe. A few important lessons
1) Cities - Cities with thriving businesses play an outsized role in the economy of the nation. Prosperous cities do show signs of inequalities, but they are the ones that power the hinterland. Kemal Ataturk and Gamal Abdel Nasser chose to ignore their cities and their nations paid a heavy price for it.
2) Cosmopolitanism - It's not easy to sustain cosmopolitanism if the dominant communities don't have a common worldview. In Beirut, the Christians had increasingly become western-oriented while their fellow Muslims were being pulled towards the Arabs, who didn't share the same ideas of modernity.
3) Nationalism - Nationalism as an idea gave a devastating blow to the idea of cosmopolitanism in the Levant. The Turks, Greeks, Arabs, etc. began to develop feelings of oneness within their groups which inevitably led to territorial assertions based on numerical strength. The cities were caught in the crossfire.
1) Cities - Cities with thriving businesses play an outsized role in the economy of the nation. Prosperous cities do show signs of inequalities, but they are the ones that power the hinterland. Kemal Ataturk and Gamal Abdel Nasser chose to ignore their cities and their nations paid a heavy price for it.
2) Cosmopolitanism - It's not easy to sustain cosmopolitanism if the dominant communities don't have a common worldview. In Beirut, the Christians had increasingly become western-oriented while their fellow Muslims were being pulled towards the Arabs, who didn't share the same ideas of modernity.
3) Nationalism - Nationalism as an idea gave a devastating blow to the idea of cosmopolitanism in the Levant. The Turks, Greeks, Arabs, etc. began to develop feelings of oneness within their groups which inevitably led to territorial assertions based on numerical strength. The cities were caught in the crossfire.
February 25, 2015
This book is about extraordinary, heart-warming, and yet tragically ending stories of three great Levantine cities, namely Smyrna (now, Izmir), Alexandria, and Beirut, where Turks, Greeks, Arabs, Jews, Armenians, and many European nationalities coexisted, traded, and flourished with panache - despite occasional interference by external powers and religious and racial violence - during the final 100 years of the Ottoman Empire and the period that followed under British and French rule. Racial and religious benevolence of the Empire and fascination of her non-Muslim population with the rapidly modernizing West led the way towards development of vibrant, cosmopolitan, flourishing and fun-loving cities. Mansel, like in his masterly work “Constantinople: city of the World’s Desire, 1453-1924”, delivers a superbly written account of the three cities during their extraordinarily cosmopolitan periods. A well-researched book and an enjoyable read, but unfortunately on rare occasions some Eurocentric cynicism creeps into the narrative.
August 14, 2015
Philip Mansel does an outstanding job at detailing the histories of the three prosperous Levantine cities of Smyrna (now Izmir), Alexandria and Beirut.
This book isn't just a dull narration of fact after fact. Through class research, Mansel has managed to revive long-gone conversations you'd hear in the streets of 1921 Alexandria, the horrors of the Lebanese civil war and the disturbing accounts of the great Smyrna fire. But these cities shouldn't be known for their catastrophes; this book does a fine job at writing, from a non-Eurocentric perspective, the seemingly lost cosmopolitanism of the Levant, where lingua franca was spoken in the docks and Italian, Arabic, Turkish, Greek, Armenian, Hebrew, Spanish, English and Dutch could be heard in the same day.
This book is an absolute treasure. As Mansel had proposed; in today's globalisation, we are all Levantines.
This book isn't just a dull narration of fact after fact. Through class research, Mansel has managed to revive long-gone conversations you'd hear in the streets of 1921 Alexandria, the horrors of the Lebanese civil war and the disturbing accounts of the great Smyrna fire. But these cities shouldn't be known for their catastrophes; this book does a fine job at writing, from a non-Eurocentric perspective, the seemingly lost cosmopolitanism of the Levant, where lingua franca was spoken in the docks and Italian, Arabic, Turkish, Greek, Armenian, Hebrew, Spanish, English and Dutch could be heard in the same day.
This book is an absolute treasure. As Mansel had proposed; in today's globalisation, we are all Levantines.
