 |
"The
Shortest History of Europe"
John
Hirst
150 pp., Black Inc., Melbourne, 2009 |
Available from HTANSW:
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Like
David Christian’s This Fleeting World, John Hirst’s
The Shortest History of Europe is another concise gem.
The tone is set in the introduction, where the author
writes: ‘If you like to skip to the end of a book
to see what happens, you will enjoy this book. The ending
starts soon after it begins. It tells the history of Europe
six times, each from a different angle.’ Each version
adds a layer of understanding as Hirst explores what he
presents as the uniqueness of European civilisation in
being ‘the only civilisation which has imposed itself
on the rest of the word’.
According to
Hirst, early European civilisation had its foundation
in three elements: the culture of Ancient Greece Rome,
Christianity and a German warrior heritage. He identifies
key characteristics that emerged from this mix, ranging
from the less than absolute power of absolute monarchs
to the position of relative respect accorded to women.
He then provides a clear overview of the development and
consequences of events such as the Renaissance, the Enlightenment
and the Scientific Revolution. While the focus is conceptual
and the period covered in such a short space daunting,
it is all done with a light touch, a deft selection of
detail and a wry humour, evident in this description of
monks retreating from Viking invaders:
Every summer the monks would move further inland up the
river, but the Vikings chased them in their longboats.
The monastery moved about four or five times up the Loire
and finally came to rest in what is now Switzerland, with
the monks carrying their crosses of gold and their pieces
of the True Cross and portion of Christ’s leg.
The writing is complemented by wonderful diagrams and
well-chosen, if poorly reproduced, images.
This is a highly
engaging and thought provoking book. At one level simply
a great read, it offers an accessible conceptual framework
for understanding the broad sweep of European history
from ancient to modern times.
Paul
Kiem, HTA
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