Europe Books

I have just read the 7th volume of the amazing Story of Civilization, and continue to be impressed with this series. This volume focuses on European civilization from 1558 - 1648 and focuses on such great minds as Shakespeare, Bacon, Montaigne, Rembrandt, Galileo and Descartes. From a political perspective, it focuses on the reigns of Mary Queen of Scots, Elizabeth I, and James I of England; Philip II, III, and IV of Spain; Henry III, IV, and Richelieu in France; and the interesting histories of the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, and Russia. The book also touches on the Islamic world at this time.

Durant's prose is very readable and it is also easy to see his likes and dislikes of the characters in history. I personally like to be able to understand how an historian feels about his subject and I have learned to respect his opinions. I'm amazed at how bloody this part of European history was. I knew that the time of the reformation was filled with wars, but didn't realize how long it lasted after the reformation. This volume also shows how difficult it is for man to accept change, though this time frame does begin to show some positive ideas being accepted. From a religious freedom perspective, it is incredible how difficult and painful of a process it was to arrive at the freedoms we take for granted. Reading history really makes me grateful for what we are blessed with.

I highly recommend this series and volume to anyone wanting to understand the story of our civilization. It is filled with beauty and horror. Let us learn from the lessons of history.

The Durants are gifted storytellers, however sometimes it seems they're more concerned with the art of the tale moreso than the veracity of the facts. That is not to say they are inaccurate, rather that aesthetics dominates their work. My reason for making such a claim is that it seems their spin is more of an interpretation of history than a simple conveying of facts. That spin is based in a materialistic mindset. They see historical figures as being motivated primarily by shallow concerns, which I don't think was the actual case. With that established, there is a lot of material covered in this book which makes for fascinating reading. The era of the King James Bible is described. The Puritans took the Bible as their guide for daily living. "Toward 1564 they began to be called Puritans--as a term of abuse--because they demanded the purification of English Protestantism from all forms of faith and worship not found in the New Testament" (pp. 23-24). The majority of the London Protestants and of the House of Commons were Puritans.
Private libraries among the well-to-do in England were common at this time. Interestingly, public libraries were rare. John Lyly wrote a book in 1579 proposing to show that "mind and character can be formed through education, experience, travel, and wise counsel" (p. 67). The Durands mention "old Parr", who in 1635 was presented to Charles I allegedly still in good health at age 152. There is a lot of history covered in this book. I would recommend reading it with an eye of receptivity to the facts, while disregarding the commentary inserted throughout, and taking into consideration the bias of the historians.

In this, the seventh volume of the unparalleled series "The Story of Civilization," Dr. Will & Ariel Durant have compiled a compelling rendition of historical fact covering nearly a century of Europe's past from the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558 A.D. to the death of Descartes in 1650 A.D..

The reader will be treated to vivid historical recounts concerning: Phillip II of Spain and his "invincible armada." Elizabeth I of England, the "Virgin Queen." The Hapsburg Family. The Thirty-Years' War. The Puritan Revolution in England. Spain's fierce struggle to subdue the Netherlands. Europe's disillusionment following the brutalities of the religious wars. Cardinal Richelieu of France. And much, much more including plates and maps.

The Durants have created a prose which is free-flowing and easy to understand. This book, designed to stand alone or within the series, is a masterpiece of historical accuracy to be enjoyed by professional and layperson alike. I rate it as five stars. Superb!

Fortunately, a PH.d is not required to both enjoy and be educated by the Durants monumental achievement. They are the authors who literally built the Simon & Schuster company. (I hope Carly Simon sends flowers to their graves every year as they largely generated her families fortune!)

It is important to remember that Will Durant was an experimental academic himself (c.f. the "Ferrer School"); and he knew that nothing was so stupid that it could not be found in Academe or academics. He himself is amazingly free of this crippling disease of "institutional" scholar an expert in philosophy as well as history. He was born in 1885, and educated at a time when Truth was still a concept (self-serving misreadings of Nietzche aside) and historians were unafraid to voice opinions other than one's attacking anything and everything not conforming the usual left-wing fad of the moment.

The aesthetic is indeed stunning. The flow or eloquence is rarely interuppted over nearly 70,000 pages of written text. Of course mistakes of detail abound. As I've said in other reviews, the biggest problem area is that of the military. Too often the Durants take, especially ancient, but also more recent military histories at face value. This was due to two reasons: little interest in detailed military history and preference for things "cultural." And sensing their weakness in battle narratives (as opposed to say Keegan or Tuchman or Gibbon), they are largely absent; the concentration is on their causes and effects; the effects of battles nearly always being ephemeral.

To condemn them for "lack of perspective" or "bias" is to reveal one's own. Unlike some reviews, the Durants made every effort to balance controversies by offering both sides. If they drew a conclusion contrary to your sacred cow, it is not an indicator of bias or error (much tho' the Left attempts to conflate the two).

In certain obviously indefensible activities (the Spanish Inquisition, the genocide of Jews before the First Crusade, the Church's deepfrying heretics, Louis XIV's brutal expulsion of the French protestants (Huguenot, a corruption of a German word, "eidgenossen") the Durants' condemn it with the precision of Gibbon and the moral outrage of Barbara Tuchman or Robert Conquest.

Somethings are evil and can never be anything else. To forget that is to invite the next generations of Lenins, Stalins or Hitlers.

The Durants understood the role "bias" far better than a thousand puerile academic critiques (tho' I realize that is largely a redundant remark) and compensated for it by the effort as well as their method of "integral history" which seeks to weave the entire history of European civilization into one seamless, if not stream of conscious, narrative flow.

It succeeds brilliantly and one finds it difficult to believe that any other such "generalists"--historians these days tending to bury into the infinitesimal and cherish minutiae, thus condemning themselves to present and future obloquy--will flash so brilliant across the literary heavens any time soon.

You should always check for youself if you have doubt. The Durants are almost always right and the mistakes are those of haste or, perhaps, the preference (or distaste) for the particular subject. (It is, for instance, difficult to feel much but revulsion for Charles V and his son Philip II and their policies of tyranny, blood and bigotry).

Read with a mind open to learning, not with crosshairs seeking weakness to exploit.

Will and Ariel Durant shine again in their seventh book of their history of European civilization. The given detailed attention to Shakespeare, Elizabeth I, Henri Quarte, Phillip II, Montaigne and many others.

The prose sparkles with wit, verve, pith and an unflagging interest and love for the subject of history and the homeland of my ancestors.

Highly recommended.

This book is a good overview of the main events of the period. Dunn does a great job explaining each event.

This is the second book I've read in the Norton History of Modern Europe (the first was Eugene F. Rice, Jr.'s "The Foundations of Early Modern Europe, 1460-1559"), and I've been highly impressed with both of them.

