Europe Between the Oceans: 9000 BC-AD 1000
by Barry Cunliffe
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Book Summary Information
Author: Barry CunliffeBrand: Baker and Taylor
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-09-02
ISBN: 0300119232
Number of pages: 480
Publisher: Yale University Press
Book Reviews of Europe Between the Oceans: 9000 BC-AD 1000
Book Review: A fascinating history of the European continent
Summary: 5 Stars
There's something about "ancient" history that just gives me goosebumps. I don't know whether it's the unavailability of many written texts, so that the history has to come from archeological evidence or whether it's just trying to imagine how people lived back in a day where the discover of bronze-making was a remarkable feat, but I just love reading about that sort of thing. So when I stumbled upon Barry Cunliffe's Europe Between the Oceans: 9000 BC - AD 1000, I knew I had to take a look at it. It certainly helped prod me toward it when I looked on Amazon and saw some of the amazing photography in the book. I knew then I had to have it.
It is definitely an interesting read, but keep in mind that you will not be carting this book around with you on your travels, on the off chance that you'll get a spare moment here and there to crack open the book and read a couple of pages. I have no idea if the intention for this book was for it to be a textbook, but that's basically what it is, and it has the size and heft to match that impression. It is one heavy tome, so much so that I had to take another book if I was actually going anywhere. This was a stay-at-home book, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
Europe Between the Oceans is basically a geographical history of Europe, tracking the movements of peoples from one area of the continent to the another, using archeological evidence to show how the various tribes lived. It begins with a look at how the ancients saw time and space, and how the ancient history books chronicled what had come before even them. Cunliffe also introduces the concept of three various wavelengths of time, offered by French historian Fernand Braudel. There's the "longue duree," the geographic time which is slow as landscapes rise and fall, the land changing. Then there's the more medium wavelength, which he called "conjonctures," which concerns the movement of societies and peoples, the "frameworks that control human actions." Finally, there's the "l'histoire evenementielle," events instigated by individual people and which generally contains the history that we all generally study.
It's a fascinating concept and one that Cunliffe uses the whole book to flesh out. While Cunliffe does give us some of the short-term history once he gets into the first millennium BC and civilizations begin forming in the Mediterranean, he concentrates on the medium-term, with the movements of the various German tribes, the Huns and other Asiatic tribes storming across Europe, the trade between the various empires and the northern Europeans, and things like that. Before the first European civilizations forms, he talks about the Neolithic societies that were forming in various areas all over Europe, and how they appear to have found each other enough to trade with them. He tracks the movement of various commodities that demonstrate these trade routes. Cunliffe is not above speculating how things might have went, but he's always clear when it is speculation and he allows for the fact that he could very well be wrong.
Cunliffe introduces a concept that is striking in its simplicity yet also allows readers to completely change their world view and open up their mind to new thoughts on history. Imagine turning the map of Europe and Asia 90 degress. Suddenly, Europe becomes a peninsula emerging from the vastness of the Asian continent. On this peninsula, the movements of peoples migrating from the vast landmass toward the various coasts (either north or south) of this peninsula become even more interesting. It really does change your perspective on things, especially as the history of Europe becomes not only the migration of peoples around the peninsula, but a tale of mass migration from those who are finding themselves squeezed out of the huge continent that is Asia.
Europe Between the Oceans also has some beautiful photography in it, whether it's the pictures of various archeological sites or artifacts from various peoples and times that give us some indication of what these people were like. Once the wheel becomes prominent, we see artwork containing chariots and things like that. We see burial chambers that housed multiple people, including those of higher status, which indicate that class was becoming a part of these peoples' lives. Also, many of the pictures are maps, all of them interesting, whether they detail the influence of various societies or the most likely trade routes that were set up among them.
As with any textbook, there are no notes and there is just a "further reading" section at the end which doubles as a bibliography. Cunliffe rarely cites a specific source for any particular piece of information included in the book (though he does occasionally). This just adds to the textbook feel, where most of these items are included at the end in one big section. The "Further Readings" section of Europe Between the Oceans is filled with detail on various sources for the ideas Cunliffe uses in the chapters. It is divided by chapter, so you can get a sense of the huge quantities of material that Cunliffe had to absorb for each one. In fact, this section could almost be read as part of the book because Cunliffe really goes into detail on the concepts that he is addressing and the literature from which the reader can actually draw more information. It's not just a list of sources, but interesting in its own right.
Overall, I can't find any real problems with Europe Between the Oceans. When you open it, you might think it dry at first, all of this talk about history and the ways that mankind has always studied it. Why should you care about what a miniscule set of archeological evidence says about one random tribe who it appears inhabited what is now France back around 9000 BC? But Cunliffe somehow draws you into it, and the pictures/diagrams are a helpful break in the text as well. It helps that the book is so beautifully produced. If you have any interest in this time period at all, then this book will be a valuable addition to your library.
Originally published on Curled Up With a Good Book. © David Roy, 2009
Summary of Europe Between the Oceans: 9000 BC-AD 1000
Europe is, in world terms, a relatively minor peninsula attached to the Eurasian land mass. Yet it became one of the most innovative regions on the planet, generating restless adventurers who traversed the globe to trade, to explore, and often to settle. By the fifteenth century Europe was a driving world force, but the origins of its success have until now remained obscured in prehistory.
In this magnificent book, distinguished archaeologist Barry Cunliffe views Europe not in terms of states and shifting political land boundaries but as a geographical niche particularly favored in facing many seas. These seas, and Europe?s great transpeninsular rivers, ensured a rich diversity of natural resources while also encouraging the dynamic interaction of peoples across networks of communication and exchange. The development of these early Europeans is rooted in complex interplays, shifting balances, and geographic and demographic fluidity.
Weaving together titanic concepts while remaining sensitive to specifics, Cunliffe has produced an interdisciplinary tour de force. His is a bold book of exceptional scholarship, erudite and engaging, and it heralds an entirely new understanding of Old Europe. (20080808)
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