November 4, 2014
I borrowed this book from a friend, when I first laid my eyes on the title of the book, the Levant. It's a French word that is widely used in English as well. I always wondered what and where Levant is and where its boundaries are.
The author has a lot of resources and he mentions all the facts and stories that he could get his hands on. What I didn't like is that there is no cohesion between the stories, he couldn't find a way to link them.
The Levant talks about the major Levantine cities: Smyrna, Beirut and Alexandria.
For some reason he ends the book with a lot of focus on Beirut with too much one-sided political agenda and slogans.
I found lots of gems and wonderful micro-stories that I compiled in my list.
The author has a lot of resources and he mentions all the facts and stories that he could get his hands on. What I didn't like is that there is no cohesion between the stories, he couldn't find a way to link them.
The Levant talks about the major Levantine cities: Smyrna, Beirut and Alexandria.
For some reason he ends the book with a lot of focus on Beirut with too much one-sided political agenda and slogans.
I found lots of gems and wonderful micro-stories that I compiled in my list.
June 19, 2022
İzmir, Beyrut ve İskenderiye'nin tarihi üzerinden bir Levant tarihi anlatısı, bu bölgeye ilginiz varsa okuyun
July 24, 2017
Okay 2 1/2 stars. I really hoped I would like this book as a study of these cities at these periods of history interests me. I am fascinated by the history of the Middle East and the shifting power centers within the Ottoman Empire and after and have read a number of books on related subject matter. Judging by the reviews on the back cover by a number of highly respected papers and individuals I was truly expecting something superior. In the end it was just ok.
There is certainly an abundance of research evident from the variety of sources noted and at times the stories are interesting and well presented. The observations of individuals, their actions and interactions, the activities of companies and of states are all well described. However, sometimes the telling of these events is rather jumbled jumping from religion to commerce to social interaction to architecture with numerous random observations that seemed to have no direct bearing on the issue preceding. There are some bizarre transitions between paragraphs and divisions within chapters where they don't seem warranted. A more rigorous attempt to organize the ideas would have helped tremendously.
Another problem is the author's writing style. Although the structure is generally direct his predilection for long sentences becomes an impediment to the flow. Almost all his sentences contain at least one sub clause, a parenthetical statement, a few dashes and a collection of commas. On a number of occasions I would need to read it more than once to understand his meaning.
The final chapters on Beirut in the eighties and after did not really fit in with the rest of the book and the author lost some of his objectivity describing events about which he clearly had some strong feelings. I agree that the horrors that the people endured/perpetrated are worthy of analysis but his obviously biased narrative is an inappropriate conclusion to such a book.
And finally I think it strange that for a book about Smyrna, Alexandria and Beirut they chose to put a picture of Constantinople on the cover. Maybe that says something...
There is certainly an abundance of research evident from the variety of sources noted and at times the stories are interesting and well presented. The observations of individuals, their actions and interactions, the activities of companies and of states are all well described. However, sometimes the telling of these events is rather jumbled jumping from religion to commerce to social interaction to architecture with numerous random observations that seemed to have no direct bearing on the issue preceding. There are some bizarre transitions between paragraphs and divisions within chapters where they don't seem warranted. A more rigorous attempt to organize the ideas would have helped tremendously.
Another problem is the author's writing style. Although the structure is generally direct his predilection for long sentences becomes an impediment to the flow. Almost all his sentences contain at least one sub clause, a parenthetical statement, a few dashes and a collection of commas. On a number of occasions I would need to read it more than once to understand his meaning.
The final chapters on Beirut in the eighties and after did not really fit in with the rest of the book and the author lost some of his objectivity describing events about which he clearly had some strong feelings. I agree that the horrors that the people endured/perpetrated are worthy of analysis but his obviously biased narrative is an inappropriate conclusion to such a book.
And finally I think it strange that for a book about Smyrna, Alexandria and Beirut they chose to put a picture of Constantinople on the cover. Maybe that says something...
Read
January 4, 2014Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean to go <3 Constantinople: City of the World's Desire, 1453-1924 to come . philip mansel you ROCK
January 30, 2016
Great book on the politics and lives in Izmir, Alexandria and Beyrouth. It explains a lot about the problems the cities and even these countries face now.
