Customer Reviews

The Middle Sea: A History of the Mediterranean (Vintage)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I love Norwich's writing style and have been a great fan of his Byzantine, Venetian, and Sicilian histories. The reader will quickly be seduced by the stories and the pages will turn. While it is evident that the writer is very knowledgeable about Medieval and even Renaissance and early modern topics in Europe, he is very limited, perhaps negatively biased in some non-European areas. Modern Egypt, for instance, received about a paragraph and most of that was inaccurate, making mistakes on who was khedive/sultan/king and when, which then caused me to wonder what other mistakes were present. The 1956 Suez Crisis where Israel invaded the Sinai implied that the Israelis were doing so as a result of Nasr violating a treaty, which is simply incorrect or in the least not remotely accurate. Nasr is dismissed as the man who ripped down the statue of the builder of the Suez Canal and nothing else.... and all that in three or four sentences. Once again, the cursory discussion of the Suez Crisis, the dismissal of much modern history, and some mistakes caused me to wonder what other areas were not treated correctly. As entertaining as the nymphomania of Isabel II of Spain is, it doesn't deserve page after page in comparison with much more important, if less fascinating, aspects of Mediterranean history.

It is my hope that this book will be updated, edited, and researched more thoroughly in any future printing.

In impressive detail and stylish narrative this "Middle Sea" center of civilization and commerce, democracy and art for at least three millenia, from Homer to the 20th century wars, is written to provide valuable information for the sophisticated student and also an enjoyable meaningful perspective for any 21st century reader. The coverage of events, people and especially conflicts and adventures is outstanding. The prominent author's opinionated statements - Aristotle is provocatively and wrongly called "one of the most reactionary intellectuals - simply reflect the license of fame. In other instances, errors may be the result of the modern pressures to publish in a hurry: the ancient island of Thera is now called (the tourists' favorite) Santorini, not, as stated, the other way around; and - glaringly incorrect! - Mytilene is not the original name but just a town on the island known since antiquity (before the word lesbianism was introduced) as Lesbos. Except for these minor questions, this most recent book of the erudite lord Norwich is an outstanding contribution to our understanding of this "cradle" of our civilized worlds.

This book is bad on so many different levels, many of which simply derive from the fact that the concept of the book itself is irretrievably poor. Let's see, how about I write a book about the 5,000 years of civilizations bordering the Mediterranean Sea. Included will be Ancient Egypt, Ancient Greece, Ancient Rome, the rise and spread of Islam .... You get the idea, and the author was able to fit all of that in the first 86 pages!!!

As a result, we're left with writing that looks something like this: Caesar conquered Gaul. He returned to Rome and entered an alliance with Pompey and Crassus. Crassus went to Syria where he was defeated and killed by the Parthians. Pompey and Caesar had a civil war. Caesar chased Pompey to Egypt where he seduced Cleopatra. He returned to Rome where he was killed in the Senate. Mark Antony and Octavian avenged Caesar, then had their own civil war. Octavian won, changed his name to Augustus and became Emperor.

There, the last twenty years of the Roman Republic in one paragraph, mission accomplished. If that's the kind of writing you enjoy, and you don't already know the most basic historical background, then have at it.

Added to the faulty concept, is a very informal and borderline inappropriate writing style which detracts from the work.

I must say that after the initial 100 pages, wherein the author tears through 3,500 years of ancient history, things do improve, however not to the point of presenting a rational, well presented view of regional history.

In the Introduction, the author himself states, "...how could the whole thing possibly be compressed into one volume?" IT CAN'T, and therein lies the problem. I've thought that perhaps it could be helpful for a junior high student with no background in history whatsoever, but upon reflection, any effort that attempts a history of Ancient Greece in nine pages, the rise of Islam and the succeeding Caliphates of Damascus, Baghdad and al-Andalus in 14 pages and, believe it or not, Ancient Egypt in two pages, should best be left alone.

I did a pretty thorough search for a book that would cover Mediterranean history, cultures, and geography- and settled on this book as my first choice. I was only able to get through about 1/3 of the book before I lost interest and put it on the shelf.
I found it to be primarily focused on leaders and wars, with little insight into the real lives of people. Because of the focus on leaders, the names became (for me) hard to follow and confusing. Each section seems to become predictable- focusing on X leader who brings Y troops to Z land, and either wins/pillages or loses.
There are some interesting tidbits that are cited as part of the war stories, including details on post-war carnage, or of leaders who showed restraint. However, not near enough information on the lives of normal people that lived in the Med. region over the past few thousand years.

I found this book an entertaining read which filled in a few gaps in my knowledge within its stated remit. A more thoroughly educated student of history would probably regard it as review material only, but as a lay reader catching up on the history he never learned at school I found it a pleasant and fairly thorough introduction to the political history of the governments of the states on the Mediterranean littoral. If you are also a lay reader of history for enjoyment, this book may be for you. However, it promotes and partakes of a typical bias in history writing that has come to grate on my nerves over the years - the invisibility of the life of the common man and woman, their diet, their tools and their homes.

You will not find information on the following in this book:

1. How the inhabitants won salt.

2. How fish catch has changed, how it was caught, and how it affected the culture and cuisine of the region.

3. How the climate has been governed by the presence of the sea and how this has affected agriculture.

4. The economic significance of the olive.

5. How the fertility of the Mediterranean has been affected by the growth of civilisation.

6. How the Scylla and Charybdis of the the Straits of Messina entered Greek mythology and how they have influenced water-borne commerce.