They both cover the basic events fairly thoroughly and simply, presenting the background but not getting lost in details. Although focusing on political history, they both cover many other aspects of history--military strategy, economics, demographics, art and culture, philosophy--briefly at least.

Speaking as someone who occasionally has to teach the subject, in my opinion organization is the greatest challenge in presenting history, and one of the greatest compliments I can pay to any history book is to call it well-organized. Dunn's book is generally very well-organized; I have only a few minor quibbles, and I doubt that I could improve on his organization without introducing bigger problems.

Other quibbles are much less significant: I would have liked more detail regarding the War of the Spanish Succession, more information about changes in military strategy in this period (since firearms underwent constant improvement, and the nature of seige warfare changed dramatically--but how exactly did these change the strategy and nature of warfare?), more on the culture of Restoration England, maybe something on the culture of the Puritans (he tells us nothing of John Foxe, and almost nothing of John Milton or John Bunyan).

However, I am fairly familiar with the cultural history of Europe (by which I mean art, music, literature, philosophy and religion), so in reading these books my main concern is to fill in the political, military, and economic background, which I don't know very well. If your situation is similar to mine, I guarantee you will find these books very rewarding.

One other thing I find most gratifying is the well chosen illustrations: although printed in black and white, they are often obscure enough to be new to me, while perfectly commenting the text. For instance, the closing pages show a woodcut of Peter the Great cutting a Russian nobleman's beard, in which Peter (actually an impressively large man) is portrayed as a giggling, child-size pest to the large, dignified nobleman; the opposite page features a print from 1698 showing Peter's execution of the streltsy (his elite guard) rebels: row after row of hangings and beheadings on edifying display for the passing carriages. You didn't see it in your art history survey course, but it reveals the nature of Peter's Russia far more effectively than anything that you did.

The maps are also perfect, which enhances any history book.

If you are looking for a history of modern European culture, I do not recommend these books, however, as their focus lies elsewhere. For that purpose, I suggest starting with Jacques Barzun's opinionated but thorough "From Dawn to Decadence," supplemented with a good art history textbook such as Jansen's History of Art. If the religious issues that attended the religious wars are your concern, you should consider the 4th volume of Jaroslav Pelikan's "The Christian Tradition," which is titled "Reformation of Church Dogma."

After this book, if your thirst for early modern European history has not been quenched, I recommend turning to Diarmaid MacCulloch's "The Reformation."

Reads like a story, instead of a series of "facts", like most history books. Highly readable. Very interesting.

When my son began the study of Modern European History in college I decided to reacquaint myself with the subject. "The Age of Religious Wars" is a good place to start. Covering the years, 1559-1715, this tome takes the reader from the End of the Reformation to the beginning of the era of the 18th century balance of power.

This book focuses on the big themes of history. It tells the stories of Kings and warriors, merchants and clerics, artists and philosophers, but very little about the common people of the era.

This book is very well organized. Beginning with the situation in Europe in 1559, the first chapter gives the religious lay of the land in the countries of Western Europe at the start of the era. Chapter 2 outlines the beginning political situation in Eastern Europe.

In Chapter 3 the author studies the economic theories and commercial forms which fueled the economies of the age.

Chapter 4 introduces the reader to the political ebb and flow between absolutism and rising constitutionalism. Although the dominant figure of the era was France's Sun King, Louis XIV, he was the architect of a system which would die in a sea of blood before the 18th Century was out. In his day, Louis XIV lead the superpower of the age, but, toward the end of his long reign, he overplayed his hand, losing much of the territorial gains which he had temporally enjoyed.

The political upheaval of the era which was a harbinger of things to come was England's Glorious Revolution of 1688. For perhaps the first time in history, a monarch's right to reign was made dependent on the support of his subjects. Protestants William of Orange and his wife, Queen Mary, daughter of the late King Charles II, were invited by the nobles to challenge Mary's brother, the Catholic King James II. The resulting overthrow of James, in clear contrast to Louis' absolutism, laid the groundwork for the concept of government by consent of the governed, which would receive expanding application during the succeeding centuries.

In Chapter 5 Prof. Dunn reflects on the Age of Genius which truly this era was. Emerging from the intellectually stagnant Middle Ages, Europe erupted into a creative age virtually unique in history. Science was advanced by the likes of Copernicas, Kepler, Galileo, Descartes and Newton. Renaissance art bust forth under the creative genius of da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Titian, Durer and El Greco, to be followed by Baroque masters such as Rubens, Van Dyck and Velazquez. Europe still glories in the architectural heritage of Bernini and Wren. Our philosophy and political science still draw inspiration from the writings of Montaigne, Pascal, Hobbes Sponoza and Locke. Theatres of the world still interpret the works of Shakespeare and Marlowe, Lope de Vega and Calderon, Corneile, Moliere and Racine.

The book concludes in its sixth chapter with an analysis of the new balance of power which would carry Europe into a new age. A series of wars, Sweden's moment in the international spotlight and giant personalities such as Peter the Great would all combine to make Europe the place it would be in the 18th century.

Overall, this book is a good survey of the Age of Religious Wars. I had not read a college text in a long time and I had more acclimated to learning history in biographies and books more focused on specific topics. I am glad that I read it and give it 4 stars.

Dunn is an excellent writer. He is not flowery like the Durants, but his prose is elegant and to the point. He covers a great deal in a fair amount of detail. His book is very well organised and full of well chosen illustrations. The book is an easy size to carry around and very competitively priced (this kind of book is often very expensive, this one is not). If you want an introduction to this period, I do not think you could do better than this book. I could not put it down (Dunn knows how to be entertaining) and since completing it have referred to it often.

A very good read. And what makes it fascinating is the fact that they are all actual events. It vividly illustrates what lengths the locals went to to help these airmen. Literally putting their lives at stake to help strangers for a common cause.

Fast paced and very hard to put down, this book really gets you into the WWII evasion experience. The sense of urgency and suspense really comes through...my heart was racing as I read about downed airmen stealing clothes to blend in with the locals and racing away from the scene of the crash, sometimes right through German troops. This book really highlights the efforts and risk of the collaborators, and just how dedicated they were to doing their part in the war effort. A very highly recommended read!

I found this book gives a lot of insight to evaders and some of the less well known facts of the war. The book has a fairly fast pace but also has a lot of detail. The first three stories deal with downed flyers in France and Belgium who eventually made it to Spain and then British held Gibraltar. Spain was sympathetic to Germany, and treated evaders harshly until 1943 when it became politically necessary for them to develop a better relationship with the Allies.