A must read for anyone who want to understand the Middle East and who lives or whose parents have lived in these cities.
Very well written and with great understand and depth of the problems these cities faced.
A must read for anyone who want to understand the Middle East and who lives or whose parents have lived in these cities.
Very well written and with great understand and depth of the problems these cities faced.
January 3, 2023
"Levante é o nome amplamente aplicado às terras costeiras do Mediterrâneo Oriental da Ásia Menor e Fenícia (atuais Turquia, Síria e Líbano). Em sentido mais amplo, o termo pode ser usado para abranger toda o litoral da Grécia ao Egito. O Levante faz parte do Crescente Fértil e foi lar de alguns dos antigos centros comerciais do Mediterrâneo, como Ugarite, Tiro e Sídon. E é a pátria da civilização fenícia." (fonte: https://www.worldhistory.org/trans/pt...)
Minha curiosidade e fascínio por essa região do Mediterrâneo, de incalculável importância para o desenvolvimento do mundo, me levou a este livro. Conta a história do Levante do ponto de vista do desenvolvimento do comércio, focado em três grandes cidades portuárias: Izmir na Turquia (na época era Smyrna), Alexandria no Egito e Beirute no Líbano. Olhando no mapa, essas três cidades portuárias formam um triângulo, com uma história fascinante. Apesar de um pouco cansativo em algumas partes, pelo nível de detalhes históricos descritos pelo autor, o livro é um show, que leva a gente viajar e a entender melhor os turcos, os sirios, os libaneses, os egipcios e outros povos da região. Muito bom livro, para ser relido em algum momento adiante.
Minha curiosidade e fascínio por essa região do Mediterrâneo, de incalculável importância para o desenvolvimento do mundo, me levou a este livro. Conta a história do Levante do ponto de vista do desenvolvimento do comércio, focado em três grandes cidades portuárias: Izmir na Turquia (na época era Smyrna), Alexandria no Egito e Beirute no Líbano. Olhando no mapa, essas três cidades portuárias formam um triângulo, com uma história fascinante. Apesar de um pouco cansativo em algumas partes, pelo nível de detalhes históricos descritos pelo autor, o livro é um show, que leva a gente viajar e a entender melhor os turcos, os sirios, os libaneses, os egipcios e outros povos da região. Muito bom livro, para ser relido em algum momento adiante.
June 2, 2025
Mooi inkijkje in de grote handelssteden van de Levant in de 19e eeuw en daarna. Erg gedetailleerd en fijn beschreven. Soms is het alleen wel erg feitelijk (en toen.. en toen) en mist er een rode lijn in het boek.
February 9, 2025
Beautiful, detailed, educational
April 25, 2024
This was an incredible view into the Levant culture through the lens of a few primary commercial centers that periodically functioned as cultural centers, political arenas, models of religious co-existence, religious intolerance and persecution.
Fascinating. Highly recommended.
Fascinating. Highly recommended.
Want to read
February 24, 2016From The Economist - Mediterranean cities Dec 9th 2010
http://www.economist.com/node/1767295...
Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean.
By Philip Mansel. Yale University Press; 470 pages; $25. John Murray; £25
http://www.philipmansel.com/
IN SCHOOLS across the eastern Mediterranean, children are still learning about the past of the fascinating places where they live through the distorting lens of modern nationalism. In varying degrees of crudity, they are presented with the idea that history’s principal narrative is the story of their own people—the Greeks, the Turks, the Arabs—and their struggle to throw off foreign influences and fulfil their destiny. In these stories, “othersâ€â€”those outside the nation or group—are either wicked oppressors, barely tolerated guests or secondary, bit-part players.
Fortunately, children do not believe everything they are told. If they are lucky, they pick up other narratives by talking to their grandparents, or by looking carefully at the confusing mix of buildings and monuments that surrounds them.
The real story of their region cannot be reduced to that of recently created and artificially homogenised states. If there has to be one master narrative, a far more interesting (and honest) one is formed by the evolution of the grand and ancient cosmopolitan cities, where an extraordinary range of micro-societies, each with its own hierarchies, traditions and taboos, have interacted and cross-fertilised on perpetually changing terms.