7. How shipbuilding has progressed and how the conditions on the Mediterranean influenced it.

8. Anything else about fish or olives.

It is, basically, the usual annotated list of who fought whom in order to rule over whom. If you like hearing about kings, it's a good read. If you like hearing about cooks, farmers and shipwrights, it's more disappointing. All the same, it is an entertaining introductory volume.

When I first heard that Norwich was writing a book covering the entire history of the Mediterranean two thoughts crossed my mind - first, that this will be a great reference book for Mediterranean history, the same way that Asimov's Chronicle of the world is for world history - and second, that Norwich's knowledge of history is much wider and deeper than I initially thought.

Well, this mediocrity of a book proved me wrong on both accounts.This is not a history of the Mediterranean.This is simply the bits and pieces of its history that Norwich is actually knowledgable about (medieval and early modern European history) with some indifferent references to the rest to fill in the gaps.To give you an example of his lack of proportion, the entire ancient history of the Mediterranean (including Egyptian,Phoenician,Greek,Carthaginian and the Roman republic) is passed by in forty (40!) pages.. less than those he uses just for the Napoleonic wars.The southern half of his subject (North Africa) barely gets fifteen pages from beginning to end.The book doesn't begin to pick up it's pace until we reach the High Middle Ages - and even then he doesn't really have anything new to say; whole paragraphs seem to have been lifted word for word, from his previous books (Byzantium trilogy especially).

In conclusion, if you are looking for a book covering the whole history of the Mediterranean this isn't it. Norwich is a fine writer and storyteller and everything....but just as long as he sticks with what he knows.....

This book takes a very unique role of the Mediterranean, giving us a true scope of the history of the sea and the peoples around it. This is a sweeping portrayel of both European and Eastern history, of the crusades and the Ottoman-Islamic colonization of Europe. This is a story of the many wars for the islands of Malta, Crete, Rhodes and Cyprus. This is the story of one of the major birthplaces of civilization, Greece and the Middle East. This is a story of the ancient civilizations of Pompei, Greece, Carthage and Anatolia, as well as Israel.

A sweeping account that takes the reader from event to event, from Salamis to Galipoli to Lepanto and to an American woman murdered in Macedonia. A very interesting and readable account, massive in scope but specific and well written.

Seth J. Frantzman

It is an ambitious undertaking to attempt to cover such a long and varied history as that surrounding the Mediterranean. But professor Norwich turns to the task with the same skill and passion as his earlier works. As should be expected with such a broad subject, there is a great deal rushed over and many details left unattended. The early history seems, in particular, to suffer this fate of limited detail. Yet, where professor Norwich lacks in detail he compensates in broad sweeping coverage of one of the most historically diverse and active areas of the world. It is a good introduction that will give you an appetite for more. Ideal for the new student of any history in the Mediterranean area.

This book provides a sweeping, very engaging narrative of the history of the Mediterranean Sea, from the ancient civilizations of the Near East to the events and impact of the First World War. It is history told in broad strokes - the key events, historical figures and political, social, and religious trends of the entire geographical area from southern Europe to northern Africa and the Near East over thousands of years. It is true, as some other reviewers have noted, that there may lack a balance in coverage of specific epochs or civilizations. Nevertheless, Norwich is very skilled at recounting history with a sense of drama, excitement, and grace. The book includes a number of black and white and color plates and several useful maps. Strongly recommended.

John Norwich, head of the World Monuments Fund in Britain, and author of many splendid historical books, such as "A History of Venice", has written a book here, which, in my opinion, is at best suited for 10th graders or for general readers, who have little or no knowledge of any of the major civilizations in the Mediterranean region.

Why the two stars - several reasons:
(1) The book is written in such simplistic style and replete with almost laughable conclusions - see more on this below;
(3) Coverage of major historical events is often very cursory - for example, the story of Alexander the Great merits merely 4 paragraphs, or hardly more than a page (in a book of 600 pages)
(2) The book lacks analytical rigor and significant conclusions - on its face, the book is about the Mediterranean, however, Mr. Norwich offers no overarching observations of the role of that sea in propagation of knowledge, ideas, trade. Neither does the author offer any convincing discussion as to the continuity between the different civilizations that he tracks in his discourse and there are very few conclusions drawn as to why the Mediterranean, and not the Black Sea, for example, has played such a central role in the development of many major Western and Middle Eastern civilizations.

Who is this book suited for: A high school sophomore or junior interested in a general historical overview of Mediterranean civilizations. The book might also be useful for a general reader who has very little knowledge about Ancient Greece, Rome, Middle Eastern or Western European history. A serious reader of history is best advised to avoid this general treatise and look elsewhere for greater depth.

Lastly, just to give the reader an idea of the superficiality and generic nature of Mr. Norwich's exposition, I am offering a few examples:
(1) From Chapter III - Rome: The Republic: "The rise of Rome was due, more than anything else, to the character and qualities of the Romans themselves. They were a simple, straight-forward, law-abiding people with a strong sense of family values, willing to accept discipline when required to do so....".

(2) From Chapter IV - Rome: The Early Empire: "It is thus impossible to put a definite date to the establishment of the Roman Empire. It was a gradual process - but perhaps it was better that way."

(3)From Chapter IV - Rome: The Early Empire: "Together, these two decisions [adoption of Christianity and transfer of the imperial capital from Rome to Byzantium] and their consequences have given him [Emperor Constantine] a serious claim to be considered - excepting only Jesus Christ, the Prophet Mohammed and the Buddha - the most influential man who ever lived."