The fourth story is of a later evader in Belgium who was able to meet the oncoming Allies in 1944 instead of going to Spain. The fifth story details the evasion of an entire bomber crew from the island of Corfu over to Albania. They stayed at a guerilla camp in the mountains and eventually escaped by ship to Italy after much hardship. The final story is of of a flyer who evaded through Italy. Originally captured by the Germans upon landing, he was released from jail with many others when Italy signed an armistice with the allies. He spent the rest of his time evading the Germans and travelling around Italy (with much help from Italian partisans) and finally escaping to the Allied lines after many setbacks.

One of the central themes of the book is the sacrifice made by the occupied population to feed and help the Allied fliers escape. Every story has a follow-up at the end about the later life of the evader and what happened to the people that helped them evade (if known).

Do not start reding this book if you have important things to do because you will not be able to put it down. The book chronicles the evasion of several downed airmen in WWII Europe, how they evaded, the people that helped them and the trials and risks they endured. It is well written and informative and will make you glad that you never had to fly in combat, bail out of a plane or crash land and find yourself in a lonely and hostile land.

"Aircraft down" by Philip D. Caine, sub-titled: "Evading Capture In WWII Europe". Brassey's, Dulles, Virginia, 1997

The author is a retired Brigadier General, United States Air Force, where he was once responsible for training at the Air Force Academy for "SERE (survival, evasion, resistance, escape). This gave him a professional interest in the history of evaders in Nazi occupied Europe. Philip D. Caine has also written books on Americans serving in in the Royal Air Force, (e.g. in the "Eagle Squadron") including "American Pilots In The RAF".

In this book, "Aircraft Down", he has drawn on his training and experience to write six separate stories, of individuals and crews, shot down behind the lines in enemy held Europe. The first three stories deal with Americans who were flying in the RAF. These three were fighter pilots, who came down alone. They were not alone on the ground, however, as they all needed the help of the local populace to escape Nazi searchers.

The fifth story is different: the entire crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress comes down on the island of Corfu, off the coast of Albania/Greece. Here, again, the common thread is that he local populace has to work together to first provide refuge for the evaders and then to provide a means of escape.

In all of the stories in this book, the author has worked to put a human face on the evaders. His research has been sufficient to give a personal memoir flavor to each story, and his follow-up on post war meetings, provides a sense of closure to the story. He relates the excitement when an evader meets the same woman working in the same field as on the day he was shot down, some 40+ years ago.

The book is concluded with a very short chapter entitled, "The Art Of Evasion And Survival", which points up that the personal resourcefulness of the downed pilot is often the key to a successful escape. General Caine has avoided the usual impersonal book, often written by General Officers, dealing with statistics numbers and unit identification, all at the "higher" strategic level. Instead, happily, he has used personal interviews and much research to provide a fine book telling the stories almost as if they were all personal memoirs.

If you truly have an interest in the people of Albania there is no better book available. I have read most of the writing (in English) on Albania and this book always checks out with other sources. It is the one complete, unbiased (important in this reagion) account of the Albania people. If you are only casually interested, you will find it ponderous.

The book has it all. It should a koran or bible for every Albanian and I would urge everyone one to own a copy or at least read it. It is very carefully written and greatly researched, based on classical and contemporary sources of history, archeaology and linguistics. It is also extremely helpful in providing other research sources for related fields or works. Above all, it is true in content and as such unbiased.

The book is a classic for presenting history based on facts. Many thanks to the author for putting such a bright light on historical facts, and the effort to collect all the information pieces that exist around the world and putting them in a fascinating logical way that creates a nice picture of what have happened thousands of years before, mainly in the ballkans, particulary in today's Albania, and all over the world.

Bravo! Bravo! Bravo!

The author brings the science of history to a new paradigm. The book is written in an excellent way and is result of intensive and extensive experience from the author. He will keep receiving many thanks for his research and publishing work. The book confirms that History is a scientific field and not a dogmatic field. The book must be read by all. The book helps to find answers questions. Reading the book, one can crystally see that the Pelasgian language is the same as the present-day Albanian language. Moreover, it tells what brush paintings had been put on Pelasgian (Albanian) culture and language.

Being my self an Albanian,it has surpassed all my expectations.it is truly true in its content,revealing much of the truth about albania,that even albanians themselves do not know.my deepest sympathy goes to the author with this touching review of albania`s history.i think it made me prouder being an albanian then ever before.i strongly advise all albanians and friends of albania to add this rare item to their collection.

thanks again to the author....deeply gratefull.

Mak draws his history from many quarters with a fine sense of balance and writing skill. In the early part of the book, he details the City's acumen in trade and finance and the rich history of its ferocious effort to build out this wonderful City against the forces of nature. The highlight is the taking of Amsterdam by the Germans in May of 1940; the sense of denial in the Amsterdammers, yet far to the south of the City, a haunting "lowing of the cows" sensing in their animal way the buildup of the German invasion. He writes about the dutiful efficiency of the Dutch bureaucracy aiding the Germans in rounding up the Jews and in his balancing way, the courage of the Resistance.

Een kleine geschiedenis van Amsterdam (the Dutch Title of this book) has been on my friends' must-read lists since it was released in Dutch in 1995. I have finally gotten around now to reading it, and am only sorry that I hadn't read it sooner.

Mak is very good at choosing periods from the life of the city to highlight and also choosing the anecdotes that make them real. Whether his focus is on the portrait of Gerrit Janszoon Peggedochter, or the reaction of modern Amsterdammers to the marriage of (then Princess, now Queen) Beatrix, the stories are always fascinating. I liked how he made an effort to tie the Amsterdam of the past to its current incarnation.

Mercifully, he doesn't overly focus on tulipmania-- that's been covered more than well enough elsewhere.

I have not read the Dutch version, only the English, and I found the translation smooth and sufficient.

This was a very readable account of Amsterdams history. Of course it would take a five volume history to do full justice to the city but this was admirable in its ability to cover high points while not being a dull textbook account.The prose was very good and not dry at all.

I read this book in Dutch, and lived in Amsterdam for many years. Being an (ex)Amsterdammer, I guess there are many things you take for granted, and I certainly subscribe to Mak's explanation that one of them is "being proud of not being proud".
However, having lived away from Amsterdam for so many years now, this book has thoroughly re-established my (not so proud) appreciation for Amsterdam! My next trip to my beloved home town will, thanks to Geert Mak, be an altogether different one.

I read this book in preparation for a visit to Amsterdam, and my visit was far more enjoyable and interesting as a result. You owe it to the Amsterdammers to read this book before spending any amount of time in their city--you'll have a much deeper understanding to inform your stay. Imagine reading stories about Chicago by Studs Terkel before visiting that city.

It's really too bad, though, that such a good book has suffered such incompetent editing. Harvard University Press should be ashamed of itself--misspellings, strange punctuation, inconsistent formatting--did anyone actually look at the copy before it went to press?