That is the starting point for Philip Mansel’s highly enjoyable and intricately-worked account of three great Mediterranean ports: Alexandria, Smyrna and Beirut. In each of these places, a great array of cultural forces, both local and external, lent a unique, often bittersweet texture to daily life, at least when cosmopolitanism was at its height. In such places, shifting hourly from one language and scene to another was an indispensable life-skill. The most successful individuals, from café owners to bankers, were often those whose ability to manoeuvre between cultures was particularly well developed. And despite the internal self-discipline which each community practised—strongly discouraging marriage outside the group, for example—such cities offered endless opportunities for quiet defiance. Individuals found that they could always form friendships, fall in love or do business together in ways that tested the limits of the permissible.
With a sharp eye for detail and a deep understanding of the dynamics of traditional empires and societies, Mr Mansel describes Izmir (formerly Smyrna), as it flourished before the first world war and Alexandria in the days before the triumph of Egyptian nationalism in the 1950s. In both cities there were wealthy British families with strong local roots; rich and cultured Greeks who looked down on the poor Hellenic kingdom, and Muslim potentates who seemed to enjoy rubbing shoulders with sophisticated and free- living Westerners.
As ports of the Ottoman world, Mr Mansel’s three cities have obvious and not-so-obvious similarities. They are all places where European powers had strong strategic as well as commercial interests. They are all places where the glamorous lifestyle of those who thrived on external connections, often eastern Christians, was to some extent built on the poverty of the local Muslim population. Their vengeful resentment eventually came to the surface. As Mr Mansel puts it, in an apt formulation, the hinterland bites back. More contentiously, he asserts another commonality: in all three places, the defining European influence was not British or Italian but that of liberal, republican France. The French connection with the region, he reminds the reader, long predates Napoleon. It goes back to the Franco-Ottoman alliances of the late Middle Ages.
The author certainly has a point. Despite the huge British military presence in pre-1950 Egypt, French lycées were the place where ambitious Egyptians went to acquire some worldly polish. And in 1922, when Izmir’s Christian quarters were burned down and destroyed, desperate Armenians used their fluent French to talk their way onto warships from France.
In Lebanon, which became a French protectorate after the first world war, the Gallic link is even more obvious. Another difference, of course, is that Beirut, despite its ongoing tragedies, is still more-or-less functioning as a cosmopolitan, Levantine city. Indeed, as other Arab states become more puritanical and authoritarian, the lure of Beirut’s beaches and nightclubs, and the determination of locals to rebuild after every round of fighting, seems to grow. By contrast, Izmir is now doing fairly well as an almost entirely Turkish place, Alexandria rather less so as an overwhelmingly Egyptian, Muslim city.
http://www.economist.com/node/1767295...
Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean.
By Philip Mansel. Yale University Press; 470 pages; $25. John Murray; £25
http://www.philipmansel.com/
IN SCHOOLS across the eastern Mediterranean, children are still learning about the past of the fascinating places where they live through the distorting lens of modern nationalism. In varying degrees of crudity, they are presented with the idea that history’s principal narrative is the story of their own people—the Greeks, the Turks, the Arabs—and their struggle to throw off foreign influences and fulfil their destiny. In these stories, “othersâ€â€”those outside the nation or group—are either wicked oppressors, barely tolerated guests or secondary, bit-part players.
Fortunately, children do not believe everything they are told. If they are lucky, they pick up other narratives by talking to their grandparents, or by looking carefully at the confusing mix of buildings and monuments that surrounds them.
The real story of their region cannot be reduced to that of recently created and artificially homogenised states. If there has to be one master narrative, a far more interesting (and honest) one is formed by the evolution of the grand and ancient cosmopolitan cities, where an extraordinary range of micro-societies, each with its own hierarchies, traditions and taboos, have interacted and cross-fertilised on perpetually changing terms.
