- Unknown Binding
- Publisher: Picador; paperback / softback edition (1 Jan 2001)
- ASIN: B002CNUP5I
- Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.6 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 4,660,392 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The author travels with her husband and 2 young children through Europe in search of "tribal Europe" - Europe's (mostly)stateless "tribes" such as the Catalans, Bretons, Macedonians & others, including some you probably haven't heard of. She investigates their history , politics, language and lifestyles and paints a lively picture of Europe's nooks & crannies. Though rather low on humour, and containing rather more trivia about her children than I wanted to know, it's a compelling and illuminating read.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The idea of the book tempted me to buy it, though I wish I'd been warned off by the reviewer who commented that it would have been improved by less information about the author's kids. It is less a book about the minority languages of Europe and more a family diary of an overlong holiday. I was torn between feeling sorry for Tallulah (being dragged away from her friends to live in a converted lorry) and wishing the child would behave well enough so that there could be more information on the topic the book is supposed to be about.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I love this book. It weaves together two strands, about the endangered minorities of Europe, and about travelling quite rough with a young family over a period of 18 months. Each really enhances the other. The story is about Helena Drysdale and her husband and two daughters (one still a baby) who set off in a camper van to discover more about the little-known peoples of Europe - the Sami, Basques, Corsicans and so on. She immersed herself in these peoples' culture, discovering all she could about what makes them tick: their languages, history, literature, music. But when the story threatens to get bogged down in esoteric details of linguistics, you cut back to daily family life. This acts as a sort of leavening - it lightens the tone, and is often very funny.
I have never raad a book like this before, which is so ambitious in its scope - covering most of western Europe. Each chapter is almost like a book in its own right, and has been thoroughly researched, while never being too heavy.
I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the endangered peoples of Europe, whose lives are at risk almsot as much as the endangered plants and animals we hear so much more about.
I have never raad a book like this before, which is so ambitious in its scope - covering most of western Europe. Each chapter is almost like a book in its own right, and has been thoroughly researched, while never being too heavy.
I recommend it to anyone who is interested in the endangered peoples of Europe, whose lives are at risk almsot as much as the endangered plants and animals we hear so much more about.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Read this book if you are curious about languages - and travel!
Yes I can agree with some of the other reviewers in that at times there is maybe a little too much about the children but at the same time this unusual mix of travelogue,... Read more
Published on 7 Jan 2008 by Mark Baynes
Travels Among European Minorities
This book is a mixture of a travelogue, investigative journalism and history combined, written by a sympathetic amateur. Read more
Published on 9 Jan 2005 by Laszlo Wagner
Fascinating subject but next time leave the kids at home...
I bought this book for its fascinating subject matter but as I read I found myself increasingly distracted and irritated by the presence of two badly-behaved children and by their... Read more
Published on 19 Jan 2004
compelling and essential for Europeans
Anyone wanting a deeper understanding of Europe - for whatever reasonns (travel, anthropological, language...) - NEEDS to read this book. Read more
Published on 19 Mar 2002 by richard@arthurone.freeserve.co.uk
A Book That Mirrors And Reveals The Realities of Europe
As a Gaelic speaker from the Outer Hebrides, reading Helena Drysdale's 'Mother Tongues' was like stepping into an amazing Hall of Mirrors - in which my own experience was reflected... Read more
Published on 20 Jan 2002 by donsheild@aol.com
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