Its such a simple sweet story--of the relationship of the old man and the pidgeon--still so old world in feeling and simplicity about a friendship!!! It made me shed a tear!!! Brenda Momente NYC

I saw an exhibition of David Macaulay at the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers, NY, in July 2007 and was totally in awe of his talent. He is such a fantastic Illustrator and has a wonderful sense of humor. Until then I did not know anything about him, but after the exhibition I went to Amazon and bought 6 of his books. In addition to his brillant architecture/construction books like Castle, Mosque, Pyramid, and fascinating technical "how to" books ie. The New Way Things Work, he's also written some amazing stories for kids. This is one of them and I really love this one:

The story is about the friendship between old Angelo, who works on restoring the outside of an old church in Rome, and a pigeon, that he rescues. Angelo reluctantly warms up to the pigeon as he nurses her back to health. But soon he embraces and enjoys their one-of-a-kind and caring friendship as the pigeon, called Sylvia, decides to stays with Angelo. We accompany this unlikely couple for many months, through various seasons, as Angelo is finishing his work at the church. We witness cute and silly little scenes as Angelo plays the pigeon's favorite music and holds headphones to her ears during her convalescence, Sylvia and her pigeon friends dancing in front of Angelo during lunch to cheer him up. However, Angelo is becoming weaker and weaker and we feel with Sylvia as she shows great concern for his health and well being. Although Angelo eventually dies, the story ends on a happy note: the pigeon continues to live in a special nest that Angelo created for her out of stucco at the top of the church and David tells it with lots of humor and great sensitivity.

Beautifully illustrated, this story tells of enduring love. Simply heartwarming, touching, uplifting. A delight to read to your kids, but I bet, you yourself will want to read it again and again and again.

A very touching story. It reminds me the words in Bible,"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.Love never fails."

It's an excellent storybook for readers of all ages!! I gave this book for my students to read and they loved it very much.

Each day at work I have to read the new picturebooks that have been proccessed. I dislike few of them. I enjoy most of them. I love very few of them...especially on first perusal. "Angelo" is one of the very few.

It's the story of the unlikely friendship between a master plasterer (Angelo) and a pigeon he dubs Sylvia. He finds her wounded on the ledge of a building he is restoring & takes her in despite his negative opinions of birds. (The pigeon hospital bed he rigs up for her is wonderful). She flies off after convalescing...only to return when he needs companionship to see him to the end of his last great job. In thanks, he creates a tribute to her...a tribute only he could create & one only a pigeon could appreciate.

The story is heartwarming, but the pictures are silly, cinematic, and inspired. This is a treat to read (for young and old) and it is my pick (so far) for Caldecott 2002...

All of David Macaulay's books are wonderful, and this is no expection. One note of caution, though...I teach elementary school and read this book to a number of students. The story deals with death at the end, and this lead to some sad comments and discussion. Should be prepared to talk about death or loss of a loved one. This is would be a perfect book to deal with that topic.

The commentary for each selection is informative and clear, and the translations are lucid and lively reading. A complete version of Beowulf is here along with the Anglo-Saxon Elegies and bits of Venerable Bede, Pope Gregory, a story of Caedmon's conversion, and other hallowed texts. I wish this book had been longer--more letters, more entries of the Chronicle, etc.--but as an author I know how size is often constrained by decision of the publisher; still, I would have paid ten times the cover for five times more. Here's to a second volume by the same translator.

This is the book that got me hooked on the Oxford World Classics series, which has not yet failed to provide beautiful translations where even the densest language becomes clearly understandable, all the while still keeping the integrity of the original work. The Anglo-Saxon World gives a sweeping introduction into the literature of the Anglo-Saxons while providing short commentary that places each work into historical perspective. While the information is unfortunately is not in depth, it is adequate enough for those unfamiliar with the history of the period to see the works in the proper context.

Found here are the major works: the epic Beowulf, "The Seafarer," "The Wanderer," and the works of Bede. But also found are the more obscure and, perhaps, more telling examples of their written culture, including (sometimes bawdy) riddles and even the amusing remedy for a woman's chatter: "eat a radish at night, while fasting; that day the chatter cannot harm you" (276). The texts range from deep pathos and solemn wisdom to the light, humorous and superstitious. Most significantly, this collection makes an ancient and foreign culture both easily approachable and readily accessible. For those with even a passing interest in Anglo-Saxon history, this book is well worth the time and money.

I'm a homeschooled student (in 10th grade). I read this book as part of a course on early European history, and have also referred to it while studying the history of the English language. Most of the translations are very accessible to the modern reader on their own, and Mr. Crossley-Holland's insightful commentary clears up those which are more difficult or obscure. Anyone who has a serious interest in the literature and culture of the Anglo-Saxons will not be disappointed in this book.

I bought this book in an old edition paperback form in Dublin because it contained the major elegies such as the Wanderer and the Seafarer. I ended up being extremely satisifed not only with the beautiful translation of the Wanderer, but with all of the selections and with Crossley-Holland's comments. I was very thrilled to meet him recently at a reading in Seattle, where he was promoting his Arthur trilogy. I'll have to check that out.

This book is easily one of the best collections of Anglo Saxxon period texts and as well is a great begining spot for anyone seeking further interest in the subject. As well with the epic Beowulf and Bede's writings this book is easily worth every cent and provides a wealth of additional information from religious writings to epic battle hymns.

I felt that this book did a great job as well as providing for understandable text and in most parts flowed easily enough that the writing proved both interesting and informative. The language is thick in some spots but overall the pure eloquence and spirit of the book compensates for this slight detail. The texts in this collection are as well very diverse so that almost any reader would find an interesting topic; and it proves a good book to read straight through or just pick up from time to time and read.

I just finished reading this book to my 5-year-old daughter as part of her homeschool curriculum. We were assigned to read portions each day and often she would beg, "Please, just a little more!" I hated to put it down, too.

A Newberry winner, the story is well written and powerful. It develops the tale of William Tell from the perspective of his son, Walter, from whose head he shot the infamous apple.

What I most appreciate is that the story helps children understand freedom, and why people would risk their lives to fight for it. (William Tell is the legendary hero of the fight for freedom of what is now Switzerland.)

When my daughter asked, "Why do people have wars?" I struggled with the right words to answer her question. Then this book showed up on our reading list. "The Apple and the Arrow" managed to explain the concept of fighting for freedom in a page-turning, enjoyable way.

The Apple and the Arrow is about an eleven-year-old boy named Walter Tell. He awaits the skillful demonstration of his father William, a Swiss freedom fighter, who will shoot an apple from his head, "Shoot, father, shoot! I am not afraid says Walter". Walter's voice seemed to bring back his father's courage. Walter's father quickly raised the heavy crossbow to his shoulder as muscles rippled on his brown arms. He sighted the apple on his son's head. He pulled back the bowstring...