That is the starting point for Philip Mansel’s highly enjoyable and intricately-worked account of three great Mediterranean ports: Alexandria, Smyrna and Beirut. In each of these places, a great array of cultural forces, both local and external, lent a unique, often bittersweet texture to daily life, at least when cosmopolitanism was at its height. In such places, shifting hourly from one language and scene to another was an indispensable life-skill. The most successful individuals, from café owners to bankers, were often those whose ability to manoeuvre between cultures was particularly well developed. And despite the internal self-discipline which each community practised—strongly discouraging marriage outside the group, for example—such cities offered endless opportunities for quiet defiance. Individuals found that they could always form friendships, fall in love or do business together in ways that tested the limits of the permissible.
With a sharp eye for detail and a deep understanding of the dynamics of traditional empires and societies, Mr Mansel describes Izmir (formerly Smyrna), as it flourished before the first world war and Alexandria in the days before the triumph of Egyptian nationalism in the 1950s. In both cities there were wealthy British families with strong local roots; rich and cultured Greeks who looked down on the poor Hellenic kingdom, and Muslim potentates who seemed to enjoy rubbing shoulders with sophisticated and free- living Westerners.
As ports of the Ottoman world, Mr Mansel’s three cities have obvious and not-so-obvious similarities. They are all places where European powers had strong strategic as well as commercial interests. They are all places where the glamorous lifestyle of those who thrived on external connections, often eastern Christians, was to some extent built on the poverty of the local Muslim population. Their vengeful resentment eventually came to the surface. As Mr Mansel puts it, in an apt formulation, the hinterland bites back. More contentiously, he asserts another commonality: in all three places, the defining European influence was not British or Italian but that of liberal, republican France. The French connection with the region, he reminds the reader, long predates Napoleon. It goes back to the Franco-Ottoman alliances of the late Middle Ages.
The author certainly has a point. Despite the huge British military presence in pre-1950 Egypt, French lycées were the place where ambitious Egyptians went to acquire some worldly polish. And in 1922, when Izmir’s Christian quarters were burned down and destroyed, desperate Armenians used their fluent French to talk their way onto warships from France.
In Lebanon, which became a French protectorate after the first world war, the Gallic link is even more obvious. Another difference, of course, is that Beirut, despite its ongoing tragedies, is still more-or-less functioning as a cosmopolitan, Levantine city. Indeed, as other Arab states become more puritanical and authoritarian, the lure of Beirut’s beaches and nightclubs, and the determination of locals to rebuild after every round of fighting, seems to grow. By contrast, Izmir is now doing fairly well as an almost entirely Turkish place, Alexandria rather less so as an overwhelmingly Egyptian, Muslim city.
October 29, 2023
Very well written and very informative. You have to admire the effort put into it. The Alexandria and Beirut histories were exceptionally remarkable.
September 20, 2014
The book views the Levant in terms of being areas where multiple cultures co-exist in an orderly manner. He exemplifies these areas through relaying the histories of three cities; Smyrna (Izmir), Alexandria, and Beirut. He shows the strengths of these areas as providing profitable economies and fascinating society. However, beneath the surface of cultural acceptance, and in the areas surrounding these cities, may lie fierce loyalties to one's own cultural group which have the capacity to destroy the Levantine culture.
The book read less like a formal history and more like a relaxed narrative of an insider's intimate knowledge of the topic. The author presupposes the reader has some knowledge of the areas discussed. Smyrna and Alexandria are covered in greater depth than Beirut.
The book read less like a formal history and more like a relaxed narrative of an insider's intimate knowledge of the topic. The author presupposes the reader has some knowledge of the areas discussed. Smyrna and Alexandria are covered in greater depth than Beirut.
June 7, 2017
Mostly focuses on Beirut, Alexandria, and Smyrna but very fascinating read on these cosmopolitan port cities and what contributed to the co-existence of so many different groups. Some of the most interesting insights were often buried in text that went into too much detail on a person's title/rank/origin. I felt like some of the descriptions could have been left to footnotes to make more cohesive points. Over all, good insights to the history and culture of the region.
