| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Book Description
Product Description
At the end of the twentieth century people spoke as if the Balkans had plagued Europe for ever. But two hundred years earlier, the Balkans did not exist. It was not the Balkans but the ¿Rumeli¿ that the Ottomans ruled, the formerly Roman lands they had conquered from Byzantium, together with their Christian inhabitants. In this original account of the region Mark Mazower dispels current Western clichés and replaces stereotypes with a vivid account of how mountains, empires and religions have shaped its inhabitants¿ lives. As a bridge between Europe and Asia it has been exposed to a constant incursion of nomadic peoples across the centuries.
Mazower¿s narrative ranges broadly both in time and in space, treating the former Turkish domains in Europe as part of a common if complex historical inheritance.
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
The book is written with flair and ease, engaging even to those who normally shy from history books. It is certainly not a heavy tome of new research. This is not to say that it is simple-minded. Rather the depth of knowledge evident in Mr. Mazower's deft command of a wide range of both modern research and contemporary sources is remarkable. There is something here for both those looking for an introduction to the region, as well as those (like myself) with more than a passing acquaintance with its history looking for a synthesis of a wide range work.
Despite my earlier disclaimer, the book does shed light on the nationalist wars of the 90s in the region, mostly through its 'myth-busting'. Mr. Mazower puts to flight both the ultra-nationalist myths of demagogues in the region, as well as theories popularized by certain "historical" writers in the english-speaking world (a la 'Balkan Ghosts') that attempted to portray Balkan history as a series of neverending massacres by peoples instinctively given to violence. Mr. Mazower in his own quiet, and elegant manner buries such theories under the weight of evidence.
This is one of the best books Ive read on the region for ages. Both well written as well as eye-opening and mind-expanding. Perhaps Mr. Mazower's greatest gift is his ability to recreate the changing pulse of life for different groups of people over the last few hundred years throughout the region. The people he describes are never stereotypes, and finally the montage of pictures that emerge of the Balkans itself is far richer and more distinctive than the caricutured symbol for bloodshed it has been in far too much 'academic' literature in the west.
Typically, he starts by examining the clichés of Balkan lawlessness and violence, questioning the origins of the stereotypes. He goes back systematically to primary sources to ask what life was really like in Turkish Europe under Ottoman rule. Although a meticulous scholar, Mazower is aimed at the "general reader"; his writing is humane and engaging without ever dumbing-down or condescending to the imagined reader. My only criticism of this book is that it is not longer.
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