The legend of William Tell survived for more than seven hundred years. The Apple and the Arrow, winner of a 1952 Honor Medal, tells the story through Walter's eyes, as he and his father struggle for the freedom of their family, their village, and their country.

I recommend The Apple and the Arrow as a nighttime story for kids of any age. Although it is a little bit on the long side is goes by pretty quickly.

I really liked this book.This book is about a cruel noble named Gessler, a bowman named William Tell and his son Walter. Gessler didn't believe William tell was as good as a bowman as everybody said he was. So Gessler tied Walter to a tree and put an apple on Walter's head.William Tell had to shoot it with his crossbow. I won't tell you any more you'll have to read, The Apple and the Arrow to find out the rest.

Conrad Buff was born in Switzerland in 1886, studied art in his native country and in Germany, them emigrated to the United States in 1904, settling
in Los Angeles, where he became a noted landscape artist. Along with his wife Mary, he coauthored/illustrated a number of children's book, among
them this Newberry Honor winner, which recounts the legend of the Swiss hero, William Tell.

The story is simply told, from the perspective of twelve year old Walter, who has the famous apple shot off his head. In 1290, the good king Rudolph
has died; leader of Germany, Austria, and the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Underwalden, he collected taxes yearly but otherwise left the stubborn and
independent mountain people of Uri alone. But his son Albrecht rules with a harder hand, and his deputy, Gessler, who is building a permanent castle
at Altdorf, is particularly despised. William Tell is part of a group, eleven men from each canton, who plan to revolt in 1291, but events get ahead of
him when he and Walter travel to Altdorf. There, Gessler's henchmen have placed a nobleman's feathered cap upon a tall pole and require the men of
Uri to bow to it, which William refuses to do, setting in motion the train of events that bring honor to his name even seven hundred years later.

This is a thrilling story of "one man's revolt against tyranny", with serious themes of independence and freedom and responsibility. Kids, especially
boys, will love it and even parents will learn from it.

GRADE : A

Conrad Buff was born in Switzerland in 1886, studied art in his native country and in Germany, them emigrated to the United States in 1904, settling in Los
Angeles, where he became a noted landscape artist. Along with his wife Mary, he coauthored/illustrated a number of children's book, among them this Newberry
Honor winner, which recounts the legend of the Swiss hero, William Tell.

The story is simply told, from the perspective of twelve year old Walter, who has the famous apple shot off his head. In 1290, the good king Rudolph has died; leader
of Germany, Austria, and the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Underwalden, he collected taxes yearly but otherwise left the stubborn and independent mountain people
of Uri alone. But his son Albrecht rules with a harder hand, and his deputy, Gessler, who is building a permanent castle at Altdorf, is particularly despised. William
Tell is part of a group, eleven men from each canton, who plan to revolt in 1291, but events get ahead of him when he and Walter travel to Altdorf. There, Gessler's
henchmen have placed a nobleman's feathered cap upon a tall pole and require the men of Uri to bow to it, which William refuses to do, setting in motion the train
of events that bring honor to his name even seven hundred years later.

This is a thrilling story of "one man's revolt against tyranny", with serious themes of independence and freedom and responsibility. Kids, especially boys, will love it
and even parents will learn from it.

GRADE : A

The book by prof.Stavrianos was the last one I had on my list of books on the Balkans that I had planned to read as background material for my own work on the economies of the EU Candidate Countries, and especially of course the Southeastern ones (the other books were by Glenny, Hodos, Obolensky, Kaplan). It was also the thickest one at 850 pages but I must say it was a pleasure to read. The set-up by theme and by individual country is always clear, and there is a richness of detail and at the same time a broad sweep that gives a very good overview. This is indeed what makes this book an exellent and impressive reference work, as the other reviewers also indicated and with which i can only concur. This richness also sometimes made me skip a few pages as I was not interested in every detail but this is not a criticism per se; there will be something in this book for all interested in the Balkans without necessarily wanting to take note of all the information that is there.

For me as an economist, what the author makes clear and what struck me in particular was how the combination of economic (agricultural, industrial, financial, infrastructural) underdevelopment and social and political problems (health, education, ethnic and reliious) that are still present today in many of these countries, have been part of their history for centuries. This does not mean they are immutable (and becoming an EU Member is the best way to break this deadlock, I am convinced) but it shows how deep a legacy needs to be overcome. So for this insight already for me the book was well worth reading. In combination with M. Glenny who provides a modern history of the period 1800-1990s there is of course some overlap but I can recommend to have them both (Glenny is perhaps more lively written). Stavrianos will stand as the reference work by which others are measured.

Even though this book was first published over 40 years ago, it is still the seminal text on general Balkan history. L.S. Stavrianos provided a detailed, comprehensive yet immensely readable survey of events and developments in the Balkans since the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. He deals with each country/region individually, but also maintains an overall perspective and analysis. Even if the narrative ends with the immediate post-World War II years, this text illuminates many of the historical precedents that underpin current events in the region. It is therefore much more useful to read this book than the many essentially popular histories written about the Balkans as a whole or the invidual countries in the region over the course of the last decade. The publisher should also be commended for re-issuing this book; for years the about only place one could find it was at major universities and larger, better-stocked public libraries. There's no substitute for this book, it is a must-read for everyone who really wants to learn about Balkan history.

This very important and extensive work that gives a quick and concise but nevertheless essential history of the Balkans since 1453 provides much to the reader in the way of detail. It is an excellent history. However it also is responsible for creating threee enduring myths in Eastern European history. First it defined the period after 1800 as the 'era of nationalism'. THis is strange, for the same movement in Africa and elsewhere, when people revolted against colonial masters, was called the 'age of liberation'. So why it is nationalism when it is Europeans rebelling against Muslim colonialism?

Secondly it repeats the myth that all history everywhere(from Africa to India to Central Asia to Spain) begins with Muslim occupation. 1453 was the date of the fall of constantinople. However this ignores the fact that there was a deep cultural history of the Balkans before Islam and that the Ottomans were merely a foreign yoke.

Thirdly the book downplays Ottoman atrocities such as the sale of Greeks into slavery after 1832, the very existence of slavery(selling of CHristians by Muslims) is not given any real coverage, the Bulgarian massacres are also ignored. Had it been Europeans colonizing the Balkans and selling the Slavs to be sure this would have been one of the main themes but because it was the Ottoman Muslims it is ignored. Thus an important text is also responsible for many enduring myths.

Seth J. Frantzman

This is an indispensable resource for any one interested in Balkan History. It's a comprehensive and wide resource that takes you through the political, economic, and social history of the Balkans, organized by modern state with chapters from each time period on political developments and the Ottoman Empire as a whole. A special focus on ethnic and national issues makes it more than relevant today, despite its age.