April 11, 2019
Çok güzel hem bütünsel hem detaylı olarak Levant tarihini anlatan bir kitap. Çok beğendim. Sırasıyla en çok Beyrut, İskenderiye ve İzmir’i anlatıyor. İzmir’in yakın tarihi yok ama olayların Beyrut kadar karışık olmamasından ötürü olağan karşıladım.
November 28, 2011
Lovely, if a bit drawn out for my taste.
February 10, 2021
Fantastic book. I loved all cities described, especially Alexandria.
September 12, 2019
What a book?!
It is full of facts and details, a great intro to the rich and turbulent history of Levant. Specially interesting perspective of cosmopolitanism and its urge.
However, I am quite disappointed with a complete lack of other perspectives but the one form the colonial powers, mostly English and to some extent French. What about everybody else, and especially the domicile population - they are barely mentioned.
But anyway, this book and great storytelling of history facts made me even more infatuated by this area where civilizations have been born and created a dose of urge for knowing more about Levant, about Alexandria, Thessaloniki, Beirut and of course Izmir. These harbours and coasts that have been shaping history.
The Levantine cities charm comes from the combination of “joie de vivre”, vulnerability and diversity. They have “ferocious edge”, combined with “widely different visions of life”. They are inspiring, constantly placing us on the borderline and forcing us to question ourselves.
“In Mediterranean city you never lose hope. The sea always brings something.” – Jo Boulad, Alexandria
It is full of facts and details, a great intro to the rich and turbulent history of Levant. Specially interesting perspective of cosmopolitanism and its urge.
However, I am quite disappointed with a complete lack of other perspectives but the one form the colonial powers, mostly English and to some extent French. What about everybody else, and especially the domicile population - they are barely mentioned.
But anyway, this book and great storytelling of history facts made me even more infatuated by this area where civilizations have been born and created a dose of urge for knowing more about Levant, about Alexandria, Thessaloniki, Beirut and of course Izmir. These harbours and coasts that have been shaping history.
The Levantine cities charm comes from the combination of “joie de vivre”, vulnerability and diversity. They have “ferocious edge”, combined with “widely different visions of life”. They are inspiring, constantly placing us on the borderline and forcing us to question ourselves.
“In Mediterranean city you never lose hope. The sea always brings something.” – Jo Boulad, Alexandria
August 7, 2025
Lots of interesting history but I have a large number of complaints about this book. The lack of historical maps alone is pretty bad, but also there's some weird/confusing things like referring to the 1944 Greek Naval Mutiny as the first battle of the Cold War (???), talking about two different events called Black Saturday without mentioning they're different, calling King Farouk an "obese buffoon" (not quoting anyone! that's the author!) etc.
Also was very annoyed by some of the phrasing like how everything was always a volcano waiting to explode, Beirut going from "deals" to "zeals," and the chapter titles that were totally unrelated to their subject matter (e.g. "Dance of Death" instead of "Lebanese Civil War" or "Alexandria: Queen of the Mediterranean" instead of "World War II").
Also the index is woefully incomplete.
Also was very annoyed by some of the phrasing like how everything was always a volcano waiting to explode, Beirut going from "deals" to "zeals," and the chapter titles that were totally unrelated to their subject matter (e.g. "Dance of Death" instead of "Lebanese Civil War" or "Alexandria: Queen of the Mediterranean" instead of "World War II").
Also the index is woefully incomplete.
February 25, 2021
Definitely Learned a lot of things reading this fantastic book. Unbelievable amount of references and very interesting and precise facts. Some of the apparently insignificant stories and anecdotes are actually super revealing. The general plot of looking and the rise and fall of 3 Levantine ports is perfect especially that we can clearly identify the eras and the context.
There is some sort of neutrality throughout that i enjoyed (compared to other history books). It’s also quite nice to sense at the very end of the book the personal feeing of the author (still very light sense, no dogmas here).
It’s not an easy read though because of the density and the very sharp and dry writing style but still super enjoyable.
There is some sort of neutrality throughout that i enjoyed (compared to other history books). It’s also quite nice to sense at the very end of the book the personal feeing of the author (still very light sense, no dogmas here).
It’s not an easy read though because of the density and the very sharp and dry writing style but still super enjoyable.
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