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Black Sea: The Birthplace of Civilisation and Barbarism
 
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Black Sea: The Birthplace of Civilisation and Barbarism (Paperback)

by Neal Ascherson (Author)
3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 304 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; New edition edition (11 Jul 1996)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0099593718
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099593713
  • Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 2.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 371,993 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review
"A brilliant biography of place."-"Guardian"
"Must certainly be among the year's most memorable non-fiction books."-"Financial Times" --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Guardian
`...beautifully written book which is part history and part travelogue'
--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
5 star:
 (3)
4 star:
 (1)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
3.9 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Unbalanced but often fascinating, 4 Sep 2002
By David (London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
First, the bad stuff - this book should really be called "What the Poles and Russians got up to north of the Black Sea" since this is what it's mainly about. There is very little about Turkey or the Turks, nothing about Romania or Bulgaria. In spite of this, I enjoyed the book a lot. It is full of fascinating facts and stories. The narrative is built around the break up of the Soviet Union but ranges across a vast area of history to give some interesting sidelights on the politics of nationalism. My favourite bits were his discussions of the Skythians, Sarmatians & "Amazons" (see also Howard Reid's "Arthur the dragon king" for related material). Also includes a very interesting & provocative discussion of the romantic myths surrounding the cossacks.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars excellent synoposis of misunderstood and unknown region, 8 Feb 1999
By A Customer
Neal Ascherson does a scholarly study of an unknown and highly mysterious geographical crossroads of several major civilizations. His scope of study ranges from the 1000 BCE to the present.

Ascherson examines early Greek settlements in the world's breadbasket, and includes such diverse settlements as the Scythians, Romans, the Karaiim, the Russian and Ottaman Empires and concludes with present day Ukraine. It includes archaeological finds include treasures that predate Homer's Troy.

The exhibit "Treasures of the Ukraine" currently in Montreal, features many of the archaeological finds discussed by Ascherson. Surely, this exhibit must rank favorably with other major excavations of antiquity.

Historical and political figures intertwine with mythology, history and geography to create a much needed understanding of a neglected land and rich diverse cultures and the diverse peoples who visited and inhabited these lands.

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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A superb combination of history and travel writing., 1 May 2001
By graeme.dibble@bbc.co.uk (Glasgow, Scotland) - See all my reviews
Neal Ascherson is sadly a rarity these days - a journalist who can move easily from the confines of newspaper writing to the broader sweep of historiography and travel writing. Yet his skill as a journalist is obviously of great help to him as he pares back what is obviously a tremendous amount of research to give us this lucid and almost racy account of the history of the Black Sea - an era which stretches from the time of the ancient Greeks, right up to present-day fish quotas imposed on the Turks. Ascherson is no cold observer of the human fate, but becomes wrapped up in the Black Sea stories of both past and present, and thus tells us stories of Polish poets and the plight of the once ubiquitous sturgeon with equal passion. A superb read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Still Fresh
I have just re-read this book, which was updated and republished in 2007. It is still as fresh and lively as it was when it first came out and is really the best and most readable... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Reportage

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the greatest pieces of non-ficiton ever written
...Neal Ascherson's Black Sea is one of the most fascinating and brilliant books of any description I've ever come across. Five stars aren't enough. Read more
Published on 7 Nov 2001

3.0 out of 5 stars missing
It is not possible to write about the Black Sea and its history just by slightly mentioning the Turkish coast. Read more
Published on 18 Jul 2001

2.0 out of 5 stars Dull meandering historical-travellogue
I'm sure they make up the mini-quotes on the back of this sort of book: it is not 'Fascinating beyond words' neither is it 'A superb book...'. Read more
Published on 6 Feb 2001 by karl@biomedcentral.com

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