This was the best textbook I ever had and the course on Balkan history taught by Charles Jelavich at Indiana University, with this book, was the best I ever took. Unfortunately I lost my copy years ago. Now that the Mideast is once again a mess, I turned to look for a copy. I am happy to see it back in print, just sorry the price is so ridiculously high. The book is priceless, but to be contrary this price is too high. The paperback is worth it.

Felice Vinci
The Baltic Origins of Homer's
Epic Tales:
The Iliad, the Odyssey, and
The Migration of Myth
(Inner Traditions, Rochester, VT) 2006
xiii+370 pages
ISBN 1-59477-052-2 (pb)

Critiqued by Frederic Jueneman

As perhaps an interesting preliminary aside, Roman author Felice Vinci's original 1995 book in Italian, Omero nel Baltico ("Homer in the Baltic"), was highlighted several years ago with a précis of his study of Homer's epic Iliad and Odyssey. Originally it was met with some skepticism; but hopefully since, it has captured the notice of some attentive classical scholars, who had no preconceived notions of their own, to further the study of Homeric lore. Now, finally, the full-scale English language version is widely available for critical analysis. (A contemporaneous Russian edition has also been recently published.) And, it might be amusingly mentioned that Vinci's popularity has since risen in Scandinavia, as these peoples were given a revitalized legacy, but his esteem has proportionately declined in Greece, since he has uncharitably taken away the cherished and hoary heritage of Homer from Aegean waters and moved it en masse into the Baltic. Notwithstanding, Vinci has done his homework remarkably well, as his extensive knowledge of Homeric Greek, as well as of ancient history and literature, comes through clearly.

The Foreword to this edition is by Joscelyn Godwin of Colgate University, a scholar who might be termed a student of esotericology (study of the occult), but who wouldn't be among my first choices as a preface author. Yet, his extensive knowledge of obscure esoteric practices and cabalistic lore from around the world puts him in a somewhat unique position. Such antiquated if otherwise unorthodox lore places almost all significant mythic events near the Pole, a premise that highlights the basic hypothesis of Vinci's repositioning of Homer's epic in the north.

This reviewer's only problem--albeit a minor one--is that Vinci has opted for literal, historic names and faces on what may otherwise be universal symbolisms, if not generic mythic themes. in Homer's epics, despite the fact that extensive Achaean and Trojan genealogies are sprinkled throughout these poems. Moreover, having been involved during an early editing process, this reviewer may also seem to have a conflict of interest in writing this critique; however, to be sure, there aren't many so intimately acquainted with Vinci's effort.

It should be said about both the Iliad and Odyssey, despite their heroic premise--if the discerning student of Homer hadn't otherwise noticed it--they are essentially Travelogues par excellence. But, even more than this, the Iliad is a compendium of peoples and cultures from various ports-of-call around the Baltic world, as outlined in exquisite detail in Book 2, "Catalogue of Ships," while the Odyssey itself more fancifully outlines economic trade routes taken by these intrepid Nordic seafarers, under the rubric of Ulysses' adventures, along with the constant dangers and other vicissitudes of wind, weather, and shoals that can trouble courageous mariners.

Homer seems to have efficiently used the Trojan War as the pivotal epic theme to highlight Baltic civilization, culture, and concomitant malignant unrest during the Sub-Boreal climatic plunge in the early second millennium BC, with the resulting armed conflicts for more habitable and sustainable territories, coupled with the ongoing quest for less frigid environments. These hostilities, coupled with the encroaching freeze, inexorably contributed to the eventual disintegration of Nordic society that finally impelled both their southward and their southeastward migrations to more temperate seaport climes. And this, in turn, was perhaps exacerbated by the eruption of Thera in the Mediterranean circa 1627 BC, as determined by dendrochronology (tree-ring dating). However, apparently not everyone did leave this increasingly Frigid Zone, as hardier peoples did remain in the northern climes to eke out an existence and evoke further Nordic legends and tales. Homer's epic is perhaps the only surviving classic from that epoch, as others may well have been lost. And even here, there seems to be the ghost of two Homers, as the Iliad and Odyssey are each stylistically distinct and dissimilar, as if they were orally relayed and later penned by different authors.

The literary artifact of the quest for the affections of Helen of Troy emphasizes one aspect of their regional cultural and moral values, but on this Vinci is silent except to comment that the heroine Sita is similarly abducted from her betrothed Rama in the Hindu Ramayana.

Further, these so-called "trade routes' in the Odyssey, are both a mnemonic of those sea passages and a verbal itinerary of what would otherwise have been forgotten and hence lost by these migrants. The superlative detail in Homer's epic lyrics are therefore not merely poetic hyperbole, but arrows-in-time of Mediterranean and Anatolian, if not, according to Vinci, Aryan, heritage, as well as tangible, albeit arcane literary directions to their former locales. That they were indeed lost and forgotten, it is our present task to remember and find them once again.

Vinci's reconstruction used the Greek biographer and moralist Plutarch (46-120 AD) as his initial guide for the identification of the Homeric Isle of Calypso, Ogygia (Stóra Dímun), off the coast of Norway in the Faeroe Islands. And, that these sea route mnemonics had also been forgotten and lost is noted in the writings of the geographer Strabo (63 BC-24 AD) and earlier historian Thucydides (471-400 BC), who thought Homer was a good storyteller but a rather poor geographer, where many Homeric islands are either missing or misplaced in the Mediterranean. Vinci attempts to amend these ancient erroneous impressions, as well as those of contemporary scholarship, with what might be termed geographical, morphological, and literary archeology. The actual physical digging and future confirmation of his arguments he would leave to the field archeologists. But, he has also left a pile of detritus for the philologists and historians, as there are still many linguistic and chronological problems.

One never knows what one might find while unearthing literary relics. Fossils are where you find them, as every paleontologist will acknowledge. Some plots of ground are more fertile than others, but the trick is in finding them. Hellenic authors and their present-day progeny have looked in vain in the Aegean for the likes of Homer's "long isle" Dulichium, "sandy" Pylos, Achilles' home of Phthia, and "white-cliffed" Cranae. They never had really existed in Mediterranean waters. But, they all have place in the Scandinavian world, which is where Vinci has discovered such vestiges of literary fossils, not only in Homer but also Saxo Grammaticus and the Icelandic Eddas, and parts of the Finnish epic Kalevala, among others.

The Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus (1150-1220) recorded parallel legends in his Gesta Danorum (Danish History), which dovetail Nordic legends in many respects with the Homeric epics, where occasionally even the names look familiar. In like manner, both the poetic Elder Edda (12th century) and the Younger Edda, penned by Snorri Sturluson in the following 13th century, have such corresponding themes where Nordic gods play the analogous roles of the Homeric heroes. One wonders if Saxo and Snorri previously had read Homer, or if these were from independently homomorphic tales. In the Kalevala, Väinämöinen has a leg scar comparable to Ulysses' childhood injury; and similarly, one might compare the godlike smithys from the far north, notably Ilmarinen and Hephaestus, who fashioned armor for their respective Finnish and Achaean heroes. Moreover, such oblique references appear throughout Indo-European mythic literature, much further afield than either the Mediterranean or the Baltic.

Where Saxo outlines the history of the Danes in lower Scandinavia, principally Denmark, Homer--by way of Vinci--describes the rest of the Baltic world, although Saxo does look eastward and places the Hellespont in the Gulf of Finland, far from the Dardanelles in northwestern Turkey, which is most unlike the sea that Homer called "wide" and "boundless."

Vinci's repeated excursions into etymological concordances are fascinating, but not fully convincing at least until further evidence is forthcoming, despite his caveat that "considerations based on geography and climate are far more reliable than similarities in place-names." Nevertheless, the poetic clustering of Homeric homonyms in names and places from both the Mediterranean and the Baltic worlds frames a persuasive argument.

His occasional references to the loss of the linguistic element "v"--the digamma--from ancient pre-Homeric Greek could well be such an etymological fossil and a potential linguistic springboard for additional appraisal. (The digamma had fallen into disuse except for an Aeolian dialect.) For example, Livy records the flight of Antenor with his Eneti allies after the fall of Troy, which might account for the Etrurian founding of a Veneti seaport colony later known to us as Venice, although the recorded history of this city just dates from our own 5th century. Similarly, the missing digammate prefix in the word "Achaean" would make "Vachaean" sound like "Viking." It's unfortunate that Vinci's protracted discussion of the linguistic significance of the digamma was edited out of this edition. However, there's lots more room for further philological study, to add to what has already been done long before Vinci came on the scene.

It has also come to the attention of this reviewer that Etruscan tombs in northern Italy frequently commemorate themes from both the "Trojan War" and the "Seven Against Thebes," an otherwise unaccountable provenance unless both ancient Troy and Thebes were originally located in the north. Interestingly, to confound this puzzle further, Vinci adds, "Thebes was not an Achaean city and did not take part in the Trojan War." This makes one wonder why the Etruscans venerated such funereal encomiums if their forebears did not participate in the Achaean-Trojan conflict. Even so, Etrurian origins are thought by received wisdom to be formerly from northern regions. In addition, Vinci does identify today's quaint Finnish village of Toija near the coast in southwestern Finland as being the putative site of the mythical Ilium of Homer, far from the Anatolian site at Hissarlik on the shores of Turkey in the eastern Mediterranean that was uncovered by Heinrich Schliemann circa 1873.

In the Odyssey Homer describes an immense "flowing away" (ápsoros) current plowing silently through the ocean as Potamós Okeanós (literally "Blue River") that has all the earmarks of the Atlantic Gulf Stream, of which we presumably attribute its discovery to Benjamin Franklin circa 1770. The 8th century BC poet Hesiod had also remarked on it, which leads one to think that much of Homer has been swept aside by scholarly oversight when their attention is more-or-less rigidly confined to the Mediterranean. It also augurs for an Atlantic voyage of Ulysses to more distant and exotic ports-of-call, which may well have been as far west as Iceland, Greenland, or--heavens forfend!--the eastern seaboard of the Americas.

The vast plains of Homer's world do not reside in the rocky crags and spires of the Aegean; the terrain of the Iliad speaks of rolling hills and secluded seaports, specifically the harborage of Homeric Sparta, which otherwise is located far inland in the Mediterranean Peloponnese. Nor, for that matter, the non-Greek Homeric sources of tin, copper, iron, and particularly amber, although scattered artifacts have been found at Mycenae and other Mediterranean sites, despite similarly scattered ore sites in Anatolia, in and around the Black Sea. In the northland there are ancient copper mines in the Shetlands and tin ore in Cornwall, with immense iron deposits found in northern Sweden on the Gulf of Bothnia, and of course amber in areas rich in conifers. Magnetite from Sweden may have been the origin of ancient but crude compasses, which guided these daring ancient mariners through foggy seas across the ocean to Iceland, Greenland, and even the Americas for exploration and additional resources. Until the collapse of the warm Atlantic climatic phase prior to the second millennium, such seafaring across an oceanic expanse would certainly be possible, if not probable, during more temperate meteorological conditions.

So too, found in the far north, are prized gold and silver, which adorned the breastplates and shields fashioned by the gods for the Achaeans, perhaps along with Plato's celebrated orichalcum. Some of the world's finest gold, as well as silver, are found in Lapland in the northern extreme of Finland. Curiously, the precious orichalcum of Plato's fabulous Atlantis may turn out to be the platinum mined in the Urals. But, these minerals are less easily accessed today as they might have been during a pre-glacial Boreal phase--relatively ice free--several thousand years ago.

The climate of the northland underlies the Odyssey portrayals of "close-fitting" garments and long tunics, wrapped around "like the peel on a dry onion." And, in the Iliad, we similarly read of "thick furs" and "thick cloaks and blankets." All such descriptions are of Bronze Age clothing as found in Scandinavian burial tumuli, even as to the golden shoulder buckle worn by Ulysses to fasten his cloak.

Wind, fog, and rain also afflicted the combatants during the remarkably short season of the Achaean-Trojan skirmishes, where often one warrior could not see another. It should be said that the Iliad itself actually describes just a month-long finale of the ten-year hostilities over what appears to be an ongoing turf war, disregarding the overlay of Homer's plot theme in the quest for the satisfaction of honor and Helen's return to the court of Agamemnon. The constant references to inclement weather, and even the occasional allusions to ice and snow, all seem to denote unrelenting characteristic atmospheric conditions in the northlands. It also appears to this reviewer that the Achaeans wanted to once-and-for-all bring the economic dominance of Troy to its knees. In fact, the artifice of the "Trojan Horse," described only in the more imaginative Odyssey, may be an early description of a siege engine to breech the timbered walls of Troy.

The long winter nights of the polar climes north of the Arctic Circle do not rule out anything significant in the underlying themes of myth, where, for example, Persephone spends her half-year in the gloomy company of her husband Hades, brother of Zeus. Or, where Ulysses drifts northward with the Potamós Okeanós from the Isle of Circe to the Cimmerian land of Styx to consult with the ghost of Tiresias, the erstwhile king of Thebes. During Arctic winters we have both the light of the Moon during its periodic phases to illuminate the tundra, and the sometimes-spectacular aurora borealis as the porphyréen îrin (colored arch) spread across the heavens by Zeus for the aesthetic benefit of mortals. Nightfall in the Arctic does not mean it precludes activity, mythological or actual.

But, when the Sun's light finally begins to gradually reappear through the recurring twilights of spring, Homer speaks of "revolving dawns" that can only be observed in the far north, not in continental Europe nor the Mediterranean. Furthermore, the curious hapax legomenon of Homer--amphilyke nyx--is a linguistic fossil referring to the "dimly-lit night" during which Achaeans and Trojans fought during the day and throughout the Arctic dusk and into the following day, a phenomenon only experienced during early or late summer months in far northern climes. In another instance, King Nestor of Pylos recommended that campfires should surround each Achaean encampment; but, without any further clarification by Homer, most scholars assume that this advice was for discouraging potential Trojan infiltrators or from a surprise attack. However, according to classicist Alberto DiPippo of Univ. of Santa Clara, since there's no dark nighttime per se in far northern summers, such well-placed campfires would more realistically discourage the abominable insect infestation that usually plague such humid polar regions during the summertime.

This brief critique is but a small part of what Vinci has laid out for the reader, since we haven't even touched on what these ancients ate or drank, or did for their amusement, or even as to the ultimate migration of the Achaeans as ancestors of the Mycenaeans and later Hellenes, and who may even have been the personification of the fabled Peoples of the Sea.

And finally, to indulge in a reminiscence: While editing the first draft of this book some years ago, it was then presciently written "...this is a Homeric world that was once almost irretrievably lost, but at long last has now been found where it has always been."

Felice Vinci traces the Greek epic tales of Homer to an original Baltic setting. Scholars have long troubled over the misfit of geographical information that the Iliad and Odyssey relate. Vinci makes a strong case that the Mycenaeans came from a then much warmer Scandinavia and migrated south to the Aegean, taking their epic stories with them. Correlating place names between those in the epics with those in the Baltic and North Sea regions, he pinpoints the locations of every major city, including Troy. Further strengthening his case, he demonstrates the cultural parallels between these mythic tales and others from Scandinavian culture.

His thesis is not as far fetched as this reviewer intially assumed it would be. We can see many places along the east coast of the United States named in honor of cities and towns in England, as namesakes of the original homes of the newcomers to the New World. If Vinci is right, inhabitants from northern Europe migrated south to the Mediterranean area and renamed numerous places in honor of their former homeland as well. Readers of Homer's stories assumed that they described events in this new homeland rather than their possible real places of origin. Many scholars considered these stories to be myths because they fail to fit the Near East setting, when they in fact fit much better in the far north and may represent real events after all. It would be like someone assuming that stories about the English Wars of the Roses occurred along the Atlantic seaboard of North America, where the interrelationship all the places named would be a jumbled mess, when in reality they took place in England, where all the geography actually fits.

Toward the end, Vinci mars his fine research with extrapolated speculation in an effort to suggest that Sumer, the early Hebrew patriarchs and everyone one else from the Middle East started in Scandinavia. This diminishes the legitimacy of his main theory. Had he left out such claims, his case would be stronger.

Vinci himself allows that his ideas rest upon cultural and geographic evidence and need archaeological research to confirm them. His argument is so strong, though, that it alone should be justification to explore physically the places that he identifies as the actual locations of the events of Homer's tales.

For those who have actually read and pondered the Homeric sagas, many difficulties present themselves in trying to visualize the battles, the geography and the scenery when compared to the eastern areas of the Mediterranean Sea. In this book, Felice Vinci proposes and very well defends the seemingly outrageous idea that the events described in the epics actually transpired in the Baltic Sea. He contends that these events took place at the end of a particularly warm period, and with the dropping temperatures, the actors of the Homeric dramas fled south and occupied the warmer Mediterranean. Transposing the names of their former cities to their new homes, once things settled down, the epics were put to writing.

This is a bold and exciting assertion. This book explains and defends the premise very well. I strongly encourage people to read and ponder. It is a rare thing when something this bold and of this scope can be conceived and propounded with such dignity and vigor.

Put down whatever you are reading today and get this book!

Making comparisons of climate and geography, including place names, between Homer's ancient Greek classics and the Baltic Sea coastal areas, Vinci engages in intriguing, fascinating, but also well-substantiated speculation on the bases of Homer's works. Eons ago when the epics originated, climate was warmer in the Baltic region. Though it was not as warm as it commonly is in the eastern Mediterranean lands including Greece, Vinci finds references to this one-time warmer Northern European climate in the Odyssey, for example, with its frequent mention of cooler, damper weather often forming mist. Ulysses, the main character of the Odyssey, is more like a Viking seafarer than a typical Greek sailor. Vinci even finds many references in the Baltic region to the Trojan War poetically recorded in Homer's "Iliad." The link between the Baltic region and ancient Greece is strengthened, though not confirmed, by the migrations of Northern peoples to areas of Asia Minor. As Vinci recognizes, "further archaeological corroboration" by experts in different fields would be necessary to confirm his theory. But in pursuing it, this work covers many little-known but interesting and colorful aspects of the ancient European world and also enhances appreciation of the literary style and the cultural material and sources of the works.

It is a curious fact that the geographical descriptions furnished in Homer's Iliad (the story of the siege of Troy) and Odyssey (the story of Odysseus's journey home after Troy's fall) do not easily match the assumed Mediterranean topography. Various prehistorians, historians, archeologists, and linguists have expressed their consternation about Homer's geographical details. It was Plutarch (46-120 A.D.), who in his essay "The face that appears in the lunar orb," unequivocally states that Goddess Calypso's island of Ogygia mentioned in the Odyssey was situated "five days' sail from Britain, toward the west."

Vinci, a nuclear engineer by profession and a passionate classicist by vocation, took Plutarch's statement as a serious clue to search for the geography of the Homeric epics in the North Atlantic rather than the Mediterranean. He has amassed a mountain of evidence in favor of the Baltic origins of both Greek epics. Similarities between the mythologies of the North and the Mediterranean have often been pointed out. Vinci argues that a deterioration in climate around 2000 B.C. caused some of the Scandinavian peoples to migrate south. As time went by, the epics were claimed by the Greeks for their own Mediterranean culture and environment.

What about Schliemann's Troy? Although this intrepid explorer undoubtedly discovered the Mycenean civilization, his claim to have unearthed the city of Troy has never been universally accepted. Already Strabo ( ) denied that the "ancient Ilium ( Troy)" was to be found in Anatolia. A better candidate for the Homeric Troy than the Anatolian town of Hisarlik, excavated by Schliemann, is possibly the Finnish town of Toija, as suggested by Vinci.

Vinci's audacious rewriting of Homeric culture and mythology is a creative proposition, which deserves to be further investigated. He has my full vote of confidence.

[...]